'Snake Salvation' Pastor Andrew Hamblin Will Not Get Snakes Back Despite Grand Jury's Exoneration,

A grand jury in Tennessee has exonerated Pastor Andrew Hamblin, the star of the National Geographic reality show "Snake Salvation," but wildlife officials say that doesn't mean he will get back the 53 snakes they seized from his church last November.

When I was in law school, one of my classmates made a documentary, before law school, about the churches that handled snakes and drank poison. He had a lot of great stories, but all of them validated that what they were doing was open and not faked.

During one service, he watched four to six people drink out of a mason jar that was labeled Strychnine. When they were through, most of the fluid in the mason jar was gone. After the service, he asked and was given permission to keep the mason jar and the fluid that was left in it.

He had the fluid tested and the test showed that the fluid was highly concentrated strychnine. My friend asked the lab tech, what would happen if he took a swallow. The lab tech said, you take one gulp, you fall to the ground, we call 911 and then you die.

My friend took the jar and the fluid remaining fluid and asked the minister if he would take a drink. The minister said to him, "You don't understand. We don't drink poison until the Holy Spirit moves us." The minister then showed his forearm to my friend. His forearm was horribly scarred. The minister said, "I picked up a serpent because I thought I should, because I am the minister. But I was not told by the Holy spirit to pick up that snake."

My friend told me that before he started the documentary he was an agnostic, but he became a believer before it was over. On a lighter note, I asked him if he was going to drink poison. And he said he did drink poison, we call it liquor.

There is an incident in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, when Paul is gathering wood for a fire and a viper comes out of the woodpile and bites him.

The natives of the island are stunned when Paul shakes off the venomous snake and is unharmed.

In the Gospel of Mark, some Manuscripts contain a verse about Deadly Poison and Picking up Serpents without harm.

In my HUMBLE opinion, these two incidents in Scripture do not justify actively SEEKING out poison or snakes to either demonstrate the Power of the Holy Spirit, OR to “Prove One’s Faith”. God does not do miracles on demand, nor does He give us Signs and Wonders just to “Prove” His Power.

Jesus dealt with this aspect quite succinctly when Herod demanded a miracle of Him, and when the Pharisees sought after a “Sign”.

Just for the Record, I believe in Healings, Miracles, and the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, just not “ON DEMAND”, like “Pay Per View”.

**And he said he did drink poison, we call it liquor.**

LOL. In my early 20’s, before heeding God’s call, I frequented various bars, discos, and night clubs. I just never did find liquor to be attractive enough to indulge in it more than a drink or two. It was maybe a beer, and that was it. I just regarded it as a waste of money, and didn’t need it to have a good time. Besides, I preferred being in complete control of my senses whether driving or just making conversation.

That said, I think that diet soda pop is poison as well. I rarely drink the regular pop either. It’s just healthier not to.

There aren’t snake handling/poison drinking worship services in the Word, just the blessings of God to be delivered from those unexpected circumstances. God is merciful, that’s all I can say.

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