Numbers 21:8-9
“And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole: and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.”
King James Version
The bronze serpent lifted up bringing healing to those who look in faith, cited by Jesus as a type of his crucifixion.
Fulfillment References
John 3:14-15
How Traditions Read This Prophecy
Apostolic (Oneness) PentecostalJesus made this His own type: 'As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up' (John 3:14-15). The brass serpent on the pole — judgment borne in likeness, looked upon for life — prefigures the Lord Jesus lifted up on the cross, God in flesh 'made sin for us' (2 Cor. 5:21), that whoever looks in faith may live.
JewishA historical deliverance — those bitten looked at the bronze serpent and lived; later Israel idolized it (Nehushtan) and Hezekiah destroyed it (2 Kings 18:4). Read of God's mercy, with caution against the object itself.
CatholicA classic type of the crucifixion in the Fathers and the liturgy — the lifted serpent prefigures the lifted Christ who heals the sin-bitten.
ProtestantJesus' own interpretation (John 3:14-15) makes it a direct type of the cross — looking in faith to the lifted Savior brings life.
AcademicAn etiological narrative explaining the bronze serpent (Nehushtan) later kept in the temple; John's Gospel repurposes the image typologically for the crucifixion.
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Bible Prophecy Explorer · based on J. Barton Payne’s Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy catalogue · an openly Apostolic (Oneness) Pentecostal study resource — all traditions presented fairly. Pastor: C. Myles Young, PhD · Bishop: Nathaniel J. Wilson, Ed.D.