Flying, Fiery Serpents:

Flying, fiery serpents are mentioned four times in scripture:

* And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died." (Numbers 21:6)

* "Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint;" (Deuteronomy 8:15)

* "Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken: for out of the serpent's root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent." (Isaiah 14:29

Contrary to popular belief, Unicorns are not the gentle "white horses with horns" commonly portrayed in paintings. Numbers 23:22 and 24:8 speak of the great strength of the Unicorn. The word "unicorn" comes from the Hebrew word r'em, pronounced reh-ame', meaning; a wild bull, from its conspicuousness.

The Unicorn is described in Job 39:9-12 as being an incredibly strong creature that cannot be domesticated or trusted: "Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib? Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow? or will he harrow the valleys after thee? Wilt thou trust him, because his strength is great? or wilt thou leave thy labour to him? Wilt thou believe him, that he will bring home thy seed, and gather it into thy barn?" (Job 39:9-12)

In history there are many references to the Unicorn:

* In 416 BC, the Greek physician Ctesias set out to attend to the Persian King Darius II, where he spent 18 years. He later wrote a book called Indica, in which he said: “There are in India certain wild asses which are a large as horses, and larger. They have a horn on the forehead which is about eighteen inches in length.”

* Pliny the Elder, in the first century AD, describes “an exceedingly wild beast called the Monoceros (one - horned)...It makes a deep lowing noise, and one black horn two cubits long projects from the middle of its forehead. This animal, they say, cannot be taken alive.”

* Aristotle frequently mentioned the unicorn. He said in one passage: “I have found that wild asses as large as horses are to be found in India. It has a horn on the brow, about one cubit and a half in length..”

* Julius Caesar said they could be found in the Hercynian Forest.

* Alexander the Great is said to have seen one before attempting to invade a certain territory, and took it as a sign not to attack, because the land was protected.

The church, of course, has an explanation for Unicorn, as well; a mountain goat.

Flying, Fiery Serpents

* "The burden of the beasts of the south: into the land of trouble and anguish, from whence come the young and old lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent" (Isaiah 30:6)

They are also described by the highly respected historian Flavius Josephus in his writing "Antiquities of the Jews", Book II, Chapter 10: