Halloween night snake scares worshippers at Western Wall

By Mark Ellis —

A snake that resembled a viper frightened worshippers at Jerusalem’s Western Wall on Halloween night.

The fright night spectacle halted prayers and caused a brief panic above the women’s prayer section of the holy site as it slithered between cracks in the massive limestone blocks placed there at the direction of Herod the Great.

A professional snake catcher arrived at the scene to capture the serpent by climbing a ladder and inserting his bare hands into the crack to extract the creature, according to a report by the Jewish Voice (JV).

When the snake catcher pulled the snake from the wall the crowd applauded enthusiastically. The man then posed for photos while holding aloft the snake, according to JV.

The LORD said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” (Numbers 21:8)

Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up…(John 3:14)

While appearing ominous, the snake was actually a “coin marked” snake or leaden racer, a species indigenous to the Middle East that can grow to five feet in length, but is harmless to humans.

Its primary diet consists of rodents or lizards, but one snake expert said the creature was seeking pigeons or their offspring in an attempt to prepare for the winter season with extra sustenance, according to YNet News.

In July, prayer gatherers were shocked when a 220-pound stone dislodged from the wall and fell to the plaza floor, nearly crushing a woman praying below. The stone fell the morning after Tisha B’Av, which is a fast to commemorate the destruction of the first two temples.

Some may now conclude the stone fell as a result of the serpent.

But the seed of the woman (Jesus) will crush the serpent’s head — indicating Satan’s ultimate defeat! (Gen.3:15)