Though the curse was outwardly pronounced on the serpent, its real thrust was against the malevolent spirit controlling its body and its speech, "that old serpent called the Devil" (Revelation 12:9). The earth had been originally placed under man’s dominion. By persuading them to follow his word instead of God’s word, Satan probably believed that he had now won the allegiance of the first man and woman and therefore also of all their descendants. They would be allies of himself and his host of evil angels in their efforts to dethrone and vanquish God. Satan was now the "god of this world" (2 Corinthians 4:4), and the woman especially, who was to bear the earth’s future children, would readily follow him. She had already demonstrated her control over the man, who had eaten of the fruit when she told him to, even though he himself was not deceived. With the wonderful potentialities of human reproduction under his control, Satan could, as it were, in time "create" an innumerable host of obedient servants to do his bidding.

But if such thoughts as these were in Satan’s mind, he was not only the deceiver of the whole world (Revelation 12:9), but he himself was deceived most of all. The woman, in the first place, would not become his willing ally. "I will put enmity between thee and the woman," God said. Neither would she rule over her husband. "Thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee." Conception and childbirth would not be easy and rapid. "I will greatly multiply thy sorrow, and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children."

Not only would victory not be as easy as he thought, but ultimately he would be completely defeated and destroyed. "There will come One who will not be of the man’s seed, and who therefore will not be under your dominion. He will be uniquely the Seed of the woman, miraculously conceived and virgin-born. Though you will succeed in grievously injuring Him, He will completely crush you and all your evil ambitions."

This great promise in Genesis 3:15 has long been known as the Protevangelium (the "first gospel"), promising the ultimate coming and victory of the Redeemer. It obviously entails far more than a trivial reference to the physical enmity between men and snakes, though this may be included as a sort of secondary pictorial parallel. The prophecy clearly looks forward to the time when Satan will be completely crushed beneath the feet of the woman’s triumphant Seed.

But first there is seen a time of conflict and even apparent victory on the part of the serpent, who is able to "bruise the heel" of the woman’s seed. This predicted conflict is reflected in the legends and mythologies of the ancients, filled as they are with tales of heroes engaged in life-and-death struggles with serpents and dragons and other monsters. The star-figures by which early peoples identified the heavenly constellations repeat the same story, especially in the so-called signs of the zodiac and their accompanying "decans." There is the picture, for example, of Hercules battling with the serpent. The constellation Virgo, with the spike of wheat in her hands, may refer to the promised "seed of the woman." The king of animals, Leo, is shown clawing the head of a great fleeing serpent. The Scorpion is illustrated as stinging the heel of the great hero Ophiuchus.

These and many similar representations in the ancient myths are most likely merely distorted remembrances of this great primeval prophecy. Mankind, from the earliest ages, has recorded its hope that some day a Savior would come who would destroy the devil and reconcile man to God.

But who, or what, is meant by the "seed"—both the "seed of the serpent" and the "seed of the woman"? The term "seed" of course has a biological connotation, but this is not strictly possible here. Neither Satan, who is a spirit, nor the woman would be able to produce actual seed; only the man was created physically to do this. These two seeds, therefore, must refer primarily to spiritual progeny.

Specifically, it appears that Satan’s seed consists of those who knowingly and willfully set themselves at enmity with the seed of the woman. They partake in a very specific sense of the character of the Adversary (John 8:44; Ephesians 2:2, 3) and seek to oppose God’s purposes in creation and redemption.

The "seed of the woman," on the other hand, would refer in the first place to those in the human family who are brought into right relationship with God through faith, children of the Father. The prophecy forecasts the agelong conflict between the children of the kingdom and the children of the wicked one, beginning with Cain and Abel (Matthew 13:37–40; 1 John 3:8–12), and continuing to the end of the age (Revelation 12:17).

There is obviously another meaning as well, in addition to the above plural and corporate meaning of the two seeds. There is one primary seed of the serpent and one primary seed of the woman. The former is the soon-coming "son of perdition" (2 Thessalonians 2:3), the antichrist, to whom the Dragon gives his power and throne and authority (Revelation 13:2).

The primary seed of the woman is, of course, the Lord Jesus Christ; and it is not the seed of the serpent, but Satan himself, who battles and is destroyed by this Seed, according to verse 15.

There is clearly an inference of human birth here; in fact, verse 16 mentions the sorrow that would attend conception of the woman’s children. It is also clearly implied that someday one would be super-naturally conceived and born of a virgin. This promised Seed would not partake of the inherited sin nature of Adam’s children, but would nevertheless be a man. He would not be born under Satan’s dominion as would other men, and would thus be able to engage the Serpent in mortal combat. Finally, though bruised in the conflict, He would emerge as victor, "bruising" (literally crushing) the Serpent’s head, destroying the works of Satan and setting the captives free!

This promise is, of course, fulfilled in Jesus Christ. He appeared to be mortally wounded when He died on the cross, but He rose again and soon will return to cast the devil into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10). And in His very dying, "bruised for our iniquities" (Isaiah 53:5), He satisfied the just requirements of God’s holiness. He died for the sin of Adam, and therefore also for the sin of all who were "in Adam." "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive" (1 Corinthians 15:22).

There is an implied reference to this great prophecy in Isaiah 7:14, which should read: "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign: behold the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." The definite article before "virgin" (ha almah in the Hebrew text) indicates one that was previously promised. Similarly in Jeremiah 31:22: "For the Lord hath created a new thing in the earth, A woman shall compass a man." An ordinary conception would not be a new thing.

The great sign which John saw in heaven (Revelation 12:1–17) points to the final fulfillment of the prophecy. The woman in this passage seems to represent the chosen nation Israel in general, and Mary the mother of Jesus in a specific sense, although she may also be understood to symbolize all the true people of God. The man-child is Christ and the Dragon is that old Serpent waiting to destroy Him. But He is caught up into the heavens, and the Serpent, defeated in his attempt to destroy the true Seed, angrily continues to "make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." Finally, the Dragon is to be bound in the abyss for a thousand years, and eventually cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:2, 10).

The promised Seed would one day be born of a human woman, but Satan was left in the dark as to which woman and at what time. Both he and Eve may have thought initially it would be her firstborn son. Later on, as the centuries passed, Satan continued his attacks against all the males born in the promised line, particularly those who were objects of special prophetic interest (e.g., Noah, Abraham, Jacob, David), in case one of them might be the promised Seed.

Although God’s grace was manifest in this particular way toward woman—despite her being the vehicle through which Satan gained control over the world—she was nevertheless to be the subject of special judgment, though even this would be for the ultimate good of humanity. Eve shared in the curse on Adam, since she was also "of the man"; but in addition a special burden was placed on her in connection with the experience of conception and childbirth, the pain and sorrow of which would be "greatly multiplied." It had been appointed to her to be the "mother of all living" (Genesis 3:20), but now her children to all generations would suffer under the curse. Their very entrance into the world would be marked by unique suffering, serving as a perpetual reminder of the dread effects of sin.

The function of reproduction and motherhood, originally given as the joyful fruition of God’s purpose in her creation, but now marred so severely by her "lust" for withheld knowledge, which conceived and brought forth sin and death (James 1:15), would thus be marked by unique suffering in its accomplishment. Furthermore, she who had acted independently of her husband in her fateful decision to taste the desired fruit, must henceforth exercise her desire only to her husband and he would bear rule over her.

The long sad record of human history has confirmed the accuracy of this prophetic judgment. Woman’s lot has been one of pain, pain in many forms—physical, mental, spiritual, and especially in her experience of conception and birth (the emphasis is warranted in the original language). Generally speaking, man has subjugated woman with little regard for her own personal feelings and needs. In non-Christian cultures and religions, such subjugation and humiliation have been almost universal, until very recent times her husband often having even the power of life and death over her.

Such harsh "rule," of course, went far beyond God’s intention. Though the husband was to be the head of the house, he was to love and cherish his wife, considering her to be "one flesh" with himself, "clinging to his wife" (Genesis 2:23, 24). Those involved in the modern "women’s liberation" and other feminist movements are well justified in fighting against the injustices and cruelties long associated with male-dominated governments and customs; but they should avoid carrying such movements to anti-Biblical extremes, demanding absolute equality in all legal, political, cultural, and personal relationships.

It is surely true that, in the Israelite economy outlined in the Mosaic code, and even more in the Christian relationships enjoined in the New Testament, the role of the woman is eminently conducive to her highest happiness and fulfillment, as multitudes of Christian women have testified. In nominally Christian countries, of course, and even in many Christian homes and churches, the proper roles of husband and wife have often been distorted in one direction or another. This can best be corrected by simple obedience to God’s revealed Word on such subjects (see Ephesians 5:22–33; Colossians 3:18–21; 1 Peter 3:1–7; 1 Corinthians 7:1–40; 1 Timothy 2:8–15; 3:11–12; 5:14; Titus 2:4–5; Hebrews 13:4; Matthew 19:3–12; etc.).

The special curse on woman associated with child-bearing can, in fact, be turned to a blessing for a woman yielded to the will of God. Jesus said: "A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world" (John 16:21). Somehow, in spite of the suffering, the joy of motherhood has for most normal women been their greatest happiness.

In the experience of giving birth, women actually become a type of Christ. "When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed.… He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied" (Isaiah 53:10, 11). "Who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame" (Hebrews 12:2).

Each experience of birth, therefore, can be a beautiful picture and reminder of God’s promise of "deliverance" from the awful curse on man and all his dominion. The entire world, in fact, is "groaning and travailing in pain," awaiting the great delivery and birth of a new world, heir to all God’s glorious purposes and promises to the first world, in "earnest expectation … of the manifestation of the sons of God," at which great day "the creature [creation] itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of decay into the glorious liberty of the children of God" (Romans 8:19, 21, 22).

Each "birth" day is a picture and promise of such a day. For the instructed and trusting woman, the experience of childbirth, therefore, can be—and always should be—a time of blessing, of closeness to God (and to her husband). The suffering is submerged in the rejoicing, and this in itself goes far toward mitigating the physical pain. No wonder the apostle Paul says: "Notwithstanding, she shall be saved in child-bearing, if they continue in faith and love and holiness with sobriety" (1 Timothy 2:15).

Morris, H. M. (1976). The Genesis record: a scientific and devotional commentary on the book of beginnings (pp. 119–124). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.