U. S. agents were suspicious. Why would someone ship potato chips from Hong Kong to a Los Angeles-area address? Thinking that someone might be trying to smuggle drugs into the country, an agricultural specialist of Customs and Border Protection opened one of the three potato chip canisters — and saw something moving. They promptly contacted the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. When the potato chip cans were opened, it was revealed that the “something moving” was actually three two-foot-long king cobras!
Stuffed into the canisters along with the king cobras were three albino Chinese soft-shelled turtles. In order to catch the person responsible for this illegal shipment, they returned the turtles to the potato chip canisters and sent it on its journey through the U. S. Postal Service. The end result was that Rodrigo Franco, 34, was arrested on federal charges of illegally importing merchandise and falsifying records. He could face up to 20 years in prison for his activities.
When investigators inspected his home, he had a collection of exotic animals, including five terrapin snapping turtles and ... a baby crocodile. When questioned by investigators, he admitted that he had smuggled in 20 king cobras before, but that they had all died. Careful analysis of his phone records led them to disbelieve this, however, as he had mentioned feeding them and delivering five snakes. As to where they are now, no one knows.
Deadly Venom
Now, what to do with the king cobras? They contacted the reptile curator of the Los Angeles Zoo, Ian Recchio. But he said that they could not take them because they did not have antivenom in case of possible bites. He also made the observation “that if someone had been bitten by one of the cobras, they likely would have died, as there is not a ready source of antivenom that he knew about in Los Angeles.” The closest antivenom was at the San Diego Zoo, which would have been too far to travel to save someone’s life.
But there is a serpent who is far deadlier than the king cobra. He is the one who came to Eve in the Garden of Eden and said, “Yea, hath God said” (Genesis 3:11Now the serpent was more subtile than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? (Genesis 3:1))? Because of his lies and deceptions, Adam and Eve disobeyed God, rebelling against His command not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Thus, they became sinners and “children of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:22Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: (Ephesians 2:2)), along with everyone else born after them. Our sinful condition has alienated us from God, who is holy and righteous altogether. God sees us as being “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:11And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; (Ephesians 2:1)); therefore, God tells us what the penalty for our sins is. “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:2323For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23)). God goes on to tell us exactly how awful that death will be. “Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power” (2 Thessalonians 1:9), where “there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Luke 13:2828There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. (Luke 13:28)).
Hope
There is hope and a wonderful salvation for you, if only you will accept it. Because God “is long-suffering to usward, not willing that any should perish” (2 Peter 3:9), He sent His Son, the Lord Jesus, to bleed and die on Calvary’s cross for our sins. We can only have salvation through faith in the “finished” work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Consider these three verses for your eternal well-being: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed on the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:16-1816For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (John 3:16‑18)).
Shipping live king cobras in a flimsy potato chip can was a terribly dangerous and irresponsible thing to do, besides being illegal. King cobras are an amazing snake in their natural God-given habitat. They are the longest of the venomous snakes, growing up to 10-13 feet or longer. When threatened, they can raise their heads as high as six feet off the ground, and they will spread their fearsome hoods to make themselves look bigger. Not only do they intimidate by their size, but they can produce a ferocious growl! One scientist compared their growl to that of “an angry German shepherd.”
It is their venom that is feared the most. Though the venom itself is not as deadly as other venomous snakes, the amount that they can inject with a single bite certainly is. It can kill a human within 30 minutes (a strong bite can kill in just 10 minutes), and it is capable of killing a 12,000-pound elephant within three hours! They have the strongest bite of any venomous snake, and when they do, they hang on, not letting go until they decide to. Their fangs, with which they inject their venom, are perfectly hollow and strong, allowing for a high rate of flow. Their venom attacks the nervous system, causing crucial muscles to fail, such as the diaphragm and heart. Though they are not normally aggressive towards humans, they need to be regarded with the respect that they deserve. It would be foolish to become complacent or careless around them, even if you have one legally as a pet.
The Clever Serpent
Just as “that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan” (Revelation 12:99And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. (Revelation 12:9)), deceived Eve, so he is deceiving millions today. He deceives people into thinking that they can work their way into heaven and that it will all work out in the end. He will tell you that if you receive the Lord as your Savior, you won’t have any fun, you will become weird — and what will your friends and those that you love think? He will tell you that the cost is too great and that you’ll miss out on what the world has to offer you. He tells people that they are “good enough” and that there is “plenty of time” to think of these things later in life, but “not now!” Friend, the cost is too great if you don’t receive God’s free gift of salvation! Don’t listen to these deadly lies of Satan — “everlasting destruction” is God’s righteous judgment on those who do. Instead, accept God’s loving gift of salvation now, while you have the opportunity. “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).