The fiery serpents were poisonous vipers that lived in the deserts and wilderness. Some read this and are puzzled as to why God instructed Moses to put a serpent on the pole. After all, the serpent is a universal symbol for evil and Satan (see Gen. 3:1; Isa. 27:1; Rev. 20:2); serpents had also brought death to many people they had bitten. It is important to note that Christ used this story of the brass serpent to reveal His own suffering on the cross (see John 3:14-15). Christ was perfect and sinless in His birth, life, and ministry. However, just as the scapegoat had to bear the sins of Israel on the Day of Atonement, the sins of all humanity were placed upon Christ; thus, the image of the serpent represents the ultimate sin offering being raised up. The fiery serpents brought death, just as unrepentant sin in the human soul brings death. Only the cross can reverse the bite of the serpent and restore life to all who look to the Christ of the cross. (For more about the connection between the cross and the pole, turn to the article “The Brass Serpent on the Pole” in Numbers in Depth.)
From Page 302 of the Perry Stone Hebraic Prophetic Old Testament Study Bible
