Pentecostal Snake Handler Dies after Being Bitten in Church

A Pentecostal snake handler died Sunday (July 26) after sustaining a rattlesnake bite during a church service. The Christian Post reports John David Brock, 60, attended Mossy Simpson Pentecostal Church, which interprets Mark 16:18 literally. 

The scripture says, "They will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well," (NIV).

When Brock was bitten by the snake, he declined medical treatment. He died later that day during a visit with his brother. 

Less than two years ago, Pastor Jamie Coots, a snake handler made famous by the National Geographic show “Snake Salvation,” died after receiving a snake bite in a church service at the Full Gospel Tabernacle in Jesus Name church and refusing medical treatment. 

Coots also sustained bites in the early 1990s and again in 1998. He did not seek medical treatment for either bite and survived both times. 

Publication date: July 30, 2015