Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The realm of the supernatural is invisible to us. If God were to open our eyes so that we could see what is going on all around us in that realm, we would be shocked by what we saw. The Book of Daniel chapter 10 records the angel Gabriel's account to Daniel in which he was delayed for twenty-one days from coming to Daniel in response to his prayer by the prince of Persia who had detained him. The prince of Persia refers not to a human ruler, for no human could detain an angel, but to a fallen angel under Satan's command who intercepted Gabriel in order to prevent him from completing his mission. The arch angel Michael came to his aid so that he could come to Daniel with his message.
God has arranged the angelic realm in differing ranks referred to as ''rule, authority, power, and dominion'' (Eph. 1:21). Gabriel and Michael have been assigned authority over angels who administer God's affairs for the nation Israel (cf. Michael in Dan. 10:21; 12:1; Jude 9). In imitation Satan has also apparently assigned high-ranking demons to positions of authority over each kingdom. The prince of the Persian kingdom was a Satanic representative assigned to Persia. [The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Old Testament, An Exposition of the Scriptures by Dallas Seminary Faculty, p. 1366].
But so far as mankind is concerned, the battlefield of the spiritual warfare in which we are involved is fought in the soul. Satan's attacks on mankind involve influencing man's thinking. Satan seeks to blind man to God's revelation of the truth by means of the lies and deceptions which he has woven into his cosmic system which deceives the world. Lewis Sperry Chafer describes Satan's plan as follows.
Next to the lie itself, the greatest delusion Satan imposes---reaching to all unsaved and to a large proportion of Christians---is the supposition that only such things as society considers evil could originate with the devil---if indeed, there be any devil to originate anything. It is not the reason of man, but the revelation of God, which points out that governments, morals, education, art, commercialism, vast enterprises and organizations, and much of religious activity are included in the cosmos diabolicus. That is, the system which Satan has constructed includes all the good which he can incorporate into it and be consistent in the thing he aims to accomplish. A serious question arises whether the presence of gross evil in the world is due to Satan's intention to have it so, or whether it indicates Satan's inability to execute all he has designed. The probability is great that Satan's ambition has led him to undertake more than any creature could ever administer. Revelation declares that the whole cosmos-system must be annihilated---not its evil alone, but all that is in it, both good and bad. God will incorporate nothing of Satan's failure into that Kingdom which He will set up in the earth. The cosmos diabolicus must be ''broken in pieces'' and become like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors which the wind carries away, and all this before the Smiting Stone ---Christ in His return to earth---will set up a kingdom which shall fill the whole earth (Dan. 2:34-35, 44-45). [Systematic Theology, Lewis Sperry Chafer, vol. 2, p. 100-101]
It is Satan's intention to prove to God that he can rule this world in an orderly manner. Since the fall of man, and until the return of Christ, Satan is the ruler of this world as stated in John 12:31; 14:30; and 6:11. He is called the prince of the power of the air in Ephesians 2:2. Satan deceives the nations as stated in Revelation 20:3,8. Satan influences rulers as in 1 Chronicles 21:1-5.
Satan is a creature and can therefore only be in one place at a time. But he has a vast number of fallen angels (demons) who follow him and carry out his plans in human history. All the world is under the deception of Satan's plan which is carried out by his demons. It is only by means of divine revelation as revealed in the Word of God that the believer in Jesus Christ can be protected from Satanic deception.
Ephesians 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11] Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12] For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.13] Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14] Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15] and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16] in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17] And take up the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Only by availing himself of God's provisions can the believer avoid being taken in by the devil's schemes. The believer is never to go on the offensive against Satan, but is to take a defensive position by standing in the truth of God's Word.
James 4:7 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
Correct Mike. Excellent presentation. Lest we forget:
1 John 5:19, We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.(ESV)
James 4:4a You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
The world is Satan's domain and we who are in and of the world are adulterers with him.
I know a former Satanist who became Christian. He sleeps with one Bible under his mattress and another under his pillow at all times. Seriously.
He told me unless our souls are firmly cemented in Biblical doctrine we are susceptible to Satan.
Correct Mike. Excellent presentation. Lest we forget:
1 John 5:19, We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.(ESV)
James 4:4a You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
The world is Satan's domain and we who are in and of the world are adulterers with him.
I know a former Satanist who became Christian. He sleeps with one Bible under his mattress and another under his pillow at all times. Seriously.
He told me unless our souls are firmly cemented in Biblical doctrine we are susceptible to Satan.
Thanks Bart. While sleeping with the Bible under the pillow is of no use except that some people find it to be a source of comfort, and I have held it close to me on more than one occasion, he is correct that Bible doctrine which has been transferred from the Bible into the soul is our defense against the wiles of the devil.
God leaves us as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ in this world after salvation in order for us to participate in the spiritual warfare which rages throughout human history. God's objective and will for the believer is to grow spiritually and be blessed in the enemy territory of the devil's world. We as believers in Christ are enrolled as soldiers who are to advance to and take the high ground of spiritual maturity. While Satan seeks to keep unbelievers from believing the gospel, his goal concerning believers is to keep us off balance and neutralized in this spiritual conflict. Jesus won the strategic victory over Satan at the Cross, and as believers we can win tactical victories by knowing and obeying the battlefield instructions which have been issued to us in the Bible which is the Word of God. The believer who does not learn the Word of God and apply it to his life is not fulfilling God's purpose for him while he remains in this world. To use a sports analogy, he is sitting on the sidelines instead of playing in the game. Satan tries to keep the believer on the sidelines.
From post #1 - 'It is Satan's intention to prove to God that he can rule this world in an orderly manner. Since the fall of man, and until the return of Christ, Satan is the ruler of this world as stated in John 12:31; 14:30; and 6:11.'
Thanks Bart. While sleeping with the Bible under the pillow is of no use except that some people find it to be a source of comfort, and I have held it close to me on more than one occasion, he is correct that Bible doctrine which has been transferred from the Bible into the soul is our defense against the wiles of the devil.
True enough. The Word of God is our sword. The Bible's a lot easier to sleep with.
Quote:
God leaves us as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ in this world after salvation in order for us to participate in the spiritual warfare which rages throughout human history. God's objective and will for the believer is to grow spiritually and be blessed in the enemy territory of the devil's world. We as believers in Christ are enrolled as soldiers who are to advance to and take the high ground of spiritual maturity. While Satan seeks to keep unbelievers from believing the gospel, his goal concerning believers is to keep us off balance and neutralized in this spiritual conflict. Jesus won the strategic victory over Satan at the Cross, and as believers we can win tactical victories by knowing and obeying the battlefield instructions which have been issued to us in the Bible which is the Word of God. The believer who does not learn the Word of God and apply it to his life is not fulfilling God's purpose for him while he remains in this world. To use a sports analogy, he is sitting on the sidelines instead of playing in the game. Satan tries to keep the believer on the sidelines.
Unfortunately, many Christians are in the 7th inning stretch or halftime spiritually.
From what I've read in the bible, I'd much rather have a beer with Lucifer than the Abrahamic god. That book is full of mass murders and other atrocities - all orchestrated by god, not Satan.
Location: In a little house on the prairie - literally
10,202 posts, read 7,922,771 times
Reputation: 4561
Quote:
Originally Posted by TroutDude
From what I've read in the bible, I'd much rather have a beer with Lucifer than the Abrahamic god. That book is full of mass murders and other atrocities - all orchestrated by god, not Satan.
Oh you already know the answer will get from those that are infatuated with faith. They will tell you that Lucifer keeps killing you in the eternity whereas God doesn't.
Can you imagine a more sinister good guy bad guy situation?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
