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People always equate the devil or satan with some mystical being, when in fact it is the absence of God, or without Light. In darkness. Look at the Garden. God wasn't there when they were tempted. When He showed back up, they had sinned. All throughout the bible we see this. Jesus even called Peter satan. All this means is adversary, which in other words, is against the will of God. This is the inflicted will of man, so then God has to use this free will of man to make His will come out in the end. He has been working His will perfectly, putting the puzzle together, even though we as mankind seem to keep messing up. Quite the job for sure, but God can do anything, including let us have our free will to "fall".
Even in the book of Revelation we see who goes into the Lake of fire. I have a couple of thoughts on this, which make perfect biblical sense to me, as I have looked up the other parts of the bible where they are found. Scripture surely must interpret Scripture.
Devil=adversaries. I would think these people "think" they are doing God's will, when in fact they are working against His perfect will. False Christians, or False Jews. The ones who knock, and Jesus says "depart from me".
Beasts= These are people who have no knowledge about God, natural living as animals in the earthly kingdom. We see them as barbaric in nature, having no moral conscience. They do things we would find horrific, like cannibalism, sexual monstrosities, etc.
False prophets= The are people who believe in a god or gods, but not God the Father, and Jesus Christ His son.
devil, or in the Greek "diabolos" is an adjective, not a noun. Definitions?
1) prone to slander, slanderous, accusing falsely a) a calumniator, false accuser, slanderer, 2) metaph. applied to a man who, by opposing the cause of God, may be said to act the part of the devil or to side with him
Even Satan in the NT means adversary.
Thoughts? Let us take in a in depth study. No need for slander posts, please post scripture to back up the claim that he exists as we were raised.
The devil is nothing more but man’s own reflection in the mirror.
The devil definitely is a fable. The worst enemy of man is man himself.
Unfortunately evil, unlike the devil, is not a fable and man doesn't need a devil to create hell on earth. History is evidence that man just uses the devil as a crutch to blame is own ignorance.
Unfortunately all this does is create a false sense of security but man is often too ignorant to realise this.
Whaaaaaat!??? So I guess Jesus was suffering dillusions being so hungry and thirsty in the wilderness when he was talking to Satan. It was really himself?
How about God's dillusion when he asked Satan, where he's been? in the book of Job
Satan who was once an angel of the Lord, highest in the order of cherubims with Michael and Gabriel who fell later and took supposed 1/3 of angels with him?, his name to live in infamy as Lucifer meaning the accuser.
Whaaaaaat!??? So I guess Jesus was suffering dillusions being so hungry and thirsty in the wilderness when he was talking to Satan. It was really himself?
Yes.
Never heard of confronting yourself?
The simplest way to do is to isolate yourself completely, but the knowledge gained through a self confrontation is anything but an illusion.
Self confrontations often lead to self-knowledge; he who can rule his emotions is king. This is why Jesus was able to order Satan to get behind him and why Satan had no hold over Jesus.
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The Bible does not support your theory.
The Bible is not the only 1 who supports this theory.
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I am, indeed, a king, because I know how to rule myself.
Pietro Aretino
(1492-1556) Italian writer, poet and dramatist - part of the court of Pope Leo X; a political commentator; banned twice from Rome because of his poetry; friend of Italian painter Titian.
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He who knows others is wise; He who knows himself is enlightened.
Lao-tzu, The Way of Lao-tzu
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I decided that it was not wisdom that enabled [poets] to write their poetry, but a kind of instinct or inspiration, such as you find in seers and prophets who deliver all their sublime messages without knowing in the least what they mean.
Socrates, In "Apology," sct. 21, by Plato.
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We don't receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us or spare us.
Marcel Proust (1871 - 1922)
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Good people are good because they've come to wisdom through failure.
William Saroyan (1908 - 1981)
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Learning without thought is labour lost; thought without learning is perilous.
Confucius (551 BC - 479 BC), The Confucian Analects
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"Know thyself," said the old philosopher, "improve thyself," saith the new. Our great object in time is not to waste our passions and gifts on the things external that we must leave behind, but that we cultivate within us all that we can carry into the eternal progress beyond.
Edward Bulwer-Lytton
English dramatist, novelist, & politician (1803 - 1873)
Yes.
Never heard of confronting yourself?
The simplest way to do is to isolate yourself completely, but the knowledge gained through a self confrontation is anything but an illusion.
Self confrontations often lead to self-knowledge; he who can rule his emotions is king. This is why Jesus was able to order Satan to get behind him and why Satan had no hold over Jesus
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Yes but I have not had a conversation with myself either
When you hear the name "Satan", what is your reaction?
Do you feel fear? Do you scoff in disbelief?
Do you feel honor, maybe even veneration?
Or do you shrug it away, feeling that it's harmless to you?
Does it matter what a person believes about Satan?
Yes! What a person believes about Satan is gravely important to a person's understanding of the Bible. Without a clear view of the matter, the truth of God's word will be unquestionably veiled.
Before our exmination of this topic though we must remember that the Bible is God's word & everything contained therein is there by God's will. This being so, it is unfailingly truth. God cannot lie. (Eph 6:17/ Heb 6:18/ 2Tim 3:16-17/ 1Thess 2:13)
Are There Really Evil Spirits?
Whether or not the "Devil" exists should be our first concern. Some believe that this spirit does not exist today, even that he has never existed. There are many religions, most of them "new age" sects, that teach their members that Satan & his demons are merely manifestations of inherent sin, the evil within us. The media has done much to turn people laughing from the concept of Satan's reality as well. But what does the Bible say?
The book of Job chapter 1, verse 6, opens with a scene that takes place in heaven. All of the sons of God have gathered together before the Almighty & "Satan proceeded to enter right in among them," God & the devil begin to speak with one another, God asking Satan questions & Satan answering back. Consider now that they were debating an issue. Satan was taunting Jehovah by accusing that no one, not even a person as good as Job, would remain faithful to Him under severe test. Satan accused that God was protecting Job from misfortune & that if that protective sheild were lifted, Job would curse Him. and so God allowed Satan to test Job's integrity & Satan proceded to bring upon Job things that could not possibly account to sin. ( Job 2:9/ Jas 5:11, 1:1-3/ Rev 2:10)
Here we must reason on a few points. 1, heaven, as we have previously learned, is a place where spiritual beings live, thus, the "sons of God" were angels. If Satan entered in among them there in heaven, then he too must be a spirit being, an angel. 2, from the fact that God & the devil conversed we can see that the devil's reality is apparent. The word "Satan" used here could not mean a metaphor for sinful inclinations for this would imply that Jehovah God is Himself at battle with inner evil!!! Yet we know this is not the case, for "with evil things God cannot be tried." ( Jas 4:13/ Deut 32:4/ Rom 1:23/ Job 37:16)
Now lets go to Jude 9, here we are shown that Michael, the Archangel, had a difference with the devil. They were disputing an issue. Was Michael wondering what to do with the body of Moses because sin was getting the better of him? Or was it just as God's word tells us, that Satan was up to his ususal opposition to God's will & as the adversary he is, was arguing against it. Turn to Matt 4:1-11, a familiar passage. Jesus is here seen being tempted by the devil. Again, there is converstation between the two. Jesus tells Satan not only to go away but also to worship God. Speaking of the same event Luke 4:13 says that the devil left Jesus "until another convenient time." Does the propensity to sin come & go at it's own convenience? Hardly. The desire to do sinful things most often comes at the most inconvenient of times. Sin is not a thing with a living will of it's own. We cannot read these verses with the thought that the word "Satan" is metaphoric for inborn sin, for this would accuse Jesus of being sinful! Jesus was born of God, without sin, perfect. ( Heb 7:26/ 1Pet 2:22/ Lu 1:30-35) It was because Jesus died sinless that the ransom was accomplished. In the wilderness, Jesus was not struggling against a sinful nature, he was withstanding the temptations of a very powerful spirit creature, building endurance, keeping integrity. ( Jas 4:7/ 1Jh 5:19/ 1Pet 5:8) This is the very same test the devil confronts us with.
Eph 6:12 tells us very clearly that our real foes are not our fellow humans or even our tendency to sin, but are "the world rulers of this darkness, the wicked spirit forces in the heavenly places." The spirit forces mentioned here could not mean merely a spirit (disposition) of wickedness within mankind, because "heavenly places" are not for corruptable flesh & blood. ( 1Cor 15:50)
Now, consider 2Tim 2:26 where it speaks of being in the "snare of the devil" & being "caught alive by the will of that one." Being in the snare of the devil could easily be mistranslated into meaning that the snare is the inherent tendency toward sinfulness, but still this would not explain how an inert "characteristic" could have a conscience "will" toward other persons.
Now turn to James 2:19, which reads "You believe there is one God, do you? You are doing quite well, but yet the demons believe & shudder." This corresponds well with other texts such as Lu 8:28-31, Mark 1:23-27, 3:11 & so fourth. The demons knew Jesus, so these could not be some abstract thing like a "temperament" toward sinning. This particular text also clearly shows the existence of wicked spirits with a comparison between human reality & demon reality.(How many demons are there? The Bible says that one-third of the angels of heaven have fallen. ( Rev 12:4)
The next charge of those who do not believe in the existence of Satan & his demons is that they were done away with years ago, imprisoned in Tartarus ( 2Pet 2:4/ Ju 6) & are therefore unable to cause us any harm. This allegation is dangerously misleading & needs enlightenment.
First there is the idea that Tartarus is a literal prison, but it is not. Notice that Peter speaks of these spirits as being "in the pits of dense darkness," while Paul says that they are in "the heavenly places." A contradiction? No. The dense darkness is metephoric, it is the result of their being cut off from God's favor as outcasts of His spiritual family. Their future outlook is dark. Therefore, Tartarus is an abased condition, not a place. This can also be seen in the account of the demon possessed man of Gerasenes. ( Lu 8:26-34) If all wicked spirits were imprisoned, then what were they doing possessing people 2000 years after their supposed confinement? Jesus & his apostles in fact expelled many demons during this time. And the demons continue to harrass & even possess people to our present day. These wicked spirits were then & apparently still are, free to roam the earth with enough power to cause a great evil influence over mankind. They were not at that time, nor are they yet, locked into confinement. Recall the spirits of the possessed man begged Jesus not to order them into the "abyss." ( Lu 8:31) This shows that not only is Tartarus not a literal prison, but that it is not the same thing as the abyss. The abyss is the prison-like place of restraint that they fear, & obviously they were not there yet but were aware that they would be at some future time. ( 1Pet 3:19-20/ Rev 12:12)
If Satan never existed, could any of these things ever have happened? Yet these are but a very few of the many many texts of the Bible that clearly shows God's view on the matter, that Satan is a very real & powerful spirit being, an angel, & that he is, as Jehovah calls him, a slanderer, an opposer & a liar. this is proof inarguable & cannot be challanged by the claim that the Bible has been misinterpreted.
How An Angel Became Satan The Devil
The next question that may come to mind is, why did God create a being as evil as Satan? It would be an injustice to both the good & evil parties for God to create evil beings, would it not? Not only would the good suffer at the hands of the wicked without cause, but the wicked would be doomed without hope of personal change or repentance & doomed to eventual destruction. Can you imagine that God would bring about such an unjust situation? In speaking of God Deut 32:4 says;
"Perfect is His activity for all of His ways are justice. A God of faithfulness with whom there is no injustice. Righteous & upright is He."
1Jh 4:8 "God is love."
Ps 86:5 "You O Jehovah are good & ready to forgive."
Jas 5:11 "God is very tender in affection."
Does this sound like a God who would intentionally create beings to be wicked? Well then, why is Satan wicked? The spirit we now know as Satan was not always known as such. This descriptive name (meaning adversary) was given to him after he proved himself to be Jehovah's enemy & slandered God's name in the garden of Eden. (the word Devil means slanderer) This spirit was drawn out & enticed by his own desire. (Jas 1:14) He allowed his feelings of self-importance & avarice to grow into outright defiance of God. Satan sat himself in the seat of God when he caused the first human pair to turn away from Jehovah. ( Matt 4:8-9/ Jh 14:30) To better understand Satan's fall to sin, Ezek 28:2, 11-15 draws an interesting parallel. Speaking of an anonymous king of Tyre, the Bible says of him; "I am a god, in the seat of God I have seated myself...In Eden, the garden of God you proved to be...of gold was the workmanship of your settings...In the day of your being created they were made ready. You are the anointed cherub...on the holy mountain of God you proved to be. You were faultless in your ways from the day of your being created until unrighteousness was found in you."
After Satan first sat himself in the seat of God in the garden of Eden, God prophesied that Satan would produce a seed. Jehovah foresaw that other angels would turn against Him & choose to follow Satan. ( Gen 3:14-15) But the seed of the serpent would not consist of spirits only, humans would also be among them. ( Matt 12:24, 13:38-39/ 1Jh 3:10/ Jh 8:44) Most often, mankind is not even aware that they are following Satan's lead, becoming part of his seed. ( 1Cor 10:20-21/ Rev 12:9/1Jh 5:19)
Satan's Great Influence Over The World
No, Satan's ways of influencing mankind are not always easy for us to see. He does not entice the majority with dark & obviously evil channels for he knows that most humans are in search of a better, happier way of life. Satan's ways are hence sneaky & often improbable. Look at some of the words the Bible uses to describe him & you'll get a clearer picture of who the Devil is & why we are being warned to be aware of his ways. 2Cor 11:3 says he can "seduce" by his "cunning." Seduction is the ability to lure one without force. To be cunning is being able to work out a plan in a secretive or tricky way. 2Thess 2:9-10 uses words like; powerful works, lying signs, portents (omens) & deception. His ways are powerful, sophisticated, but are fraudulent. Rev 12:9 says he is "misleading". He guides persons in a wrong direction. Could a person be misled if he knew he was being misled? No. This is why God speaks of Satan so often & in such a vivid way, so "that we may not be overreached by Satan", so "we are not ignorant of his designs." Satan has misled the entire world to believe that bad things are acceptable, that offensive things are "cool", that wrong is right, that lies are truth. Anyone unaware of his ways could easily fall into his snare & not even realize it.
Why would Satan want to mislead every person on earth? Satan, which means adversary, has one sole ambition. He wants to deny God of the honor & worship that He deserves. He cares not if the person he leads away knows that it is he who they follow when their actions dishonor God. He doesn't care if people worship him outright through Satanism or if they hate him or even deny him, as long as he has led you away from God & His truth, he is satisfied. When he misled Eve & Adam away from God, he did not demand their worship, for he had already accomplished his wicked scheme. When he brought calamity upon Job, did he ask Job to honor him? No. He merely wanted Job to renounce God. In the wilderness, Satan tried to get Jesus to give up his integrity & his trust in his Father by nudging him to break his fast, to make a test of God & finally, he offered Jesus easy access to kingship if only he would forsake God & do one act of worship to him. Satan put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot to betray Jesus. To this day, this is all Satan wants of us. In this way he receives glory. Arrogantly Satan taunts Jehovah, claiming he can turn away all of His followers. But God asks of us "Be wise my son, & make my heart rejoice, that I may make a reply to him that is taunting me."
To be wise one must be aware. What are some of the ways Satan may try to mislead you?
Ways In Which Satan Misleads The Entire Earth
The entire earth. That's a big job. Satan must employ a lot of different means to accomplish this. That he does. Here we will take a look at just a few of the more predominate ones.
Nationalism
The city of Babel was one of the first cities to be built after the great flood. Nimrod, the founder & first king of the city, was a "mighty hunter in opposition to Jehovah." ( Gen 10:9) Nimrod united the city together to construct a tower that would reach to the heavens. This tower was not for praise to God, but dedicated to their man-made religions with the motive of "making a celebrated name for themselves." Seeing what they were doing, God confused their language so they could not understand one another & gradually the peoples spread out over the earth with others of their linguistic groups, developing their own cultures, art, customs, traits & religions. ( Gen 11:1-9/ Deut 12:30/ 2Ki 17:29-33) Nationalism became very strong in some groups & gave ambitious men the momentum to build world empires at the expense of weaker nations. Likewise, today, the nations of the world fight amongst themselves & other nations for even more authority.
Nationalism is the spark that ignites the fires of racism, greed, false pride, hunger for power & finally war. It is no wonder then that Satan uses nationalism to distance man from God. Through it, one feels justified in feeling pride simply for being born in a certain country, admirement of their military forces & veneration of their political leaders, contempt for foreign countries & hatred for those of other creeds & colors, all without guilt. Wars are waged & millions of persons, many of them innocent victims, are murdered, & no one carries the responsibility for their actions. Instead they wave a flag & tout their country's power & greatness.
The word of God tells us that "the whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one." That Satan is "the ruler of the world" & that he exercises great authority over us. ( 1Jh 5:19/ Jh 14:30/ Acts 26:17-18) So isn't it likely that he have his hand in our most powerful institutions, our world governments? Of this the word of God makes certain. At Lu 4:2-7 we see the devil showing Jesus all the kingdoms of the world & offering them to Jesus. Satan says of them, "I will give you all this authority & the glory of them because it has been delivered to ME & to whomever I wish, I give it." Jesus did not deny that the world powers belonged to Satan, in fact, it was he that called Satan the "ruler of the world."
In the Bible, world powers are represented by beasts. ( Dan 7:17, 8:20-21) And in the book of Revelation we see a huge wild beast ascending out of the sea. Upon it's 7 heads are crowns, which shows this beast represents a world power too. This beast represents the world powers of our day. Please turn your Bible to Rev 13:1-8, & examine this great prophesy & what it means in your life.
The first thing we should notice is in verse 2 which reads, "And the dragon ( Rev 12:9) gave to the beast it's power & throne & great authority." This harmonizes with everything the Bible says of Satan, that he is indeed the ruler of the world.
It goes on to say, "And they worshipped the dragon because it gave authority to the wild beast, & they worshipped the wild beast with words like: 'Who is like the wild beast & who can do battle with it?'" Does this sound like modern day patriotism to you?
Verses 5 & 6, "And a mouth speaking great things, also blasphemies was given it..And it opened it's mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name & residence & even those residing in heaven." If God were to say to our world leaders today, "Step down & relinquish all of your power to me.", who among them could you honestly say would not protest?
Verse 7, "And there was granted it to wage war with the holy ones to conquer them, & authority was given it over every tribe & people & tongue & nation." The dragon granted the beast it's authority, just as the dragon said to Jesus, "all this authority...to whomever I wish I give it." And he gives it for what reason? "Woe for the earth & for the sea because the devil has come down to you, having great anger, knowing he has a short time left." ( Rev 12:12/ 2Cor 4:4)
Verse 8, "And all those who dwell on the earth will worship it, the name of not one of them stands written in the scroll of life." not one!
Rev 16:10-14 shows that the fifth bowl of God's anger (judgement) is poured out upon the throne of the wild beast, but the rulers of these kingdoms do not repent of their ways, instead they blaspheme God. Then 3 unclean inspired expressions come from the dragon, the wild beast & the false prophet. These are meant to gather the world powers together to rebel against their exposing & their fall. Of course the dragon is behind it all. Who indeed do you hail when you salute the flag of your wild beast? Remember Rev 13:4, "they worshipped the dragon because it gave authority to the wild beast."
What stance should Christians take when it comes to nationalism? We must look to one source alone for the answer, the Christ. Jesus declined acceptance of the earthly kingdoms that Satan offered him, did he not? When Jesus performed the miracle of feeding 5,000 persons with only 5 loaves of bread & 2 small fish, the people were so astounded that they came to seize him to make him king. What did he do? He withdrew. ( Jh 6:1-15) Why did Jesus do this? Was he not born to be king? Yes, but Jesus' kingdom would not be on earth as people believed it should be, instead, it would be a heavenly kingdom. A government that would rule all of earth from heaven This is why Jesus said "I am no part of the world." He taught his followers to pray for that kingdom to come & for it to accomplish God's will, not only in heaven, but upon earth as well. ( Jh 17:16/ Matt 6:9-10)
Yes, Jesus came "leaving you a model for you to follow closely." He said his followers would be no part of the world just as he was no part of the world. It was God's kingdom that he would become king of & it was God's kingdom that he taught us to become subjects to. From heaven this kingdom will very soon rid the earth of Satan's many world powers & it alone will rule the earth. This kingdom will erase the effects of man-made governments, there will be no borders to separate race, no greed to keep the poverty stricken in their places, no power to fight over, no hatred & no strife. ( Dan 7:13-14/ James 4:4/ 1Jh 2:15)
Speaking of the first century Christians the book "On The Road To Civilization", by A. Heckel & J. Sigman, says, "Early Christianity was little understood & was regarded with little favor by those who ruled the pagan world...Christians refused to share certain duties with Roman citizens...They would not hold political office."
In the book "World History, The Story Of Man's Achievements" by Habberton, Roth & Spears, it says, "Christians did not hold political office or serve in the armed forces." The History Of Civilization" by C. Brinton, J. Christopher & R. Wolff says, "To hold a collection of peoples together in a common allegiance, to give them something like a national flag as a symbol of unity, the emperor was deified...Simple rites of sacrifice to him were added to religions & local rites...The Christians however were rigorous monotheists, as were the Jews. They could not sacrifice to the emperor any more than the Jews could sacrifice to Baal. ( Matt 22:21) Sacrifice was a thing of God's. The true Christian then could not bring himself to make, to what an outsider was merely a decent gesture, like raising ones hat when a flag goes by in a parade." "Rome had become gradually full of people espousing foreign cults, who on demand would swear allegiance to the divine spirit of the emperor. The Christians however, strong in their faith, would take no such oath of loyalty. And because they did not swear allegiance to what would today be considered as analogous to the flag, they were considered politically dangerous." "The Book Of Cultures" by E. Peyser. ( Acts 4:18-20, 5:27-29/ Dan 3:1-18, 3:19-28) "They (Christians) refused to take any active part in the civil administration or the military defense of the empire...it was impossible that the Christians, without renouncing a more sacred duty, could assume the character of magistrate or of princes." "History Of Christianity" by E. Giggon. "No Christian became a soldier & no soldier after becoming Christian, remained in the military service." The Rise Of Christianity by E. Branes.
No, early Christians did not mix service to God's kingdom with service to man's kingdoms. They followed the pattern of Jesus Christ who served God alone.
Entertainment & Commercialism
Much has been said in recent days about the effects of exposure to licentious & violent entertainment through music & film. But with the claim that these forms of entertainment desensitizing & demoralizing persons, comes the claim that this is only a reflection of our society, or an imaginary story, therefore harmless. Is this violent & immoral society we live in harmless? Hardly. Then is it realistic to think that viewing it's "reflection" or listening to it's "echo" is harmless & not influential? These disparaging terms, reflection & echo, are words to mislead people into believing that these things really are harmless. But the Bible says something quite the contrary.
1Cor 15:33 "Do not be misled. Bad associations spoil useful habits."
1Jh 2:15-17 "Do not be loving the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of God is not in him; because everything in the world, the desire of the flesh & the desire of the eyes & the showy display of ones means of life, does not originate with the Father, but originates with the world. Furthermore, the world is passing away & so is it's desire, but the one who does the will of God remains forever."
While it is true that most persons, after watching a violent movie, will not go out & commit a violent act, the message still goes to the head, "This is acceptable entertainment." But as a Christian who would want to follow closely in the footsteps of Christ, one would have to ask themselves, "Would this be acceptable to Jesus?" Or as is the popular saying today, "What Would Jesus Do?" Have you truly given thought to this question? Would you invite Jesus to watch an immoral, violent or demonic movie with you? Would you invite him to listen to the same in music or view the same in art? Do you think Jesus would praise your course or counsel you to leave these things behind? Would he agree that these things are harmless to a Christian's heart?
Eph 4:17-20 "This I say & bear witness to in the Lord, that you no longer go on walking as the nations walk, in the unprofitableness of their minds, while they are in darkness mentally, & alienated from the life that belongs to God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the insensibility of their hearts. Having come to be past all moral sense, they gave themselves over to loose conduct to work uncleaness of every sort with greediness. But you did not learn the Christ to be so." ( Eph 5:11-12, 2:2/ Ps 119:115/ 1Pet 4:4-5/ Mark 4:19)
And what of our children? What forms of entertainment do they choose? Does their behaviour "reflect" the things their entertainment projects? And what message are you sending to your child by tolerating, allowing or even encouraging this entertainment? You as a parent are responsible for the course of your children & are answerable to God for this. ( Deut 6:6-7/ Eph 6:4/ Hab 12:11/ Prov 22:6/ 2Tim 2:22)
Commercialism & drug (any substance used to alter normal thinking, feeling & behaviour) use tie in closely with the world of entertainment, for quite often they all work for the benefit of the other. Dishonesty & greed are promoted on such a wide scale that more common persons are driven to attain wealth, notoriety, power & pleasure than any in generations past. Are any of these things befitting a Christian?
1Jh 3:10 "The children of God & the children of the devil are evident by this fact; everyone who does not carry on righteousness does not originate with God." ( Acts 5:3/ 1Thess 4:7-8/ Lu 10:16/ Gal 5:19-21) A Christian should be ever aware of the world of entertainment & it's partner, commercialism, so that they never be led astray.
Non-Religion
Atheism, Agnosticism, Deistism, all forms of denying God as creator. Is it any wonder that Satan be behind this? Man's wisdom has flown through many philosophies, reasonings & sciences, all with one thing in mind, disproving or belittling the existence or love of God. But in their forsaking of God, what have they gained for the people of the earth? Only more confusion, misdirection & strife. God's word says of them, "Look! They have rejected the very word of God! What wisdom do they have?" (Jer 8:9) But is this wisdom purely human wisdom, or is it's inspiration from somewhere else?
James 3:15 "This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, animal, demonistic wisdom."
Those who do not believe in either the existence of God or that He cares for mankind, are wandering lost. They have no one to answer to, no one to look to for guidance, no one to turn to in times of hardship, no one to hope in. Often they will take further steps to help them preserve their own souls by venerating self or other men, or by turning to mystic religions. They distance themselves further from God. But the wisdom of men is foolishness to God & it's errors will soon be done away with so that all will come to realize that there is an All Mighty God. ( 1Cor 3:18-21, 1:19-20/ Ezek 38:23)
Definition of terms; Atheist, one who denies the existence of God. Agnostic, one who believes God's existence is unprovable. Deist, one who believes there is a God but that He cares nothing for mankind.
RELIGION There is no other way in which Satan misleads that is more powerful than through religion, for no other matter is embraced as passionately. Matters of spiritual faith are extremely personal & highly emotional. Beliefs in the doctrines of any given religion are often profoundly sentimental & are shaken only by equally profound realizations of equivocation. Religious beliefs vary with tremendous assortment! With all the larger & more popular Christian & non-Christian faiths taken aside, there still remains literally thousands of lesser faiths. Included among these are the factions of spiritism, i.e. Voodoo, Witchcraft, Astrology & Divinational (magical) arts. First, lets take a look at these.
Persons who practice spiritual magic, foresee future events, use telepathy, receive messages from spirit beings, conjure spirits, claim to speak with the dead or have powers of healing are all making a practice of divination, whether they are aware of it or not. For example, those who conjure (call upon) spirits, whether for the purposes of casting spells, contacting the dead, foreseeing the future, etc., give others the impression that they are special for having received these abilities when quite the opposite is true. God's opinion is strongly opposed. ( Deut 18:10-12/ 1sam 28:7, 15:23/ 1Chron 10:13/ Isa 8:19/ Acts 16:16-18/ Lev 20:27/ Mal 3:5)
"Rebelliousness is the same as the sin of divination,"
Also, they lead persons to believe that these spirits are benevolent & that the soul of humans survives death. This too contradicts God's word. ( 1Pet 5:8/ Rev 12:12/ Ezek 18:4/ Isa 26:14/ Eccl 9:5-10) Jehovah God warns us against all practices of spiritism because he knows the origin of these mysterious powers, they come fro Satan & his demon followers. Any practice of spiritism is strictly forbidden to any who would be a true Christian.
Acts 19:18-19 "Many of those who had become believers would come & confess & report their practices openly. Indeed quite a number of those who practiced magical arts bought their books together & burned them up before everybody. And the calculated the prices of them & found them to be worth 50,000 pieces of silver."
Men from every walk of life & through all ages of time share on common trait. The need to look to a higher, spiritual force to help us & guide us, a deity to worship. The new Encyclopedia Britannica says "As far as scholars have discovered, there has never existed any people anywhere & at any time, who have not, in some sense, been religious." A truly staggering fact. This tells us one undeniable thing, God exists. We all as humans share the need for guidance by & devotion to, or Creator, for this is the way in which our Creator made us. As Jeremiah eloquently put it, "To earthling man, his way does not belong. It does not belong to a man who is walking even to direct his own step. Correct me oh Jehovah." ( Jer 10:23-24/ Pr 16:9/ Deut 8:3/ Acts 17:26-27)
But then, there are many who argue that it was man who invented religion. And in a sense, they are correct. After Jehovah confused the languages of the people of Babel, alienating them from Him, they dispersed over the earth & formed their own cultures & customs. But they retained their natural need for divine guidance & worship, so, as a result, they invented many gods & goddesses. No doubt many of their false religious practices were brought with them from babel. And the demons were all too happy to oblige their false practices by impersonating their gods & performing many powerful works. Like many today, these people were unaware that these spirits were not gods, or even good angels, but were demons.
1Cor 10:20 "The things which the nations sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, not to God."
In a similar way the religions of Christendom contend with the same problem. Jesus said there would be many that would prophesy, expel demons and perform many powerful works on the basis of his name, but yet he would reject them. Jesus tells us why when he says "Get away from me, I never knew you, you workers of lawlessness. (Matt 7:22-23) He calls them "workers of lawlessness." They practice things that are contrary to God's law, thereby making themselves lawless. They reject the truth in exchange for falsehoods that sound better to them, that give them a feeling of control or power or comfort or that are easier.
Titus 1:16 "They publicly declare they know God, but they disown them with their works."
2Tim 4:3-4 "...in accord with their own desires they will accumulate teachers for themselves to have their ears tickled, and they will turn their ears away from truth, turned side to false stories."
So then, if Jesus "never knew" those who performed all these powerful works, who then would it seem was granting them this power?
1Tim 4:3-4 "...some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to misleading inspired utterances and teachings of demons."
There are many religions without a basis in the teachings of Christ that certainly make up a great deal of these "false stories," yet one even more calculating, even more precarious to a person seeking God exists, "counterfeit" Christianity. Remember how the devil works, cunningly, slyly, with subtle and shrewd maneuvers. To mislead millions he would have to use methods not as obvious as only godlessness. To camouflage Christ's teachings from clear view he would have to come right into the Christian faith and pervert it.
2 Pet 2:1-3 "There will also be false teachers among you. These ones will quietly bring in destructive sects... with covetousness they will exploit you with counterfeit words."
Acts 20:30 "From among you yourselves men will rise up and speak twisted things to draw away the disciples after themselves." And who would be responsible for spreading this distortion of truth? "The man of lawlessness" who has fallen away by "paying attention to misleading inspired utterances and teachings of demons." (2 Thess 2:3) Yes, Christian truth became mixed with "Christian" falsehood.
Matt 13:24-30 "Another illustration he (Jesus) set before them, saying, 'The kingdom of the heavens has become like a man that sowed fine seed in his field. While men were sleeping, his enemy came and oversowed weeds in among the wheat, and left. When the blade sprouted and produced fruit, then the weeds appeared also. So the slaves of the householder came up and said to him, 'Master, did you not sow fine seed in your field? How then does it come to have weeds?' He said to them, 'An enemy, a man did this.' They said to him, 'Do you want us to go out and collect them?' - 'No, that by no chance, while collecting weeds you uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the harvest season I will tell the reapers; 'Fist collect the weeds and bid them in bundles to burn them up, then go gathering the wheat into my storehouse."
Matt 13:36-42 "After dismissing the crowds he (Jesus) went into the house. And his disciples came to him and said, Explain to us the illustration of the weeds in the field.' So in response Jesus said, 'The sower of the fine seed is the Son of man, the field is the world and the fine seed are the sons of the kingdom. But the weeds are the sons of the wicked one and the enemy that sowed them is the Devil. The harvest is a conclusion of a system of things and the reapers are angel. Therefore, just as the weeds are collected and burned with fire, so it will be in the conclusion of the system of things. The Son of man will send forth his angels and they will collect out from his kingdom all things that cause stumbling and persons who are doing lawlessness and they will pitch them into the fiery furnace."
These texts are outstanding in explaining the nature of the apostasy. Together the wheat of true Christianity and the weeds of apostate Christianity would exist, until God's appointed time when the falsehoods & those spreading them would be removed and the wheat gathered and the weeds burned up completely. (Rev 17:16) And clearly Jesus shows us who is responsible for sowing the weeds of imitation Christianity in among the wheat, the one who has cunningly corrupted God's precious truth rom millions, Satan the Devil.
(It is interesting to note that bearded darnel weeds appear very much to be wheat, and their roots intertwine with the roots of the plant it grows beside. Interesting too is that weeds grow so quickly and densely that, left undisturbed, can crowd out other plants. This we see has happened for the faster growing weeds, similar looking to wheat (counterfeit Christianity), have overgrown the number of persons knowing the wheat of truth. So much weed that it has crowded out the wheat from the clear view of those searching for it. (2Cor 4:3-4) Christendom's factions are many and by their numbers alone have overshadowed truthful teachings.)
Christendom became "officially tainted when it became part of the world. Remember, Jesus said his followers would be "no part of the world," (Jh 5:16) and that "friendship with the world is enmity with God." (James 4:4) The Bible calls these Christian imposters who mingle in worldly affairs "adulteresses," a "harlot." (Rev 17:1-5) This is because the whole world and all of its ways are lying in the power of the wicked one. (Jh 5:19/ 1Jh 2:15-17) God's kingdom is heavenly, free from corruption, no part of this world. And if God's kingdom is the hope we must look to then a true Christian would want to avoid association with the things of Satan's world.
Lets look at how Christendom began, how it became part of the world. E.W. Barnes, an Anglican bishop wrote, "as classical civilization collapsed, Christianity ceased to be the noble faith of Jesus Christ and became a religion useful as the social cement of a world in dissolution." (The Rise of Christianity) This happened in the fourth century C.E. For many years there was profuse opposition over the developing idea that Jesus was God, and Constantine, a Roman emperor, wanted this dispute to stop as it threatened catastrophe upon his dominion. Constantine called all the bishops to Nicaea in 323 C.E., but only about 300 bishops, a mere fraction of the total called, attended. The emperor claimed to be a Christian but this was due only to his surety that God had given him victory in a battle, it was purely a military decision.
A Short History of Christian Doctrine says, "Constantine had basically no understanding whatsoever of the questions that were being asked in Greek theology." Yet at the Nicaen council "Constantine himself presided, actively guiding the discussions and personally proposed the crucial formula expressing the relation of Christ to God in the creed issued by the counsel. Overawed by the emperor,the bishops, with two exceptions only, signed the creed, many of them against their inclination." (The Encyclopedia Britannica) So, the trinity dogma became an official tenet, not because of integrity, or any Biblical conviction, but because a Roman emperor knew that religious division was threatening to play havoc with his empire.
At the end of the fourth century, Theodosius the Great declared the creed of Nicaea as the exemplar for his domain and assembled the Counsel of Constantinople in 381 C.E. for the purpose of refining and clarifying the doctrine of the trinity, for it was not a widely accepted creed. Yet even after the Counsel of Constantinople it was not accepted and those who opposed it were met by violent, murderous persecution. Theodosius made the newly trinitarian Christianity the official religion of the Empire. Bible scholar and historian F.J. Foakes Jackson wrote "Under Constantine, Christianity and the Roman empire were allied. Under Theodosius, they were united. From henseforward the title "Catholic" was to be reserved for those who adored the Father, Son & Holy Ghost with equal reverence. The entire religious policy of this emperor was directed to this end and resulted in the Catholic faith becoming the one 'legal' religion of the Romans." One can clearly see Satan puppeting these events. (Lu 4:2-7 / 1 Tim 4:1)
The Catholic church grew further and further away from the Christianity that Christ established and drew closer and closer to the world. The church clothed itself in great wealth and power, its rites and ceremonies became more pagan, more elevated, its members were divided into classes of hierarchy and the commoners were forbidden to own any part of the Bible. Anyone possessing a Bible or anyone with differing beliefs was branded a heretic, tortured and killed. (Rev 17:6 / Rev 18:24)) A far cry from the humble and loving congregation of Christ. (Rev 17:1-5 / Rev 18:7, 16)
In disgust men broke away from the Catholic church and formed their own Christian churches, but the customs and doctrines of the Catholic church had become so deeply entrenched that these new churches retained many of them. Though their intentions were noble, they failed to fully break their ties with the world and return to true Christianity. From the Roman Catholic church came, in 1054 C.E. the Eastern Orthodox church, in the 16th century, Lutheran, Anglican, Episcopal, Methodist, Salvation Army, Baptist, Pentecostal, Congregational, Calvinism, Presbyterian and the Reformed churches. Since then there have emerged many others, most retaining the beliefs and customs of the original apostate church. Truly a house divided. (1Cor 1:10 / Mr 3:35)
In varying degrees all have their hand in the governmental affairs of the world thus do not rest their hope in God's kingdom, but on man's. They have not known truth in accuracy and because they established their own brands of righteousness their doctrinal beliefs and their opinions of what is acceptable practice & behaviour vary widely. Because they have lost sight of what God's Kingdom truly is they also fail to do what Jesus told his followers to do, to preach the good news of the kingdom. (Eph 4:1-6 / 1Cor 1:10-13 / Rom 10:2-3 / Matt 24:24 , Matt 28:19) Satan misleads millions upon millions through the powerfully influential avenue of religion.
SATAN'S FATE;
Satan was not destroyed after his rebellion in the garden of Eden. Instead God afforded him time to try to prove his allegations that people could rule themselves without God and that people would not remain loyal to him under severe test. Satan has failed at both accusations, as we have learned. God however has not allowed mankind to exist without hope. Quite the contrary, God loved mankind so much that he provided a seed, his only begotten Son, who would sacrifice his human life to reopen the prospect of everlasting life for us. This seed was prophesied to crush the head of the serpent, bringing relief at last to the world. (Gen 3:14-15 / Rom 16:20 / Rev 20:1-3 , Rev 20:7-10 / 1Jh 3:8 / Matt 25:41 / Heb 2:14)
No, Satan is not some red, horned beast-like creature with a spiked tail and a pitchfork. He does not rule over an underworld or preside over some fictitious hell. He is an angel, a very powerful angel who opposes God and all of his lovers of truth. He was hurled to earth and is full of great anger for he knows his time is short and he directs his anger at us. This is why the Bible says "woe for the earth...for the devil has come down to you, being full of great anger, knowing that his time is short." (Rev 12:12 , Rev 2:9 / 1Pet 5:8) But the Bible gives us many examples of Satan's designs so that, keeping awake, we can watch out for his misleading ways. What a relief it will be when finally, true Christians will be able to lift up their heads and know their salvation is at hand. The good news of the Kingdom, in part, is that soon it will conquer the Devil and his works, destroying he and his seed, which includes the wild beast of human governments, and the harlotous Babylon the Great; false religions. Through that magnificent heavenly kingdom, God's will will be done as in heaven, also on earth. (Lu 21:28 / Rev 20:1-10)
But I will ask you this, is there absolute truth or does my truth work for me and your truth works for you? Do you believe in truth?
Truth is.
And it does not require any faith.
What you and I believe is irrelevant.
This truth works for me because I know myself and I am able to recognise evil within myself.
And because I do not deny the evil within myself I have a good chance of recognising evil outside myself. The 1st step in conquering evil is being able to correctly pinpoint its source.
Once you are able to defeat the evil within yourself you will be able to defeat evil outside yourself.
But one must always be on his guard against evil.
Evil is the absense of God.. Without God you would not know evil.
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The devil is nothing more but man’s own reflection in the mirror.
The worst enemy of man is man himself.
Yes.
The Bible is not the only 1 who supports this theory.
Who Or What Is Satan?
