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The biblical Satan has a couple of independent sources. The one in Genesis is The Serpent, probably based on the serpent god of the Hyksos. The Hyksos have been proposed as ancestral to Hebrews, and were from the same general area. They controlled Egypt for about 100 years starting in the 17th century BCE, then were driven out and went back to where they came from. There's no way to tease out why the Israelites abandoned the serpent god centuries later.
Another independent source is Persia. Zoroastrians introduced the light/dark dualism into Yahweh worship. They had a flame god, Ahura Mazda (Ormuzd) and a god of darkness, Angra Mainyu (Ahriman). Persia was hugely influential in Judaea after the Babylonians. Darius paid for building the temple in Jerusalem. The Book of Job is a Persian era dualistic tale that has Satan making a bet with Yahweh. Zoroastrianism also provided angels and heaven to the religious stew. For the first time, the concept of an afterlife beyond ghostly apparitions becomes a part of Judaism.
Greek mythology had a big influence on the afterlife, and the concept of Satan as a ruler of the underworld comes from Hades and his eponymous realm. Most people don't realize that the Bible translates three different words as Hell. There is Hades, where Satan lives, Sheol, the silence of the tomb, and Gehenna, the Lake of Fire. Gehennom was a valley outside Jerusalem where the bodies of those not able to afford a tomb were burned. You sure didn't want to end up there. The fires never went out. If you wanted to scare the crap out of your kids, take them to Gehennom for a visit.
There was also a persistent strain of animism in the Canaanite culture. People think that Ba'al was "a" god, but Ba'al just means "lord." Every rock, stream, hill, spring and bug had its own ba'al. Ba'al Marduk was the Lord of the Storms. Ba'al Zebub (Beelzebub) was the Lord of the High Place, later demoted to Lord of Dung and Flies. Canaanites were some of the most demon-ridden people in history. Everything bad was caused by a demon. This included mental illness. New testament demonology is dominated by temptation and crazy. It's a hoot that the story of the demon being driven into a herd of pigs who then drowned has led to the myth that pigs can't swim. Pigs are related to hippos. They swim just fine. The punch line to the story is that they drowned, which is pretty spooky.
Early Christianity also had its share of nut cases, indicated by Peter's comment that the devil was devouring followers. It's hard to tweeze out Canaanite animism from orthodox Judaism, but it was adopted enthusiastically by the mystical Pharisee sect that is the underpinning of Christianity. Satan grew a legion. He was everywhere.
The next step in Satan's evolution was the Muslim faith. The Muslims demoted Iblis (their name) from Archangel to Jinn. You hear the term 'satan' bandied about a lot, but in Arabic it just means 'adversary.'
Modern fantasy writers have done a number on the Satan myth. He's on cable TV all the time now, in various roles. It's too early to tell which stories will stick, but the whole JCI mythos is being mined. Even Yahweh is showing up as a character in cable series. In "Supernatural," Yahweh is a dick who abandons his creations, and Satan hangs out with the main characters, even being handy from time to time. In "Preacher," Yahweh is a guy in a dog suit with inscrutable motives, and Satan is a walk-on with horns. There are probably others that I don't watch. Satan has also been a major character in movies.
The biblical Satan has a couple of independent sources. The one in Genesis is The Serpent, probably based on the serpent god of the Hyksos. The Hyksos have been proposed as ancestral to Hebrews, and were from the same general area. They controlled Egypt for about 100 years starting in the 17th century BCE, then were driven out and went back to where they came from. There's no way to tease out why the Israelites abandoned the serpent god centuries later.
Another independent source is Persia. Zoroastrians introduced the light/dark dualism into Yahweh worship. They had a flame god, Ahura Mazda (Ormuzd) and a god of darkness, Angra Mainyu (Ahriman). Persia was hugely influential in Judaea after the Babylonians. Darius paid for building the temple in Jerusalem. The Book of Job is a Persian era dualistic tale that has Satan making a bet with Yahweh. Zoroastrianism also provided angels and heaven to the religious stew. For the first time, the concept of an afterlife beyond ghostly apparitions becomes a part of Judaism.
Greek mythology had a big influence on the afterlife, and the concept of Satan as a ruler of the underworld comes from Hades and his eponymous realm. Most people don't realize that the Bible translates three different words as Hell. There is Hades, where Satan lives, Sheol, the silence of the tomb, and Gehenna, the Lake of Fire. Gehennom was a valley outside Jerusalem where the bodies of those not able to afford a tomb were burned. You sure didn't want to end up there. The fires never went out. If you wanted to scare the crap out of your kids, take them to Gehennom for a visit.
There was also a persistent strain of animism in the Canaanite culture. People think that Ba'al was "a" god, but Ba'al just means "lord." Every rock, stream, hill, spring and bug had its own ba'al. Ba'al Marduk was the Lord of the Storms. Ba'al Zebub (Beelzebub) was the Lord of the High Place, later demoted to Lord of Dung and Flies. Canaanites were some of the most demon-ridden people in history. Everything bad was caused by a demon. This included mental illness. New testament demonology is dominated by temptation and crazy. It's a hoot that the story of the demon being driven into a herd of pigs who then drowned has led to the myth that pigs can't swim. Pigs are related to hippos. They swim just fine. The punch line to the story is that they drowned, which is pretty spooky.
Early Christianity also had its share of nut cases, indicated by Peter's comment that the devil was devouring followers. It's hard to tweeze out Canaanite animism from orthodox Judaism, but it was adopted enthusiastically by the mystical Pharisee sect that is the underpinning of Christianity. Satan grew a legion. He was everywhere.
The next step in Satan's evolution was the Muslim faith. The Muslims demoted Iblis (their name) from Archangel to Jinn. You hear the term 'satan' bandied about a lot, but in Arabic it just means 'adversary.'
Modern fantasy writers have done a number on the Satan myth. He's on cable TV all the time now, in various roles. It's too early to tell which stories will stick, but the whole JCI mythos is being mined. Even Yahweh is showing up as a character in cable series. In "Supernatural," Yahweh is a dick who abandons his creations, and Satan hangs out with the main characters, even being handy from time to time. In "Preacher," Yahweh is a guy in a dog suit with inscrutable motives, and Satan is a walk-on with horns. There are probably others that I don't watch. Satan has also been a major character in movies.
The bible has the facts. Satan is real. TV is a joke. 99% of all religion is a joke.
Most people in the earth are infested with demons one way or another , but through Jesus Christ and His baptism of Holy Spirit , Jesus has authority of the believer were believers say the Word of God to bind and loose then Jesus spirit will rip demons out of people spirits , unheard of in the world anywhere ,....................... as demons are spirit who infest the flesh of man and animals , then fallen angels are alien to the flesh of man , and hold curses of sin on man for ever , and then powers of darkness hold the power for demons and fallen angels ..................... When Jesus walked in Galilee before the cross He had NO sin and angels of God protected Him from demons and fallen angels through out His life in the earth , which this same protection for man is non existence for man , Where even believers which God authority of the believer prayers ,,, believers of Christ are still challenged by the devil and his hoards and must turn to God for liberty from this menace
Most people in the earth are infested with demons one way or another
That's right. And that's why it drives me crazy when people say "the devil" is tempting them. The devil's time is valuable and he just doesn't have the time to possess or even tempt a regular non important person.
The devil hangs out in high places.
As for the rest of us, it's just some dumb 'ole low level demon who hasn't even earned his horns yet.
Most people in the earth are infested with demons one way or another , but through Jesus Christ and His baptism of Holy Spirit , Jesus has authority of the believer were believers say the Word of God to bind and loose then Jesus spirit will rip demons out of people spirits , unheard of in the world anywhere ,....................... as demons are spirit who infest the flesh of man and animals , then fallen angels are alien to the flesh of man , and hold curses of sin on man for ever , and then powers of darkness hold the power for demons and fallen angels ..................... When Jesus walked in Galilee before the cross He had NO sin and angels of God protected Him from demons and fallen angels through out His life in the earth , which this same protection for man is non existence for man , Where even believers which God authority of the believer prayers ,,, believers of Christ are still challenged by the devil and his hoards and must turn to God for liberty from this menace
I'm always amazed to be alive in 2018 and to come across people that believe in 'demons'. So primitive. Yet they are allowed to vote and give us people like Trump!
Most people in the earth are infested with demons one way or another ,
Have you looked at a calendar recently?
It's rather frightening that our technology has increased by leaps and bounds, but our beliefs are still grounded in a false reality loaded with superstition, fear, demons, and magic -- the stuff that comes straight out of the Dark Ages.
In that sense, our technological progress has become the equivalent of giving cave men access to nuclear weapons. Our tech has leaped forward, but our beliefs are nearly a thousand years behind.
As that one statement quoted above clearly demonstrates.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hljc
but through Jesus Christ and His baptism of Holy Spirit , Jesus has authority of the believer were believers say the Word of God to bind and loose then Jesus spirit will rip demons out of people spirits
I can only but shake my head in melancholic sadness that someone would actually believe the world works like this ...
This is like watching an episode of "Buck Rodgers in the 25th Century" only it's "hljc in the 21st Century," a story about a highly superstitious person who was thrown 500 years into the future from the year 1517.
Yeah, I'm being a bit facetious here, but ... not really. Because I honestly feel that maintaining beliefs like these are actually dangerous in modern society. I've heard far too many tragic news stories about moms murdering their kids to protect them from demons ... and crap like that.
It's these primitive beliefs that cause the harm ... not demons.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hljc
unheard of in the world anywhere
I can only wish that were true ...
Quote:
Originally Posted by hljc
,....................... as demons are spirit who infest the flesh of man and animals , then fallen angels are alien to the flesh of man , and hold curses of sin on man for ever , and then powers of darkness hold the power for demons and fallen angels
Well, okay, now we're truly in La-La Land.
I thought this was a sane post, but this stuff is just ... out there.
So I'm not going to go any further with this.
Have fun everyone, and watch out for those demons -- better check your flesh, consult your dermatologist to make sure you don't have any demons embedded in your flesh! Sometimes they disguise themselves as ticks, so be careful!!
I'm always amazed to be alive in 2018 and to come across people that believe in 'demons'. So primitive. Yet they are allowed to vote and give us people like Trump!
Jesus is with-ONE- religion. The one that listens to him. I know my teachers listen to him. Few even know what he taught, yet run around thinking lip service is enough. Demons are fallen angels.
God says satan is real. I would choose my words against him carefully.
God created satan exactly as satan is, right kjw47?
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