by Quentin 84 Replies latest jw friends
Among ancient proples one of the symbols for wisdom was the serpent, or snake if you prefere. Rember there are TWO Creation stories in Genisus.
Do I believe in an evil spirit out to get me? No. I don't think that we mean much to spirits... it would be like humans trying to go after ants....( Soldier77 )...exactly, enough evil goes on in the world there is no need for a "Ringleader", besides all of us, at some point in our lives, have displayed a satan attitude toward God.
My 2cents ( and that is probably what it will be worth, LOL):
The bible gives us a sort of progresssive revelation of the nature of evil and Satan.
Satan goes from being simply the tempter ( though no indication is given that the nake is Satan at the time), to one of God's sons ( angels) who likes to point out to God that people suck and don't deserve God's Love, to a fallen Angel that rebelled against God ( and took other angels with him) because of God's love of Humans, to the "man behind" the anti-christ(s) and the driving force of evil, Mankinds' ultimate adversary.
Satan is never God's enemy or adversary, nor is he Christs when Christ is human on Earth, he is OUR enemy.
Satan has no true power over us, other than the Power we Give him, James make sit clear that if we resist the devil he will flee.
In short Satan seems to have been a bit of a trouble maker from the very start, that he got seriously possied at humans and God and that he prefers to "reign in hell ( earth) than serve in Heaven".
I know a few people like that, LOL !
Satan is recorded in the Bible as the original first intelligent creation to sin, and the perfecter of organized sin; he is an art and science of the craft of sinful misconduct. Sin is in effect, being lawless in the Creator's eyes; to be lawless, one must first break the law; however, Satan turned lawlessness into an art, and as it spread like a virus to mankind, and then to the holy angelic hosts that broke law, its existence became a thing of common acceptance; but is it really acceptable, or is it (the art of sin) merely being tolerated for a reason that will eventually climax in the future? And if so, will sin still be possible after Satan and his confederates bite the dust for the final round against the Creator?
The answer is yes, at least the practiced art of sin will not, but sin will be possible; to become an art, it first had to be cultured to a high degree, such as Satan has cultured sinful traits over the past centuries. But when Satan and all other past and present rebels of the Creator's laws are finally dealt with and removed from existence, there will be the possibility of sin being committed in the Kingdom of Christ Jesus; the possibility throughout eternity.
This is because of "free will" that's bestowed upon all of our Father's intelligent creations that are in His image; however, the perfecting of, and the organizing of sin into an art and science will no longer be tolerated at that time; instead, the offender will be immediately dealt with; they will be at a state of perfection in Father's eyes at that time, and no salvation will exist or be extended to them for breaking the Creator's law and thereby becoming lawless in Father's eyes.
The purpose of the Millennial Rule is to teach those that are of good heart, and willing to accept the truth as it really is, the laws that will have to be followed throughout eternity; of course, if you manage to get into the Kingdom, but you have a change of heart and do not accept the laws early on, you will perish for eternity; and, if after the Millennium, you have a change of heart when Satan and his demons are awakened and turned loose for a final test of trying to recreate organized sin among the Kingdom survivors, you will go down in defeat with him and his confederates. After that final execution, organized sin will have been eliminated; the art of sin, which is the practice of sin, it will no longer be tolerated; if you sin against Law after that period of time, you will be immediately exterminated and no longer in existence. The record on the practice of sin will have been completed; it is non-workable, therefore it is not acceptable to go outside of Father's Will and set up practice as a sinner like the Devil did along with his confederates.
Satan just symbolizes human evil. The Devil is not real nor is demonic possession which is just mental illness.People back then did not understnad mental illness and it saw as evil sprits possessing a person.
Thank all of you for your comments, been interesting and educational as well...
