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FACT - According to traditional Jewish interpretation, Satan is an angel of good-standing with God, whose job it is to test people. He has no free will of his own.
FACT - The story of a rebellious Archangel called Lucifer who wages war in heaven and is cast into hell never appears in the Bible.
So I've been reading the Bible, and there are a few passages that lead me to believe Satan is not the bad guy he is portrayed as being. It seems God actually controls everything he does. Can you True Christians explain this for me?
1) Who led Jesus into the desert?
Matthew 4:1 Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
Here it says the Holy Spirit, who just descended on Jesus after his baptism, led Jesus away to be tempted by the Devil. Does this mean God wanted Satan tempt Jesus? Does God want Satan to tempt all of us?
2) Who causes disease?
Matthew 17:18 And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.
Throughout the Gospels, it says Jesus rebukes the devil out of sick people to cure them. It sounds like the devil is the cause of their illness. BUT...
Exodus 4:11 And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?
Here it says that God is responsible for all infirmities. How can this be? Does God WANT the devil to make people sick? Well, that's what Jesus said...
John 9:1-3 And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.
3) Who is the lord of this world?
Mostly, the Bible says that God is the Lord of everything, like in this passage...
Joshua 2:11 For the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.
BUT, in some other passages, it is said the devil is the lord of the world, like this one:
2 Corinthians 4:4 The god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not.
How can the devil be lord of the world, if God is lord over all? Unless God allows him to be.
4) Who owns the earth?
The most high God, possessor of heaven and earth.... Genesis 14:19,
The devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee. Matthew 4:8-9
How can the devil offer Jesus what belongs to God?
5) Who is the Morning Star?
Isaiah 14:12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
Christians sometimes claim this passage talks about the origin of Satan as a rebellious archangel named Lucifer. However, read in context, this passage is clearly talking about the King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Lucifer is not a name, but a Greek word meaning Morning Star. The only other person called the Morning Star in the Bible is Jesus...
Revelation 22:16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.
6) Satan is NOT one of the rebellious angels locked up in hell
The Bible mentions some angels who have fallen, like in this passage.
2 Peter 2:4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment.
This says the angels are chained in darkness. However, the Bible repeatedly says Satan is free to roam.
1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.
7) The Devil is called God's son!
In the book of Job, Satan is described as being a son of God.
The sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them. Job 1:6
Now, as I understand it Jesus is God's only BEGOTTEN Son, so that is not necessarily a contradiction. But the Bible describes who can become a regular plain son of God.
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God. -- John 1:12
Did Satan "receive" Jesus?
8) Did Satan help bring about salvation?
The Bible tells us that Satan entered Judas to force him to betray Jesus.
Luke 22:3 Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve.
But this was God's plan all along.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
This means Satan was helping God's plan along. Jesus even knew that Judas was possessed when he chose him as an apostle.
John 6:70 Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?
9) Satan teaches people not to blaspheme
The Bible says that those that blaspheme should be delivered unto Satan, so that they may learn not to. Does this mean Satan is helping people get closer to God?
Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme. 1 Timothy 1:20
10) Satan and God's names used interchangeably in the Bible!
2 Samuel 24:1 And again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah.
1 Chronicles 21:1 And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.
These two passages, describing the same event, name different people as David tempter. One said God tempted David, the other says it was Satan. What's the solution here?
11) Satan - prince of the power of the air?
This is the strange title given to Satan by St. Paul.
Ephesians 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Some have interpreted this to mean the devil is behind all storms. However, the Bible also says that is God's dominion.
Jeremiah 30:23 Behold, the whirlwind of the LORD goeth forth with fury, a continuing whirlwind: it shall fall with pain upon the head of the wicked.
12) The Whole Friggin' Book of Job!!!
In this book, Satan is not in hell, but wanders through the earth and attends meetings in heaven with the angels where he reports to God. WTF?! Apparently, Satan needs God's permission to hurt people, since he has to ask God to hurt Job. God allows him, even though Job never sinned. Also, the book seems to disagree who is responsible for Job's troubles:
Job 2:7 So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.
Job 42:11 Then came there unto him all his brethren, and all his sisters, and all they that had been of his acquaintance before, and did eat bread with him in his house: and they bemoaned him, and comforted him over all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him. 13) Satan saves people?
1 Corinthians 5:5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
14) Who forces non-believers to disbelieve?
John says it's God:
John 12:40 He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. Paul says it's Satan:
2 Corinthians 4:3-4 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not. 15) Jesus and Satan - both like lions.
Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. -- Revelation 5:5
Your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. -- 1 Peter 5:8
16) The both existed before the world was created.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. -- John 1:1
Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? ... When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? -- Job 38:4-7
17) Knowledge.
Satan tempted Adam and Eve into eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge.
Genesis 3:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
But one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is knowledge, so God must want people to have that, so Satan must have been doing what God wanted.
Isaiah 11: 2And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;
18) AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, WHERE DOES EVIL COME FROM?
Matthew 13:28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
Some Christians take this passage to mean Satan causes all the evil in the world. But the Bible tells us...
Isaiah 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.
FACT - The story of a rebellious Archangel called Lucifer who wages war in heaven and is cast into hell never appears in the Bible.
So I've been reading the Bible, and there are a few passages that lead me to believe Satan is not the bad guy he is portrayed as being. It seems God actually controls everything he does. Can you True Christians explain this for me?
1) Who led Jesus into the desert?
Matthew 4:1 Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
Here it says the Holy Spirit, who just descended on Jesus after his baptism, led Jesus away to be tempted by the Devil. Does this mean God wanted Satan tempt Jesus? Does God want Satan to tempt all of us?
2) Who causes disease?
Matthew 17:18 And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.
Throughout the Gospels, it says Jesus rebukes the devil out of sick people to cure them. It sounds like the devil is the cause of their illness. BUT...
Exodus 4:11 And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?
Here it says that God is responsible for all infirmities. How can this be? Does God WANT the devil to make people sick? Well, that's what Jesus said...
John 9:1-3 And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.
3) Who is the lord of this world?
Mostly, the Bible says that God is the Lord of everything, like in this passage...
Joshua 2:11 For the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.
BUT, in some other passages, it is said the devil is the lord of the world, like this one:
2 Corinthians 4:4 The god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not.
How can the devil be lord of the world, if God is lord over all? Unless God allows him to be.
4) Who owns the earth?
The most high God, possessor of heaven and earth.... Genesis 14:19,
The devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee. Matthew 4:8-9
How can the devil offer Jesus what belongs to God?
5) Who is the Morning Star?
Isaiah 14:12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
Christians sometimes claim this passage talks about the origin of Satan as a rebellious archangel named Lucifer. However, read in context, this passage is clearly talking about the King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Lucifer is not a name, but a Greek word meaning Morning Star. The only other person called the Morning Star in the Bible is Jesus...
Revelation 22:16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.
6) Satan is NOT one of the rebellious angels locked up in hell
The Bible mentions some angels who have fallen, like in this passage.
2 Peter 2:4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment.
This says the angels are chained in darkness. However, the Bible repeatedly says Satan is free to roam.
1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.
7) The Devil is called God's son!
In the book of Job, Satan is described as being a son of God.
The sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them. Job 1:6
Now, as I understand it Jesus is God's only BEGOTTEN Son, so that is not necessarily a contradiction. But the Bible describes who can become a regular plain son of God.
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God. -- John 1:12
Did Satan "receive" Jesus?
8) Did Satan help bring about salvation?
The Bible tells us that Satan entered Judas to force him to betray Jesus.
Luke 22:3 Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve.
But this was God's plan all along.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
This means Satan was helping God's plan along. Jesus even knew that Judas was possessed when he chose him as an apostle.
John 6:70 Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?
9) Satan teaches people not to blaspheme
The Bible says that those that blaspheme should be delivered unto Satan, so that they may learn not to. Does this mean Satan is helping people get closer to God?
Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme. 1 Timothy 1:20
10) Satan and God's names used interchangeably in the Bible!
2 Samuel 24:1 And again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah.
1 Chronicles 21:1 And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.
These two passages, describing the same event, name different people as David tempter. One said God tempted David, the other says it was Satan. What's the solution here?
11) Satan - prince of the power of the air?
This is the strange title given to Satan by St. Paul.
Ephesians 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Some have interpreted this to mean the devil is behind all storms. However, the Bible also says that is God's dominion.
Jeremiah 30:23 Behold, the whirlwind of the LORD goeth forth with fury, a continuing whirlwind: it shall fall with pain upon the head of the wicked.
12) The Whole Friggin' Book of Job!!!
In this book, Satan is not in hell, but wanders through the earth and attends meetings in heaven with the angels where he reports to God. WTF?! Apparently, Satan needs God's permission to hurt people, since he has to ask God to hurt Job. God allows him, even though Job never sinned. Also, the book seems to disagree who is responsible for Job's troubles:
Job 2:7 So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.
Job 42:11 Then came there unto him all his brethren, and all his sisters, and all they that had been of his acquaintance before, and did eat bread with him in his house: and they bemoaned him, and comforted him over all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him. 13) Satan saves people?
1 Corinthians 5:5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
14) Who forces non-believers to disbelieve?
John says it's God:
John 12:40 He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. Paul says it's Satan:
2 Corinthians 4:3-4 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not. 15) Jesus and Satan - both like lions.
Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. -- Revelation 5:5
Your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. -- 1 Peter 5:8
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. -- John 1:1
Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? ... When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy? -- Job 38:4-7
Satan tempted Adam and Eve into eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge.
Genesis 3:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
But one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is knowledge, so God must want people to have that, so Satan must have been doing what God wanted.
Isaiah 11: 2And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;
18) AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, WHERE DOES EVIL COME FROM?
Matthew 13:28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
Some Christians take this passage to mean Satan causes all the evil in the world. But the Bible tells us...
Isaiah 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.
) referred to as the Old Testament.
I think the Pastor's perhaps see her as one of those crazies who walk around yelling gibberish and nonsense with occasional profanity.. oh.. what are they called? 
Oh...yes.. Democrats and those with The Tourettes. (aka demon possessed)
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