Post by Josh on Feb 25, 2024 18:55:35 GMT -8
I’d like to address two ideas that I have seen coming up with increasing frequently lately:
That the Enemy (the satan) is merely an impersonal force or a human projection of evil
That the Enemy (the satan) is merely an agent of God sent to do God’s dirty work
Here is my argument for the literal existence of the Devil, fallen angels and demons as rational, culpable free-will agents who, in rebellion against God, do things deserving God’s judgment.
Firstly, as Jacob pointed out, the book of Revelation tells us that the serpent in Eden and the Satan are to be identified with the Devil frequently spoken of in the New Testament:
Revelation 12:9
The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
And I agree with Jacob that the New Testament does a lot to clear up the distinction between the enemy and God’s perfectly loving nature.
Jesus himself makes this point in John 8:
John 8:44
You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
From the beginning naturally takes Jesus’ audience back to Genesis 3.
The following verses support the view that the Devil (and, by extension, other fallen angels and demons) is a rational free-will agent:
2 Cor. 2:11
...in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.
1 Thess 2:18
For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, did, again and again—but Satan stopped us.
2 Cor. 11:14
And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.
1 Peter 5:8
Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
Matthew 8:28-31
And when He came to the other side into the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men confronted Him as they were coming out of the tombs. They were so extremely violent that no one could pass by that way. And they cried out, saying, “What business do You have with us, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?” Now there was a herd of many pigs feeding at a distance from them. And the demons begged Him, saying, “If You are going to cast us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”
Do these descriptions seem to describe impersonal forces? Impersonal forces don’t outwit, scheme, intervene, deceive, fear, ask, or look for things. Note how the demons know specific things that the people they are possessing have no clue of, such as Jesus’ identity, or the fact that there will come a day when they will be punished. How can an agent of God also be His enemy, for as Jesus said, “A house divided against itself shall not stand”?
1 Cor. 7:5
Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
Here we see that the enemy can and does tempt us to disobey God. Could the enemy merely be a tool God uses to tempt us? I think that idea would impugn God’s nature, and in light of this must be rejected:
James 1:4
“When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone… “
If you are still inclined to hold on to the idea that these descriptions of the enemy might be anthropomorphic metaphors applied to an impersonal force, or a mere tool under God’s direction, the clincher is this: Scripture says that enemy fears God and will be punished.
For God to punish a force is non-sensical. For God to punish His own tool would be against his moral nature.
John 10:10
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
The enemy has motivations that are antithetical to God’s.
Revelation 12:12
Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.”
Why is the enemy angry if he is a mere force or an agent carrying out God’s will?
Romans 16:20
The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.
A tool of God might simply be retired or withdrawn, but crushed?
James 2:19
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
What has the enemy to fear if it is merely innocently acting as God’s agent? And what kind of impersonal force feels fear for its own future?
That the Enemy (the satan) is merely an impersonal force or a human projection of evil
That the Enemy (the satan) is merely an agent of God sent to do God’s dirty work
Here is my argument for the literal existence of the Devil, fallen angels and demons as rational, culpable free-will agents who, in rebellion against God, do things deserving God’s judgment.
Firstly, as Jacob pointed out, the book of Revelation tells us that the serpent in Eden and the Satan are to be identified with the Devil frequently spoken of in the New Testament:
Revelation 12:9
The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
And I agree with Jacob that the New Testament does a lot to clear up the distinction between the enemy and God’s perfectly loving nature.
Jesus himself makes this point in John 8:
John 8:44
You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
From the beginning naturally takes Jesus’ audience back to Genesis 3.
The following verses support the view that the Devil (and, by extension, other fallen angels and demons) is a rational free-will agent:
2 Cor. 2:11
...in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.
1 Thess 2:18
For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, did, again and again—but Satan stopped us.
2 Cor. 11:14
And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.
1 Peter 5:8
Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
Matthew 8:28-31
And when He came to the other side into the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men confronted Him as they were coming out of the tombs. They were so extremely violent that no one could pass by that way. And they cried out, saying, “What business do You have with us, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?” Now there was a herd of many pigs feeding at a distance from them. And the demons begged Him, saying, “If You are going to cast us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”
Do these descriptions seem to describe impersonal forces? Impersonal forces don’t outwit, scheme, intervene, deceive, fear, ask, or look for things. Note how the demons know specific things that the people they are possessing have no clue of, such as Jesus’ identity, or the fact that there will come a day when they will be punished. How can an agent of God also be His enemy, for as Jesus said, “A house divided against itself shall not stand”?
1 Cor. 7:5
Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
Here we see that the enemy can and does tempt us to disobey God. Could the enemy merely be a tool God uses to tempt us? I think that idea would impugn God’s nature, and in light of this must be rejected:
James 1:4
“When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone… “
If you are still inclined to hold on to the idea that these descriptions of the enemy might be anthropomorphic metaphors applied to an impersonal force, or a mere tool under God’s direction, the clincher is this: Scripture says that enemy fears God and will be punished.
For God to punish a force is non-sensical. For God to punish His own tool would be against his moral nature.
John 10:10
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
The enemy has motivations that are antithetical to God’s.
Revelation 12:12
Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.”
Why is the enemy angry if he is a mere force or an agent carrying out God’s will?
Romans 16:20
The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.
A tool of God might simply be retired or withdrawn, but crushed?
James 2:19
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
What has the enemy to fear if it is merely innocently acting as God’s agent? And what kind of impersonal force feels fear for its own future?