What do we know of Satan??

[visionary]

and of the strategies of war that he can conquer us with?? Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.How can we, do we, should we, prepare for spiritual warfare?
Or what is spiritual warfare?
what does scripture say about this?
If Yeshua has won the victory, do we have to fight?
Do we just pray and leave the outcome in God's hands? What about the battle in the mind?
or for the mind?
How does one distinquish the voice of God in our minds and what is the enemies' voice(s)?
How vulnerable are we?
How can we have shelter from his attacks?
Can we gain a spiritual knowledge from the physcial battles the Israelites fought in days of old?

Genesis 3:14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: 15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

[muffler dragon]

vis:

Do you view HaSatan as an entity of free will or an agent of G-d?

[visionary]

Good question. Satan as an entity with free will.... Yes, as much as we all have free will.

I believe that Satan was one of the most honored and high order leaders of the angelic host. I believe that Satan saw himself as important, too much staring at his beauty in the water mirror. When he tried to get others to think that he was more important, he started to stretch his area of domain, and when reproved, rebelled. Justifying himself to others, he lied...and when the Lord started to create earth and did not include him [creating us in his image] he really focussed his attention on us.... and the rest is history. We all are now as sick as he is. Only our Lord can save us. We all must trust and obey... for there is no other way... Now that is our freewill. God is going to live for eternity and has presented to us a way for us to do the same. Satan is going to destroy himself and take as many of us with him... in his insanity.

[muffler dragon]

Good question. Satan as an entity with free will.... Yes, as much as we all have free will.

I believe that Satan was one of the most honored and high order leaders of the angelic host. I believe that Satan saw himself as important, too much staring at his beauty in the water mirror. When he tried to get others to think that he was more important, he started to stretch his area of domain, and when reproved, rebelled. Justifying himself to others, he lied...and when the Lord started to create earth and did not include him [creating us in his image] he really focussed his attention on us.... and the rest is history. We all are now as sick as he is. Only our Lord can save us. We all must trust and obey... for there is no other way... Now that is our freewill. God is going to live for eternity and has presented to us a way for us to do the same. Satan is going to destroy himself and take as many of us with him... in his insanity.


Thanks for answering, vis. Are you aware that Judaism feels differently about HaSatan and angels, in general?

[visionary]

If the Book of Enoch is any indication..... not really.

Yeshua as a Jew understood HaSatan. Ba'al-zebub, also called Beelzebub or Beelzebul is known as the 'prince of demons' in the Synoptic Gospels during the accusations of the Pharisees against Jesus.

"The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said, 'He is possessed by Beelzebul,' and 'By the prince of demons he drives out demons.' - Mk 3:22

"This man drives out demons only by the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons." - Mt 12:24

"Some of them said 'By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons." - Lk 11:15So did those that accused him of being beelzabub. http://www.deliriumsrealm.com/delirium/articleview.asp?Post=106#tsol In the Testament of Solomon (1st-3rd centuries CE), Solomon learns that Beelzeboul is one of the fallen angels who destroys by means of tyrants, causes demons to be worshipped, arouses desires in priests, brings about jealousies and murders, and instigates wars. The name Ba'al-zebub is associated with the Philistine city of Ekron. In 2 Kings, after Moab rebelled against Israel, Ahaziah had fallen and injured himself. To find out if he'd recover from the injury he sent out messengers, telling them:

"Go and inquire of Baalzebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this injury." - 2 Kings 1:2Purim is about the fact that HaSatan will not stop finding evil men to attempt to destroy the Jews, or at least destroy HaShem’s plans for them, over and over again, in every generation, in every place until Mashiach comes.

There is no instance in the Old Testament of demons being expelled by men. In Tobias 8:3, is the angel who "took the devil and bound him in the desert of upper Egypt"; and the instruction previously given to young Tobias (6:18-19), to roast the fish's heart in the bridal chamber, would seem to have been merely part of the angel's plan for concealing his own identity. But in extra-canonical Jewish literature there are incantations for exorcising demons, examples of which may be seen in Talmud (Schabbath, xiv, 3; Aboda Zara, xii, 2; Sanhedrin, x, 1). http://www.religion-encyclopedia.com/E/exorcism_in_judaism.htmand another piece in that same webside tells something I never thought of before. It was this superstitious belief, no doubt, that prompted the sons of Sceva, who had witnessed St. Paul's successful exorcisms in the name of Jesus, to try on their own account the formula, "I conjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth", with results disastrous to their credit (Acts 19:13). It was a popular Jewish belief, accepted even by a learned cosmopolitan like Josephus, that Solomon had received the power of expelling demons, and that he had composed and transmitted certain formulæ that were efficacious for that purpose. The Jewish historian records how a certain Eleazar, in the presence of the Emperor Vespasian and his officers, succeeded, by means of a magical ring applied to the nose of a possessed person, in drawing out the demon through the nostrils -- the virtue of the ring being due to the fact that it enclosed a certain rare root indicated in the formulaæ of Solomon, and which it was exceedingly difficult to obtain (Ant. Jud, VIII, ii, 5; cf. Bell. Jud. VII, vi, 3).

[yeshuaslavejeff]

Yhwh has allwd s.t.n to deceive the whole world - the medical, the schools, the religious, the politicos, the money : you name it, is it in the world system? / society?..... then it is in the enemies control within the boundaries/limits set before the foundation of all the earth by Elohim.

you don't have to believe in s.t.n if you don't want to - s.t.n loves it! (he has you in his domain)

you don't need a ring nor a formula nor mumbo jumgo to be free - just simple trust in Abba in the Name Yeshua(or Yahshua or Jesus, Yhwh permitting for the infants gurgling, whoever they may be; mercifully).. . . .

and even though the least or these abiding with the Master has more power than all the powers of darkness, by the simplicity of Truth,
still even the mature will be given over according to Yhwh's Breathed Word
to be slain by the enemy
at the appointed time(s).....


so what ? go and do what Abba says . . . . .
awake oh sleeper, arise from the dead !
Yes, Master Yeshua, Yes ! Come Quickly !

[muffler dragon]

vis:

I've not read the Book of Enoch nor have I spent any time studying Beelzebub; therefore, I don't have any comment.

[muffler dragon]

Yhwh has allwd s.t.n to deceive the whole world - the medical, the schools, the religious, the politicos, the money : you name it, is it in the world system? / society?..... then it is in the enemies control within the boundaries/limits set before the foundation of all the earth by Elohim.

you don't have to believe in s.t.n if you don't want to - s.t.n loves it! (he has you in his domain)

you don't need a ring nor a formula nor mumbo jumgo to be free - just simple trust in Abba in the Name Yeshua(or Yahshua or Jesus, Yhwh permitting for the infants gurgling, whoever they may be; mercifully).. . . .

and even though the least or these abiding with the Master has more power than all the powers of darkness, by the simplicity of Truth,
still even the mature will be given over according to Yhwh's Breathed Word
to be slain by the enemy
at the appointed time(s).....


so what ? go and do what Abba says . . . . .
awake oh sleeper, arise from the dead !
Yes, Master Yeshua, Yes ! Come Quickly !

Do you remove the vowels from S-A-T-A-N, because you view that name as of a god?

[Sephania]

I was wondering about that too. :scratch:

[visionary]

If we were to recognise the spirits that drive those around us to do the things they do, could we be better warriors against the princes of the air.

How about the spirit of pride?

When it enters into the heart of man... disasterous results follow.

2 Chronicles 26:16
[ Uzziah’s Pride and Punishment ] But when he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction. For he was unfaithful to the LORD his God and entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense.And it is also recorded that with repentence for having pride in the heart... 2 Chronicles 32:26 But Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the LORD did not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah.The Lord obviously has difficulty showing mercy to the prideful. Psalm 31:23 Love the LORD, all you his saints!The LORD preserves the faithful but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride. Pride can be thought of as a personal trait, which is identifying with it, but is it in the godly nature the Lord is transforming you into, if not then it is something else. Since it is something that rises up from within, possessing great command, and lofty attitude, and it presents itself when it takes over the person, then people see the evil manifestation take over. Psalm 59:12 For the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips, let them be trapped in their pride. For the cursing and lies that they utter,How strong is pride.. Psalm 73:6 Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them as a garment.We are to hate the evil and the evil one. Proverbs 8:13 The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.Yes, we see it in others but do we have it in us? Satan was full of pride the day he declared "I will" and the day is coming when the Lord will say "No, you will not" Obadiah 1:3 The pride of your heart has deceived you,you who live in the clefts of the rock, in your lofty dwelling, who say in your heart,"Who will bring me down to the ground?"Pride took over Satan's mind and he has passed it on it us, this spirit is evil and we should recognise it as such 1John 2:16 For all that is in the world— the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world.

[yeshuaslavejeff]

Yhwh's enemy s.t.n is a murderer, liar and thief....deceiving the whole world, ruining multitudes of lives and murdering the true saints in every land as he is allowed, for now.
s.t.n is, for most of the world and many 'christians'(in name) 'god',
or has formed 'gods' for them(like money,political group, denominations, approval of others, selfishness etc)
although a mere worm of a god without a puff of truth ...

[visionary]

Now as part of part of the army of God what are we going to do about it? The last war will be spiritual. Revelation 11:8 And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. IN that I mean, we will be battling spirits as they enter visably to our world worse than than hollywood horror movies can portray. Revelation 11:7
And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. Are we ready to do battle? Ephesians 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.What do we need to know and how are we to prepare for such a battle as this?

[visionary]

One thing is for sure... He sure hates the Jews... maybe because the have been the keepers of the oracles of God all these years.

http://www.amazon.com/Satanizing-Jews-Development-Mystical-Anti-Semitism/dp/0880641525

[muffler dragon]

One thing is for sure... He sure hates the Jews... maybe because the have been the keepers of the oracles of God all these years.

http://www.amazon.com/Satanizing-Jews-Development-Mystical-Anti-Semitism/dp/0880641525


FWIW, Judaism doesn't hold the belief that HaSatan and the angels have free will.

[visionary]

Has there or is there any study on the freewill of angels? Not too sure where the freewill comes into play when it comes to the advisorial position that Satan has chosen.

[muffler dragon]

Has there or is there any study on the freewill of angels?

Not that I know of. All I do know is that angels are simply agents of G-d in Judaism.

Not too sure where the freewill comes into play when it comes to the advisorial position that Satan has chosen.

I guess I would point you to Job, and say that there is essentially no free will in the role of the Adversary.

[visionary]

IN Job's case, Satan came before God 6Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. Notice that God asked Satan where he has been... like it was not something that God directed him to do.. which would make me think that Satan took it upon himself to go here and there. 7And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. God knew what was on Satan's mind, what Satan was after, and God provided a subject worthy of the test. 8And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? Satan negotiates with God to have the protection removed from Job. That would indicate freewill thinking and wheeling and dealing with the Lord.
9Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? This is not something that would be a conversation when the subject [satan] had no freewill, for then it would have be a "whatever you say Lord will be done."
10Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. Here is the devious mind of Satan at work, free to think what ever he likes, and the freedom to prove that his thinking is correct. 11But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. The Lord knows that Satan probably has chosen this moment when so many of the sons of God have gathered before the throne, to throw this challenge before him. It is for those watching, that God allows it to be so as Satan wishes. 12And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

[muffler dragon]

IN Job's case, Satan came before God Notice that God asked Satan where he has been... like it was not something that God directed him to do.. which would make me think that Satan took it upon himself to go here and there. God knew what was on Satan's mind, what Satan was after, and God provided a subject worthy of the test. Satan negotiates with God to have the protection removed from Job. That would indicate freewill thinking and wheeling and dealing with the Lord.
This is not something that would be a conversation when the subject [satan] had no freewill, for then it would have be a "whatever you say Lord will be done."
Here is the devious mind of Satan at work, free to think what ever he likes, and the freedom to prove that his thinking is correct. The Lord knows that Satan probably has chosen this moment when so many of the sons of God have gathered before the throne, to throw this challenge before him. It is for those watching, that God allows it to be so as Satan wishes.

To each their own interpretation. ;)

[ChavaK]

Purim is about the fact that HaSatan will not stop finding evil men to attempt to destroy the Jews, or at least destroy HaShem’s plans for them, over and over again, in every generation, in every place until Mashiach comes.

Let's credit teshuvah.com for that quote.....
I have been celebrating Purim for
more years than I can remember, and I have
never heard HaSatan mentioned in contex
of the observance of Purim..
:wave:

[ChavaK]

FWIW, Judaism doesn't hold the belief that HaSatan and the angels have free will.

correct :thumbsup:

[visionary]

So that means, it truly was a REVELATION to John, a jew, that there was a war in heaven and a third of the angels were thrown out. Up to that moment, angels were not considered evil, just sh...it disturbers.

No wonder there were amazed by Yeshua casting out deomns.

[muffler dragon]

So that means, it truly was a REVELATION to John, a jew, that there was a war in heaven and a third of the angels were thrown out. Up to that moment,

That's one way of looking at it, I guess. :D

angels were not considered evil, just sh...it disturbers.

I think a better way of looking at it is: agents of G-d. Angels do the bidding of G-d in the world.

No wonder there were amazed by Yeshua casting out deomns.

I'm not seeing how you draw the conclusion.

[visionary]

Do you think demons is a different catagory from evil angels?

[muffler dragon]

Do you think demons is a different catagory from evil angels?

What are your definitions of each? Then I'll try to answer.

[Spiritofprophecy]

If the Book of Enoch is any indication..... not really.

Yeshua as a Jew understood HaSatan. did those that accused him of being beelzabub. The name Ba'al-zebub is associated with the Philistine city of Ekron. In 2 Kings, after Moab rebelled against Israel, Ahaziah had fallen and injured himself. To find out if he'd recover from the injury he sent out messengers, telling them:

Purim is about the fact that HaSatan will not stop finding evil men to attempt to destroy the Jews, or at least destroy HaShem’s plans for them, over and over again, in every generation, in every place until Mashiach comes.
and another piece in that same webside tells something I never thought of before. It was this superstitious belief, no doubt, that prompted the sons of Sceva, who had witnessed St. Paul's successful exorcisms in the name of Jesus, to try on their own account the formula, "I conjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth", with results disastrous to their credit (Acts 19:13). It was a popular Jewish belief, accepted even by a learned cosmopolitan like Josephus, that Solomon had received the power of expelling demons, and that he had composed and transmitted certain formulæ that were efficacious for that purpose. The Jewish historian records how a certain Eleazar, in the presence of the Emperor Vespasian and his officers, succeeded, by means of a magical ring applied to the nose of a possessed person, in drawing out the demon through the nostrils -- the virtue of the ring being due to the fact that it enclosed a certain rare root indicated in the formulaæ of Solomon, and which it was exceedingly difficult to obtain (Ant. Jud, VIII, ii, 5; cf. Bell. Jud. VII, vi, 3).
Greetings in the name of Jesus:

Dear vision. beelzebub in mark 3;22 casting out demons; is contradicted by Jesus In Mark 3;23-27. clearly states this is not possible of; Satan to cast our satan..or Housed divided cannot stand.

I pray my words do not offend. God bless C.F. and all who use it.

[nasa1]

One of the biggest devices the enemy uses is pride..especially pride in works.

Satan has most of the world, and even many in the believing world, puffed up because their works.

Some people can be so blinded by their works that they no longer see themselves as sinners needing grace that only Yeshua can provide. Satan has done a good job of making the world believe, be a good person, go to heaven

nasa1

[visionary]

What about the poseesion of the body, and controlover the will of men? Causing insanity in some?

[talmidim]

Hi Vis,

The account in Enoch has demons separate from angels. They are the spirits of the Nephilim ( the offspring of angels and the daughters of men) that are cursed to remain on earth after their bodies die. Their curse is that they have all the appetites of the flesh and no way to satisfy them. Hence their need to possess the bodies of men. There is some confirmation of these attributes in scripture.

So according to the Enoch account, they are crossbreed descents of angels and early women, but separate and distinct entities from angels. Angels have bodies. Demons do not.

I did some research on the subject a while back. I'll see if I can dig it up for you. BTW, good thread.

[visionary]

Demons are the crossbreeding, those that can and need to possess the body.. if I am understanding you correctly. They are also the ones that have been locked down in the pit are let loose upon the earth in the last days????


Meanwhile the evil angels are those that want to breed with humans, kill them, and have them bow down and worship them...

[Cheriann]

I've always thought that while satan may have his own intentions he had to have permission from G-d to be able to act them out. No?

[ThorninHiscrown]

Satan is top of the foodchain for unsaved humans and only being a new creation stops you from being his dust.

[Cheriann]

I think that once you try to change and follow G-d's Word, relying on Him, trying to become closer to Him, that's when the battle really begins. Because satan pulls out all the stops in order to try to "get you back" so to speak.

[talmidim]

Demons are the crossbreeding, those that can and need to possess the body.. if I am understanding you correctly. They are also the ones that have been locked down in the pit are let loose upon the earth in the last days????
* snip*

Hi Vis,

I guess I didn't explain very well. Unclean spirits (demons) are spiritual beings that are the result of the crossbreeding - yes. When they die physically, their spirit is cursed to remain on earth.

The ones that are bound in the pit are the angels that did the interbreeding. They left their first estate (in Heaven) and came down to live and breed on earth, setting themselves up as "gods". Hence the idol worship and false gods that Adonai warns against.

[visionary]

So who was the prince of Persia that Daniels's angel was speaking of? Dan 10:13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia. If bad angels are kept in the pit, and demons are spirits of the crossbred dead which look for another body to inhabit?

[talmidim]

So who was the prince of Persia that Daniels's angel was speaking of? If bad angels are kept in the pit, and demons are spirits of the crossbred dead which look for another body to inhabit?Vis, we know that some angels are in the pit and some are not. That we can take as fact, if for no other reason than the accounts in Jude and Job cannot conflict. Jude does not say that ALL angels were bound in darkness. Only those that left their first estate. This appears to have been a voluntary move. The research I did on some of this matter eludes me for now, but it seems there was a prohibition against the interbreeding with mankind that we read about in Genesis 6 if memory serves.

From various places in scripture we know that there is a definite hierarchy of evil (ex: Eph 6:12). I suppose that unclean spirits respond to the urgings of their "gods" and ancestors, the fallen ones. And while the Prince of the Air is chief among them and resides primarily in the second heaven, and daily surveys the earth in order to testify against the brethren (Job 1 and 2) among other things, there is no evidence that he broke the prohibition against interbreeding with mankind.. He is a subtle creature that attempts to get others to break Elohim's statutes for him.

We also know that there are nations that have a guardian angel. Scripture tells us that the angel of Israel's is Michael. At this point I can only presume that there are both good and evil angels assigned to the other nations too. That would account for the angel that resisted Gabriel in the book of Daniel. I am sorry I can't offer anything more substantial at this point.

[visionary]

Yeah, I have heard of the heirachy of angels

Seraphims The guardians before God's throne, referred to as "the fiery spirits", they are usually pictured with six wings and flames. They constantly sing God's praise and regulate heaven. They are colored a flaming red and gold to symbolize fire. God's grace flows through the seraphim to the Angels below, dispelling darkness and purifying the universe. It was from this order that Satan emerged. Before his fall from Grace, he was considered the Angel who outshone all others. Seraphims are the highest order of Angels. http://www.angelfocus.com/dionysius%20hierarchy.htm

[talmidim]

Yeah, I have heard of the heirachy of angels

Seraphims The guardians before God's throne, referred to as "the fiery spirits", they are usually pictured with six wings and flames. They constantly sing God's praise and regulate heaven. They are colored a flaming red and gold to symbolize fire. God's grace flows through the seraphim to the Angels below, dispelling darkness and purifying the universe. It was from this order that Satan emerged. Before his fall from Grace, he was considered the Angel who outshone all others. Seraphims are the highest order of Angels. http://www.angelfocus.com/dionysius%20hierarchy.htmInteresting article but not much in the way of references.

[visionary]

Interesting article but not much in the way of references. http://www.answers.com/topic/jewish-angelic-hierarchy

[visionary]

Names of known Seraphim:

Seraphiel
Metatron
Michael
Vehuel
Uriel
Nathanael
Jehoel
Chamuel (Kemuel, Shemuel)
Lucifer
Abaddon
Asmodeus
Astaroth
Leviathan
Samael
Semyazza

[visionary]

Names of known Seraphim:

Seraphiel
Metatron
Michael
Vehuel
Uriel
Nathanael
Jehoel
Chamuel (Kemuel, Shemuel)
Lucifer
Abaddon
Asmodeus
Astaroth
Leviathan
Samael
Semyazza
http://www.answers.com/topic/christian-angelic-hierarchy

[talmidim]

Unfortunately, most of what is written is derived from extra-canonical sources or is the product of unverifiable eisegesis. Not that I have anything against extra-canonical sources or eisegesis. I just like to be able to confirm with context and verify with scripture.

[visionary]

Unfortunately, most of what is written is derived from extra-canonical sources or is the product of unverifiable eisegesis. Not that I have anything against extra-canonical sources or eisegesis. I just like to be able to confirm with context and verify with scripture.
amd your point??? you write as if extra-canonical sources or eisegesis are horrible or something.

[talmidim]

NO NO NO! Not what I was saying...Unfortunately, most of what is written is derived from extra-canonical sources or is the product of unverifiable eisegesis. Not that I have anything against extra-canonical sources or eisegesis. I just like to be able to confirm with context and verify with scripture.
If I find anything interesting through eisegesis I like to be able to confirm the analysis through context whether through linguistics, historical sources, cultural clues or whatever. With extra-canonical sources, I like to have some scripture that verifies some if not all of the information offered and enough context to support the conclusion.