Why does God allow Satan to exist?

Question

The most common thing I am hearing is that so we can tempt our faith. However in the story of Adam and Eve, Adam was a perfect being who was easily tempted by Satan, and if he was, what chance do all of us incredibly flawed people have?

Answer 1

In ancient Jewish tradition Satan is simply an angel doing the work that God assigned to Satan to do.

The word Satan means challenger. With the idea of Satan challenging us, or tempting if you will. This description sees Satan as the angel who is the embodiment of man's challenges. This idea of Satan works closely with God as an integral part of Gods plan for us. His job is to make choosing good over evil enough of a challenge so that it becomes clear to us that there can be only one meaningful or logical choice.

Contrast this to Christianity, which sees Satan as God's opponent. In Jewish thought, the idea that there exists anything capable of setting itself up as God's opponent would be considered polytheistic or setting up the devil to be an equally powerful polarity to god or a demigod.

Oddly, proof for The Christian satan/devil mythology is supposedly found in the ancient Jewish texts that were borrowed to create the bible. One can’t help but wonder how Christians came up with such a fantastically different interpretation of Gods assistant Satan in their theology.

Other hints about Satan’s role in human relations can be seen if you look at the name Lucifer. It’s meaning in the original tongue translates as Light bearer or light bringer. Essentially the bringer of enlightenment. The temptations of the Satan idea bring all of us eventually into Gods light. Hardly the Evil entity of Christian mythology.

Love and blessings
don

Answer 2

To find out why God allows suffering, we need to think back to the time when suffering began. When Satan led Adam and Eve into disobeying Jehovah, an important question was raised. Satan did not call into question Jehovah’s power. Even Satan knows that there is no limit to Jehovah’s power. Rather, Satan questioned Jehovah’s right to rule. By calling God a liar who withholds good from his subjects, Satan charged that Jehovah is a bad ruler. (Genesis 3:2-5) Satan implied that mankind would be better off without God’s rulership. This was an attack on Jehovah’s sovereignty, his right to rule.

Adam and Eve rebelled against Jehovah. In effect, they said: “We do not need Jehovah as our Ruler. We can decide for ourselves what is right and what is wrong.” How could Jehovah settle that issue? How could he teach all intelligent creatures that the rebels were wrong and that his way truly is best? Someone might say that God should simply have destroyed the rebels and made a fresh start. But Jehovah had stated his purpose to fill the earth with the offspring of Adam and Eve, and he wanted them to live in an earthly paradise. (Genesis 1:28) Jehovah always fulfills his purposes. (Isaiah 55:10, 11) Besides that, getting rid of the rebels in Eden would not have answered the question that had been raised regarding Jehovah’s right to rule.

Let us consider an illustration. Imagine that a teacher is telling his students how to solve a difficult problem. A clever but rebellious student claims that the teacher’s way of solving the problem is wrong. Implying that the teacher is not capable, this rebel insists that he knows a much better way to solve the problem. Some students think that he is right, and they also become rebellious. What should the teacher do? If he throws the rebels out of the class, what will be the effect on the other students? Will they not believe that their fellow student and those who joined him are right? All the other students in the class might lose respect for the teacher, thinking that he is afraid of being proved wrong. But suppose that the teacher allows the rebel to show the class how he would solve the problem.

Jehovah has done something similar to what the teacher does. Remember that the rebels in Eden were not the only ones involved. Millions of angels were watching. (Job 38:7; Daniel 7:10) How Jehovah handled the rebellion would greatly affect all those angels and eventually all intelligent creation. So, what has Jehovah done? He has allowed Satan to show how he would rule mankind. God has also allowed humans to govern themselves under Satan’s guidance.

The teacher in our illustration knows that the rebel and the students on his side are wrong. But he also knows that allowing them the opportunity to try to prove their point will benefit the whole class. When the rebels fail, all honest students will see that the teacher is the only one qualified to lead the class. They will understand why the teacher thereafter removes any rebels from the class. Similarly, Jehovah knows that all honesthearted humans and angels will benefit from seeing that Satan and his fellow rebels have failed and that humans cannot govern themselves. Like Jeremiah of old, they will learn this vital truth: “I well know, O Jehovah, that to earthling man his way does not belong. It does not belong to man who is walking even to direct his step.”—Jeremiah 10:23.

WHY SO LONG?

Why, though, has Jehovah allowed suffering to go on for so long? And why does he not prevent bad things from happening? Well, consider two things that the teacher in our illustration would not do. First, he would not stop the rebel student from presenting his case. Second, the teacher would not help the rebel to make his case. Similarly, consider two things that Jehovah has determined not to do. First, he has not stopped Satan and those who side with him from trying to prove that they are right. Allowing time to pass has thus been necessary. In the thousands of years of human history, mankind has been able to try every form of self-rule, or human government. Mankind has made some advances in science and other fields, but injustice, poverty, crime, and war have grown ever worse. Human rule has now been shown to be a failure.

Second, Jehovah has not helped Satan to rule this world. If God were to prevent horrible crimes, for instance, would he not, in effect, be supporting the case of the rebels? Would God not be making people think that perhaps humans can govern themselves without disastrous results? If Jehovah were to act in that way, he would become party to a lie. However, “it is impossible for God to lie.”—Hebrews 6:18.

What, though, about all the harm that has been done during the long rebellion against God? We do well to remember that Jehovah is almighty. Therefore, he can and will undo the effects of mankind’s suffering. As we have already learned, the ruining of our planet will be undone by the turning of the earth into Paradise. The effects of sin will be removed through faith in Jesus’ ransom sacrifice, and the effects of death will be reversed by means of the resurrection. God will thus use Jesus “to break up the works of the Devil.” (1 John 3:8) Jehovah will bring all of this about at just the right time. We can be glad that he has not acted sooner, for his patience has given us the opportunity to learn the truth and to serve him. (2 Peter 3:9, 10) Meanwhile, God has been actively seeking sincere worshipers and helping them to endure any suffering that may come upon them in this troubled world.—John 4:23; 1 Corinthians 10:13.

Answer 3

Satan is symbolic of the material forces or Maya. We cannot exist without them because our body is made up of material things. These forces are created by the Divine to tempt us so that we can learn lessons of love and compassion. They are in no way God's adversary, rather are created by God and serve him. It is written in the scriptures that when there is love for God and a prayer in deep surrender to the Divine within, such forces cannot come close. Even where good thoughts and praise of God exist, there can be no "Jamm or devil". Righteousness and truth are great for building defences against such forces.

Answer 4

In short, we don't have much of a chance unless God gives us grace to endure temptation. With God, all things are possible.

To answer your main question, God is waiting until the right moment to destroy His enemies... Satan, death, and sin all included. Until that day, God's mercy covers us.

See 1 Corinthians 15, particularly verses 19 to 28.
Also check out Revelation 20.

From the way you phrased your question, I assumed that you are a believer in Christ and that you have a Bible handy... if I have assumed in error, please forgive me.
You can find an online Bible at the link below, if you need it.

Please contact me if you have other questions.

God bless.

Answer 5

Your asking the wrong question. Why do we allow satan to exsist? If we could all love one another as God loves us, then the twisted mind of satan would have no foothold in this world. Didn't Jesus say you are a brood of vipers. We give life to satan when we agree with his evil, no matter how subtle it is. That also means we can be like God when we agree with God's goodness. Didn't Jesus say follow me?

Answer 6

When God created satan he was a beautiful angel..he became prideful and chose to sin against God therefore he could no longer be in God’s presence so he was cast out of the heavens. God gives all free will…satan/lucifer chose to use his for evil.

God Bless You

Answer 7

If a guy be an evil person (fallen from his first property) it is via the fact sin entered the international and each guy is born with the sin nature; not using fact devil replace into forged from heaven like lightening - which he replace into. decrease than no situations does devil act with out restraint - neither does any created being - which includes you and that i. God is on top of problems with His introduction and there has in no way been a time whilst He has not been. What is going on with devil - and adult adult males - is authorized via God for His purposes, and His purposes they are going to serve - which includes you and that i. you're witnessing God's permissive will working interior His sovereign will i can settle to your frustration related to what you comprehend using fact, effectively, you do not understand. You ask if God could be criticized yet all you do is criticize God - you, a guy refusing salvation criticizing the holiness of God - which lower back, you do not understand. That itself which you work together in is punishable via God and yet He has stayed His very own hand merely so which you are going to be able to repent. yet will you? it extremely is plausible for devil to regulate you yet there is not even any "choose" - to your person sin nature, which you hang to, does that. specific, the punishment for rejecting the rich mercy of God poured out on your behalf is eternal for you're sinning with an eternal soul against the eternal God. This act of God's mercy (His appointed Redeemer sent to guy) emanating from His holiness is what some, like myself, include and others, such as you, critcize.

Answer 8

Christianity allows the mythical God to allow the mythical Satan to exist so they have a mythical threat to frighten humans into robot-like behavior and conformity.

Answer 9

He is the judge. When judgement arrives, he will be gods right hand man in judging everyone. He tempts everone to sin and knows everyones sins.
Without sin, heaven and God would be a dictatorship.

Answer 10

The reason Satan exists is to accommodate free will we were given free will by God we can choose good or we can choose evil without Satan their would be no evil therefore no free will