Could you share an example with me and how you realized it was one of his works?
Have a blessed day
2007-05-25 05:18:47 · 18 answers · asked by G 6 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Concrete examples would be much appreciated.
2007-05-25 05:29:48 · update #1
Satan is touted by the church to be the most powerful entity in the human reality. The constant warnings about Satan's ability to control the minds of humans, and the power he supposedly wields over them to do his bidding, constantly flow like a torrent of terror from the pulpit. The “hell fire and brimstone” reflects, perhaps, no more than the overblown attitude of Satan himself. An objective search of scripture of just how powerful he is will reveal a surprising conclusion. The presence of Satan in scripture is rare, and he is portrayed as a classic example of failure. He has power, but not in the way the church has long claimed.
The church warns of his power to enter your mind, and even your body, without you even knowing it. He is represented as having the ability to actually control your thoughts and actions. To the contrary, the church teaches Jesus can only do this if 'you' decide 'you' want him to. The accepted doctrine is that Satan has complete control of the planet, and his presence is pointed out in everything the church disagrees with, any time in history, and anywhere in the world.
The fact is, Satan and his followers are living here posing as humans and their influence over us comes in the form of being very active in the world of politics (advisors to world leaders) and the media (The temptation to be materialistic caused by tv commercials). These are just a couple examples.
Is this fear of Satan that the churches instill in us justified, or is it smoke and mirrors which actually hides the true deception of this master of deception? While the church is raging about the Devil trying to steal hearts, minds, and money from them, he is hiding behind the perfect image they have so generously provided for him. He is grateful for the image that conceals his true deception so clearly described in the Bible.
To give a simple example of the ignorance Biblical "authorities" have about scripture, the word "Lucifer" is a perfect example. Most, who have had even limited exposure to any Bible-based religions, mistakenly believe that this is one of the names of Satan. Very few, even among theologians, know the word "Lucifer" was never in the original text of the Book of Isaiah. It does appear in the King James Bible, although incorrectly, but, this is the only time the word appears in the Bible.
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!
The word "Lucifer" was added by the translators of the King James Bible and is of a Latin origin, not the original Hebrew. The term Lucifer comes not from the Hebrew or the Greek Septuagint translation, but from the 4th Century AD Latin translation of this verse: “quomodo cecidisti de caelo lucifer qui mane oriebaris corruisti in terram qui vulnerabas gentes.”
The term lucifer in Latin was the name for Venus, the morning star. The same word is used in other places in the Latin Vulgate to translate Hebrew terms that mean "bright," especially associated with the sky:
From the Hebrew, Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance renders the definition of the original word ‘heylel’, pronounced hay-lale', as: the morning star: (in the sense of brightness); (Title referring to the king of Babylon). A reading of this verse in context will also show that it is doubtful this verse is even referring to Satan, but rather, to a man.
Many point to the “morning star” in Isaiah as a direct reference to Satan and proof of his connection to this verse. The following verse shows that this term is not exclusive to Satan, but even used by Jesus as a personal description:
Revelation 22:16 I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify these things to you over the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright and Morning Star.
To sum this all up, everything you've been taught about Satan is wrong. The real temptation comes from the fact that we humans are fallible and susceptible to outside influences. Satan uses that to his advantage. For example: if we're tempted to commit adultery, its because of the sexually promiscuous society Satan has created via movies, tv shows, commercials etc. and our own weaknesses.
Satan is undoubtedly a very powerful force in this world but his objectives are much easier to meet by using politics and the media than by entering our heads individually.
Hope this answers your question.
2007-05-25 06:55:53 · answer #1 · answered by Dakota 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Every day. Satan works on us all. It might be something big, but small things. Like trying to get us angry over little stuff, telling us that we don't need God today, don't need to pray. There are many ways that he tries to tempt us all. I would be lying if I said that he only tempts me in big things, or that it isn't every day. It is everyday, and just knowing that it's an everyday thing helps me to realize when I'm being tempted. Just knowing that I can pray for strength and guidance helps me.
2007-05-25 05:24:37 · answer #2 · answered by odd duck 6 · 5⤊ 1⤋
Satan is always hard at work, he wants to take us all with him
he will try to get us in the place where we are most vulnerable.
I pray daily and try to stay very aware, when he tries to get me to turn away from God.
So far, it has not worked. I am not saying I am perfect, because I am not. I am just a work in progress
God bless you
2007-05-25 05:25:10 · answer #3 · answered by Sicily 4 · 4⤊ 1⤋
Yes, he had many times. For example he is always trying to convince me that my deeds done for Christ are done to glorify myself and not him. When I started singing with our church worship team he kept whispering to me, "You're up there to make yourself look good, you aren't really worshipping God." This was so crippiling for me to hear and I started to believe the lie because I did enjoy being up there so much...I started thinking if I am up here to glorify myself then I need to step down because then my works are not for God...but it wasn't true. He just wanted me to leave the worship team because he knew that people would be blessed by me being up there. Soooo many people have told me how connected to God they feel when I sing, which is a great blessing that he is working through me to reach them.
2007-05-25 05:25:48 · answer #4 · answered by stakekawa 3 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Everyday.... I gave up drugs years ago... was out one night and someone offered a line...bam! that thought of oh, I could do one line....but I know better, been redeemed, been cleaned! why go back?
I do find that once I realize Hey!! this is a temptation of Satan, I have seen this before, I can usually get past it, and go on in my walk.
2007-05-25 05:26:31 · answer #5 · answered by 2ndchhapteracts 5 · 4⤊ 1⤋
The devil tempts each of us every day.
Examples can be as simple as gossiping at work, lying, cheating, and stealing (or more complex.)
2007-05-25 05:25:45 · answer #6 · answered by amber 18 5 · 3⤊ 1⤋
All the time,but Jesus is always on my heart, so the devil cannot have a stronghold on me. Jesus keeps me in check.
God Bless You two.
2007-05-25 05:26:16 · answer #7 · answered by Brilliant 1forHIM 5 · 3⤊ 1⤋
yes about a couple of weeks ago i had got home from Bible study i got into it with my brother about something that was not even as deep as we made it so we said sorry to one another cause i thought about it and if their is no unity their is destustion
2007-05-25 05:36:36 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes! He tries to make us busy with other things in order to not have time to read and medidate on God's Word and also for prayer!
God bless you too!
2007-05-25 05:25:37 · answer #9 · answered by Peace Maker 3 · 4⤊ 1⤋
yeah the story of my life. he is always trying to get me down and depressed, he likes to try to put fear in me. he is always trying to bring up my past failures and try to convince me that I have not been forgiven..When I get depressed at first I don't realize it but then after awhile it really hits me big time, and I then realize that God don't give anyone depression, and then I stand up and start fighting back, fear does not come from God it is from satan though he tries to put fear in me I fight back as well. and the failures of my past, that's actually the hardest of all, he knows what buttons to push and it starts up.I know I am not perfect, I know all that I have done and it makes me mad because he likes to bring my past up, I get rather upset when this happens, because he tries to weaken my faith in God. That's when I start praying and start blinding him away from me, my mistakes are there to remind me of where I came from, they are there for me to learn a lesson and that's all, so I stand up to him as well and start asking God for strength to go through each day. If it wasn't for my Faith in God I would most likely give in and fall back into what is no longer my life. I thank God each day for all He has done for me, and for his love He has given to me and for Him excepting me as I am into His love..satan is running around like a wild mad cat, working over time and trying to convince people of his lies that your not forgiven and your not saved, his time I short and he knows it, thats why we are always going through the battles we go through..Just have to take the stand and become stronger each day in our faith in the Lord..And to keep our head up and our eyes on Jesus and we will make it...
2007-05-25 05:41:28 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋