Loving Your Spouse Through The Seasons Of Marriage
Debra Fileta has identified the four seasons of marriage that correspond with our natural seasons spring , summer , fall , and winter . In this interview, she will help couples better understand the four seasons of healthy relationships, what to expect during each one, and how to carefully navigate them for a stronger marriage.
Dr Tim And Mrs Noreen Muehlhoff
Dr. Tim Muehlhoff is a professor of communication at Biola University in La Mirada, California where he teaches classes in family communication, interpersonal communication, apologetics, gender, and conflict resolution. Tim and his wife, Noreen, are both on staff with Biolas Center for Marriage and Relationships where he is a co-host of The Art of Relationship podcast.
Satan Influenced Judas Iscariot
John tells us that the devil had been prompting Judas Iscariot to betray Jesus before the night of the Last Supper . Both John and Luke say that the devil entered Judas on the night he betrayed his Lord .
The Bible doesnt give us the mechanics of what happened here. But it is important to note that on this occasion, Satan found it necessary to be personally involved in making sure Jesus died.
However, if Satan could do it all over, he probably wouldnt have taken this course of action. Jesus death was not the victory Satan thought it was.
You May Like: What Does The Bible Say About Cremation Of The Body
Satan In The Book Of Revelations
It is understood that the angel once known as Lucifer was a close ally to God, a perfect creation of beauty and excellence, a being God cherished above all. But the angel grew arrogant with his position, and since believe that he ought to have been risen above God and that the world and everything in creation ought to have bowed before him.
In his belief, many of the other angels shed his notion, for they believe Lucifer to be more powerful than God and decided to side with him. In Revelation 12:7, we are told that a war broke out in heaven, and many scholars perceive this to be the war between Lucifer and God. In that civil war between angels erupted with one side led by Lucifer and the other by Archangel Michael.
We are told,
Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down, that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray.
It is believed here that Lucifer transformed into a dragon to defeat Archangel Michael. But in doing so, he was still defeated, and both he and his angels were cast off from heaven. Here, we see this dragon which is thought to have been Lucifer take on the name of Satan, a being who now leads the whole world astray.
He Is A Master Magician
Within the Christian tradition, Satan was a master of illusion. Unlike God, he could not perform miracles because he was bound by natural laws.
Satan was seen as a master of magic. In early Christianity, magic was reprehensible because demons were at the heart of it. For Saint Augustine , the demonic was present within all magic and superstitious practices in other religions.
For Isidore, bishop of Seville , the foolery of the magic arts held sway over the entire world for many centuries through the instructions of evil angels all of these things are to be avoided by a Christian and entirely repudiated and condemned.
Thus, witches, magicians, and sorcerers were seen as in league with the Devil.
Thus demonology, which developed from the middle of the 13th century, was the science of determining the powers of the Devil within nature. From the middle of the 15th century, their research was written up in text books for demon hunters Demonologies.
Modern conservative Christianity still views magical practices along with a range of popular occult practices tea leaf reading, horoscopes, seances, tarot cards, and ouija boards as dangerous dabbling with the Devil.
Read more:Is God good? In the shadow of mass disaster, great minds have argued the toss
Read Also: What Is The Chronological Order Of The Books Of The Bible
Satans Power Of Death Is Broken
It turns out that Jesus death broke at least some of Satans deathly power. The author of Hebrews explains it this way:
Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of deaththat is, the devil15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death .
The power of death is waning. Paul claims that death will be swallowed up in victory . And in the book of Revelation, Christ proclaims, I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades .
Tactics 10th Anniversary Edition: A Game Plan For Discussing Your Christian Convictions
In a world increasingly indifferent to Christian truth, followers of Christ need to be equipped to communicate with those who do not speak their language or accept their source of authority. In Tactics, 10th Anniversary Edition, Gregory Koukl demonstrates how to artfully regain control of conversations, keeping them moving forward in constructive ways through thoughtful diplomacy. Youll learn how to stop challengers in their tracks and how to turn the tables on questions or provocative statements. Most important, youll learn how to get people thinking about Jesus.
You May Like: In The Last Days There Will Be Scoffers Kjv
The Bible Doesnt Say He Rules All The Demons
Scripture doesnt give us a cut-and-dry picture of the divine hierarchy, good or evil. So while we can assume Satan is the most prominent of Gods adversaries, we shouldnt necessarily assume that all Gods divine opponents are under Satans control.
Heres how Heiser puts it: It is clear that Satan is leader of at least some of the powers of darkness. As the original rebel, he likely ranked first in terms of example in the minds of ancient readers. The fact that he is the one who confronted Jesus in the desert and offered Jesus the kingdoms of the world suggests as much. The lack of a clearly delineated hierarchy leaves the possibility that there are competing agendas in the unseen world, even where there exists the common goal of opposition to Yahweh and his people.
Satan In The Jewish Texts
Weve spoken about Satan having a minimal role in Judaism, in that many Jews do not believe in his existence as a supernatural being, but more so as an abstract idea. Many Rabbis have interpreted the word of Satan, often the uncapitalized form as referring to corporeal and human enemies, perhaps even disbelievers, or those that refute God.
Meanwhile, the Kabbalah presents Satan as sort of a mystery or agent of God, one who seeks to tempt humans into sinning so that he may serve as their judge in the heavenly court.
Through this idea, Satan is employed by God to root out evil humans, sort of like an undercover cop who entraps his victims and exposes them.
Read Also: Where Does The Bible Talk About Masturbation
Late Medieval: Satan As The Beast
Depictions of the devil during the Medieval period were commonly dragon-like, Montesano said. For example, an early pope known as Saint Sylvester reportedly slayed a devilish dragon, impressing a group of pagan priests and confirming the Christian faith of the Roman emperor Constantine, as Hans A. Pohlsander, a professor of classics, explained in “The Emperor Constantine” .
Related: Devil’s Night: The history of pre-halloween pranks
However, while mythical creatures were often associated with the devil during the medieval period, so too were real animals. According to the British Library, many medieval portrayals of the devil have animalistic features, including the iconic cloven hooves, tails, talons and even webbed hands.
Illustrations from a 14th-century French manuscript called the Smithfield Decretals show the devil with animal body parts, and depict him as a humongous beast. “We find foxes, bears, lions and many others having connotations that can signify those attributed to the devil,” Montesano said.
The Devil And Witches
Fear of the Devil is at least partially responsible for the witchcraft hysteria of Europe and New England in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Protestants and Catholics accused many people of practicing witchcraft and making deals with the Devil.
The Puritans living in New Englands early colonies were petrified of the Devil. They believed he gave powers to witches to those faithful to him. This fear gave rise to the infamous Salem Witch Trials in Salem, Massachusetts.
The Puritans strict lifestyle, their fear of outsiders and their terror of so-called Devils magic led them to accuse at least 200 people of witchcraft between 1692 and 1693twenty of the accused were executed.
Read Also: Praying Without Ceasing Meaning
Lucifer The Shining One
In fact, the Bible says that God created a powerful, intelligent, and beautiful spirit who was chief among all angels. His name was Lucifer and he was very good. But Lucifer also had a will with which he could freely choose. A passage in Isaiah 14 records the choice he had:
How you have fallen from heaven,morning star, son of the dawn!You have been cast down to the earth,you who once laid low the nations!You said in your heart,I will ascend to the heavens I will raise my throneabove the stars of God I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,on the utmost heights of the North.I will ascend above the tops of the clouds I will make myself like the Most High.
Lucifer, like Adam, faced a decision. He could accept that God was God or he could choose to be his own god. His repeated I wills show that he chose to defy God and declare himself to be Most High. A passage in Ezekiel gives a parallel description of the fall of Lucifer:
You were in Eden, the garden of God. I ordained and anointed youas the mighty angelic guardian.You had access to the holy mountain of Godand walked among the stones of fire.You were blameless in all you didfrom the day you were createduntil the day evil was found in you. and you sinned.by your love of splendor.So I threw you to the ground.
Clue: Isaiahs Parable Against The King Of Babylon
The prophet Isaiah compares the arrogant king of Babylon to a particularly ambitious divine being who has fallen from heaven .
This character at one point said to himself: I will ascend to the heavens I will raise my throne above the stars of God I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds I will make myself like the Most High .
Heiser notes that this passage reads like an attempted coup in the divine council. He wanted to be like the Most High . But there can be only one of those.
You May Like: Bible College In Maryland
He That Committeth Sin Is Of The Devil
Those who teach a Christian is automatically forgiven of the sins they commit in ignorance or weakness, without actually having to turn from them, sometimes claim I John 3:8 is a verse that supports their doctrine. The part of the verse they are referring to reads, He that committeth sin is of the devil. We are told this passage has under consideration the practice of sin, and that the practice of sin here would mean the committing of sin over and over again, and would not address the occurrence of a sin committed only on occasion. The argument is then made that a person who commits one or two sins occasionally is not practicing sin, in the sense of this passage, and is therefore not of the devil, but of God. In other words, a person can commit a sin and be automatically forgiven of it even as he sins, as long as he only commits the sin every now and then. Is this what I John 3:8 really teaches? Lets think for a moment and see.
hear Bible Crossfire Sunday nights at 8:04 central on SiriusXM radio Family Talk 131 or at BibleCrossfire.com
Satan In The Bible Satan And Judas Iscariot
Yet, another interesting account of Satans behaviour and his abilities are described in John 13, where Jesus is telling his disciples that one of them will indeed betray him.
When Simon Peter asks him who he is speaking of Jesus replied, It is the one to whom I give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.
Jesus then dips the bread in the dish and hands it to Judas Iscariot, who after receiving the bread is infiltrated by Satan. John tells us ,
After he received a piece of bread, Satan entered into him.
Its a bold statement to make, for it almost vindicates Judas of being the traitor that would end up setting up Jesus to the Romans. While you might say Judas was weak, in that he allowed Satan to take control over him, we never get to see this interaction. We dont know what Satan said, nor do we know how much power Satan used against Judas in getting him to ultimately betray Jesus.
Were going by how Satan doesnt seem to be able to do anything without the consent of his victims, it is likely that Satan promised Judas something that he couldnt refuse, or that he bullied Judas into allowing him to possess him. In any case, Judas falls victim to Satan scheming, and this leads to the crucifixion of Jesus.
In this, Satan scores get another victory against God. And we see this back and forth between the two sides throughout the Bible, a regular battle between good and evil that sees the scales tipped back and forth.
You May Like: Pray Unceasingly Verse
The Term Satan Applies To People
Once we understand that angels are simply people who have died and gone to heaven, we can see that devils are simply people who have turned against God and their fellow human beings. When Peter contradicted Jesus, Jesus called him “Satan” . Knowing that Judas would betray Him, Jesus called him “a devil” .
Actually, the term “Satan” is more a title than a name. It is a Hebrew word meaning “adversary.” Since Hadad and Rezan were political enemies of Solomon, each of them is called a “satan” or an adversary , and David was an adversary or “satan” to the Philistines .
The word “Devil” is also a title. It comes from the Greek diabolos which means “accuser” or “slanderer.” Paul several times warns us not to be “devils” or slanderers .
B The Sinful World Is Satan’s Domain: Job : 7 1 Pe : 8
Read Also: Fear In The Bible 365 Times
What Does The Devil Want
1572654204204201) The devil wants you distracted2) The devil wants your family.3) The devil wants you to profess your faith in Christ with your mouth, but for your actions to contradict Christianity.4) The devil wants you to be afraid. 5) The devil wants it all.SubmitResistSubmit to GodNo more trying to control our own lives and make our own decisions and write our own story.submit to His authorityresist the devilResist him in the power and strength of the Lord
Who Is Satan: What Does The Bible Say About The Devil
Satan or the Devil is often portrayed as some guy in a red suit with horns, a pitchfork, and a tail.1 This cartoon-like caricature is often mocked as being made up. Is this what Satan looks like? Is he real?
According to the Barna Group, the majority of Christians do not believe that Satan or the devil actually exists.2 However, according to an AP-AOL news poll, up to 97% of evangelical Christians believe that angels exist.3 Contrary to the beliefs of many, Satan is not the opposite of Godan anti-god. According to the Bible, Satan is a created being, having been created by God as His most powerful angelic helper. So, Satan is an angel who rebelled against God.
Also Check: Biblical Definition Of Sanctification
C Satan’s War Against God Is Fordomain Or Property Rights Of Your Soul
The Power Within Man To Overcome Sin
While God has created man with both good and evil inclinations, the two powers or tendencies that pull him in opposite directions, God commands each man to choose the good and right path over the evil. In the narrative of Cain and Abel, God tells Cain: Isnt it true that if you do good, you shall be forgiven? However, if you will not do good, it is because sin crouches at the entrance , and to you shall be its longing, although you have the ability to subdue it. Medieval commentator Rashi explains: and to you shall be its longing, meaning, the longing of sini.e., the evil inclinationwhich constantly longs and lusts to cause you to stumble…although you have the ability to subdue it, meaning, if a person wishes, he will overpower it.
The implication is that each man is capable of overcoming sin if he really wishes to do so. This may or may not be difficult, and may require some reconditioning, but it is still possible.
Also Check: Did Jesus Say Love Thy Neighbor