Just Thought I would start off with a simple, but still over looked one.
Satan does not "rule over" hell, he is not a god or lord of death.
2Pe 2:4 For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast [them] down to hell, and delivered [them] into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;
Mat 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
Hell was created as punishment, not as a kingdom to reign over. God created it as a place for the rebellious. Satan did not create it and does not rule it.
The idea Satan rules hell comes in part if not whole from pagan religions such as that of the Greeks, Romans and Egyptians.
Greeks(Pluto) & Roman (Hades): Hades is the lord of the dead and ruler of the nether world, which is referred to as the domain of Hades or, by transference, as Hades alone. He is the son of Cronus and Rhea. When the three sons of Cronus divided the world among each other, Hades was given the underworld, while his brothers Zeus and Poseidon took the upperworld and the sea respectively. Hades sits on a throne made of ebony, and carries a scepter. He also has a helmet, given to him by the Cyclopes, which can make him invisible. Hades rules the dead, assisted by various (demonic) helpers, such as Thanatos and Hypnos, the ferryman Charon, and the hound Cerberus. (http://www.pantheon.org/articles/h/hades.html)
Egyptians: They had several gods that ruled over the dead such as Set and Osiris.
Satan is not any of these mythical gods, because he is not a god at all. There is only one God and only one ruler.
The Universe is not at war good vs evil.
This is also a pagan born belief
Many religions believe in ideas such as yen and yang. A balance of good and evil.
Evil is simply the absence of good. God is good and the Only power/force in the universe. Evil can not, nor could it ever rule, as it is by definition the absence of good.
This principal can be more easier understood if you compare it to cold is not a temperature, it is simply the absence of heat.
And Dark is the absence of light.
So why are we at war? We have an enemy.
Satan is our enemy.
1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
Eph 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].
The Good news is God is on our side.
2Cr 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
2Cr 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare [are] not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
No comments:
Post a Comment