Why didn`t God.........

[Marilyn C]

Good to think upon these questions as they help us appreciate God`s character and His purposes.

 

So...Why didn`t God cast Lucifer/Satan into the lake of Fire -

 

1. After he had sinned in the angelic realm and was cast out.

2. After he had deluded Adam and Eve.

3. After Christ rose from the dead.

4. After the tribulation.

[CaptWalker]

Maybe He was just a bit bored from a few million years(give or take) of not much going on except a bunch of Dinosaurs running around, but that's a whole nother topic. I really think He just wanted Satan to remain even until the very end to test those whos hearts may have not been or still are not fully devoted to Him, but it would really take a lot more time to explain what I'm really trying to say, as maybe you can tell from the first sentence in my comment?!

Either way, it's really just best not to question God, unless you are a JOB type figure who has lost everything in a very tragic way, and then maybe God will let slide any accusations against Him, but I wouldn't recommend questioning Him too much unless you have a very good reason for doing so... just saying from personal experience.

[RdJ]

They had these questions on a Dutch forum with angry exchristians and atheists. The topic was called: 200 questions for the believer and I thought: Oh nice. Lets answer these and convert this bunch. That was not so smart. I had never thought about such things. They called me a New Testament sugar christian and one gave me the Troll of the year award.

What I came up with then, really thinking I had to protect God and make them love Him and not be mad, was that He was so naive that He had no clue satan was ever gonna sin and that He could do nothing about it. And then one Jewish agnostic guy there came to my rescue and later he was on a christian forum in the middle of the night and asked if someone could pray for his dad who was about to die. He used a computer from the hospital to ask the question. So awesome. I prayed for his dad and am sure he went to heaven.

Anyway He lets him loose after 1000 years and just, since he rebelled anyway and will never convert, uses him as a thing for not so neat purposes, like Romans 9 says, just like pharao who sinned against the Spirit.

Derek Prince said He created us to overcome him and only if you do you passed the test and may go to heaven.

It would be babying everyone if He had locked him up and protected us. With Job He just uses him so he gets to know Him.

I write to you, fathers, Because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, Because you have overcome the wicked one. I write to you, little children, Because you have known the Father. I have written to you, fathers, Because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, Because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, And you have overcome the wicked one.
I John 2:13‭-‬14 NKJV
https://bible.com/bible/114/1jn.2.13-14.NKJV

 

And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”
Luke 22:31‭-‬32 NKJV
https://bible.com/bible/114/luk.22.31-32.NKJV

Edited April 28 by RdJ

[ladypeartree]

How many times are we to forgive those that sin against us ?  Why would God ask us to do what He is not willing to do ?

[luigi]

9 hours ago, Marilyn C said:

Good to think upon these questions as they help us appreciate God`s character and His purposes.

 

So...Why didn`t God cast Lucifer/Satan into the lake of Fire -

 

1. After he had sinned in the angelic realm and was cast out.

2. After he had deluded Adam and Eve.

3. After Christ rose from the dead.

4. After the tribulation.

I don't know about Satan sinning in the angelic realm and being cast out yet, which many assume to be what Christ is saying when He says He saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning in Luke 10:18. It is in a future tense, just like Jesus saw not one stone on top of another in the current Jerusalem.

As to why Satan was not cast into the lake of fire following his deception of Adam and Eve; it was because man had made his choice to believe in Satan and not God at that point, and as such, Satan was allotted governance over man and the world. As his world governance over man and the worlds ecosystems is now collapsing; he and his false illuminating angels will soon be cast out unto the earth (Revelation 12:9), where he will be allotted one last go at making his governance over man and the world work. He will not be successful, and he knows it (Revelation 12:12).

Revelation 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Revelation 12:12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

[RV_Wizard]

10 hours ago, Marilyn C said:

So...Why didn`t God cast Lucifer/Satan into the lake of Fire -

1. After he had sinned in the angelic realm and was cast out.

2. After he had deluded Adam and Eve.

3. After Christ rose from the dead.

4. After the tribulation.

Why do we melt iron?  It purifies the iron to make steel.  Why do we thresh wheat?  It separates the wheat berries from the unusable stalks.  Why did God give man the opportunity to sin?  It gave man the choice to serve Him or reject Him.  Angels were created to serve.  Only the greatest of them have the ability to accept or reject God.  For the others, it's their nature to follow.  Satan rebelled and was cast out of Heaven, taking 1/3rd of the angels with him because they followed him.  

So, cast out of Heaven but not banished from it, Satan roamed the newly created realm.  He deceived Eve and caused her to sin, but Adam was not deceived.  He willingly broke the law.  Because of that, the new creation was cursed.  Sickness and death came into the world.  The animals, created to eat plants, began to eat each other.  Still, God had a purpose for Satan.  He was there to tempt Jesus at His moment of weakness.  To demonstrate that a man could resist the temptation to sin, Jesus had to do just that.  Thus, Jesus showed us that we can resist the devil in exactly the same way.  He showed us that Satan could be defeated by using the Scriptures, which even Satan knew were accurate.  Sadly, many Christians don't have the faith in the Bible that Lucifer had.

We have a choice to follow God's word or to reject it and follow Satan's temptations.  Man is being tested from birth to death to determine his worthiness in eternity.  Most will fail.  When Jesus returns following the tribulations, Satan will be bound for a thousand years.  After that will come his judgment and final condemnation.  He hasn't gotten away with anything.  Every sin will convict him, just as our sins will convict us unless we have someone to take them away from us.  That's where Jesus comes in.  Only through Jesus can sins be forgiven.

Can a Muslim who sees Jesus only as a prophet go to Heaven?  No.  Can a Buddhist who strives to be a moral person go to Heaven without Jesus?  No.  God provides us with an example of holiness and an example of evil.  The choice is ours.  When our time on earth has ended and there will be no more time to choose, Satan will go where he belongs.  Until then, we are in a war.  Will you fight on the side of Jesus, or follow Satan into damnation?  You have a choice until you die.  Then there is no second chance.

[Starise]

10 hours ago, Marilyn C said:

Good to think upon these questions as they help us appreciate God`s character and His purposes.

 

So...Why didn`t God cast Lucifer/Satan into the lake of Fire -

 

1. After he had sinned in the angelic realm and was cast out.

2. After he had deluded Adam and Eve.

3. After Christ rose from the dead.

4. After the tribulation.

God uses bad to bring the other bad along with it. Satan has a purpose. In addition to bad being often turned for good purposes.

The way I see this things have to run their course now. Satan rebelled and pulled  a 3rd of the angels away. Satan aided in ruining man the same way he ruined himself, which I believe he thought it to be a death hit on men. He did not anticipate the salvation of men. This must really grate on him since none of the others were offered salvation. Their job was to remain loyal.

Now the goal is to entice men further away from God so they will never accept him. One way he does this is through character attacks on God questioning his validity , and discrediting the Bible in twisting it. If Christianity can be seen as passé, he can give men what the flesh has always wanted. A religion that lets them indulge the flesh. 
Anyone who has a mind to rebel or run counter to God will find lots of company. That’s why there will be millions in hell. This is the catalyst Satan uses, and why I think his presence on earth is used to help purge those people in the end.

 

[RdJ]

15 minutes ago, RV_Wizard said:

You have a choice until you die.  Then there is no second chance.

Sometimes there is. I saw a christian doctor on youtube. A man just died. He walked out of the room and God said he had to raise him from the dead and he came back and got saved. That guy, I felt so sorry for him. He just didn't know.

[AnOrangeCat]

10 hours ago, CaptWalker said:

Either way, it's really just best not to question God, unless you are a JOB type figure who has lost everything in a very tragic way, and then maybe God will let slide any accusations against Him, but I wouldn't recommend questioning Him too much unless you have a very good reason for doing so... just saying from personal experience.

How you question God is important as well, I'd say. A lot of the Psalms come from places of deep depression and frustration. There's a lot of this kind of content in there but it seems framed in a respectful way rather than lashing out.

[RV_Wizard]

11 minutes ago, RdJ said:

Sometimes there is. I saw a christian doctor on youtube. A man just died. He walked out of the room and God said he had to raise him from the dead and he came back and got saved. That guy, I felt so sorry for him. He just didn't know.

There is heart death and brain death.  When your heart stops, you can be revived.  When your brain is dead, your body may be re-animated, but your spirit is dormant until it is released by physical death.  Personally, I think the evidences of Near Death Experiences are too great to ignore.  True, people have been saved after recovering from near death experiences, but I wouldn't count on that.  None of us know how much time we have left.