Question about Satan and demons

[Rachel72]

Okay, if there is a Heaven, which I believe in God and Heaven, why did the angel Michaelangelo or whoever the devil was before he got thrown out of Heaven have a mind of his own?

I thought that Heaven makes us perfect and we don't have to deal with sin anymore. If that is the case, why did this angel have a mind of his own to destroy and want to take over being God?

What is to say about the demons? Why did they follow the devil to Hell? I am just wondering. What gave them the power to know right and wrong if they were in Heaven?

My hope is that when I get to Heaven, there will be no more sin for me. That I will endure no temptation and only be struck with awe and beauty as I gaze into our Father's eyes.

Thanks,

Rachel72

[Rachel72]

The archangel who rebelled was Lucifer. Because of his vanity, he chose to try to Overthrow God. A third of the angels followed him in his rebellion. They were defeated and cast from heaven. The Bible does not state that all the demons were bound in hell, only some of them. Many, including Satan, roam the earth. Hell was created to be the final holding place for Satan and his angels.

Thank you, hr, jr. I am just wondering, though, why were there people in Heaven, angels, I mean, that wanted to go their own way. How could they be able to choose IF they were in Heaven. That is the part I don't understand. How did Satan have the power IN Heaven to do this? Will we be tempted in Heaven, too?

[juan77]

Rachel72.

I believe God created us humans just a little below angels. Although angels are spirit beings and workers of God, one of their main duties is bringing worship and praise to God 24/7. We humans are children of God. We were created in His image and likeness. Angels are created spirits, we are flesh and bone, soul and Breath of God (spirit). Because God made angels to be just a little more than humans, I believe He intrusted them with a little more talents.

God created mankind not to have knowledge of good and evil. Why do you think He did that? I believe it is because of the angels. He gave them the knowledge of good and evil and look what a third of them did with it!

hr.jr.

I agree with you, partially.

Am I correct when I say you get your answers mostly from the book of Revelations?

I believe some of what is written in Revelations have already happened, and some speak of things yet to come.

Look at Rev.16 for example, with the Crucifixion of Jesus in mind. Pay special attention from verse 17.

Maybe this is a radical statement, but I believe satan is already bound in hell. Jesus publicly triumphant over death when He died on the Cross and rose on the third day. The only demons we fight against is our own flesh and corruptable unrenewed mind. Thats why Paul urges us to let our minds be renewed by the Holy Spirit.

Also in Revelations we find that satan is to rule for 42months and the people will where the number of the beast etc etc...

but God's time is not our time, God's thoughts are not our thoughts. We can see the signs of the end time, but no one knows the time of the Second Coming, except God. The signs of the end time is present for the past century now. Through Zecheraiah and Daniel and Esther we can trace that some of those prophecies were fulfilled in this present age.

As for the rest, I also believe we will have heaven on earth. God promises a new Jerusalem, a new earth. We will be in heaven for eternity, but heaven on earth.

Ok I know I went totally of the topic now, but I felt I needed to share this.

and I'm open for your thoughts

[Floatingaxe]

Satan is not in hell at this time--earth is his realm! Why do you think the Word says that he roams about as a lion, seeking whom he may devour?

[Nero's Fiddle]

To reply to the original question:

God does not desire to force anyone to love Him, because then the love could not be real. Instead He has given every sentient being, including angels, a choice.

The angels' time of choice was at the rebellion of Lucifer. The Bible does not talk about another fall for angels at any point, nor any type of redemption available to them. Therefore, I believe that angels are now "sealed" in their choice.

In the same way, our lifetime on earth is our time of choice. Those who reject Christ and die in that state have made the same choice the fallen angels did, with similar ultimate results.

Those who do accept Christ are also sealed (Christians are sealed by the Holy Spirit directly!). You are correct that, when we see the Lord, the process of sanctification (being made holy) that we go through our entire lives will be complete. We will have be made like our Savior, and will never sin again. Moreover, at that point we will no longer even have a sin nature, so we will never again face temptation.

Don't worry! The important thing is, the Bible has promised that sin is a defeated foe, and that we will ultimately be completely and utterly free from it.

[Brandli5]

Angels are personal spiritual beings, having aspects of intelligence, emotions, and will. This is true of both the good and evil angels. Angels possess intelligence (Matthew 8:29; 2 Corinthians 11:3; 1 Peter 1:12), show emotions (Luke 2:13; James 2:19; Revelation 12:17), and demonstrate that they have wills (Luke 8:28-31: 2 Timothy 2:26; Jude 6). Angels are spirit beings (Hebrews 1:14), with no true physical body. The fact that they do not have bodies does not affect their being personalities (any more than it does with God).

The knowledge angels possess is limited by their being created beings. This means they do not know all things as God does (Matthew 24:36). They do seem to have greater knowledge than humans, however. This may be due to three causes. (1) Angles were created as a higher order of creatures in the universe than humans are. Therefore, innately they possess greater knowledge. (2) Angels study the Bible and the world more thoroughly than humans do and gain knowledge from it (James 2:19; Revelation 12:12). (3) Angels gain knowledge through long observation of human activities. Unlike humans, angels do not have to study the past; they have experienced it. Therefore, they know how others have acted and reacted in situations and can predict with a greater degree of accuracy how we may act in similar circumstances.

Though they have wills, the angels are, like all creatures, subject to the will of God. Good angels are sent by God to help believers (Hebrews 1:14). Here are some activities the Bible ascribes to angels:

A. They praise God (Psalm 148:1,2; Isaiah 6:3).

B. They worship God (Hebrews 1:6; Revelation 5:8-13).

C. They rejoice in what God does (Job 38:6-7).

D. They serve God (Psalm 103:20; Revelation 22:9).

E. They appear before God (Job 1:6; 2:1).

F. They are instruments of God's judgments (Revelation 7:1; 8:2).

G. They bring answers to prayer (Acts 12:5-10).

H. They aid in winning people to Christ (Acts 8:26; 10:3).

I. They observe Christian order, work, and suffering (1 Corinthians 4:9; 11:10; Ephesians 3:10; 1 Peter 1:12).

J. They encourage in times of danger (Acts 27:23,24).

K. They care for the righteous at the time of death (Luke 16:22).

Angels are entirely a different order of being than humans. Human beings do not become angels after they die. Angels will never become, and never were, human beings. God created the angels, just as He created humanity. The Bible nowhere states that angels are created in the image and likeness of God, as humans are (Genesis 1:26). Angels are spiritual beings that can, to a certain degree, take on physical form. Humans are primarily physical beings, but with a spiritual aspect. The greatest thing we can learn from the angels is their instant, unquestioning obedience to God

[peaches]

to add to the original question.....

i thought the reason we will not be able to sin anymore once we get to heaven was because we will be in the presence of God. so if angels were in teh presence of God how was sin able to penetrate through that and cause them to fall?

[peaches]

so whats the major thing, then, that will inhibit sin?

[Guest Gamin]

I would like to answer that it it's simplest form....

It is Jesus, the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.

He does away with sin, and there will be no more sin.

He said so, and he cannot lie, so since he knows all things, and I can trust him, I just believe him.

Satan is cast forever into the lake of fire, there will be no more curse.

Read Revelation 22:1-5

Praise God!

I can hardly wait!

[Guest stegokitty]

The angels in heaven were not people.

I think you mean that angels are not humans. They most certainly are people, just as God is three Persons. The Father and the Spirit (obviously) are spirit; and the Son, while a spiritual person, is also a human being. 100% God and 100% Man. In two distinct natures in one Person forever. So, while I'm sure that this is what you meant, we need to be careful with our terms, especially when talking about spiritual things.

First, everyone who will be in heaven will have made a conscious choice to be there. They made this choice by accepting Jesus as their savior.

Does this mean that infants and imbeciles will not be in Heaven? They cannot make a reasonable, conscious choice toward anything.

Beyond that, I believe the point that Rachel is asking upon is what's to keep us from falling away in sin in Heaven and/or the New Earth, since the angels were in Heaven and they fell.

The answer to that is rather large and small at the same time. I'll give you the short version, which is packed with so much stuff that many people will have their sensibilities offended by it, but nevermind all that, it's truth that sets us free:

The fall of Satan, along with the 1/3 of the subordinate angels was part of the plan of God. God no more caused Satan and the third to fall, anymore than God caused Adam and Eve to fall, but their falls were part of the eternal plan. God was not surprised when it happened, and he didn't have to draw up a new plan when it happened. The Story of Redemption, the story in which you and I are living right now, was planned by the Triune God from eternity past, and will be accomplished perfectly, even as it is being accomplished perfectly right now. This story is designed for the glory of God. God demonstrates his wrath against sin by punishing some sinners (both angels and humans) for their sins, and he demonstrates his mercy in not punishing other sinners for their sins, but rather punishing Christ for their sins. So to one group of sinners, they get what they deserve, punishment -- and to the other group, they don't get what they deserve, instead they receive mercy.

The reason that you and I and every person for whom Christ died will never fall like Satan and the third, is because God has promised this to be so. Technically that's good enough. There's no reason to go any further, since God has promised it, and God cannot lie. But you can be sure that God will not punish his Son for the sins of an individual, and then allow that individual to suffer eternal disgrace. That would be to make Christ's suffering and death in vain. It would also be unjust, and God is not unjust. The wages of sin is death. If Christ died for a person, then they cannot be charged with the guilt of their sin, since the penalty thereof has been paid in full, to quote the Lord himself from the cross.

God justly punishes the unrepentant, and justly shows mercy to those who repent, by his grace, by the working of his Spirit.

You may rest assured therefore, that once we've been changed completely into the likeness of Christ, finally, at the Last Day, this part of the story is consumated. Thereafter is eternity in the presence of God, living as we were designed from the beginning, and forever glorifying God in our whole being.