The Power of Satan over Believers and Unbelievers
score:6
When we consider where this 'permission' comes from we can answer points 1. & 2. First, every molecule in the universe, in a sense needs permission to do anything, because God is infinite in power. An infinite God can not allow anything to be done, without his permission. Therefore, for the Devil to exist, he needs, in a sense, God's permission. However the permission you are referring to is an abstraction from that more general permission and pertains to God's particular sovereignty, in rare specific cases. Here we are really dealing with God's sovereign control over the universe and we can have a window into it by this verse:
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. (NIV Romans 8:28-30)
(I have posted some details about this verse here, which supports this post, if you are interested in more details.)
This takes care of (1.) because for the elect God has planned out his blessing from eternity, so there can be no point where the Devil is not 'bound in chains' (Mark 3:27, Rev 20) in terms of the limits of his cruelty which he can unleash upon the elect.
With regard to (2.) I would say that the Devil is also clearly under the chains of God to limit his ability to inflict cruelty, otherwise, the whole world would due dead, or worshipping him, or some other great evil which we could not imagine. However this is a different case because he already has permission to rule their minds as he is the prince of darkness and ruler of the world.
The problem with all of this is our understanding of 'permission'. In general the Devil does not seem to need permission to carry on his work, but as he runs into brick walls of protection by God, he is bound. He is sort of free to cause havoc, without every second running to God for permission.
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.(NIV 1 Peter 5:8)
However, in very narrow cases, such as Job and Peter, the Bible moves into a special circumstance when God seems to remove part of his protection for mysterious purposes that align with the Devil's wishes. These mysterious cases are called a kind of'permission' with Job and Peter. usually the Bible does not indicate that the Devil is asking God anything, but Job and Peter are on God's and the Devils radar specifically, so there cases have special attention in the bible. In fact God is the one who brings up Job! But these specific cases are still examples that not only work out higher blessing in those two person's lives (Romans 8:28-30) but draw out principles for us all who read them.
It is not really in line with scripture to think of the Devil as asking special permissions all the time, and God sometimes granting them and sometimes not. Rather God has generally granted the Devil to go about as he pleases under strict limits, and sometimes let's him go a little further when it suits God perfect will in working our his mysterious purposes in peoples lives and manifesting his glory to men. Both Christians and non Christians are i this open field of spiritutual warfare. Since this is the landscape God also wants us to enter into the conflict because it is not all going on without the effect of our own choices and decisions. We are to wrestles and pray because it makes a difference to the level of 'protection' we have obtained. This protection is primarily from sin. Therefore we are to 'wrestle' that means constant, tiring close contact, unlike boxing, or shooting.(Ephesians 6:12)
Upvote:0
The scriptures state plainly that the devil was defeated by Christ at the cross. Satan no longer has any weapons of offense at his disposal. He has been completely disarmed by the love of my Father (Matt. 12:29) ...how can anyone enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Jesus entered the devil's (strong man) house (planet earth) and took back all that the devil owned. (The devil owned the title right to planet Earth which he took from Adam. Jesus took it back, bound satan and enabled all on earth to be free from satan's power if they choose. Jesus then gave dominion on earth back to all people, however, only those in the kingdom of heven on earth (belivers) who understand this revelation of Grace can actually exercise the benifits of their dominion). The other responses to this queation seem to indicate a beliefe that the devil is to be feared like the Boogy Man. The opposite is true. In fact the devil is now weaker in spiritual power and majesty than any believer in Christ simply because my Father and Christ dwells in the believer. So what was Peter talking about? The devil still has influence over people when they are ignorant of understanding the word of are not taught the true meaning of the word. This is what is called "Walking in the Flesh". When a person is in this situation then he begins to ignore or not believ the fact Jesus has accomplished and provided everything for us and attempts to consentrate on his own works. This is when the devil sees opportunity and uses his only weapon: influence. Through his influence the devil can convince a person to "help" Jesus out with their own efforts and move out of "Walking in the Spirit". When this happens then, by your own choice, you cut off the flow of Grace from my Father and, eventually, you will believe the devil is the Boogy Man. (Col.2:15) and having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of these openly, triumphing over them in it. Thes principalities and powers were ownwd by the devil, Jesus spoiled them and was completely victorious over them.
Upvote:1
- I don't think so. The example of Simon Peter (which actually applied to "all of you") you use shows indeed that Satan needs to ask God's permission to attack a Christian. However, God is under no obligation to grant Satan his request. Rather, the Bible implies that God only allows Satan to attack us if we can bear it (see Paul's example of being tempted only as much as we can bear). So that question is "how much we can handle?", not "how long since conversion?".
- The "pigs off a cliff" situation seems more likely to be because the demons wanted to avoid something worse (e.g. wandering aimlessly or hell) than having to ask permission. I don't see any clear Biblical passage to indicate whether or not Satan needs permission to attack non-Christians. However, there must be some kind of limit, otherwise he would have already led the whole world astray. And then how could anyone become a Christian? So, yes, I expect that Satan needs permission even to attack non-Christians, though there is no clear Biblical passage about this that I can find.
It's worth adding why God would allow Satan to attack us. As Paul wrote, sufferings produce perseverance, character and hope.
More post
- 📝 Do Any Protestant Churches do Stations of the Cross?
- 📝 Eating sour grapes and transmitting sin over generations
- 📝 Luke 16:19-31—Is the rich man in Hell or Purgatory?
- 📝 Why did Jesus call Abel a prophet?
- 📝 What happens to people outside Earth on the second coming?
- 📝 Can Pope use his Interdict power to force changes in national laws regarding abortion?
- 📝 What does a "non-denominational" Protestant believe?
- 📝 Is it right for a church to be wealthy?
- 📝 What "things" is Jesus talking about in Matthew 11:25?
- 📝 How do Christians respond to this claim in the Qur'an?
- 📝 What does St Paul mean by saying "wages credited as a matter of obligation "?
- 📝 For Catholics who object to Vatican II, what are the key issues?
- 📝 Where did the "We are the pure and chosen few / And all the rest are damned" nursery rhyme originate?
- 📝 Why is it declared that Jesus was fully God while on earth when he did not have all attributes of God?
- 📝 Refutations of, or Thoughts on How Jesus Became God (Bart D. Ehrman)
- 📝 Is God's sovereignty a term associated with Reformed theology?
- 📝 Why is Primacy of Conscience taught and what degree of certainty is it in the Catholic Church?
- 📝 Did God really create the world in six days?
- 📝 Calvinism: limited atonement and the negative inference fallacy
- 📝 Distributing the bread before consecrating the wine
- 📝 What is an overview of non-literal methods of interpreting the Bible in Christianity?
- 📝 Do infant-baptizing Protestant denominations have any requirements on names?
- 📝 Why did Eusebius quote this passage?
- 📝 If existence is greater than nonexistence, how could it have been better for Judas not to have been born (Mt. 26:24)?
- 📝 Was Jesus guilty or not guilty by the law?
- 📝 What is the best response to give when someone asks if you think that your religion is the only true one
- 📝 What Christian denominations profess that they remain with 'that which was from the beginning' rather than 'progress' to a 'further revelation'?
- 📝 If we want to know what the Bible says about an issue, what methods can help us to find all the relevant scriptures?
- 📝 What is the Reformed Interpretation of Galatians 5:4?
- 📝 What is the overview belief of the SDA regarding the Gift of Tongues?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 The Power of Satan over Believers and Unbelievers
- 📝 How did the Crusades affect the Pope's power and authority?
- 📝 Did the first Christian believers keep the Sabbath and if so on which day?
- 📝 How did John the Baptist have the "spirit and power of Elijah"?
- 📝 Does Acts 15:21 assume new believers would learn and follow the law from synagogues on sabbath?
- 📝 Why is Satan called the prince of the power of the air?
- 📝 What do non-Catholic Christians do with the power of binding and loosing?
- 📝 What was the point of the laws written to the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia?
- 📝 How did the doctrine of the pope having "supreme, full, immediate, and universal power in the care of souls" originate?
- 📝 Is it possible for an Eastern Rite Catholic to change over to the Roman Rite and become ordained as Latin Rite priest?
- 📝 How can common believers in the Eastern Orthodox Church be sure that the Church's decisions are correct and not erroneous?
- 📝 What is the history and explanation as to why the "diaconate" was MIA in the Western Church over a certain period of time?
- 📝 Why was the devil given power over death?
- 📝 What does the chaining and locking of Satan in the bottomless pit for the millennial reign accomplish?
- 📝 How do JWs reconcile the belief that Satan was cast to earth in 1914 with Job 1:7 and Job 2:2?
- 📝 How can common believers in the Roman Catholic Church be sure that the Church's decisions are correct and not erroneous?
- 📝 How to interpret the ban of unions between believers and non-believers?
- 📝 What is the Magisterium of the Catholic Church and what power do they have?
- 📝 God and Satan in the book of Job: how did they know about this conversation?
- 📝 On the body of Satan and Holy Ghost and angels according to Mormons
- 📝 If Satan is unable to become incarnate will he possess and control the Antichrist
- 📝 Has any Christian Apologist ever published arguments for the existence of Satan, demons and their ongoing influence over human matters?
- 📝 How do believers in Jesus' deity explain that Jesus is never claimed to be God/divine in the Old Roman Creed and the Didache?
- 📝 Did Christian prophets Bob Jones and Paul Cain have the power to see the future?
- 📝 Was man judged at the cross along with Satan and the rebellious Angels?
- 📝 Where does the communication between God and Satan take place?
- 📝 Similarities and differences between the priesthood of all believers and the LDS priesthood
- 📝 Did God want Satan to tempt Jesus as a means of showing the spiritual realm that Jesus's love for and loyalty to God was undeniable?
- 📝 How would believers in Jesus' deity paraphrase 1 Clement 59:4, "Let all the Gentiles know that Thou art the God alone, and Jesus Christ is Thy Son"?
- 📝 According to believers in the inexorable damnation of the unreached, why should they be punished in Hell and not be given more merciful alternatives?