Are you sure about that tribo......sorry love but God did not put satan in the garden of eden.

Immediately after this Satan declares with emphasis, "I will make myself like the Most High." Why "the Most High"? God has many names. Why did Satan choose this particular name to express his ambitions? Here is the key to the pride of Satan. God is revealed as El Elyon, the Most High God, and in this character he is 'the possessor of heaven and earth.' This is what Lucifer wanted to be. His rebellion was not a request for God to move over so that he might share God's throne. It was a thrust at God himself. It was an attempt to put God out so that Satan might take his place as possessor of the heavens and the earth."

Clearly, when Satan appears in Eden in the guise of the serpent to tempt Eve and Adam, it is a renewed attempt to further this ambition. Having failed to take heaven, he is nevertheless determined to consolidate his hold on earth through earth's inhabitants.

The second prominent feature of the Isaiah passage is Satan's fivefold repetition of the words "I will." He said, "I will . . . I will . . . I will . . . I will . . . I will . . ." This feature gives insight into the nature of sin and possibly into the reason why God permits it and its accompanying evils in His universe.

Suppose for some reason that the word "sin" was suddenly eradicated from the English vocabulary, and suppose we still had the task of telling men and women about their need of God and of God's work of restoration through Christ. How could we go about it? One way we could go about it would be to speak of "sin" as the existence of a contrary "will" in God's universe. Before Satan's fall there was only one will. It was God's will; it was perfect. After Satan's rebellion there were two wills-Satan's and God's-but, of course, only one of the two was perfect-God's. When Adam and Eve were created there was an immediate problem as to which of the two they would follow. Satan thought he would get Adam and Eve to follow him. Although he got them to rebel against God, he did not succeed in getting them to follow his will. So, there were now four wills, each going its own way and only one of them (God's will) remaining perfect. In time there were six wills, as Abel and Cain were added. Then there were sixteen wills and thirty-two and sixty-four. Today there are billions of wills, which explains the constant conflicts in the human race. But it is still the case that only one, the will of God almighty, is perfect and totally desirable.

Satan has been trying to fashion these rebellious and mutually hostile wills into a kingdom, but with very few exceptions he has been monumentally unsuccessful. God's permission of evil allows this truth to become increasingly evident.

But what Satan cannot do, God does. In Christ He is drawing the wills of His people back to Himself and establishing harmony where there was chaos before. That is why Paul admonishes us to be "transformed by the renewing of" our minds so that we will be able "to test and approve what God's will is" (Rom. 12:2). It is why he says, "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ" (2 Cor. 10:4, 5).

Only God can give harmony. Satan cannot. Satan has power to tear down, but he cannot build up. He can divide, but he cannot bring together again. Actually, even his names show this. "Lucifer"-his name before his fall- means "the bringer [or bearer] of light," a reference to his role as reflector of God's glory. But "Satan" means "adversary," and "devil" means "disrupter." The last name is based on two Greek words: dia, meaning "through" or "among," and ballo, meaning "to throw." The devil is the one who from the beginning has been attempting to throw a monkey wrench into the machinery of the universe.

READING THE BOOK

Satan has been "unsuccessful," but this is in terms of his ultimate goals only. In many cases, as in the temptation of Eve and Adam, he has succeeded. He is a dangerous foe, "a roaring lion looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8).

The Christian must be on guard against him. How shall we do that? One thing we must do is learn about him. In the movie Patton there is a scene in which for the first time the American general encounters the tank corps of Germany's North African army under command of the brilliant German war strategist Rommel, the "Desert Fox." Rommel's tanks have been destroying the western armies. But Patton out thinks him and is waiting for Rommel with an ambush. The "Desert Fox" is routed, and Patton, who has succeeded by studying Rommel's writing, is jubilant. He laughs and says, "Rommel, you son-of-a-gun, I read your book." Patton defeated Rommel because he knew his enemy. In the same way, although Satan has not given us a war manual, God has; and we are therefore forewarned against Satan and his strategies.

The limitations of Satan are worth talking about in detail. To begin with, he is not omniscient. God knows all things, but Satan does not. Above all, he does not know the future. No doubt he can make shrewd guesses because he knows the nature of man and has observed history. The so-called revelations of mediums and fortune-tellers---when they are not outright deceits---fall in this category. But this is not true knowledge of what is to come. God stated this in a challenge to all false gods, saying, "Present your case...Set forth your arguments...Bring in your idols to tell us what is going to happen...Declare to us the things to come, tell us what the future holds, so we may know that you are gods. Do something, whether good or bad, so that we will be dismayed and filled with fear. But you are less than nothing and your works are utterly worthless" (Isa. 41:21-24).

Satan is not omnipotent. He cannot do everything he wants to do, and in the case of believers he can do only what God will permit. The great example here is Job, who was safe until God lowered the hedge He had thrown up about him, and even then God did this for His own worthwhile purposes and kept Job from sinning.

Satan is not omnipresent. He cannot be everywhere at the same time tempting everyone. God is omnipresent. He can help all who call on Him, all at one time. But Satan must tempt one individual at a time or else operate through one or more of those angels, now demons, who fell with him.

This means that while the Christian must never ignore or underestimate Satan and his stratagems, neither must he overestimate him. Above all, he must never do this to the point of taking his eyes away from God. God is our strength and our tower. He limits Satan. He will never permit a Christian to be tempted above that which he is able and will always with the temptation provide the way of escape that he may be able to bear it (1 Cor. 10:13). We will stand against the temptations of Satan only if we are united to God through the Savior and draw near to Him. Apparently neither Eve nor Adam sought such union; so they fell. But we, though far weaker than they, may stand because we stand in the power of Him who defeated Satan by His victory on the cross and who will return one day to judge him and confine him to the lake of fire forever (Matt. 25:41).


Because sin had entered the world, and into the very nature of man through Adams transgression, then for God to destroy Satan, he would also have had to destroy the man he loved. But God had a better way. A way of Redememption.





THINK!!!

choice my friend......always always that is what you will have........and who chose wrong....hmmmmmmm and who to this day chooses wrong...Not God, but man.......God wants you of your own free will.......and that just like with Christ when he was in the Desert and had nothing to do with satan and his givings and tempting him.....and Christ did what.....He chose right......

choice my friend......always always that is what you will have........and who chose wrong....hmmmmmmm and who to this day chooses wrong...Not God, but man.......God wants you of your own free will.......and that just like with Christ when he was in the Desert and had nothing to do with satan and his givings and tempting him.....and Christ did what.....He chose right......

My dearest ferallkitty, if god controls everything then how do i have free choice / free will? as i keep stating - if i'm god and i am in charge of this scenario were discussing, and I "ALLOW" this scenario to take place, knowing who will win, then how am i not at fault? Have you heard the word - "FOCUS"? well try to focus on this point instead of going on about what ISH. says about lucifer. this is the scenario once more:

It's a hot and steamy evening in the garden of eden. barely a breeze, and lil miss eve is out with adam to gather some delicious georgia peaches[i like peaches ] and this upright creature adorned and bejewled[according to ISH]. comes strolling towards her nonchalantly and ask how she's doing[ i like to be dramatic and i also think he had sylveter stallone's voice - hey Adrianneeeeee] and eve say's fine and satan replies - hey. did not god tell you you could eat from all the fruit trees? and eve answers well yes except for the golden georgian peach tree in the center here? and they all lived happily ever after amen!

the point is ferral - god is in charge of everything always and he is the one who set up the scenario he allowed it to take place and this is also true of creating lucifer, and all other men that later did evil things - if he had not brought them into existance in the first place then sin could not have entered into existance correct?

Spot on Tribo...

Good show, ol boy!

Good show, ol boy!

your all going to hell for this thread

Hey! Will people stop trying to be English! You damn racists! lol

No wonder you guys didnt fight that hard to save the colonies. Who would want to put up with this rabble.

Hey! Will people stop trying to be English! You damn racists! lol

Hey! Will people stop trying to be English! You damn racists! lol

Oh go shag your bird.....Wait, that's not a punishment is it?

hey i am 1/4 english so i can be stupid. lol

Nope. Shagging you would be a punishment!

Talk to Andy in November....