Posted on 08/17/2017 7:58:20 AM PDT by Salvation
One of the more puzzling aspects of demonology is the freedom that Satan and demons appear to have in roaming the earth, causing trouble. If the condemned are consigned to Hell for all eternity, why is Satan allowed to wander about outside of Hell? Isn’t he supposed to be suffering in Hell along with his minions and the other condemned? Further, it doesn’t seem that he is suffering one bit, but rather having a grand time wreaking havoc on the earth. How do we answer such questions?
Some texts in Scripture do speak of Satan and the fallen angels as being cast into Hell:
Yet other texts speak of the fallen angels (demons) as being cast down to the earth:
Thus, though consigned to Hell, it would seem that some or all of the demons have the ability to roam the earth as well. Demons, however, do not have bodies and thus do not “roam the earth” the way we do. Their “roaming” is more an indication of their capacity to influence than their ability to move from one place to another. Further, Satan and demons are described as being “chained,” “in prison,” or “in darkness.” This is likely a way of indicating that their power to influence or “roam” is limited in some way. This does not say that they do not wield considerable power, just that it is not unbounded. If you think it is bad now, just imagine what it will be like when their power is unchained!
Near the end of the world, Scripture says that Satan will be wholly loosed and will come forth to deceive the nations for a while; after this brief period, he and the other fallen angels will be definitively cast into the lake of fire and their influence forever ended.
And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, … their number is like the sand of the sea. And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever (Rev 20:7-10).
So for now, demons do have influence, but it is limited. At the end, their full fury will be unleashed, but this is only to bring about their final, complete defeat, after which they will be forever sequestered in the lake of fire.
Why God permits some demons the freedom to wander about the earth is mysterious. We know that God permits evil as a “necessary” condition of freedom for the rational creatures He has created. Angels and humans have free, rational souls; if our freedom is to mean anything, God must allow that some abuse it, even becoming sources of evil and temptation to others.
For us, this life amounts to a kind of test: God permits some degree of evil to flourish yet at the same time offers us the grace to overcome it. Further, there is the tradition implied in Scripture that for every angel that fell there were two who did not (Rev 12:4). Thus, we live not merely under the influence of demons, but also under the influence and care of angels.
On account of temptations and trials, our “yes” to God has greater dignity and merit than it would if we lived in a sin-free paradise.
As to Satan having “a good time” wreaking havoc, it would be too strong say that demons and Satan do not suffer at all. Demons, like human beings, suffer both victories and defeats; there are outcomes that delight them and those that disappoint and anger them.
Anyone who has ever attended an exorcism can attest that demons do suffer great deal, especially when the faithful pray and make pious use of sacraments and sacramentals (e.g., holy water, relics, blessed medals, rosaries). Faith and love are deeply disturbing to demons.
We all do well in the current dispensation to remember St. John Vianney’s teaching that Satan is like a chained dog: He may bark loudly and froth menacingly, but he can only bite us if we get too close. Keep your distance!
While these videos are light-hearted, their message is serious:
Monsignor Pope Ping!
The first three bullet points, scriptures cited, do not refer to all fallen angels but only to those who fathered children, the Nephilim, with human women.
They do not demonstrate that Satan is o his minions are in hell.
I fact, Scripture repeatedly demonstrates the opposite (including references to subordinates and their activity in Daniel, IIRC).
Now, about WHY Satan is not bound now.
Recall what is written: what if God tolerates vessels of wrath so that He might secure those for glory.
If God judges Satan He must also judge ALL his followers and that includes human beings. As tragic as it may seem, and is, all the saints have relations that are not saved. All of us. People who had they been blotted from among the living along with the rest of Satan’s kingdom we might well not even be here given the natural course of events and how people are born.
They made their choices and are responsible for them. It is obvious that God considers the saints individually, that we should be with a Him forever, more important than that the lost will be without Him forever.
In fact, I will (and have) go out on a limb and suggest that the Tribulation and Great Tribulation must be seen in light of His finally bringing in the last of the Church. Recall, if you will, that Lewis spoke of pain as God’s megaphone to a dying world and then consider that in the T/GT it may be for some Him turning up the volume to the max, shouting at those who, though they may still be saved, are nevertheless so proverbially hard of hearing that truly extraordinary means are needed.
IOW: I reckon that at some point around when / between when the two witnesses are killed and then they rise from the dead the very last of the Church in this age to be saved will finally be brought in. At such a point in time the expedient that Paul wrote of (tolerating vessels of wrath for the sake of vessels of glory) no longer applies. When those two stand up at God’s command soon thereafter Christ returns at the head of the Saints.
We are ALL riding behind Him and of those He is riding towards ONLY Israel have a sure hope (for it plainly says those who are Israel survive to see this will all be saved).
All the rest, those who managed to survive that far and who didn’t receive the MotB will be judged as Scripture says.
So the reason that Satan isn’t bound yet is because there are still people who will be saved yet to be saved.
My two cents.
In the NT none of these things were noted as being used....holy water, relics, etc.
When Paul cast out the demon we have this record....
16It happened that as we were going to the place of prayer, a slave-girl having a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing her masters much profit by fortune-telling. 17Following after Paul and us, she kept crying out, saying, “These men are bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation.” 18She continued doing this for many days. But Paul was greatly annoyed, and turned and said to the spirit,
“I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out at that very moment. Acts 16:18 NASB
Satan roams America helping his political party the Democrats
All the upheaval we see today is from obama’s 8 years of being the agitator and condoning.... outright telling them to riot and rebel... he kept the jobs scarce and put thousands more on welfare. to make sure they would rebel against what he set up, and never took responsibility for.
He is still getting by with all he did to destroy our nation. He is still instigating trouble, living in his million dollar mansion and living high while he watches his handywork with the black community,... who do not know that the one they adore is their enemy. Satan knows his time is short and the fury of the times shows it. he has a willing partner in obama.
Don’t you wish we had to faith to just speak to the DNC and “Command you to come out!”
http://olrl.org/doctrine/hellbelike.shtml --------
Hell will be a fire so intense that it hurts the bones, not just the skin- (Ever had a bruised bone? It's very very painful- now imagine all your bones hurting like that- That is what the fire will do- pain deep to the bones) The fire that we know today, as terrible as it can be, is child's play compared to the supernatural fire of eternal damnation- This fire will literally boil the person's inside- but will not kill them- It will broil the brain, but we will not feel relief by going unconscious- it will boil the bowels- but will not destroy them- "Thou shalt make them as an Oven of Fire, in the Time of Thy Anger" - Psalm 20:10. Folks, the person in hell is going to burn forever- This is serious business- God isn't joking about this- He views sin that seriously- ---------
Hell fire will not consume, nor give light- this is no ordinary fire- it is a supernatural fire- it does not consume the body so there will be no relief day and night- ---------
Hell will also be freezing cold. "Let him pass from the snow water to excessive heat, and his sin even to hell." (Job 24:19) one moment you are burning, the next moment you are freezing- There will be no rest- No escape- constant torment ---------
Hell will be a place of constant torment by demonic beings (Think about folks- When Job says horrors- He is not exasperating- it's going to be horrifying- your worst nightmares played out constantly) "Before I go, and return no more, to a land that is dark and covered with the mist of death: a land of misery and darkness, where the shadow of death, and no order, but everlasting horror dwelleth." (Job 10:22). --------
Hell will be a place where the person is forced to think about God and about the terrible choice they made while they were alive- constantly- this will eat at the person for eternity --------
Hell is the place where the worm feeds on the flesh but does not consume the flesh- ie you will have a constant feeling of being eaten alive- Think about a simple itch and how annoying it can be- now imagine worms crawling all over your body- eating away- but never consuming the flesh- Just the sensation of it happening- --------
Hell is a place where thirst can not be quenched- ever- try going 2 days without anything to drink- it's not very fun, and is quite uncomfortable- Hell is eternal thirst- not just 2 days worth -------
Hell is a place of unimaginable overwhelming stench- Sin around some rotting meat on a hot day- I mean really putrid rotting meat- crawling with maggots- This is nothing compared to the inescapable stench of hell- if you are sensitive to foul odours- it's is only going to be worse in hell- --------
Hell is a place where there will be no relief from people constantly shrieking and screaming, both in anger and in pain- Ever try to sleep with loud noises present? Not very fun. --------
Hell will be so crowded that you won't be able to move- although it will be too dark to see anyone else- a person will be crowded- never able to find a comfortable spot to rest- always being shoved and manoeuvred around by unseen neighbouring damned- ---------
Hell will be a place where memories torment the person always- never ceasing- always remembering how they rejected God when they had the chance to accept Him- This knowledge will never leave them and always haunt their minds- They shall never find peace again- ever- --------
Hell will be a place where all our earthly desires to sin will be magnified many times- Whatever pet sins a person enjoys fulfilling now, that desire to fulfil them in hell will be magnified many times but they will be unable to full fill them- --------
Hell will be a place where rage and anger and disdain and fury take hold and consume a being- *********
Take heed- Hell is not going to be a big party place- it is serious business!- God is very serious about sin- and He is giving us all every chance possible to avoid it while we are alive on earth- Sin has no place in a Holy Heaven- God was not kidding when He told adam and Eve not to eat that apple- They didn't beleive Him- and no it wasn't 'just an innocent mistake on their part' it was a serious blatant violation of God's command not to eat of the tree- ************ Christ willingly gave His life, willingly sacrificed His life, willingly chose to lay His life down for yours- so that you, lost sinners, do not have to experience eternity without Him- He paid the price- Will you accept the gift?
Matt 10:28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
This is why it is foolish to be a rabble roused against your neighbors because they might do something bad to you or they might have racist thoughts.
Ask obama, who seems to be a close personal friend.
Satan and his minions must obey God; They are limited as to what they can do by God. They are not unlimited. God is using Satan and His demons for His own purposes and Glory.
The Freewill argument is weak.
However, it's not hard to see how Satan works and extrapolate from that.
I used to work testing and supporting systems installed in military and commercial aircraft, both in the factory and in field support.
Before being released into the environment they were designed for, each of those systems was run through extensive "Burn In" testing, which was a thorough, 'worst case' environmental systems test that either found inherent defects or demonstrated that the system was working properly.
One of my attempts to understand human life here in Schoolhouse Earth is to see this time here as being like "burn in" testing before our final test and inspection.
In this view, Satan and his tricks and tricksters make up the set of tests and procedures used for 'real world' testing and development of human souls before final inspection and dispersion to there proper level in the holy hierarchy.
In other words, via the free will He gave each soul, the Father uses Satan to test and screen souls, to determine and demonstrate to each soul their actual mettle, merit, and need for Him, and ultimately to reveal His Glory.
[Anyone who has ever attended an exorcism can attest that demons do suffer great deal, especially when the faithful pray and make pious use of sacraments and sacramentals (e.g., holy water, relics, blessed medals, rosaries). Faith and love are deeply disturbing to demons.]
I will add to the above list:
“The prayer of adoration at night
has the power and efficacy of that prayer made with fasting
that I recommended to My apostles
as the means of expelling demons
from the souls whom they torture and oppress.
For this reason, the demons fear and hate adoration made at night,
while the Angels rejoice over it,
and place themselves at the service of the soul who desires to do it.”
http://vultuschristi.org/index.php/2014/01/visit-me-by-night/
Demons seemed to invade lots of people in Jesus’ time. Why do so many not believe in demons invading people today? These invasions would explain a lot.
I think what Msgr. Pope is referring to here is the disgust that possessed people typically show toward relics and blessed objects. (In fact, that's one of the definitive tests for possession; often, a priest will have a "reliquary" in a pocket containing a bit of e.g., chicken bone and this will have no effect on the possessed person, but when he approaches with a reliquary containing an actual relic, the possessed person will become very agitated.)
My goodness, your Msgr. Charles Pope is a Dispensationalist? Amazing, almost as amazing as Catholics believing in predestination.
I appreciate the explanation.
It seems to me though that the demon Paul cast out knew who He represented.
When Christ cast out the demons they knew Who He was.
It would seem to me that the name of Jesus and the power behind His name is what should be relied upon.
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