The Devil (Satan)

No one knows.

New Additional Information:

Actually there is a marked year and I would be happy to share that with everyone. Now, while I do expect that likely most people will disagree with me on this. However, please keep your mind open for a moment and remember that everything that I will be saying is based on the Bible. Lets go back in the time of the apostle's when they asked Jesus Christ a question at Acts 1:6: "LORD, are you restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time?"

You see here is where the apostles were eager to know when Jesus would establish his Kingdom. And of course, today, some 2,000 years later, people are still eager to know: When will God's Kingdom come?

Now since Jesus made the Kingdom the theme of his preaching, you might expect that he discussed this question that the apostle's had asked. And indeed he did! He spoke extensively about a marked period of time that he called his "presence." (Matthew 24:37) That presence is closely tied to the establishment of the Messianic Kingdom. What is this presence? Let us consider four truths the Bible reveals about the presence of Christ.

1. Christ's presence would begin a long time after his death.

You see, Jesus gave an illustration in which he likened himself to a man who "traveled to a distant land to secure kingly power," or to "secure a kingdom." (Luke 19:12) How was that prophetic illustration fulfilled? Well, Jesus died and was resurrected; then he traveled to the "distant land," that is, heaven. As Jesus foretold in a similar illustration, his return in kingly power would come only "after a long time." (Matthew 25:19)

Some years after Jesus ascended to heaven, the apostle Paul wrote: "This man (Jesus) offered one sacrifice for sins perpetually and sat down at the right hand of God, from then on awaiting until his enemies should be placed as a stool for his feet." (Hebrews 10:12, 13) So a lengthy period of waiting followed Jesus' arrival in heaven. You see, the wait finally ended when Jehovah God made his Son the King of the long-promised Messianic Kingdom. That was when Christ's presence began. So would humans on earth see this momentous event?

2. The presence is invisible to human eyes. (also read footnote below)

Remember, Jesus discussed the sign of his presence.*(Matthew 24:3) You see, if his presence were visible to human eyes, would a sign be needed? To illustrate: Imagine that you are traveling to see the ocean. You may see road signs directing you along the way, but once you are at the shore, standing at the water's edge with the vast expanse of water stretching out to the horizon, would you expect to see a sign with a big arrow pointing ahead, emblazoned with the word "Ocean"? Of course not! Why have a sign to point out what you can easily identify with your eyes?

You see, Jesus described the sign of his presence, not to point out something that humans could see with their eyes, but to help them discern something that would occur in heaven. Thus, Jesus said: "The kingdom of God is not coming with striking observableness." (Luke 17:20)

3. Jesus' presence would be marked by a time of profound troubles here on earth.

In fact, Jesus did say that his presence as King in heaven would be marked on earth by wars, famines, earthquakes, pestilences, and lawlessness. (Matthew 24:7-12; Luke 21:10, 11) So what would cause all this misery? Well the Bible explains that Satan, "the ruler of this world," is full of rage because he knows that his time is very short now that Christ's presence as King has begun. (John 12:31; Revelation 12;9,12) You see, such visible evidence of Satan's rage and of Christ's presence has been abundant in our time.

Now especially since 1914, a year that historians acknowledge was a turning point, has this evidence appeared on an unprecedented and global scale. All of that may sound like bad news, but it is not. It just means that the Messianic Kingdom is ruling now in heaven. Very soon, that government will exercise its rule right here over all the earth. How, though, would people know about that Kingdom in order to accept its rule and become its subjects?

4. Jesus' presence is marked by a global preaching work.

So you see, Jesus said that his presence would be like "the days of Noah." (Matthew 24:37-39) Remember that Noah was more than an ark builder, he was also "a preacher of righteousness." (2 Peter 2:5) Which means that Noah warned the people of his time about a judgment from God which was on its way. So too, Jesus said that his followers on earth would be doing something similar during his presence. He prophesied this: "This good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come." (Matthew 24:14)

So as the Bible predicts this, that God's Kingdom will destroy soon all the governments of this world, (Read Daniel 2:44) so this preaching work continues to alert people that this heavenly government is about to act, giving all an opportunity to escape the coming destruction and become subjects of that Kingdom. The key question, then is, How will you respond?

5. Will God's Kingdom mean Good News for You?

Well the message that Jesus preached was one of incomparable hope. After the rebellion in Eden thousands of years ago, Jehovah God purposed to form a government that would set matter right, returning faithful humans to the condition that God had in mind for them from the start, which is life eternal in a paradise here on the earth. What could be more thrilling than the knowledge that this long-promised government is ruling right now in heaven? It is not some remote, abstract concept but a living reality!

Now, God's appointed King is ruling in the midst of his enemies. (Psalm 110:2) In this corrupt world alienated from God, the Messiah is fulfilling his Father's desire to search out all who want to come to know God as he really is and to worship him"with spirit and truth." (John 4:24) You see, the hope of living forever under the rule of God's Kingdom is available to people of all races, ages, and social backgrounds. (Acts 10:34, 35) So we urge you to take hold of this marvelous opportunity before you. Learn about God's Kingdom now, so that you can enjoy living under its righteous rule forever!

[Footnote for section 2]

Jesus' statement helps to correct the wrong idea conveyed in the way some Bible versions mistranslate the word "presence." Some translations render it "coming," "advent," or "return," all of which imply a momentary event in time. Notice, though, that Jesus did not liken his presence to the Flood of Noah's day, an event in time, but to "the days of Noah," a climactic period of time. Like that ancient era, Christ's presence would be a period of time during which people would be too caught up in the day-to-day affairs of life to take note of a warning being given.

Yes. In the present day it does. Not sure when they started to refer to the devil as rain man. But think in these terms

Rain man - the devil wants to reign, being above the Lord Jesus in power.

reign |rān|

verb [ intrans. ]

hold royal office; rule as king or queen : Queen Elizabeth reigns over the UK |

• [usu. as adj. ] ( reigning) (of an athlete or team) currently hold a particular title : the reigning world champion.

• (of a quality or condition) prevail; predominate : confusion reigned.

noun

the period during which a sovereign rules : the original chapel was built in the reign of Charles I.

• the period of prevalence or domination of a specified thing : these historic seconds inaugurated the reign of negative political advertising.

Notice when defining the word " reign" .. powerful words are used to discribe what it mean . Prevail, rule, domination, Rule as king or queen (we all know what KING REIGNS... it's not satan).

In the book of revelation it talks about the Anti-Christ that will come and "Reign" the world. Many people will be deceived and beleive that this person is good, holy, holds special powers and doesn't see the evil that lays deeper. The devil comes as an angel of light = to deceive.

We are living in this time that the Bible talks about. The antiChrist is alive and well somewhere (thats my opinion). All you have to do is look around. People will do anything for something they want. People murder their own parents to collect the life insurance $, people drown or throw their newborn children in the trash like that life isn't of value. People are DESENSITIZED (a dangerous place to be) to ruthlessness, terror, evil. No standards for morality. Evil has slowly infiltrated itself into our music, movies, media in general, games, toys, science, ect.

With that said, people will not notice or not even care (thinking that it's innocent)when the rain man begins to reallly reign this world. We think it's bad now... horrible things are to come.... Thank God we have a book that tells us what's going to happen and has proven itself to be accurate about life and the way to live and what the condition of the world is.

God doesn't exist, neither does the devil.

Answer

The atheistic stance is a logically valid one. However, if you are looking for an answer within a religious context, consider this:

When God gave man free will, it allowed evil to exist and created a divide between the perfect God and imperfect creation.The role of the Satan is to enforce that divide.

Contrary to popular belief (mostly as the result of Paul's misunderstanding of both Judaism and Christianity when he Hellenized it and encorporated many pagan ideas later in the new testament), the Satan is an agent OF God not acting in opposition. While it's true that "Satan" (properly Shaitan) translates as "the adversary" it is not of God, but of man. Think of Satan as being like a white blood cell, purging creation of illness and disease.

By over coming temptations and enduring trials and tribulation, mankind proves it's holiness and is admitted back into the divine presence so thatnwe can become as God intended- truly in his image. If we were to be admitted into the presence without first being purified, we would be totally annihilated. Even Jesus had to endure trials and temptations to prove his holiness before he could be admitted back into the presence of his father.

Man creates evil, not Satan. Satan tempts us but can not lift so much as a finger against us.

You probably can't if you're already saved.

Write on a piece of paper my soul and shred it to give it to the devil or just trade it for an ice cream. I personally wouldn't because you need it.

The Lighter Side

First, look in the classifieds for a bona fide "Soul Buyer".

Second, prepare your resume. List all the reasons your Soul would be a good (er, bad?) Soul to buy.

Third, send your resume to your own home address. "Soul Buyers" do make house calls.

Fourth, to prepare for your interview, you must have official testing by an exorcist. Only an exorcist can certify that you qualify to "Soul-sell".

Fifth, when contacted for an interview, you must follow certain rules, including: Wear black clothing (clothing covered in black mold would also do), paint your face red all over with clown make-up, show up late for the interview, and prepare to demonstrate at least 5 "small bad acts" during your interview. "Soul Buyers" do like to see "manners" as well.

Sixth, if rejected, beg for a second chance. If still rejected, count your blessings, get cleaned up, wash your hands before dinner, tell your family members you love them, enjoy your food, watch a movie or read a book for the evening, and be glad you didn't get the position. After all, a soul-less person is an empty person....and it wouldn't be fun at all to try to live the rest of your life as an empty person!

The end of "The Lighter Side".

Satan is an "angel"... a "sexless spirit being" that neither reproduces, physically, nor partakes of the institution of "marriage" that God created for man.

A group of Sadducees ["...which say that there is no resurrection..." - Matt.22:23] tried to trip Jesus up with a complicated scenario involving seven brothers and one woman [Matt.22:24-27]; and finally asked Him:

"So tell us, whose wife will she be in the resurrection? For she was the wife of all seven of them!" (verse 28 NLTNew Living Translation)

"Jesus replied, 'Your problem is that you don't know the Scriptures, and you don't know the Power of God. For when the dead rise, THEY WON'T BE MARRIED. THEY WILL BE LIKE THE ANGELS IN HEAVEN." (verses 29-30)

There's a great chasm of misunderstanding among the religions of the world [including modern professing Christianity] regarding the Truth of God's Word, what man is, and God's purpose for man.

So, too, does this misunderstanding extend into many facets of Scriptural Truth; like what are "angels."

"...God never said to an angel, as He did to His Son, 'Sit in Honor at My Right Hand until I humble your enemies... But ANGELS ARE ONLY SERVANTS. They are SPIRITS sent from God to CARE FOR THOSE WHO WILL RECEIVE SALVATION.'" (Heb.1:13-14 NLT)

It should be obvious from the passage above that "angels don't marry" -- that is, if one is given to "believe and trust in" what Jesus says.

As for Satan and his band of twisted, perverse, rebellious angels, however; the Scriptures reveal that they DON'T SERVE MANKIND or CARE ABOUT MAN'S SALVATION; except for possibly denying salvation to man if they can by whatever means through wicked thoughts and attitudes against all that is good.

In this regard... although Satan [or any angel] isn't married and doesn't have a wife -- HE DOES POSSESS A WORLD-FULL OF DISOBEDIENT CHILDREN!

Addressing the Children of God at the Ephesian church... Paul told them: "Once you were dead, doomed forever because of your many sins [the breaking of God's Commandments - I John 3:4]. You used to live just like the rest of the world, full of sin, OBEYING SATAN, the mighty prince of the power of the air [think invisible 'radiowaves' in tune and in communication with the wavelength of the human mind]. HE IS THE SPIRIT AT WORK IN THE HEARTS OF THOSE WHO REFUSE TO OBEY GOD [KJV: "...the spirit that now worketh in the CHILDREN OF DISOBEDIENCE..."]. All of us used to live that way, following the passions and desires of our evil nature. We were born with an evil nature [rebellious, selfish flesh], and we were under God's anger just like everyone else." (Eph.2:1-3 NLT)

So, although Satan isn't married [and can't marry]... and doesn't have a wife... HE AND HIS ANGELS DO FOSTER A WORLD FULL OF DISOBEDIENT CHILDREN!

"Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God's people... You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the Kingdom of Christ and of God... Don't be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins, for the terrible anger of God comes upon ALL THOSE WHO DISOBEY HIM[KJV: "...because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon THE CHILDREN OF DISOBEDIENCE..."]. Don't participate in the things these people do." (Eph.5:3-7 NLT)

Satan isn't married. He doesn't have a WIFE. But he is the "SPIRITUAL FATHER of many, many children."

"For YOU ARE THE CHILDREN OF YOUR FATHER THE DEVIL, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning and has always hated the Truth [see John 17:17]. There is no Truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and THE FATHER OF LIES. So when I tell you the Truth, you just naturally don't believe Me!" (John 8:44-45 NLT)