Is God in charge of the spiritual realm, and Satan in charge down here in the material world?  When Satan tempted Jesus, he offered him all the kingdoms of the world, how could he do this unless they were his to offer?  Does it then follow that we have to be strong in this corporeal world against Satan?  I would appreciate your response, the information on this site and the quality of the well-educated replies I have seen and read has impressed me greatly.  I'm just a secretary and mother, without a university education.
213191
God is definitely in charge.  Yes satan is called the prince of this sinful world.  He was sent here when he was kicked out of heaven.  Can't you just look around and see the wickedness of this world as it seems to get worse and worse each day.  Satan has been led to believe that he is in charge, but actually God lets him roam and do his lying and conniving things to test us.  So that tells me God is actually in charge.\n\nIf you notice satan tempted Eve in the Garden when she was alone.  Satan tempted Jesus when He was alone.  God says that whenever two or more are gathered in His name, He will be in the midst of them.  Satan will cut and run from God and Christians.  He is strongest when we are alone, that is why we must continue to worship together.  That is why we must continue going to Church so that we can encourage each other.\n\nIf you notice in the scripture in Matthew, Jesus finally told satan in verse 10  Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan!  For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.'  Then in verse 11 it says that the devil left Him.  That's what we have to do when we feel ourselves falling into temptation.  We must stand up and tell satan to get away from us in the Name of God.  We will not be tempted.  We must always be aware and strong.  That is why scripture warned us to wear the Armor of God each day.  Because we must be strong.
105660
This actually seems to prove what you ask, just think about it. You got me to thinking and it is really cool. People have asked, IF, Jesus was God how was He praying to Himself. Your question help me see this because I have never thought to put these two questions together. IF, God can be everywhere, then He was Jesus and God at the same time. God in Heaven and Jesus on Earth. Which would prove the Theory that God is Everywhere. I not sure if I answered your question, but, now I understand the Concept I have been hearing. God may have showed people His ability to be everywhere when as Jesus He Prayed to Himself (God) in another place, because He is everywhere. Thanks!
114704
And the war over slavery was bloody.  how is this god the same yesterday, today and forever?\n\nslavery is not condemned as hellish, it says,\n\n" do not become slaves of men " and then " slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. "\n\nand how does that work out for you?  submitting to the harsh?\n\nUD:\n\nahc24- you are mad!
236431
What you seem to have missed is the greater point - you're not your own to begin with - He created you, all he asks now is that you recognize that by accepting him and worshipping him - it is not his desire that any should perish - but being good is not what he designed us to do - he designed us to worship - good deeds are results of our worship - not our means of worship.  You are in the midst of spiritual battle and I'm praying that God will give you spiritual rest and a mentor to lead you personally as opposed to this forum. As a parent I raised my son with certain values.  I have entrusted them to him.  It is now up to him to choose to use them.  If he doesn't then there are consequences he will suffer.  Does that take away his ability to choose for himself?  No.  It just means he didn't heed a more learned and wiser, experienced person.  It is a poor analogy, but it was the best I could come up with.
32248
Jesus is the one true God. Some people think that he was just a prophet from God, but he actually died for our sins. I mean the Jews rejected him, but what he went through at the cross, no one would have survived a part of what he went through. I am a struggling christian I admitt it, I am, because I am just not use to all the things that we r suppose to obey. But I am learning slowly. Hey but at least I am still learning more and more about God that I thought I understood before. The Bible is all the proof you need. I would sudgest to get a New King James Version to help you understand the words a little. I even have trouble understanding it. Hey I'm 15 I can have an escuse to have a little trouble. ~LOL~ Also look at Probvers, Acts, and Revlations. They will tell you of how he died for you, what is coming for us in the rapture, and how we should act as christians. I hope you take of what I said into concideration.
234324
Absolutely wrong!  God designed us to be loved.  Satan doesn't love you, and by participating in it, you can actually become possessed.  It is very dangerous, and if you want my opinion, it is the deadliest thing you will EVER do in your life!
432725
Wow, this is a new topic and compared to what I have read so far today...a pleasant change.  Possibly so, since we are to believe we were all 'created' in the image of God.  Angels were first according to history and Satan, Lucifer was his favorite at one time.  I don't know what else to say, but I appreciate the question for the open minded people out in the world today...what if this is true?  Good one.
126450
I believe there is a spiritual realm of which if you decide to be a part of, you must be very careful!!  The Bible tells us that the things we do in the physical effect the things in the spiritual.  He tells us that if we cleans ourselves of negative or evil that we MUST replace it with Godly things, if not it will return and be 7 times worse.  I've personally heard of experiences of the physical and spiritual realms conflicting but I've never personally seen it.  I think that just like any world (physical and spiritual) you're going to have good and evil.  You can't be somewhere in the middle, you're either one or the other.
98157
Angels were created 4 His pleasure. To worship Him and praise Him. They were here before we were.Satan it says in the Bible was the praise & worship leader of Gods heavenly choir. His angelic name was Lucifer.\n\n One day satan started to wonder why he wasn't considered an equal to our Creator. Then he started to question Gods authority over him and over the other angels and he began to rally them against God. One third of the angels he convinced to war against God. And the way satan became evil was a little sin called Pride. Through out all of this God never interfered.\n\n I think God was waiting for Lusifer to repent. God loves all his creations until He cant reach them anymore. He waited until satan & his followers came agaist Him ready to battle. Ofcourse God won and cast him down to the earth.\nAll of this occurred before man was created. \n\nI belive that the reason GoD gives us all free will,angels included, is because He is a good parent. I am a mother and I know that I have to let my children make mistakes so that they will, with my guidence, become the kind of adult that I can be proud of & welcome into my home forever. But when they choose not to be good, and I know that I cant reach them anymore, I will cast them out of my house. It will break my heart but I must do it to show the others in my house or the other ones that want to be a part of my house, that that sort of bahavior will not be tolerated. \n\nBecause a parent must love all thier creations, we let them have free will. Understand? Read the Bible and you will see many ways that He has loved us.
91961
Jesus wasn't re-writing the 10 Commandments...He was actually re-inforcing them...BUT He was summing them up into 2 commandments, meaning that we should observe them from our heart...The 2 Commandments are to Love God with all our heart, and to Love one another.\nIf everyone in the world actually did this, would we have the mess the world is in now?\n\nYour addition of: "Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.\n\nDoes this mean we can now covet our neighbor's stuff? \n\nHe also changed "keep Holy the Sabbath Day". Doesn't that mean that it is perfectly fine to work on Sundays?"\n \nYour additional question prompts me to include these commandments into the 2 Commandments that Christ summed all the commandments into......\nIf we love our neighbor, we wouldn't covet our neighbor's stuff...so that fits into Jesus's 2nd commandment, to Love our neighbor as ourself.\nWorking on the Sabbath was not done away with; that Commandment falls into the 1st Commandment re-inforced by Christ, and that is to "Love God"...\nHope this clarify's your understanding of how the Commandments are still in effect, but since Christ came,  we observe them with our whole Heart.
566585
hello tetsumy,\n\nGOD is the Creator, not the creation. We are the creation. So there is no way he can be among his creation because he is the Creator.\nHe is to be worship. No way can anyone in this world imagined what it would be if GOD was among us. Even in heaven GOD will always be above us.\n\nHope that answer your question.
143526
As followers of Christ, we are commanded to carry the Gospel to the entire world. We are just doing as commanded.\nWe can't help it if some are offended.\nWe are only 'pushing' it on those who choose to read the religion/spirituality forum.\n\nIts like, if I leave my Bible on the table and another picks it up and reads it, am I pushing my beliefs on him? \nThere are lots of other books to read on my table, so why pick up the Bible and then complain?\nI have to think that those who read this forum are looking for answers.
514254
Well, i may not know everything. but i do know one thing: the reason we lie is very simple. I don't know if you believe in God, but here goes. Satan came into this world, and told the first lie in the history of the Earth. And now, Satan is controlling the world. I am not saying that he is controlling the people who are in charge, but he IS in control of alot of things that are happening. Very soon, Jesus will come again. When that time comes will you guys be ready?\nBTW, if you want to know more about other ?s, check out my myspace. Just search for Adam Zerbee, and invite me for a friend.
282000
A lot to read, but, I think the last sentence sums up the whole, as to what you ask. Yes, we may not be sure of the details between God and Satan, I believe this is a personal dispute. Ever hear people say about a Husband/Wife or two best Friends arguing; "You don't want to get in the middle of that"? I not going too, it between God and Satan. True we may be in the middle to some extent and too much to write on that.\nThe Bible does not give too much detail about Satan and in Job chapter 1 we see he is in Heaven talking with God about Job! I not understand God's full plan and it His choice. So, I trust Jesus and figure one day may know the deeper details. Hope this helps.
121094
You raise several interesting points in your question. I am not entirely sure what specific answer you are looking for, but I will give it a shot.\n\nYou say that satan used Scripture to tempt Jesus. He did, indeed. Jesus also used Scripture to defend himself against these temptations. Ultimately, we see that Jesus overcame all temptation by using the Scripture as his sword. \n\nIt is at this point that I would like to point out that satan, and devil, are not proper names, and could be applied to any number of enemies. These adjectives are used to describe an accuser, adversary, and Jesus also called Peter satan. There are dozens of reference in the Bible, but it seems that translators used these words in place of several persons and personalities. One interesting name replaced by "satan" is Satyr, mentioned in Greek mythology as a creature composed of a man and a goat, supposed to inhabit wild and desolate regions.\n\nBack to your question.\n\nPaul never mentions hell in any of his writings. He does wish condemnation for those who fool Christians into believing lies. This condemnation he wishes for judaisers (those who want Christians to follow Jewish law), false prophets, and lying spirits. Condemnation is judgment, but it is not to be confused with a lake of fire.\n\nThe Church has existed since the time Jesus chose twelve disciples. But, it does not predate the writings of the Jewish Bible, what Christians call the Old Testament. It did, however exist without a printed version of the Christian "Bible" until the 1500's.\n\nSince the the Scriptures were first put onto paper, there have been countless translations. This was necessary to introduce the Bible to people and cultures all over the world. The original writings of the prophets and disciples have been gone for centuries. All we have left of the Scripture are translations. \n\nUnfortunately, Rome held "copyright" on Scripture, and would not allow the sacred writings to be seen by common people. For that reason, we have, as Christians, a Bible made up of books that we believe to be legitimate writings. But, there are dozens of writings that could also be just as legitimate as the ones we allow in our Bible.\n\nThe important thing to remember is that the Scriptures tell a story. This is the story of mankind, his history, his lineage. It is also a story about God, and his dealings with mankind. But, most importantly, it tells us we are loved by our Creator, and it offers us salvation.\n\nYes, many have tried to add books to the Bible. Many have tried to tell a different story. In my opinion, no book written after the apostles died can adequately describe the teachings of Jesus. But, they can all give us a version of the story that they have heard.\n\nWhat we do to become part of the God's eternal, yet evolving, story is more important than fighting over who wrote what.
64657
sorry i didn't get back to you.  this was not saying that God was a liar for we know God can never lie.  His promises are yeah and amen and also He is not slack concerning His promises.  What He says he will do he will do.  God can NEVER lie.  It is not possible for him to sin because He is Holy and Pure.  This particular passage of scripture was about a spirit(angel) that told God he would go and cause one of Ahab's prophets to lie to him and cause him to go into battle where he would ultimately be killed.  All things serve the Lord and even with deceipt, God can use these situations to serve His purposes.  We can see this in our own lives when things aren't going good or seem out of control, but we know God is on the throne and He is in control.  He can take any problem and make it a blessing for us if we will just wait for Him to shine through.  Keep studying his word and asking these questions.  It's how you will learn. And ask for the guidance of the Holy Spirit as you study His word.
261618
Excellent question, for those who hold that Jesus preached in hell, moreover how can Jesus be so much more loving than the God of the Old Testament when he is going to damn most of mankind to eternal punishment for not liking him and that was never the case before? If that's love....