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Bible Q

Tag: devil

Why do OT and NT teachings on demons appear to differ?

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See also What is the difference between “unclean spirit” and “demon”? Why does OT and NT teaching on demons appear to differ? It is undeniable that there is a difference between the way the Old Testament (OT) and New Testament (NT) describe illness and disability: Exodus 4:11 Then the Lord said to [Moses], “Who has […]

Who are the devil’s angels? (Mat.25:41; Rev 12:9)

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Jesus has already used similar language in saying that the Pharisees are children of their father the devil (John 8:44) Matt.25:41 is partly just apocalyptic language (no different from Rev.12:9) but there may be a literal edge to it as well, and the “angels” in this case are the same as the “goats”. Of course […]

Are there any historical accounts of what the ancient Christians taught about the devil/satan?

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Early Christians after the 1st century AD typically understood the devil/satan as a supernatural evil being, either a fallen angel or a demon. However, some early Jewish interpreters held a very different view. The famous 18th century Baptist commentator John Gill acknowledged that early Jewish teachers interpreted ‘satan’ as a reference to the natural inclination […]

Is the devil a part of God’s creation?

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If the devil were an enormously powerful supernatural being which tormented the wicked in hell, then it would be very difficult indeed to explain why God would create such a being. However the Bible does not teach that the devil is a supernatural being, or that it torments the wicked in hell. The Bible nowhere […]

Who is the prince of the power of the air?

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This description only appears in Ephesians 2:2: Eph 2:1-2 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience. So Paul equates the […]

What does 1 John 3:8 mean?

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1 John 3:8. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. The word ‘devil’ does not occur in the Old Testament, so this is not a direct quotation from […]

Who was the devil in the wilderness?

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The devil is an allegory, the personification of temptation. The following details support the suggestion that the ‘temptation’ in the wilderness in Matthew 4 and Luke 4 is an allegory probably told to the disciples by Jesus himself, not a literal event with a literal tempter figure (angelic or human) following Jesus. Some of the […]

Where did the name “Lucifer” come from?

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Lucifer is a Latin adjective meaning “light-bringer”. It was used of both the moon and more frequently of the planet Venus, the “morning star”, the brightest object in the sky just before dawn.   Early Christian usage In Christian usage the word became used as a name widely from the Latin of 2 Peter 1:19 “lucifer oriatur in […]