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Bible Q

Tag: Satan

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 […]

Is Satan a fallen angel?

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No, Satan is not a fallen angel. God tells us in the Bible that angels do not sin, so they cannot “fall”: angels only do what God wants them to do: “Bless the Lord, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, obeying the voice of his word!” (Psalm 103:20) Angels obey […]

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 […]

Who is Satan in 2 Corinthians 2:11?

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2 Corinthians 2:10-11. Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive.  What I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, so that we would not be outwitted by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his designs. Satan is a Hebrew word that has been taken straight […]

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 […]

Who was the “cherub in Eden” (Ezekiel 28:13-14)?

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In earlier years, “the cherub in Eden” of Ezekiel 28:13 was frequently identified as Satan. (Compare also the question on Isaiah 14 and “Lucifer”).  Although this is less common today, one can see how someone looking for the origin of the ‘fallen angel’ Satan of medieval legend might be drawn to this chapter, if they […]

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 […]