Can the Devil repent?

[Vanny]

Repentence is possible for us up to the time of death- can Lucifer and /or his angels repent-say I’m sorry God, or is his destiny set in stone since he already had access to God, in full as we do not.?(the Beatific vision)

 

[Fidelis]

Since the angels (and demons) are completely spiritual, their intellect is, unlike man, completely unencumbered by factors that muddle and mitigate men’s thinking processes and choices. Thus, when they made their decision for or against God, they knew exactly what they were doing. The Catechism points out:

391 Behind the disobedient choice of our first parents lurks a seductive voice, opposed to God, which makes them fall into death out of envy. Scripture and the Church’s Tradition see in this being a fallen angel, called “Satan” or the “devil”. The Church teaches that Satan was at first a good angel, made by God: “The devil and the other demons were indeed created naturally good by God, but they became evil by their own doing.”

392 Scripture speaks of a sin of these angels. This “fall” consists in the free choice of these created spirits, who radically and irrevocably rejected God and his reign. We find a reflection of that rebellion in the tempter’s words to our first parents: “You will be like God.” The devil “has sinned from the beginning”; he is “a liar and the father of lies”.

393 It is the irrevocable character of their choice, and not a defect in the infinite divine mercy, that makes the angels’ sin unforgivable. “There is no repentance for the angels after their fall, just as there is no repentance for men after death.”

 

[Roman_Army]

Vanny:

Repentence is possible for us up to the time of death- can Lucifer and /or his angels repent-say I’m sorry God, or is his destiny set in stone since he already had access to God, in full as we do not.?(the Beatific vision)

**That’s like saying: “After someone dies and goes to hell they can repent and enter heaven.” :whacky: Wants you’re there, there is no turning back. Demons chose to be against God, so they were sent to hell, there’s no repenting. Also, there is no grace in Hell, without God’s grace no one can repent. Grace is what calls us to repent to God. Hell is just pure evil, nothing good is in it. The spiritual realm is very different from the earthly. **

**Unfortunately, some people pray for the devil and/or demons, that is heretical and must be corrected. In fact, it is sin, since it goes against Divine Justice. We are supposed to be satisfied with divine justice, not against it. **

 

[epr1993]

Not to belabor the point but they knew *exactly *what they were doing and *exactly *what the eternal consequences were if they did. Knowing this they still chose to go against the Divine Majesty.

 

[Darrel]

We believe without seeing. We recieve grace from an invisible God who loves us and we accept him or not. Can you imagine being in the fathers presence and just straight up rejecting him? That would take a very serious decision of evil. Follow that up with this mission to take people down with them and tempt them to hell. This is another serious choice for the sake of evil. I have a feeling that our loyalty to God after a life here will be a little more dependable. Open rejection of the God of all creation while in his presence seems more like chaotic suicide on the part of Satan and his demons. They chose it in free will.

-D

 

[Zooey]

That’s like saying: “After someone dies and goes to hell they can repent and enter heaven.” :whacky: Wants you’re there, there is no turning back. Demons chose to be against God, so they were sent to hell, there’s no repenting. Also, there is no grace in Hell, without God’s grace no one can repent. Grace is what calls us to repent to God. Hell is just pure evil, nothing good is in it. The spiritual realm is very different from the earthly.

**Unfortunately, some people pray for the devil and/or demons, that is heretical and must be corrected. In fact, it is sin, since it goes against Divine Justice. We are supposed to be satisfied with divine justice, not against it. **

Great points!!
I would add, what a wise person once told me, about those in hell (the lost, not demons, but I think it goes here, too), “It’s not that they are there because they don’t repent; they’re there because they won’t repent”.
At the time, I thought it was a bit of a word game; but after thinking it through, I realized that he had put his finger on something profound…Hell is the result of a choice; Heaven is the result of a choice.
Remember the words John Milton put in Lucifer’s mouth? “Better to reign in Hell than to serve in Heaven”…It is sad, but true: Some people–and some angels–would rather have it their own way. No matter what the cost…

 

[Marilena]

Satan made his choice, and that’s that. There is no going back
for him, or the angels that went with him.

 

[Vanny]

Thanks so much for all your replies- They make very excellent points and I can definetly see why he can’t repent now.