How REAL is Satan?

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Hi,

Your question is soooo important! This is such a serious matter… I read a very good book about this subject many years ago. It is written by Malachi Martin, if you can get your hands on it “Hostage to the Devil” (see link below)

It scared the living daylights out of me, and gave me new respect for my relligion.

Sadly, the author, now deceased, was a Jesuit priest, left his Order and renounced his priest vows. :doh2:

May the Lord have mercy for him. :signofcross:

amazon.com/Hostage-Devil-Possession-Contemporary-Americans/dp/006065337X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1314240036&sr=1-1
 
Yea, I don’t know how real Satan is - I suppose the only evidence we have for him comes from the Bible and how much of those accounts are myth/legends who knows.

But Jesus seemed to think he existed, so maybe he does.
 
SGWessells said:
Genesis doesn’t say the serpent in Eden was the devil, only a beast of the field. The devil attribution came senturies later, after the Babylonian exile had permeated Jewish thought with the figure of Satan. In the Book of Job, Satan is presented as strolling into the court of God, even though wer are told that nothing evil can enter His presence. Unless job is a parable (which I suspect it is), how does one account for this? And if Satan is the father of lies, where did the lying spirit come from that God sent to fool the false prophets in 2 Chronicles 18:21? Are God and the father of lies in cahoots? God himself told Moses to lie in Ex. 3:3:18 ans Samuel to lie in 1 Sam. 16:2.

My chief puzzlement about Satan (aside from his seeming to be superfluous…isn’t human nature evil enough without a satanic scapegoat? – is why he would fall in the first place. If he was as exalted as tradition says – one of the Archangels closest to God’s throne – surely he would know that God is omnipotent, and that no rebellion against him could succeed. Plus, there Lucifer is in Heaven, filled wioth bliss, exalted beyond our imagination, privileged to serve at the very throne of the Almighty – what could he possibly hope to gain by rebellion? The whole tale seems improbable to me. I suspect humanity was looking for someone to blame besides God for the inexplicable evil of the universe, and so invented Satan.
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There is a book written by a man that has talked to several people that left the occult and found Christ … they were from varied backgrounds and various parts of the world … They all told the same story about satans decision to reject God. … the book … “Mysterious Secrets of the Dark Kingdom” by JP Timmons is a free pdf online … the chapter is entitled 'The Rebellion of the Angels".
 
Desertmesa said:
Well, I can appreciate your question about the “Evil One”.

A year-or-so ago, a family member was invited to visit us and stay awhile.
Until she arrived with her suitcase we did not know what a _atanist really is, and did not know
she was one.
We soon found out, and it was not a pretty picture. Even my big dog’s ran with their tails between their leg’s whenever she came out of her guest room. She would laugh at seeing them frightened, and say: “Oh, they just can see the giant Snake following me.”:eek:
It actually was difficult to breathe deeply, to think clearly when she was around, or to sleep.
It was even hard to complete a paragraph verbally when trying to speak to her(kind of felt like you were being choked). I then knew, for the first time ever, what that dark spirit can do, and what it feels like.
Needless to say we were quite happy when she ended her stay a week later. Plus the bottle of Holy Water had to be replenished.:o
This is a very true, and tragic story.
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I truly understand how you felt. I have experienced this too.
 
1voice said:
There is a book written by a man that has talked to several people that left the occult and found Christ … they were from varied backgrounds and various parts of the world … They all told the same story about satans decision to reject God. … the book … “Mysterious Secrets of the Dark Kingdom” by JP Timmons is a free pdf online … the chapter is entitled 'The Rebellion of the Angels".
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Thanks, that is really great information!

:blessyou:
 
Road2Damascus said:
Thank you for having the confidence to tell us that. Prayer surely keeps this evl in check.

I just heard a man the other day he felt he was attacked by demons once, I have read people say they’ve seen angels. A person usually doesn’t know how serious to take these things when they hear them, however, once I had a long drive and I stopped and prayed at a little Catholic shrine outside of a church, about 2 hours later, I arrived to the apartment where I was living and no one else was there, I really do think there was a bit of a spiritual struggle that night once I had turned the lights out. Something beyond dreams, a bit more real but at the same time, not positive as to what was occurring.
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You are so right about prayer helping to keep this evil in check. Receiving the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ is such a wonderful gift, and surrounds one with so much protection and True Love.
Your story above is interesting, and seems quite evident in some aspects of “spiritual struggle”. It is a blessing that you were aware of it all as it unfolded.
 
TheHolyTrinity said:
I truly understand how you felt. I have experienced this too.
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Appreciate you sharing that you also experienced the validity of The Evil One.
Do you feel the need to be a bit more vigilant with your prayer life since your experience?
God Bless.
 
Desertmesa said:
Hello Road 2Damascus!

Appreciate your positive (name removed by moderator)ut also in regards to the story I chose to share on here.
Although I have had a great love and admiration of Padre Pio for over 30 years, when this incident occurred in our home, not too long ago, it gave me a better understanding of what Padre Pio experienced himself, even in his cell, as he was attacked by The Evil One.
Before the incident’s we experienced first hand, we were like most folks in our belief of the validity of S., but not fully comprehending the true, evil powers, and effects that can occur.
Yes, you are correct in questioning some of the newer music that is out there now.
Found out not long ago, that the woman in this true story, became attracted first to “innocent” (not) Tarot Cards and Wicca. After several years she ventured into dark Vamp. music and then got sucked into the Sat. worship thing. We found out that the last phase began over 9 years ago.
She was a lovely young lady, and a practicing Catholic before her introductions into the Occult at a fairly young age.
FYI: Notice that I do not type the full name of the Evil One. I no longer even say the name, unless it is in a prayer.
Thank you to anyone who offers up prayer’s for her conversion.
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Sorry, but anecdotes are not evidence. There are too many other possible explanations (superstition, susceptibility to suggestion, psychosis of the visitor, etc.).
As a former Wiccan, I can testify that hardly any Wiccans of my acquaintance (of 12 years and three degrees, roughly equivalent to a bishop) believe in Satan’s existence. To them, he is part of Christian mythology, not pagan. I do not recommend Wicca as a religion, but not because it’s evil; rather, because it’s irrational. Though many Wiccans are wonderful people. Be careful of judging a whole group you know little about because of one isolated example.
 
SGWessells said:
Sorry, but anecdotes are not evidence. There are too many other possible explanations (superstition, susceptibility to suggestion, psychosis of the visitor, etc.).
As a former Wiccan, I can testify that hardly any Wiccans of my acquaintance (of 12 years and three degrees, roughly equivalent to a bishop) believe in Satan’s existence. To them, he is part of Christian mythology, not pagan. I do not recommend Wicca as a religion, but not because it’s evil; rather, because it’s irrational. Though many Wiccans are wonderful people. Be careful of judging a whole group you know little about because of one isolated example.
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Even this topic one would not want to get too involved in if they don’t know much about Wicca in the first place but it seems Wicca uses some symbols that one would associate with Sata hence, too much of a tie in. Sorry, can’t agree with your point.

It sounds like DesertMesa is simply using the same “don’t bring a Ouija board in the house, as it may bring in negative or evil influences” logic that Christians of different denominations have used for years in speaking about some of the things his/her cousin did.

The Lord Jesus and His Blessed Mother be Praised.
 
SGWessells said:
Genesis doesn’t say the serpent in Eden was the devil, only a beast of the field. The devil attribution came senturies later, after the Babylonian exile had permeated Jewish thought with the figure of Satan. In the Book of Job, Satan is presented as strolling into the court of God, even though wer are told that nothing evil can enter His presence. Unless job is a parable (which I suspect it is), how does one account for this? And if Satan is the father of lies, where did the lying spirit come from that God sent to fool the false prophets in 2 Chronicles 18:21? Are God and the father of lies in cahoots? God himself told Moses to lie in Ex. 3:3:18 ans Samuel to lie in 1 Sam. 16:2.

My chief puzzlement about Satan (aside from his seeming to be superfluous…isn’t human nature evil enough without a satanic scapegoat? – is why he would fall in the first place. If he was as exalted as tradition says – one of the Archangels closest to God’s throne – surely he would know that God is omnipotent, and that no rebellion against him could succeed. Plus, there Lucifer is in Heaven, filled wioth bliss, exalted beyond our imagination, privileged to serve at the very throne of the Almighty – what could he possibly hope to gain by rebellion? The whole tale seems improbable to me. I suspect humanity was looking for someone to blame besides God for the inexplicable evil of the universe, and so invented Satan.
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One of satans evil deceptions is convincing people that he doesnt exist.
 
SGWessells said:
I do not recommend Wicca as a religion, but not because it’s evil; rather, because it’s irrational.
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You pique my inherent curiosity … I have been associated with Wiccans from time to time …
I am under the impression that they worship nature and believe that they draw power from that source… either in a positive or negative way … depending on the person’s desire.
As a Christian, I disagree with that logic … but I am curious to know why you have come to the conclusion (obviously through hard won experience on your part) that the Wiccan way of perceiving reality is irrational.
 
1voice said:
You pique my inherent curiosity … I have been associated with Wiccans from time to time …
I am under the impression that they worship nature and believe that they draw power from that source… either in a positive or negative way … depending on the person’s desire.
As a Christian, I disagree with that logic … but I am curious to know why you have come to the conclusion (obviously through hard won experience on your part) that the Wiccan way of perceiving reality is irrational.
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For several reasons. First, they are convinced that magic works, even though they have never tested it. The Wiccans of my acquaintance (I cannot speak for all, since there are such wide variations) think that they can raise healing power by running in a circle, then can channel this power through the priestess to a sick person, even when the priestess doesn’t know where the patient is or what illness they have. They cast a circle to keep out spiritual influences, yet somehow the magical power passes through without a problem. They summon, stir,and call up “archangelic” powers to guard the circle, even though they don’t believe there are any evil spirits to guard against; and why should exalted beings such as archangels, if such exist, obey such a summons? Almost all Wiccans, however, believe that negative magic is a bad thing, and frown on its use.
Second, they believe in absurd superstitions. One person told me that she had stored power in an earring which could deflect my thoughts away. Tthey have no common theology, but believe that they “create their own reality.” Anyone can believe what they like about the “gods”, and it is just as real as anyone else’s belief. Some think the deities are elements of the human psyche, some think they are objectively real in some unspecified way, others seem indifferent to the whole question. They claim to be a nature religion, yet few seem to know much about nature. Instead, they have faith in superstitions which are contradicted by their daily experience. For instance, many believe in “the rule of three”, which says that anything you do, good or bad, comes back to you threefold. Nobody tests this assertion to see whether it’s true, or has any idea by what agency it is accomplished, or why three and not two or fourfold.I could go on for many pages, but you get the idea.
 
Road2Damascus wrote: " Wicca uses some symbols that one would associate with Sata hence, too much of a tie in."

I’m not sure which symbols you are referring to. If you mean the pentagram, that has also been used as a Christian symbol, referring to the five wounds of Christ. But whatever symbols you mean, you can only judge people’s use of them by the meanings those particular people put on them. The KKK uses crosses, but that doesn’t make Christianity racist. See what I mean? If some Satanic groups use pentagrams to mean one thing, and Wiccans use them to mean another, you can’t switch them. People get to define their own symbols however they want; they cannot be forced to adopt the interpretations of some other group.
 
Satan and his angels are real. I have seen fallen angels appear and disappear before my very eyes. I have woken up and literally felt hands closing in around my throat and squeeze. The hands did not release until I managed to in some way call out to Jesus to save me. The Name of Jesus has real power. Some brothers prayed for me and it never happened again after they prayed.

When Satan rebelled and put a question mark on Gods character, God did the only thing a loving God could do…confine the problem beings, Satan and his angels, and let the fruits of evil fully develop so that all of the intelligent beings in the universe can clearly see the true nature of Satans claims.

The cross removes all doubt concerning the characters of both God and Satan. Satan, in urging the murder of the spotless Lamb of God, reveals how truely evil he and his alternative principles are. Jesus, in emptying Himself out and sacrificing Himself show the selfless love of God and His infinite concern for His precious creatures.

Let us look to Jesus, our all sufficient, all powerful, totally loving great God and Saviour 🙂
 
I do believe Satan is real. :yup:

I think Satan and his minions do have power in our society.
As an ex New-Ager, who never use to believe in Satan (New Ager’s do not believe in Satan, Pagans do not, only Satanists - and of course they worship him) I still struggle believing sometimes. A lot of people believe that it was not God who created Satan, it was actually the Church. To scare people into the Church, and a way of controlling the masses.

This is the reason I do sometimes have my doubts, so many people don’t believe in him.
I decided to come back to the Church and accept it all, and certainly the very ‘real’ possibilty that Satan is real. It is too scary for me to think of the consequences if I do not believe.

It saddens me to think that most of our world have been ‘taken over’ by things that Satan has had a big part in. My children were watching a Scooby Doo cartoon tonight and I was shocked that in it they spoke about Wiccans (Witches) and even chanted spells:eek:, then it ended with a ‘Nature Song’. This is aimed at children!

I believe we need to be aware that his goal is to fool us all, for sure.

It’s scary stuff really, I do not like it, not one little bit.:dts:
 
PJM said:
Is Satan just a myth? How can we know?
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It is your desire to know that is problematic…attribute nothing to Satan but instead all things to God and seek understanding of his will for YOU in all that happens, good and bad.

All of creation is from God. Do not seek to know the darkness…seek instead to know the light.
 
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