Repentance of Satan

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sarahq

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I imagine this might be impossible, but wouldn’t it be wonderful if Satan repented and stopped tormenting people? Let us pray that Satan would cease his tyranny, be like the good angels, and stop promoting pain and sin.

May Jesus rule heaven and earth,
Amen.
 
Please be careful with this. You might be asking for trouble. Satan picked this for himself with the full and complete knowledge available to him while in Heaven. We, however, do not have full and complete knowledge.

My approach is to try my best to recognize his attacks and to pray, pray, pray for protection from those attacks for myself, my family, and everyone else. I refrain from talking back or taking any interest in their motives or desire to change. (But yes, it would be cool - it can’t happen, however.)

in servitude to our Master
 
Satan had full knowledge of God, and rejected Him. He couldn’t “make a mistake”, as he has supernatural intellect.

He has made his choice. It’s done. 😉
 
The angels have free will like we do.

He cannot repent and he will never be like the good angels. He can’t and won’t change. Praying for it isn’t going to do any good.
 
DihydrogenOxide said:
The angels have free will like we do.

He cannot repent and he will never be like the good angels. He can’t and won’t change. Praying for it isn’t going to do any good.
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I agree. Please do not play with fire, you might get burnt.

Pray for the salvation of all of us, especially arrogant humans that say that they do not need God.
 
I pray for the Lord to rebuke Satan and his demons.

Saint Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle;
be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray:
and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host,
by the power of God,
thrust into hell Satan and all the evil spirits
who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen.

Sancte Michael Archangele,
defende nos in proelio;
contra nequitiam et insidias diaboli esto praesidium.
Imperet illi Deus, supplices deprecamur:
tuque, Princeps militiae Caelestis,
satanam aliosque spiritus malignos,
qui ad perditionem animarum pervagantur in mundo,
divina virtute in infernum detrude.
Amen.
 
A_G said:
I pray for the Lord to rebuke Satan and his demons.

Saint Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle;
be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray:
and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host,
by the power of God,
thrust into hell Satan and all the evil spirits
who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen.

Sancte Michael Archangele,
defende nos in proelio;
contra nequitiam et insidias diaboli esto praesidium.
Imperet illi Deus, supplices deprecamur:
tuque, Princeps militiae Caelestis,
satanam aliosque spiritus malignos,
qui ad perditionem animarum pervagantur in mundo,
divina virtute in infernum detrude.
Amen.
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This ^
 
sarahq said:
I imagine this might be impossible, but wouldn’t it be wonderful if Satan repented and stopped tormenting people? Let us pray that Satan would cease his tyranny, be like the good angels, and stop promoting pain and sin.

May Jesus rule heaven and earth,
Amen.
Click to expand...
I’m not certain, but wouldn’t Satan’s repentance and return to being one of the good angels change the tenets of Christianity?
 
*Originally Posted by DihydrogenOxide
The angels have free will like we do.

He cannot repent and he will never be like the good angels. He can’t and won’t change. Praying for it isn’t going to do any good.

I agree. Please do not play with fire, you might get burnt.

Pray for the salvation of all of us, especially arrogant humans that say that they do not need God.
*

But doesn’t the Bible say we should pray for our enemies? Is this only restricted to human enemies? I guess I just wish that the devil would stop contributing to so much suffering on earth.
 
While I agree that this probably wont happen, I cant believe that it CANT happen. Doesnt scripture tell us that all things are possible through Christ? I know God gives us free will, but does Christ have the power to convert the hearts of the wicked? Im not trying to play “devils advocate” here… I am just asking.

Very interesting topic
 
A_G said:
I pray for the Lord to rebuke Satan and his demons.

Saint Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle;
be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray:
and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host,
by the power of God,
thrust into hell Satan and all the evil spirits
who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen.

Sancte Michael Archangele,
defende nos in proelio;
contra nequitiam et insidias diaboli esto praesidium.
Imperet illi Deus, supplices deprecamur:
tuque, Princeps militiae Caelestis,
satanam aliosque spiritus malignos,
qui ad perditionem animarum pervagantur in mundo,
divina virtute in infernum detrude.
Amen.
Click to expand...
Thank you! I remember this prayer, it helps!
 
Pete44 said:
While I agree that this probably wont happen, I cant believe that it CANT happen. Doesnt scripture tell us that all things are possible through Christ? I know God gives us free will, but does Christ have the power to convert the hearts of the wicked? Im not trying to play “devils advocate” here… I am just asking.

Very interesting topic
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I agree, I like to think that Christ is capable even of changing the devil… It may not be possible though, I don’t know.
 
Pete44 said:
While I agree that this probably wont happen, I cant believe that it CANT happen. Doesnt scripture tell us that all things are possible through Christ? I know God gives us free will, but does Christ have the power to convert the hearts of the wicked? Im not trying to play “devils advocate” here… I am just asking.

Very interesting topic
Click to expand...
THANK you!! :dancing:

Where are the “absolutists” here? Which absolutist agrees that the “repentance” of satan is within the power of God to bring about. If you don’t agree with that, then to use a phrase I’ve heard from Protestants, “your god is too small.”

Note I say “your God.” We all have our own outlook on God; images if you will – or working explanations maybe – so whatever we think of when we think “God,” is not completely consistent from one person to the next and never can be so, and none of them can possibly comprehend the True God as a mental exercise. (think: Cloud of the Unknowing) To find the True God you have to experience Him, for He seldom uses words except when working through humans.

Alan
Patavium said:
I agree. Please do not play with fire, you might get burnt.

Pray for the salvation of all of us, especially arrogant humans that say that they do not need God.
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I don’t know about you, but I’m not playing. I’m learning, speculating, analyzing, and trying to grow in faith. Just like in dealing with the physical sciences and mathematics, it is useful to consider extreme cases in order to fully appreciate what the teaching mean – so when you get back to “regular” issues you will have a better understanding.

The subject of the thread is, IMO, enough information that anybody who feels weak in this area and is not interested in dealing with it, can choose not to look. Just like I seldom read a thread about masturbation.

Either Jesus cannot bring about the repentance of satan, or He is not omnipotent. Pure and simple. If you see something I’m missing, please by all means let’s hear it.

Here’s another question I posed on facebook the other day:

If Jesus were appointed by the Court to defend Satan, would Satan be acquitted?

I say it is an unambiguous “yes.”

Alan
 
sarahq said:
But doesn’t the Bible say we should pray for our enemies? Is this only restricted to human enemies? I guess I just wish that the devil would stop contributing to so much suffering on earth.
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I understand your sentiments. They seem rooted in the truth of God’s infinite mercy and love for all of creation. Certainly, praying for a minimization of the devil’s power to cause suffering would be a good prayer. 🙂

However, angels are different from humans. They are pure spirits. They are not part of the physical world, which includes humans and also the construct of time itself. Time does not exist as we know it in the absence of the physical world.

In a way known not to us, at the beginning of time when the angels were created, they were given by God the chance to choose. That choice is irrevocable and cannot change (just as our own choice cannot change once we die) because they are not in time as we are. There is no “tomorrow” for them where they might change their mind. Similarly, the saints in heaven cannot suddenly decide they don’t like God and reject him. They have made their choice, too, and are no longer subject to time as we are.

The fact that the fallen angels rejection of God is irrevocable is part of the Church’s teaching. It will not change.
 
sarahq said:
But doesn’t the Bible say we should pray for our enemies? Is this only restricted to human enemies? I guess I just wish that the devil would stop contributing to so much suffering on earth.
Click to expand...
Only human enemies. Humans still have the ability to change while they are still alive. They have the freedom to choose God or not to choose God. That’s the importance of praying for your enemies.

Like it says above, ask God,the angels and saints for help against demons. Demons already chose.
 
Joe_5859 said:
The choice of the fallen angels against God is irrevocable. See the Catechism: CCC 392-393.
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Thank you for that reference.

I might change my mind about Satan being converted, because after reading this I’m thinking Satan might be evil essentially by definition. So maybe you cannot take the spirit of evil out of Satan any more than we can take a dozen eggs out of a batch of 12 eggs and still have anything left. We can’t take the “dozen” out of “12” or vice versa, because we defined them to be synonymous.

Still, though, I’m not going to say to God, “God, I know this about You; I know You couldn’t cause Satan to repent even if you tried.”

So maybe it isn’t about omnipotence. Maybe it’s about the way the spirits are named?

Alan
 
A question: Even if Satan and every single demon were pushed forever into the abyss, wouldn’t we still have to deal with evil here on Earth? The gift of free will would still enable humans to do this - and in fact - I argue that it would be almost a certainty to crop up on its own.

In Heaven, before there was any evil, Satan created it with his free will - and that was in the face of God. (That’s my understanding, anyway). Here on Earth, I would guess it would be easier.

in servitude to our Master
 
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