If you were Satan....

[Athetotheist]

I remember a TV preacher once asking his broadcast audience, "If you were Satan....." I don't remember the rest of the question, but I seem to remember that he was talking about prophecy and arguing that Satan was up to some diabolical mischief ("If you were Satan, isn't that what you would do?").

A lot of detail in Christian scripture about what is to happen before Jesus returns is tied to the activity of "Satan". The appearance of the "antichrist", in particular, is supposed to be part of Satan's last gambit before he goes down to utter defeat.

Since it was asked of me how I would react if I were Satan, I think it's fair for me to answer. I know that "Satan" is supposed to be a being of superhuman intelligence, but I can't help thinking that if such a being actually existed and if I were that being, I could do a lot better.

If I were "Satan", I would scrap the antichrist plan. If it's all laid out in the Bible, then everyone knows what to expect and you've lost the element of surprise. With that one simple deviation from the prophetic scenario, the whole thing would be gummed up. No antichrist, no mark of the beast, no abomination of desolation, no anything I was supposed to do as Satan to set the stage for the return of Jesus. And without those prophetic components in place, Jesus couldn't return to fulfill prophecy. And how could anyone stop me? I wouldn't be taking some action which could be prevented; I would be defeating prophecy by not taking action.

So let me pass the preacher's question on to you. If you were "Satan", what would you do----or not do----to thwart prophecy?

[Athetotheist]

[Replying to Joseppi in post #348]

To prevent the salvation of the remnant of Israel at the time of the end Satan must insure that faith is removed from the earth. To do so demands the death of all Christians as well as all descendants of Abraham, Esau and Jacob on earth.

"To prevent the salvation......"

Salvation from what? Antichrist? Not if there isn't one.

[JehovahsWitness]

Jesus is recorded as saying exactly what actually happened. Note the following passage highlighted by Miles...

Matthew 24:27-29 (ESV)
27 For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

JW

[Athetotheist]

[Replying to JehovahsWitness in post #352

Jesus is recorded as saying exactly what actually happened.

Really?

Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.

[Miles]

Jesus is recorded as saying exactly what actually happened. Note the following passage highlighted by Miles...

Matthew 24:27-29 (ESV)
27 For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

Don't understand your comment at all or what you're trying to get at, but here are a few other interpretations of Matthew 24:27-28. Perhaps one or more of these better expresses your concern.

ERV
27 When the Son of Man comes, everyone will see him. It will be like lightning flashing in the sky that can be seen everywhere. 28 It’s like looking for a dead body: You will find it where the vultures are gathering above.

CEV
27 The coming of the Son of Man will be like lightning that can be seen from east to west. 28 Where there is a corpse, there will always be vultures.

CEB
27 Just as the lightning flashes from the east to the west, so it will be with the coming of the Human One. 28 The vultures gather wherever there’s a dead body.

NIRV
27 Lightning that comes from the east can be seen in the west. It will be the same when the Son of Man comes. 28 The vultures will gather wherever there is a dead body.

WE
27 When lightning shines in the east, it can be seen in the west. It will be like that when the Son of Man comes. 28 The big birds that eat meat will all go to the place where the dead body is.

NCV
27 When the Son of Man comes, he will be seen by everyone, like lightning flashing from the east to the west. 28 Wherever the dead body is, there the vultures will gather.

If they help please let me know what your objective is in citing the two verses.


.

[JehovahsWitness]

Jesus is recorded as saying exactly what actually happened. Note the following passage highlighted by Miles...

Matthew 24:27-29 (ESV)
27 For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

Don't understand your comment at all or what you're trying to get at, but here are a few other interpretations of Matthew 24:27-28. Perhaps one or more of these better expresses your concern.

ERV
27 When the Son of Man comes, everyone will see him. It will be like lightning flashing in the sky that can be seen everywhere. 28 It’s like looking for a dead body: You will find it where the vultures are gathering above.

CEV
27 The coming of the Son of Man will be like lightning that can be seen from east to west. 28 Where there is a corpse, there will always be vultures.

CEB
27 Just as the lightning flashes from the east to the west, so it will be with the coming of the Human One. 28 The vultures gather wherever there’s a dead body.

NIRV
27 Lightning that comes from the east can be seen in the west. It will be the same when the Son of Man comes. 28 The vultures will gather wherever there is a dead body.

WE
27 When lightning shines in the east, it can be seen in the west. It will be like that when the Son of Man comes. 28 The big birds that eat meat will all go to the place where the dead body is.

NCV
27 When the Son of Man comes, he will be seen by everyone, like lightning flashing from the east to the west. 28 Wherever the dead body is, there the vultures will gather.

If they help please let me know what your objective is in citing the two verses.


.

The above verses speak for themselves, they prove my point.



JW

[Miles]

Jesus is recorded as saying exactly what actually happened. Note the following passage highlighted by Miles...

Matthew 24:27-29 (ESV)
27 For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

Don't understand your comment at all or what you're trying to get at, but here are a few other interpretations of Matthew 24:27-28. Perhaps one or more of these better expresses your concern.

ERV
27 When the Son of Man comes, everyone will see him. It will be like lightning flashing in the sky that can be seen everywhere. 28 It’s like looking for a dead body: You will find it where the vultures are gathering above.

CEV
27 The coming of the Son of Man will be like lightning that can be seen from east to west. 28 Where there is a corpse, there will always be vultures.

CEB
27 Just as the lightning flashes from the east to the west, so it will be with the coming of the Human One. 28 The vultures gather wherever there’s a dead body.

NIRV
27 Lightning that comes from the east can be seen in the west. It will be the same when the Son of Man comes. 28 The vultures will gather wherever there is a dead body.

WE
27 When lightning shines in the east, it can be seen in the west. It will be like that when the Son of Man comes. 28 The big birds that eat meat will all go to the place where the dead body is.

NCV
27 When the Son of Man comes, he will be seen by everyone, like lightning flashing from the east to the west. 28 Wherever the dead body is, there the vultures will gather.

If they help please let me know what your objective is in citing the two verses.


.

The above verses speak for themselves, they prove my point.

C'mon, not the old "Only a doofus would fail understand what I've presented, so why bother explaining" gambit.

Tactic #4 in How To Avoid Difficult Or Embarrassing Questions.

But if this is the best you can do, it's the best you can do.

.

[Joseppi]

The motivation is to escape the judgment of God.

The dilemma is that as time runs out and man has multiplied and filled the earth, then the harvest approaches and faith remains on earth and so Satan must use the mark of the beast to try and define who the faithful are.

Which is as God has ordained.

[Athetotheist]

The motivation is to escape the judgment of God.

The dilemma is that as time runs out and man has multiplied and filled the earth, then the harvest approaches and faith remains on earth and so Satan must use the mark of the beast to try and define who the faithful are.

Which is as God has ordained.

Unless no mark of the beast is introduced, in which case prophecy isn't fulfilled and judgement is averted.

[JehovahsWitness]

... Jesus got his promised return wrong some two thousand years ago.

Matthew 24:27-29 (ESV)

27 For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

May I ask, why did you quote the above verses? What do they mean and how do they prove your point?


JW

[AquinasForGod]

[Replying to Athetotheist in post #1]

Satan is not at war with God. He knows God is eternal and all powerful, so it would be pointless.

Also, Revelation is mostly about Nero.


Here is my take on Satan's fall and why he tries to keep humans from God - https://www.freelymeditate.com/single-p ... f-creation

It is inline with Catholic dogma.