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A Loving God The Occult Sin Death Hell The Millennium

The Great Controversy - The Problem Of God
Why does evil exist? Why do bad things happen? Who is in charge? How powerful is he? Why doesn't he use his powers to protect the good?
When God created, He made several different kinds of living things. Trees which (as far as we know), do not feel love or communicate emotion. Animals who apparently feel, love and communicate but are not capable of higher reasoning. He created man with all these capabilities plus the reasoning power to rule and expand and grow. These are not programmed responses, but a genuine emotion from within us born by free will and informed choice.
When Satan rebelled and made lying accusations, God had an immediate problem. He was faced with an adversary who played by no decent rules. Lying was just not part of the original universe. Every statement used to be believable because everything was done with love. God's problem was how to stop the rebellion, let the truth be heard and maintain our free will at the same time.
All this would take time, patience and sacrifice. Everyone must be heard - including Satan. Everyone's statement must be evaluated. Everyone's position must be demonstrated to ultimately arrive at truth.
It is a tribute to God that He ran a government that allowed people to feel free to question Him and to evaluate everyone's statements equally. This method of government seems weak and ineffective when you look at what happened when evil attempted to grow under this freedom.
But in His wisdom God knows that freedom is the only way to get genuine love.

Satan
Satan is a real person not just a symbolic representation of evil. He was created perfect. He was known as Lucifer, the light bearer. He is an angel (a messenger of God). He was possibly the highest of all angels until his position led him to jealousy and rebellion. Being that close, administratively to God, he eventually sought the power and position and honor of God. Not having the natural capabilities of God, he sought to usurp God's position by mutiny.
He started a flame of discontentment, rebellion and mutiny against God by lying about God. He was able to have this influence because he was so beautiful, gifted and admired. The book of Revelation seems to indicate that by the time a decision was made to finally deal with this crisis, about one third of the angels and one planet or race of beings had joined his side. We do not know what efforts went into leading them back to God, or how long the rebellion had been going on before it contaminated the earth. But seeing how God operates we know that He must have been patient.
God clearly has drawn a distinction between his rebellion and ours. He and his gang are now under irrevocable condemnation of death, probably because they have reached the point of no return. We on the other hand get to make a decision, because frankly we were not there, we did not start the rebellion, we have always been weakened by the curse of sin, and therefore we must be given an opportunity to reestablish our allegiance to God.
Satan hates us because God loves us and apparently has created us for a very covetous role in His society. Even now that we have sinned He is still willing to restore us to that position. Part of his jealously and his specific targeting of this race for rebellion may have been because he wanted to be like God (have His position but not His character), but suddenly we were created to eventually be above his position.
Psalm 8: 5 could be interpreted "He created us lower than the angels for a little {time}" not "He created us a little lower than the angels".
This promise applies to Christ who became lower than the angels for thirty three years. It could also apply to a future plan of God when He makes us kings and priests who will reign with Him.
Satan is the leader of a gang of rebel angels intent on destroying everything and everyone he possibly can because he is jealous of God, Christ and us.

Covering Cherub
Life | Death
--- | ---
How the mighty have fallen!

This Was His Life
According to Ezekiel 28: 12 - 19, he had the highest place of honor among created beings. He was one of the two angels who stood by the throne of God and covered Him.
You had the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every precious stone was your covering ... on the day you were created they were prepared. You were the anointed cherub who covers and I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of God. You walked in the midst of the stones of fire". (Ezekiel 28: 12-14)
Lucifer was near the throne of God. As the light bearer, he could stand in the intense light of the glory of God as a covering cherub.

- Covering Cherub. He was one of the two angels covering the glory of God on the throne.
- Holy Mountain. The Throne of God.
- Stones of Fire. In Ezekiel's vision, the stones of fire were below the throne. In other places they are called the "coals of fire" under the altar.

This Is His Crime
Pride in his physical appearance and his status was his sin. It led to rebellion, anarchy, mutiny and death.
You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created until unrighteousness was found in you. By the abundance of your trade you were internally filled with violence, and you sinned. Therefore I have thrown you as profane from the mountain of God. And I have destroyed you, O covering Cherub from the midst of the stones of fire. Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor. By the multitude of your iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your trade You profaned your sanctuaries ... (Ezekiel 28: 15-18)

The Millennium
He walks among the corpses of the dead.

Michael.
It is possible that Michael, the archangel, was the second covering cherub. Michael is Jesus Christ. This means that God is His own covering. He does not need created beings. But the generous nature of God makes Him share as much as He can with His creatures. Perhaps God walked among His angels as He walked among humans.
This superiority of Michael would explain the jealousy of Satan. As the other covering cherub, perhaps he thought that he could also be divine. But divinity cannot be given to a created being. Instead of being happy that he was selected to be the only created being with this honor, he wanted more. He wanted to be like God, just as Michael was God. So he hated Christ and was extremely jealous.

This Will Be His End

Characteristic | Life As A Covering Cherub | Life In The Millennium | Eternity
--- | --- | --- | ---
Covering Cherub | Light of God | Darkness | Death
Under his feet | Walks in the stones of fire | Corpses of the dead | He is trampled as dust
Internal | Beauty, wisdom | Terror, fear, shame | Fire, death, ashes
Decoration, wealth | Precious Stones | Maggots, worms, broken planet | Inherits the earth as dust

He will die in fear and humiliation. He can no longer survive in the stones of fire.
... Therefore I have brought fire from the midst of you; It has consumed you And I have turned you to ashes on the earth, in the eyes of all who see you. All who know you among the peoples are appalled at you; you have become terrified and you will cease to be forever. (Ezekiel 28: 18-19)

The Two Great Lies That Caused Adam And Eve To Fall
Satan exported his rebellion to earth. Amazingly, the turmoil he caused in heaven was not resolved and he was allowed to corrupt the earth. We see this pattern of two chances given to a rebellious group before their total annihilation. Satan convinced Adam and Eve to join in his rebellion by not believing God. He did it not only by appealing to their sense of curiosity and vanity but by directly contradicting God.

Group | First Chance | Second Chance
--- | --- | ---
Satan | Rebellion in heaven | Rebellion on earth
World | The Flood | The Second Coming
Israel | Babylonian Captivity in 586 BC | Roman destruction in 70 A.D.
Church | The first fall of the Papacy | The Second Coming. The fall of Babylon
With each chance there are many cycles of warnings

In Genesis 2: 16-17 God told Adam and Eve that "From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die"
In Genesis 3: 4 - 5, Satan told Eve in direct contradiction to the Word of God.
"You shall not surely die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
These lies have echoed down through the ages in many ways.

1. There is no death. In the New age movement and all the psychic teachings, the belief in innate immortality, and in the doctrine of reincarnation we constantly hear the message in one form or another. Life continues on. Whether in hell or purgatory or an animal or a tree we all come back. Therefore, we can speak to the dead and become possessed by them.
2. You shall be as God . In the same movements we find that we do not die because we are all Gods or part of the divine. God is not an independent being he is every one of us and in everyone of us.
   The Bible states that "only God has immortality" I Timothy 6: 15-16 and the "wages of sin is death" Romans 6:23. Adam and Eve did die, from that very day their bodies began to run down. Cells started dying and had to be replaced. To God, the ultimate termination of life is as tragic as the first leaf that withered and fell off a tree. From the very moment they sinned, they started the dying process.
   God did not lie.

The Unseen World
The unseen world consists of God and His angels and the Devil and his angels. Each group has a different plan for us. But what motivates Satan?

- What Are Satan's Goals And motives
  1. They hate God.
  2. They hate us for several reasons. Because God loves us and because we were created to surpass them in certain ways that they rejected. Even after we have sinned, God is willing to restore us to this destiny.
  3. They want to destroy us. Through misery, hardships, unhappiness and death or through recruitment to their cause. But do not rest assured - you are not being recruited because they like you. You will be slaves until death.
- Methods Of Deception
  Remember that all efforts are for your ultimate destruction - even those who willingly serve him. You are as vulnerable to them as someone who attends a magic show and does not understand that he is observing a carefully orchestrated event designed to fool him or her. To accomplish this they will:
  1. Gain your confidence.
  2. Appeal to your momentary needs, especially the physical.
  3. Appeal to your greed - or what you want. (1 Timothy 6: 10)
  4. Make destructive things appealing and exciting. (Mark 4: 19)
  5. Smear God's name and character.
  6. They are expert liars. (John 8: 44)
- What Powers And Characteristics Do They Possess
  They seem to possess all the physical abilities they had as unfallen angels.
  1. They are invisible. (2 Kings 6: 16-17)
  2. They can become visible. (2 Kings 6: 16-17)
  3. They live a long time. The people in Adam's day regularly lived hundreds of years. Our natural life span is now about 70 years. Probably the natural life span of a dying angel is a few thousand years.
  4. They are beautiful. (Ezekiel 28: 12)
  5. They can travel at great speeds. (Daniel 10: 12-13; 9: 23)
  6. They do not have the ability to know what is happening unless they or their friends are there to see it. Or they have developed technology to monitor people from a distance.
  7. They are large in numbers. It is possible that probably one third of the angels apostatized. (Revelation 12: 4)
  8. They can "possess" you and take over your body and mental thoughts. It appears that this possession, could be present in those who request it or are possessed because they practice the satanic arts. It may also occur with people who are not involved with these things or who seem to not have the capacity to make these decisions. Involvement by a close family member, believing in these arts seems to be a common denominator. Also, being willing to defy God, seems to put us in danger of this.
  9. They are evil. They smother themselves in it. They bathe in its murkiness and engross themselves in every sordid and chilling detail of its effects.
  10. They can die. They will die. Only God is immortal. (1 Timothy 6: 16; Revelation 20: 10, 14)
- What Powers Do They Not Possess
  1. They cannot read your thoughts, but they could guess with astounding accuracy based on your body language, years of watching you, knowing what happened in the immediate past and being able to do scientific measurements that we do not even know about. (e.g. seeing which area of the brain is most active). (Psalm 94: 11; Hebrews 4: 12)
  2. They are not immortal. They live a long time. (1 Timothy 6: 10)
  3. They cannot give life. However, being technologically advanced in certain situations they might appear to have that ability, because they are using techniques to either fake death or to resuscitate the life of one who is near death.
  4. They now seem to be incapable of any love or compassion on their own since they are permanently separated from the One who is Love.
- Rules Of War
  1. God does not tempt mankind. However, He cannot always shield you from trouble because Satan has staked a claim on you.
  2. God will not allow you to have more trouble than you can bear. So if you think it cannot possibly be worse - hang on! You are stronger than you realize. God is your advocate and your warrior. God has confidence in you.
  3. There seems to be a general barrier they cannot cross (for now) that God imposes, unless you are directly involved with them and you ask them to. However, during the time of the final generation, there seems to be no restrictions.
     - They cannot become visible to humans at any time. God subjects himself to these barriers also. It maybe that such overwhelming display of power would grossly affect our freedom of choice. So God wants no overpowering influence. Your decision must be based on your understanding of him and your observations. These decisions cannot be made because of fear or awe generated by such a powerful display.

Demon Possession

Possessed by Death

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6: 12)
This is a phenomenon never seen until the New Testament times and Jesus confirms their activity. Modern exorcists do a disservice to the seriousness of the problem when they scream about demons of cigarette, demons of immorality and other "demons of behavior". They are saying that the "devil made me do it", when in fact these are due to people's lack of self control and desires gone out of control. Of course he helps us by tempting us, but in these situations he is not in our body manipulating us against our will.
True demon possession involves the actual capture of the mind and body by a malevolent spiritual being. In the days of the disciples, the greatest hurdle to the spread of the gospel was the language barrier.
In the last days we will see more demon possessions because of the following trends:

- The miraculous activities of demons and the final powers. (Revelation 16: 13-14)
- Humans actively seeking possession by other beings since the 1980's.
- The new age movement.
- God's permission for the devil to become more openly active so that he is even allowed to counterfeit the Second Coming.

- What Are The Signs Of Demon Possession?
  The purpose of demon possession is to deceive, humiliate and destroy. The signs can mimic mental illness because the demons take over the brain functions and manipulate them like a puppet master. They specifically target the area in the brain in the insula and limbic system that controls all moral decision making and desires. They can also control speech and movement which are controlled by other structures in the brain.
  1. Violence. The possessed are genarally violent or without self control.
  2. Self-Mutilation. One sign is physically harming and cutting themselves and suicidal thoughts and actions.
  3. Avoiding Good. The possessed have an aversion to moral restraints.
  4. Enjoying Evil. They not only do evil, but have a sadistic interest in watching suffering.
  5. Other Voices. The possessed may speak with other voices or with the sound of several voices at once. They may even speak in other languages and could mimic the gift of tongues.
  6. No Rest. The possessed have no peace and no rest. Therefore they may be more likely to self medicate, take drugs and alcohol.
  » Immunity. It seems that possession may not be simply related to a decision to follow Satan. Demons have possessed well-meaning people practicing exorcism without having the gift.
  Home Grown Exorcists. But also some of the Jewish exorcists, who went from place to place, attempted to name over those who had had the evil spirits the name of the Lord, saying, "I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches." Seven sons of one Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. And the evil spirit answered and said to them, "I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?" And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. (Acts 19: 14-16)
  They appear to be able to possess children, although it is unclear if they were extremely disobedient children.
  According to the Bible, the remedy for demon possession after they have been driven out by an exorcist is to be filled with or possessed with the Holy Spirit. Demon possession is a violent gang rape. Possession by the Holy Spirit is a marriage between two consenting lovers.
- How Does This Affect Us?
  1. Since, they are invisible and live a long time, if organized they can study generations, they could each be assigned to you, to study you and your life.
  2. They can become visible and appear as anything or anyone to give us whatever message they want.
  3. If they are so large in number, then at any given time they can be shadowing each human on a one to one basis.
  4. They can appear to predict the future, either by knowing that they can and will try to manipulate future events or because they know what a person is planning that will have a major impact.
  5. They can influence the future by influencing humans to commit certain acts.
  6. They can tell us things we naively believe "that only we or our dearly departed loved ones know". Because they were there!
- How Can We Protect Ourselves?
  1. Trust in God. There is no need to fear Satan.
  2. Know the word of God. This is the only truth that you can fall back on. You cannot trust your eyes, your feelings or your senses.
  3. Obey God. Do not consult the dead. Do not consult the spirits. Do not consult the stars. These are their opportunities to deceive you.
  4. Resist the devil. God says if you resist the devil will run from you. (James 4: 7)
  5. Realize that you are more powerful - through God. You can defeat him by just saying a word. Go away!

Study to show yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2: 15 | Time: 30 minutes Print: 5 pages
Copyright Updated : August 25, 2004. January 2010 Credits: Author: Laverna Patterson. Editor: Patterson (January 2008) All images were created by Laverna Patterson and are the property of teachinghearts.