Good morning, Pastor John,
I had never considered the idea that Satan might not be “anti-God” until we started reading the Father and Son book. I had always assumed he was. Even though, in the scriptures, he obeyed better than I ever could have.
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The Satan that Christians have invented is against anything that is God, but the real Satan is not like that. After all, he wanted to reign with God, not instead of Him. He admired the order and majesty of God’s heavenly kingdom, and he wanted to share in the glory of it.
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Growing up, we mostly heard about the anti-Christ, and that it was a person who was Satan’s mockery or version of Jesus. It makes me wonder how Trinitarian or Oneness doctrines would respond to the idea that Satan isn’t anti-God but only anti-Christ. To really wrap your head around that—wow!
Satan is really anti-God, but doesn’t realize it, right? In the same way the Pharisees unknowingly rejected the Father by rejecting the Son.
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Yes, that is correct. His heart is contrary to everything that is truly holy and pure, but he does not think so because although he thinks he knows God, he does not know God as God really is. The same is true of people on earth who are like Satan. They think they know God, but they do not know Him as He really is.
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Regarding Satan being “instead of” Christ, do you think any of it is personal for Satan? Does he have a personal vendetta against the Messiah?
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Oh, yes. Satan hates Jesus with a passion because, as Satan sees it, Jesus took the place that Satan was supposed to have at God’s right hand. And he hates Jesus so much that he hates anyone who honors Jesus as they honor God.
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Is Satan aware of what the Son did for us, and does he hate it?
Thank you,
Johnny
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Satan is certainly aware of what believers say that Jesus did for us, but he does not believe it.
He hates everyone who has God’s Spirit because he thinks their testimony is a lie and that they are deluded. His ministers, by the way, say the same sort of things about those whom Jesus baptizes with the holy Ghost, condemning their joy and their speaking in tongues. Stay away from such men, and refuse their churches. They are whitewashed walls that offer men a false hope. They can save no one.
Good questions!
Pastor John
*Also see “Jerry’s Response” 9/19/2024
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