The devil, lucifer, satan.....

[magonia]

It has many names, but does its existence have a specific purpose here in the three dimensional world? Is it a test so we have a choice between doing good or evil, or is his role something very different from what we have been taught? After all it was the early roman Christian church which decided what the book now called the Bible, contained, but what was left out, maybe this holds the key to the real purpose of this spiritual entity?

[psychoslice]

No they don't exist, but they can be an analogy that represents our false self, or ego.

Originally Posted by magonia

It has many names, but does its existence have a specific purpose here in the three dimensional world? Is it a test so we have a choice between doing good or evil, or is his role something very different from what we have been taught? After all it was the early roman Christian church which decided what the book now called the Bible, contained, but what was left out, maybe this holds the key to the real purpose of this spiritual entity?

In Hebrew the name/title is ha-satan which means adversary or accuser, and in Greek he is called diabolos, a word that has connotations of an obstacle being thrown across a pathway. The devil appeals to our fallen nature using deceptive promises, sowing doubt & fear, with the intention of leading us away from righteousness, attempting to make us think we don't need God, or that God doesn't care about us. By overcoming the myriad wiles of belial, with the Grace of the Lord, we're drawn closer to the Father of Lights, in whose light evil has no reality. It's only when we turn toward's the Good, that ba'alzebub turns his ire upon us fully, since we're no longer under his dominion, which is why the stories of the Saints are filled with demonic temptations and encounters. Just as Christ was tempted at the end of His 40 days of fasting.

[Amilius777]

Satan, Lucifer, devil etc are personifications in the Bible of the whole of Evil manifestations both subjectively and objectively.

In nature and in the whole there is objective evil, a force that pulls us away from the truth of our being.

An there is within all of us the subjective evil of our false self-ego.

That is why Jesus calls satan the "Evil One". Satan developed over time into a spiritual being. No such thing exists. In the Old Testament Satan is the accuser, the obstacles and negative elements attacking our lives. When Jesus came on the scene he saw Satan as a constant forceful reality trying to destroy him. He called this force "the evil one". Jesus does not refer to satan as an individual. He even answers Peter's false comment by saying- "Get thee behind me Satan!". Satan is clearly a universal force.

It wasn't until the 6th century when the Church was highly influenced by Persian ideas of Ahriman in Zoroastrianism did Satan grow bigger. Yet the Church must have been extremely stupid! Since Zoroastrians refer to Ahriman as "the evil mind" and not some literally being with horns and tail.

[magonia]

I got the impression the lucifer is something different, from Satan or the Devil. Further I would say they are spiritual entities of sorts.

The nature of evil not just being physical actions of each of us, but having more darker forces involved in my a world as small as our being so divided and stricken with so many problems and evil doers. This is a particular aspect I was looking into. I have to also say if the Bible is correct than "It" is only one of a legion of evil spirits or entities.

Sorry but I do not believe in such things as devils, demons. Satan, or Lucifer....There is no evil in the heavenly realms......no fallen angels either....

[LovelyB]

I grew up christian and used to dream about Satan/ devil, I was so scared of him. It was not until recently that I realized that he played his part but there is no need to be scared. i really do think that we have misinterrupt that one.

Originally Posted by magonia

I got the impression the lucifer is something different, from Satan or the Devil. Further I would say they are spiritual entities of sorts.

The nature of evil not just being physical actions of each of us, but having more darker forces involved in my a world as small as our being so divided and stricken with so many problems and evil doers. This is a particular aspect I was looking into. I have to also say if the Bible is correct than "It" is only one of a legion of evil spirits or entities.

Jesus asked him [the demon possessing a man], "What is your name?" And he said, "My name is Legion, for we are many." Gospel of St. Mark 5:9

[immortal coil]

The Devil is what I like to call a "thought form". It takes shape and manifests itself out of collective human thought. The best way to combat it, is not to give it any power, and soon the idea shrivels up to nothing.

Action and consequence...there is no room for the Devil in this paradigm.

[magonia]

Originally Posted by Juanita

Sorry but I do not believe in such things as devils, demons. Satan, or Lucifer....There is no evil in the heavenly realms......no fallen angels either....

Fallen angels, are not from what I under stand in heavenly realms, but here in the Earth in spiritual form, this is one of t he major reasons why the world is like it is.