From: user6340@newsgrouper.org.invalid   
      
   JTEM  posted:   
   > On 12/20/25 4:32 PM, Mike wrote:   
   >   
   > > Some demons even pretend to be Jesus, I might expect.   
   >   
   > Do demons have agency?  Can they make decisions? Do they   
   > have "Free Will?"   
      
   Yes. They started out as God's Angels, until Satan   
   rebelled, and a third of the Angels followed Satan   
   when God kicked Satan out of Heaven. As Jesus told   
   his disciples, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from   
   heaven." Luke 10:18.   
      
   And when Satan left, he took his angels with him:   
   "The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient   
   serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the   
   whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and   
   his angels with him." Revelation 12:9   
      
   Satan's fallen angels have come to be known by many   
   of us as demons. They have the same kinds of powers   
   that good angels have.   
   >   
   > It is my understanding that only God can create life. That,   
   > Satan is powerless to do so. The best he can accomplish is   
   > to SAVE a life.   
   >   
   > In Camp God there's Lazarus rising from the dead and of   
   > course the resurrection But of Jesus. But there's also the   
   > Immaculate Conception of Jesus or even Sarah giving birth   
   > to Issac when she was 90!   
   >   
   > All from God, because all life comes from God.   
   >   
   > As I pointed out in the past, the fundies were always huge   
   > on the anti Christ and the head wound... Donald Trump.   
      
   No, as I've mentioned quite recently, the Bible   
   says the Antichrist's head wound will appear to   
   be fatal. People will believe it was a fatal head   
   wound, and then he will "miraculously" survive.   
   See Revelation 13:3.   
   >   
   > The thing is that the anti Christ is supposed to survive   
   > quite miraculously (Donald Trump) and part of it here is   
   > that it's Satan who is saving him.   
      
   The world won't know that it's Satan doing it.   
   The world will initially think the Antichrist is   
   a good guy.   
   >   
   > Satan can't create/grant life but so long as you're not   
   > actually dead yet -- no matter how close -- he can save   
   > you.   
      
   That's true. The head wound will only appear to   
   be fatal. But it really won't be.   
   >   
   > This isn't a tangent. See, the concept of demons does not   
   > give with all of this. I mean, if they have agency, free   
   > will, they think and they make decisions and act on their   
   > own... how are they not alive?   
      
   They're alive just like good angels are alive.   
   But they made the choice to follow Satan out of   
   Heaven. So yes, they do have free will and yes,   
   they are alive just like good angels are alive.   
   >   
   > Angels are one better than humans, not one less!  And angels   
   > are probably as far away from humans as demons are described.   
      
   We have angels all around us. Sometimes they can   
   take on a physical appearance, and we don't even   
   know that they're angels. The Bible tells us:   
   "Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers,   
   for thereby some have entertained angels unawares."   
   Hebrews 13:2   
      
   I've had incidents happen in which I later wondered   
   if I had just encountered an angel.   
   >   
   > I dislike the concept of demons because it externalizes   
   > evil. In a very real sense, it's blaming "Sin" on Satan and   
   > demons and then punishing people for those sins.   
   >   
   > Right?   
      
   We have free will to resist the temptation, right?   
   >   
   > And if you're going to say something like "It's because if   
   > you put your faith in God you can't be influenced by Satan   
   > and his demons" then you're saying that sin isn't bad,   
      
   Who says sin isn't bad?   
   >   
   > nobody is ever punished for sin, they are punished for their   
   > lack of faith.   
      
   Well, there is the fact that the Bible teaches that   
   in order to be saved, we must believe that Jesus is   
   who He said He is. See John 3:16.   
   >   
   > Which is odd, because there have been many "Sinners" who   
   > did have a lot of faith! Meaning, they had a strong faith   
   > that there is a God, Heaven exists and there is divine   
   > retribution.   
   >   
   > Lots of "Sinners" had faith!   
      
   If they had faith and they continued to sin, they   
   were actually worse off than they were when they   
   originally committed those sins. That's in the   
   Bible, too: "For if, after they have escaped the   
   pollutions of the world through the knowledge of   
   the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again   
   entangled in them and overcome, the latter end   
   is worse for them than the beginning." 2 Peter 2:20   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)