Question:
If god is all good and satan is all evil...then where does satan get his powers from?
Leeroy J
2008-07-25 10:38:42 UTC
If you think about it god created satan which is a fallen angel. Satan has or had the powers god gave him which is angelic or divine holy powers, basically good magic. Does that mean that god has destruction like powers as well. Or does that mean that Satan is getting his new found powers from a new source? Possibly something bigger and more evil than what we thought real evil was? o.0
Sixteen answers:
Biker4Life
2008-07-25 10:42:52 UTC
Physics
John S
2008-07-25 18:10:00 UTC
1st:

Seems like you think of God and Satan as RPG characters, using terms like "destructive powers" and "good magic"



There is no such thing as "magic" - there are "illunionists" and "entertainers" but not true magic in the sense of supernatural powers.



Had to get that out of the way... sorry



To answer your question..

YES, God can destroy as well as create. He is all powerful.

"what is impossible for man is possible for God" - I'm paraphrasing the bible, but basically it means that nothing is impossible for God.



YES, Satan got any and all power that he has from God. God created all the angels, even Satan. God gave the Angels free-will, similar to ours. When God created them.. 1/3 of the angels rejected him, at which point God threw them out of heaven. Since they rejected him.. they could not be in his presence. The only place devoid of God's presence is HELL.



Not a whole lot more is known. Everything else we know is kind of peiced together.



I central idea is that since Angels are spiritual beings and created already in God's presence.. their "nature" is somewhat set in stone.. unlike humans which have imperfect knowledge and flip-flop back and forth in their allegiance to God.

So therefore, the belief is that once an angel chooses to either follow God or Reject him.. they do so with a perfect understanding of what that means, the consequences, etc...therefore, the chances of them "changing their mind" is almost impossible.

Human nature is much less set in stone, therefore, we often times flip-flop back and forth on issues.



That at least is the belief which describes how they technically have freewill which they can excercise at anytime, but why neither Satan or any of the fallen angels have ever asked for forgiveness.
jamestheprophet
2008-07-25 17:42:47 UTC
When considering your questions about satan...



...I am actually mindful of him in the garden. We could first consider what satan really is, which (we are told) is an angel turned bad.



That being said, we know that God created the angels and Genesis does not specify as to what point He created them. Genesis chapter one starts:



1. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.



The order of "heaven and the earth" would lead us to believe that God created heaven (and all the things in heaven including the angels) first then went on with the business of creating earth (and all the things in it), which means that satan would have been around even before earths creation.



Also, considering that God did create evil:



Isaiah 45:7

I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.



...we could also imagine that God Himself had the ability to be evil, but He rebuked it and choose to be good ('cuse He is good). Being in His image, one can imagine that God would want us to also have that same free-will choice that He had (to rebuke evil and be good), thus the need to have evil exist.
shakespeare
2008-07-25 20:10:13 UTC
You are missing a very important fact. Satan was a very powerful angel. He was known to be in the assembly that presented themselves before Jehovah. He was evidently one that was bent on gaining reconigition for himself , that led to his eventually being thrown out of Heaven .He is no longer allowed to go back and forth as he was in the prophet Jobs day. Read the following::



JOB 1:6-11 Now it came to be the day when the sons of the [true] God entered to take their station before Jehovah, and even Satan proceeded to enter right among them.



7 Then Jehovah said to Satan: “Where do you come from?” At that Satan answered Jehovah and said: “From roving about in the earth and from walking about in it.” 8 And Jehovah went on to say to Satan: “Have you set your heart upon my servant Job, that there is no one like him in the earth, a man blameless and upright, fearing God and turning aside from bad?” 9 At that Satan answered Jehovah and said: “Is it for nothing that Job has feared God? 10 Have not you yourself put up a hedge about him and about his house and about everything that he has all around? The work of his hands you have blessed, and his livestock itself has spread abroad in the earth. 11 But, for a change, thrust out your hand, please, and touch everything he has [and see] whether he will not curse you to your very face.

Satan also has been given all the kingdoms of this world

Shortly after his baptism, Jesus was tempted by an unseen spirit creature called Satan the Devil. Citing one of the temptations, the Bible says: “The Devil took [Jesus] along to an unusually high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.” (Matthew 4:8) Satan then told Jesus: “I will give you all this authority and the glory of them, because it has been delivered to me,Luke 4:6, 7 and to whomever I wish I give it. You, therefore, if you do an act of worship before me, it will all be yours.”

So you are dealing with a very powerful being. Do not let him fool you into worshiping him!!
Jim W
2008-07-25 17:52:50 UTC
If you think God does not have destructive powers, you need to look at the Bible again. You don't even need to go beyond Genesis (the first book of the Bible) before you run into Sodom and Gomorrah and a little flood that Noah's crew escaped.
neil s
2008-07-25 17:44:48 UTC
No Abrahamic theology recognizes an absolute evil. Since all is said by them to come from a good creator, to the extent that something is evil it does not exist. Thus, an absolutely evil being would cease to exist.
Gregory
2008-07-25 17:47:43 UTC
Satan was created with power in him.

He rebelled and uses his powers when ever he can.

Angels have the power to heal or see the future.

The power was created in them.



When they turned bad they used those powers for evil.
anonymous
2008-07-25 17:44:34 UTC
From what I have studied of Christian mythology I would say it comes from the human condition. Good and evil are the same thing, they are human potential unrealized.



The lesson of this dualistic existence is to say that we have a choice. We can choose to be good or evil. These are just personifications of those choices.
Brian S
2008-07-25 17:42:54 UTC
You missed the biggest mind boggling part of all - God created Satan with the full knowledge of every action that he would do.
bob z
2008-07-25 17:56:21 UTC
Have you ever seen God and Satan in the same room? No? Coincidence?
anonymous
2008-07-25 17:46:57 UTC
People. We give Satan his powers by allowing him to exist by our disobedience to God.
anonymous
2008-07-25 17:43:20 UTC
We are giving satan his powers, not some other source.
anonymous
2008-07-25 17:43:38 UTC
I wouldn't really call the capacity and propensity to perpetrate evil a "power"
Firend_of_Doctors
2008-07-25 17:44:16 UTC
St Thomas Aquinas argues convincingly that the devil is not totally evil, and couldn't be.
Skunk
2008-07-25 17:42:16 UTC
What new powers? The power to sway people?
freebird76
2008-07-25 17:45:14 UTC
It’s hard to imagine a being who was as close to God as Lucifer (Satan) was coming to believe that he could even do battle with God, much less defeat Him. Even the most depraved mind should be able to see that the creature cannot possibly contend with the Creator. And yet Satan attempted to dethrone God and strives to this day to defy His authority, thwart His plans and harass His people.



Perhaps part of the explanation is that pride, the worst and most evil of all sins, has blinded Satan to reality. Two Old Testament passages (Isaiah 14:12-15 and Ezekiel 28:11-19) furnish a picture of Satan's original position and the reasons for his loss of that position. They tell of an exalted angelic being, one of God's creatures, who became too proud and ambitious. He determined to take the throne of God for himself. But God removed him from his position of great dignity and honor. As a result of his original status and authority, Satan had great power and dignity. So great is his strength that Michael the archangel viewed him as a foe too powerful to oppose (Jude 9).



Satan's influence in worldly affairs is also clearly revealed (John 12:31). Satan is also extremely intelligent. Through his intelligence he deceived Adam and Eve and took over their rule of the world for himself (Genesis 1:26; 3:1-7; 2 Corinthians 11:3). His cleverness enables him to carry out his deceptive work almost at will, although his power is subject to God's restrictions (Job 1:12; Luke 4:6; 2 Thessalonians 2:7-8). But he does have certain victories—although within the boundaries God has set for him—and perhaps these victories allow him to continue the illusion that he can have victory over God Himself.



The reins of God on his activities are illustrated by Satan's request to God for permission to afflict Job (Job 1:7-12). Satan is permitted to afflict God's people (Luke 13:16; 1 Thessalonians 2:18; Hebrews 2:14), but he is never permitted to win an ultimate victory over them (John 14:30-31; 16:33). A part of Satan's continuing ambition to replace God is his passionate yearning to have others worship him (Matthew 4:8-9; Revelation 13:4,12). Satan is "the wicked one” (Matthew 13:19,38), while God is "the Holy One” (Isaiah 1:4).



Satan's nature is malicious. His efforts in opposing God, His people, and His truth are tireless (Job 1:7; 2:2; Matthew 13:28). He is always opposed to man's best interests (1 Chronicles 21:1; Zechariah 3:1-2). Through his role in introducing sin into the human family (Genesis 3), Satan has gained the power of death—a power which Christ has broken through His crucifixion and resurrection (Hebrews 2:14-15). He tempted Christ directly, trying to lead Him into compromise by promising Him worldly authority and power (Luke 4:5-8).



Along with his work of tempting mankind, Satan also delights in deception (1 Timothy 3:6-7; 2 Timothy 2:26). His lying nature stands in bold contrast to the truth for which Christ stands (John 8:32, 44). The great falsehood which he uses so frequently is that good can be attained by doing wrong. This lie is apparent in practically all his temptations (Genesis 3:4-5). As the great deceiver, Satan is an expert at falsifying truth (2 Corinthians 11:13-15).



He brings disorder into the physical world by afflicting human beings (Job 1-2; 2 Corinthians 12:7; Hebrews 2:14). Sometimes God allows him to afflict His people for purposes of correction (1 Timothy 1:20). Not to worry, Satan is destined to fail in his continuing rebellion against God. His final defeat is predicted in the New Testament (Luke 10:18; John 12:31; Revelation 12:9; 20:10).



The death of Christ on the cross is the basis for Satan's final defeat (Hebrews 2:14-15; 1 Peter 3:18,22). This event was the grand climax to a sinless life during which Jesus triumphed over the enemy repeatedly (Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13). Here again, Satan probably rejoiced in the death of Christ, believing this to be a victory for him, but like all his victories, this one, too, was short-lived. When Jesus rose from the grave, Satan was once again defeated.



The final victory will come when Jesus returns and Satan is cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:1-15). Strength for a Christian's victory over sin has also been provided through the death of Christ. We have assurance that "the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet” (Romans 16:20). But such personal victory depends on God’s grace and power in our lives and our will to offer resistance to Satan's temptations (Ephesians 4:25-27; 1 Peter 5:8-9). To help Christians win this battle against Satan, God has provided the power of Christ's blood (Revelation 12:11), the continuing prayer of Christ in heaven for believers (Hebrews 7:25), the leading of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:16), and various weapons for spiritual warfare (Ephesians 6:13-18).



Some people have trouble admitting the existence of such an enemy as Satan. But his presence and activity do explain the problems of evil and suffering. The Bible makes it plain that Satan exists and that his main work is to oppose the rule of God in the affairs of man. Many wonder why God would allow Satan, this great embodiment of evil, to exist in His creation. No completely satisfying answer to this question has been found. Perhaps He allows it to show that evil and wrongdoing do not provide the key to the ultimate meaning of life which man so desperately desires. Or perhaps He allows it to spiritually build a Christian’s wisdom and knowledge drawing him or her closer to God and away from Satan.





hope this helped God Bless


This content was originally posted on Y! Answers, a Q&A website that shut down in 2021.
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