Why Couldn't Satan be Literally Imprisoned Now?

Angels & Demons
crgfstr1
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Re: Why Couldn't Satan be Literally Imprisoned Now?

Post by crgfstr1 » Sun May 22, 2016 8:22 am

jaydam wrote: But the difference I see is that no nation is "safe" from the gospel. Until the church era, God's people never influenced outwardly, but were always under the influence of surrounding nations. There is no significant time in Israel's history where they reached the nations for God in any significant sense.

I believe the binding of Satan relates to a spiritual hold he had on all the Gentile nations. For the first time, with the church, God's people actually penetrated the other nations. And I would see Satan's binding being related to the spread of the gospel, and the continued spread for over 2k years, as even the tightest regimes have failed to keep Christianity at bay. From the old USSR to modern North Korea, no matter how oppressive, God's people have been successful at having feet in all the nations, no matter how small in number.

However, I've been reading about how the church is on the verge of extinction in Syria, and the churches in Yemen and Iraq could fall shortly after. I wonder if the possible success of ISIS to eradicate God's people, and thus God's light, from entire nations marks the unleashing of Satan to again hold entire nations under spiritual sway. It has yet to be seen if ISIS will truly succeed, but it does seem probable that they will.
This seems an equally logical though some what different understanding the willowtrees explanation. I could see both being true and compatible. What ever this binding is you too seem to hint at the possibility that the binding is being loosed. It is possible that all nations will soon be either Syria law or ungodly immorality.

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willowtree
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Re: Why Couldn't Satan be Literally Imprisoned Now?

Post by willowtree » Sun May 22, 2016 12:10 pm

crgfstr1 wrote:
willowtree wrote: I read the restriction that John writes about as being on governments and ruling authorities, and shudder to think how things will/may become if we individually were cut off from benefits by evil legislation that had no respect at all for values we considered sacred. I fear it is already starting to happen.
Graeme
I haven't figured out the timeline of things as the idea that we are amillennial is somewhat new to me. If we are amillennial, would the next thing we should be looking for is the devil is loosed for a season? If so then the evil legislation of nations would probably mean that he is being loosed and that would fit with the rest of what you described as the limitation of this binding.
You have summarized quite well my views on where we are at and what will come next. My views align more closely to amillennialism than the other main options.

In view of things we are seeing happening now, and the idea that the end of the Millennium will be both sudden and dramatic, I beleve there will come a crisis point at which time believers will recognize that Satan has been released, the 'short time' he has has started, and Christian persecution will become widespread and intense, perhaps decreed by a global government.

Then Christ will return!

Graeme
If you find yourself between a rock and a hard place, always head for the rock. Ps 62..

crgfstr1
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Re: Why Couldn't Satan be Literally Imprisoned Now?

Post by crgfstr1 » Sun May 22, 2016 1:15 pm

Thanks Willowtree

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Re: Why Couldn't Satan be Literally Imprisoned Now?

Post by Paidion » Sun May 22, 2016 8:20 pm

As a historic pre-millenialist, I don't think any of us will live to see the day that Satan will be bound, nor the day that he will be loosed again for a season. I think he is still as active in the world as ever (though, in fact, I don't think about him except when someone brings him into the conversation).
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Re: Why Couldn't Satan be Literally Imprisoned Now?

Post by crgfstr1 » Mon May 23, 2016 9:10 am

Paidion wrote:As a historic pre-millenialist, I don't think any of us will live to see the day that Satan will be bound, nor the day that he will be loosed again for a season. I think he is still as active in the world as ever (though, in fact, I don't think about him except when someone brings him into the conversation).
So what do you think is coming next and how soon or far away? I am wondering if amillenialism is correct but 70AD foreshadows the end times then it may make little difference which view one holds. The same serious of events might be expected in either case. I haven't studied this yet enough to know and I am more focused now on studying things that affect my day to day life but and am still curious because at some point this might affect our day to day lives.

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Re: Why Couldn't Satan be Literally Imprisoned Now?

Post by Paidion » Mon May 23, 2016 6:25 pm

Well, since you asked, I'll give you my view and that of the earliest Christians. What happens next is the establishment of a world government. I have no idea how soon this will occur, but if you google "world government" you will see that it has been planned for decades.

After the world government is established (possibly with headquarters at Rome) ,the "Beast" or "Antichrist" (instead of Christ) will make himself known, establish himself, work wonders, will hate the world government, and will defeat it, claiming to be Christ Himself, setting up the Kingdom of God.

There will be a great persecution of true Christians, but the Antichrist's rule will be short-lived, for it will be cut short by the coming of Christ, who will raise to life all of God's people who have died. Then He will establish a long rule (the Millennium—not necessarily precisely 1000 years), after which the rest of the dead shall be raised to life. The Millennium will be followed by the final judgment.

Anyway that's the way I see events to come. However, I'm not dogmatic about this. If I am wrong, I won't be disappointed.
Future events, whatever they are, are not of paramount importance to me. What is important is that we live loving, giving, and Christ-serving lives NOW.
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Re: Why Couldn't Satan be Literally Imprisoned Now?

Post by crgfstr1 » Tue May 24, 2016 9:28 am

Thanks Paidion. I agree the focus should primarily be on how we live day to day which is why I have shifted my focus. It is a common topic though that opens discussion between the those uncertain about Christianity and Christians. I think we need to at least be prepared to share our thoughts.

So you believe that the beast system and antichrist are both in the future rather than what many of the protestant founders believed that the antichrist is the papal establishment?

Any amillennialist want to chime in on their thoughts?

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Re: Why Couldn't Satan be Literally Imprisoned Now?

Post by morbo3000 » Tue May 24, 2016 2:43 pm

“Be careful how you interpret the world,” physicist Erich Heller has advised – “it is that way.” 

The abortion rate is down. Drug use is down. World poverty is down. There is more democracy in the world. There are fewer deaths from war than any time in history, by orders of magnitude. Human rights violations are lower. Access to health care is up. Child mortality rates are improving. People live longer lives. Christianity is more accessible now than any time in history.

Looks an awful lot like the kingdom of God is growing, not diminishing.
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Re: Why Couldn't Satan be Literally Imprisoned Now?

Post by PR » Tue May 24, 2016 3:12 pm

I saw this today on the Charisma site, it seemed pertinent to your question:

The One World Religion Cometh: Pope Francis Warmly Welcomes Top Islamic Cleric to the Vatican

10:00AM EDT 5/24/2016 Michael Snyder

When Pope Francis met with Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb on Monday, he told him that "our meeting is the message." So precisely what kind of "message" was Pope Francis attempting to convey?

Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb is the Grand Imam of Cairo's Al-Azhar Mosque, and some have described him as "the highest figure in Sunni Islam." The Daily Mail said that the meeting between these two men was a "historic bid to reopen dialogue between the two churches," and as you will see below, this is yet another in a long series of attempts by Pope Francis to build bridges between Catholicism and various other faiths. In the end, what are we to make of all of this? Could it be possible that Pope Francis is laying the groundwork for the "super world church" and the coming one world religion that David Wilkerson and so many others have warned about?

Pope Francis made sure that when he embraced Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb there would be plenty of reporters there to document the moment. The following is an excerpt from a Daily Mail article titled "Pope embraces grand imam at historic Vatican meeting in a bid to bring the Catholic and Muslim churches together":


Pope Francis today embraced the grand imam of Al-Azhar, the prestigious Sunni Muslim center of learning, in an historic bid to reopen dialogue between the two churches.

At a time of increased Islamic extremist attacks on Christians, Sheik Ahmed el-Tayyib was photographed hugging Francis during a visit to the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican.

This meeting comes in the context of some very curious statements that the Pope has been making about Islam and Christianity lately. If you don't know what I am talking about, here is one example:


"Today, I don't think that there is a fear of Islam as such but of ISIS and its war of conquest, which is partly drawn from Islam," he told French newspaper La Croix. "It is true that the idea of conquest is inherent in the soul of Islam, however, it is also possible to interpret the objective in Matthew's Gospel, where Jesus sends his disciples to all nations, in terms of the same idea of conquest."

The Pope also said he "dreaded" hearing about the "Christian roots of Europe" because, to him, they take on "colonialist overtones" and he called on European nations to "integrate" Muslim migrants into the continent.

"This integration is all the more necessary today since, as a result of a selfish search for well-being, Europe is experiencing the grave problem of a declining birth rate," he stated. "A demographic emptiness is developing."

On another occasion, the Pope declared that "Christians and Muslims are brothers and sisters." Pope Francis seems to have a strong desire to paint Christianity and Islam as two sides of the same coin, and he has taken steps to reach out to Muslims that no other Pope in history has done. To illustrate this point, I want to share an extended excerpt from one of my previous articles.

Very early in his papacy, he authorized "Islamic prayers and readings from the Quran" at the Vatican for the first time ever. And as I documented in a previous article titled "In New York, Pope Francis Embraced Chrislam and Laid a Foundation for a One World Religion," during his visit to St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan, he made it very clear that he believes that Christians and Muslims worship the same God. The following is how he began his address:


"I would like to express two sentiments for my Muslim brothers and sisters: Firstly, my greetings as they celebrate the feast of sacrifice. I would have wished my greeting to be warmer. My sentiments of closeness, my sentiments of closeness in the face of tragedy. The tragedy that they suffered in Mecca.

In this moment, I give assurances of my prayers. I unite myself with you all. A prayer to Almighty God, all merciful."

In Islam, one of Allah's primary titles is "the all-merciful one." If you doubt this, just do a Google search. And this certainly was not the first time that Pope Francis has used such language. For example, check out the following excerpt from remarks that he made during his very first ecumenical meeting as Pope:


"I then greet and cordially thank you all, dear friends belonging to other religious traditions; first of all the Muslims, who worship the one God, living and merciful, and call upon Him in prayer, and all of you. I really appreciate your presence: in it I see a tangible sign of the will to grow in mutual esteem and cooperation for the common good of humanity.

The Catholic Church is aware of the importance of promoting friendship and respect between men and women of different religious traditions – I wish to repeat this: promoting friendship and respect between men and women of different religious traditions – it also attests the valuable work that the Pontifical Council for interreligious dialogue performs."

Are you starting to see what I am talking about?

There is a very clear pattern developing here. Pope Francis believes that Christians and Muslims worship the same God, and he wants us to know that he considers Islam to be a perfectly acceptable way to seek God.

If you doubt this in any way, I want you to watch this video that was released by the Vatican in January 2016.

In the video, Pope Francis explains that people all over the world are "seeking God or meeting God in different ways" and that "there is only one certainty that we have for all: We are all children of God." At about the 20-second mark, leaders from various major religions are shown declaring what they believe. First, a female Buddhist announces "I have confidence in the Buddha." Secondly, a Jewish rabbi declares "I believe in God." Thirdly, a Catholic priest tells us that "I believe in Jesus Christ," and lastly an Islamic leader is shown saying "I believe in God, Allah."

If you have not see this video, it is one of the creepiest things that I have ever seen on YouTube. It has become exceedingly clear that Pope Francis believes that all major religions are completely valid paths to the same God, and there is virtually no uproar over this.

This just shows how late in the game we really are. The one world religion that was prophesied nearly 2,000 years ago in the book of Revelation is starting to come to life, and we are witnessing the events of the last days begin to unfold right in front of our eyes.

Michael Snyder is the founder and publisher of End Of The American Dream. Michael’s controversial new book about Bible prophecy entitled "The Rapture Verdict" is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com.

crgfstr1
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Re: Why Couldn't Satan be Literally Imprisoned Now?

Post by crgfstr1 » Tue May 24, 2016 6:40 pm

PR, I see this as a common idea among may web videos. While I do see the concern I don't know how quickly this can happen. Pagan and Christian religions were "merged" together to create Catholicism in the first place. Pulling in Muslims nearly 1700 years later doesn't seem to be all that fast a process to me. What about all of the other religions out there?

There are some churches that have merged them all together into a spiritual focused but they aren't that wide spread right now. At the same time it wouldn't take much to create a crisis event that would dramatically accelerate things. When AGI fell, we were very close (15 minutes worth of credit) to having all financial transactions involving banks stop globally. Had / or should that happen no one knows what to do to get it restarted again. This would likely lead to massive starvation because most people don't have stores of food and grocers typically only have a 3 day supply.

While I appreciate morbo's positive outlook on things and hope he is right, I see a lot of Christians becoming far less Christian and US and European governments becoming much less friendly to Christians and Christian ideals. It is hard to say if this is a pendulum swing or we are going straight down hill. Time will of course tell.

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