Serving Zion
Seek First His Kingdom & Righteousness
Hi Lilly, I like that you are dedicating a lot of effort to understand this topic, because it is an important topic.
The Holy Spirit is not the only spirit that contends for the minds of people who represent God. Ever since the fall, mankind has been compromised in it's ability to know God's true nature, because it always has some tendency to think in a fallen way (1 Corinthians 14:33, 1 Corinthians 3:3-4). As a result, sometimes when someone is certain that they are doing the will of God, they really are doing their own will and have been deceived in some way to believe that it is God's will (maybe it is through having picked up bad teachings/doctrines from fallen Christians, cults, etc).
This comes about as a result of a fallen nature that has caused them to think in a way that is crooked (consider Ecclesiastes 7:13). It is when someone does something regrettable but does not acknowledge their error, and instead of humbly repenting, they search out some bad logic that enables them to think that what they have done is OK (1 Timothy 4:1-2). They have believed a delusion about what God's true nature is. In this way, they have become "obstinate", "hardened their heart", and "opposed to the truth". The Holy Spirit does not condone their sin, and He maintains that they are wrong to have taken this new course of improper thinking. If He ever is to confront them for it, the conviction is so true that they simply "block their ears" and "close their eyes", so that they refuse to perceive Him (Matthew 13:13-15, eg: Acts 7:55-58).
When we think about the angels who have been entrusted to the duty of watching over mankind and training it: consider if they were to have acted in a way that had undesirable consequences .. perhaps not entirely of their own fault (because ultimately it is the human that chooses to enact sin: James 1:13-16), but enough so that there would be regret on their conscience and an opportunity to be accused (Revelation 12:10). What would they do to escape the conviction of The Holy Spirit in light of the truth?
If you develop discernment of spirits, you will notice that demons do refer to The Father with reverence, so it appears that they are as devout in service as the holy angels; but their philosophy and motives, the very things they teach are so depraved and evil that it is clear their "father" is not The Holy One (consider John 8:33-44). This danger exists for humans too, if they do not choose to repent all the way to salvation.
Also, notice in Matthew 12:24 that the prince of demons is not called "Lucifer" or "Satan".
This is what happened as a result of the fall (Genesis 2:17, 1 John 5:19, John 5:24, 1 John 3:14, 1 John 4:6, 2 Corinthians 4:3) .. mankind's weakness to sin and the ensuing persisting corruption to it's knowledge of The Holy One has caused it to become enslaved by it's erroneous ways to yield more for the devil's service than God's (consider James 4:7, 1 John 5:18, Romans 5:15, Isaiah 11:9).
I think the point of this is that Jesus knew all along that it would not be easy to save the world without compromising righteousness. I suppose He knew that humans who had already become entrapped by the devil's way of thinking, would not easily let go of their error and choose to do what is right, even when they are told the truth in a perfectly graceful manner (consider Matthew 11:21, Matthew 12:41-42, John 2:25).
Matthew 10:24-25 and Mark 10:42-44 indicates that there is hierarchy, and it stands to reason that one should find this where there is fear in an institution of power, where reputation and intelligence contribute to success. (Compare this to a kingdom of holy ones: Proverbs 20:28, Psalms 24:3-4, Isaiah 33:14-16).
First off, he is cursed more than all other creatures - Genesis 3:14-15, and secondly, life is actually much better when you can keep Satan out of it (Joshua 23:7). The purpose of the bible (which wasn't even a bible to begin with), is to speak words of life - that is, to produce words that the reader can receive knowledge (new understanding/comprehension) from The Holy Spirit of God and be placed on the correct path (John 15:3, Ephesians 6:17, Hebrews 4:12). The bible by itself does not give life, it is the spirit by which it is handled (John 5:38-40).
I just suggest that you shouldn't focus too much effort on this. The important thing is to get to know Jesus Christ as a real and personal friend (James 4:8, Revelation 3:20), and He will lead you through life (Psalms 23). You are blessed if you can know Him alone and never know the cursed ones!
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
Revelation 21:3-4
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