Is there a logical reason God allowed Satan to have authority?

[pittsburghjoe]

Satan has authority because he is going to fight to keep disorder/sin from getting back into heaven. His pride wants every person possible.

 

[mlepfitjw]

Where does in scripture does it say Satan has authority, pittsburghjoe?

 

[pittsburghjoe]

Jesus said he is the ruler of this place. You can't offer Jesus political power in the desert without authority.

 

[Mr. M]

Psalm 115:16. The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s;
But the earth He has given to the children of men.

Authorized by God, or relinquished by man?

 

[pittsburghjoe]

Satan was already in this fallen reality before we ate from the tree.

 

[topher694]

Matthew 28:18 disagrees

 

[public hermit]

Satan has authority because he is going to fight to keep disorder/sin from getting back into heaven. His pride wants every person possible.

Whatever authority God has given Satan would be a contingent fact, so logic (strictly speaking) doesn't enter the picture.

Nonetheless, your claim is interesting. Are you saying that Satan has been given authority to do good by keeping disorder/sin from corrupting heaven? Or, perhaps this is the good for which God uses Satan, and Satan unwittingly achieves this good?

 

[pittsburghjoe]

Of course Jesus has top authority of everything ..but you don't get to pretend Satan doesn't have authority right now on Earth until he is dethroned.

 

[pittsburghjoe]

Whatever authority God has given Satan would be a contingent fact, so logic (strictly speaking) doesn't enter the picture.

Nonetheless, your claim is interesting. Are you saying that Satan has been given authority to do good by keeping disorder/sin from corrupting heaven? Or, perhaps this is the good for which God uses Satan, and Satan unwittingly achieves this good?

Yes, basically, Satan is the doorman without knowing it.

 

[Mr. M]

Satan was already in this fallen reality before we ate from the tree.

So you are correcting the Psalmist?

 

[pittsburghjoe]

So you are correcting the Psalmist?

Are you confused on when Satan was cast to the earth?

 

[Mr. M]

Of course Jesus has top authority of everything ..but you don't get to pretend Satan doesn't have authority right now until he is dethroned.

Not my experience.
He may be on some kind of throne, but I don't have to serve him.
Kingdom of heaven has authority.
James 4:7. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

 

[Mr. M]

Are you confused on when Satan was cast to the earth?

That is not relevant to the topic. Cast to earth=/= authority.

 

[pittsburghjoe]

If you are a high ranking angel cast to the earth ..you probably have some authority here.

 

[Rene Loup]

There are two pieces of media that more or less have the same plot: A novel titled, Making History, by Stephen Fry and a video game titled, Command & Conquer: Red Alert, by Westwood Studios.

In Making History, a time traveler goes back in time to sterilize Hitler's father by putting a drug into a well Alois Hitler drank from. This prevents Hitler's conception and the time traveler believed he made the world a better place by preventing hard times. When he goes back to his own time, however, the Nazis ended up winning World War II, inventing the atomic bomb first, and is now in a Cold War with the USA. Why? Someone even worse and much more capable than Hitler took power and succeeded where Hitler had failed.

In C&C: Red Alert, Albert Einstein also time travels to the day Hitler is released from prison. Einstein shakes Hitler's hand to literally erase Hitler from history. He did this thinking it will make the world a better place by preventing hard times. Instead, World War II still happened with Joseph Stalin leading a Soviet invasion of Europe instead. Adolf Hitler was the only man strong enough to keep Stalin's power in check. Even after the USSR's defeat in that war, more and even deadlier wars eventually came in the sequels, dwarfing the actual Cold War.

In both scenarios, Adolf Hitler was "taken out of authority" in order to make the world a better place, or so the time travelers believed. It did not. If anything, things only got worse because of unforeseen consequences. If Satan was never allowed to rebel in the first place, who is to say that it would not have caused TWO THIRDS of the angels to revolt, maybe even ALL of them, causing MUCH MORE drama than God was willing to allow to happen?

I openly admit, I CANNOT understand God's thought process. I am a flawed, limited human being trying to figure out an omniscient deity's master plan. It simply cannot be done. This is where faith comes in knowing that God is in control and knows what He is doing. If I have a serious illness, it would be incredibly foolish of me to challenge my family doctor on anything because I read something on WebMD[dot]com.

 

[Mr. M]

If you are a high ranking angel cast to the earth ..you probably have some authority here.

You do not fully understand what was accomplished on the cross.

 

[public hermit]

There are two pieces of media that more or less have the same plot: A novel titled, Making History, by Stephen Fry and a video game titled, Command & Conquer: Red Alert, by Westwood Studios.

In Making History, a time traveler goes back in time to sterilize Hitler's father by putting a drug into a well Alois Hitler drank from. This prevents Hitler's conception and the time traveler believed he made the world a better place by preventing hard times. When he goes back to his own time, however, the Nazis ended up winning World War II, inventing the atomic bomb first, and is now in a Cold War with the USA. Why? Someone even worse and much more capable than Hitler took power and succeeded where Hitler had failed.

In C&C: Red Alert, Albert Einstein also time travels to the day Hitler is released from prison. Einstein shakes Hitler's hand to literally erase Hitler from history. He did this thinking it will make the world a better place by preventing hard times. Instead, World War II still happened with Joseph Stalin leading a Soviet invasion of Europe instead. Adolf Hitler was the only man strong enough to keep Stalin's power in check. Even after the USSR's defeat in that war, more and even deadlier wars eventually came in the sequels, dwarfing the actual Cold War.

In both scenarios, Adolf Hitler was "taken out of authority" in order to make the world a better place, or so the time travelers believed. It did not. If anything, things only got worse because of unforeseen consequences. If Satan was never allowed to rebel in the first place, who is to say that it would not have caused TWO THIRDS of the angels to revolt, maybe even ALL of them, causing MUCH MORE drama than God was willing to allow to happen?

I openly admit, I CANNOT understand God's thought process. I am a flawed, limited human being trying to figure out an omniscient deity's master plan. It simply cannot be done. This is where faith comes in knowing that God is in control and knows what He is doing. If I have a serious illness, it would be incredibly foolish of me to challenge my family doctor on anything because I read something on WebMD[dot]com.

Both of those represent the main premise of Leibniz's Theodicy where he argues that this is the best of all possible worlds. Change one thing, and it all goes south.

 

[pittsburghjoe]

You do not fully understand what was accomplished on the cross.

Jesus died to more than forgive us, he wants us to be able to be one with God when this is over. Satan still has authority until tribulation.

 

[Rene Loup]

Both of those represent the main premise of Leibniz's Theodicy where he argues that this is the best of all possible worlds. Change one thing, and it all goes south.

While I have heard references to Theodicy, I never actually sat down to read or even research that.

Truly nothing new under the sun. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I appreciate it. God bless!

 

[pittsburghjoe]

Do you understand that we are in a reality of the fallen? Satan can whisper in Hitler's ear in his own inner voice. We know Satan is a thing and can tell him to buzz off ..but imagine what he is able to do to people that just consider it their own thoughts?