Friday, December 16, 2022

Locked into hell...

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Locked into hell...

Tik Tok video

My paraphrase from the Tik Tok video in italics...

1. Did the demons make a bad decision to reject God? 

Yes.

God is the author of life, and the author of meaningful, peaceful, joyful, life, beyond just mere existence. For any finite creation, opposing God is a bad decision. Anything with goodness that God has created is a finite version, in a limited sense (not divine) of his infinite goodness. Humanity and fallen angels are tainted through likely separate falls, while God's obedient angels, although finite, are not tainted by any kind of fall.

2. Demons are you suffering because you rejected God?

Yes.


Cited

There are those who believe that Satan is presently bound in the pit. The Bible does say that he will be there some day. And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, the old serpent, which is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and cast him into the abyss, and shut it, and sealed it over him, that he should deceive the nations no more, until the thousand years should be finished: after this he must be loosed for a little time (Revelation 20:1-3).

There are various biblical debates on the present context of where Satanic beings operate. It is difficult from metaphorical, eschatological, biblical language, for example in Revelation 20, to solve this issue conclusively. It seems to me that Satan and at least some of his demons are suffering in opposition to God, while working within spiritual realms to influence humanity against the biblical, Kingdom of God.

I have read and heard from Reformed and Evangelical theological perspectives, that human beings do not have the ability to simply intellectually believe in the gospel, as do satanic/demonic beings. From my theological perspective, satanic beings and obedient angels are within the spiritual realm and have direct access to things human beings do not. But, exactly how this works is not biblically, clearly explained. Humanity does not know God and about God in the supernatural realm as do these supernatural beings. The taint of evil within these demonic beings/fallen angels seemingly makes them fit only for damnation to God (Revelation 20 and the lake of fire). There is biblically, no salvation option for fallen angels. However, with the elect, God regenerates those he chooses (Ephesians 1, Romans 9) through the applied atoning and resurrection work of Jesus Christ, to be saved members of the Kingdom of God.

However, even as unregenerate persons have not experienced the spiritual realms as have finite angelic beings; clearly for one example, not all scholarship is from regenerate believers. There are non-Christian scholars that can properly understand New Testament writings and theology without having saving faith.

It seems to me, for the unregenerate, it is more likely that the gospel sounds like it could be true, than actual belief in the God of the gospel is taking place. But in the end there is no real trusting belief in the Lord.

3. Demon/fallen angel would you change your decision to reject God, if you could?

No

Their nature as opposed to God is locked in. This will keep them ontologically (nature and existence) opposing God, even if at least some of these entities might intellectually acknowledge rejecting God as a bad decision. Whatever type of free will demonic/fallen angels have, it works within a corrupted  nature that is locked in rejecting God.

Locked into hell...

Cited

Summary 

Satan presently dwells in the heavenly realm. The Bible teaches that he does have access to the LORD. Whether he has already been thrown out of heaven or whether this judgment is still future is an area in which Bible students disagree.
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Regeneration

Titus 3


Edited 

'by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit' from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) 


Strong's 3824

Strong's Concordance paliggenesia: regeneration, renewal 

Original Word: παλιγγενεσία, ας, ἡ 

Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine 

Transliteration: paliggenesia 

Phonetic Spelling: (pal-ing-ghen-es-ee'-ah) 

Short Definition: a new birth, regeneration 

Definition: a new birth, regeneration, renewal.

From Titus 3: 5 The main text of Strong's presents: Spiritual rebirth (figurative), spiritual regeneration (figurative). (72). Greek scholar Bauer documents this as: The rebirth of the redeemed person. (606). The regeneration and rebirth via the Holy Spirit. (606).

John 3

Again from my PhD, Herman Bavinck (1918)(2006) equates the term regeneration with rebirth. Bavinck (1918)(2006: 46). In the Gospel of John 3, Jesus Christ does not literally speak of a person being born a second time, but literally insists that a person be reborn and spiritually transformed from above.


John 3: 3

γεννηθῇ be born

ἄνωθεν from above


Strong's 1080

Strong's Concordance gennaó: to beget, to bring forth 

Original Word: γεννάω 

Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: gennaó 

Phonetic Spelling: (ghen-nah'-o) 

Definition: to beget, to bring forth Usage: I beget (of the male), (of the female) I bring forth, give birth to.


Strong's 509

Strong's Concordance anóthen: from above 

Original Word: ἄνωθεν 

Part of Speech: Adverb Transliteration: anóthen 

Phonetic Spelling: (an'-o-then) 

Definition: from above 

Usage: (a) from above, from heaven, (b) from the beginning, from their origin (source), from of old, (c) again, anew.

1 Peter 1


ἀναγεννήσας having begotten again


Strong's 313

Strong's Concordance anagennaó: to beget again 

Original Word: ἀναγεννάω 

Part of Speech: Verb 

Transliteration: anagennaó 

Phonetic Spelling: (an-ag-en-nah'-o) 

Definition: to beget again 

Usage: I beget again, beget into a new life.

The website lists this as aorist, participle, active, and nominative, masculine, singular.

Bauer documents ἀναγεννάω (page 51), defined as beget again, be born again, figurative of spiritual rebirth of Christians. (51). This is the context of 1 Peter 1: 3,  born again. (51).

Biblically and theologically, the new birth, to beget again, being born again equates to regeneration. 

As human beings need to be regenerated by God to be saved, this means that those that God does not regenerate are not saved. In the Tik Tok video, the priest states it is human beings' own fault (outside of Christ) they are damned. As secondary causes they embrace a rejection of God in sin and evil. However, God is still the primary cause in their damnation, but with holy motives.

Bibliography


Don Stewart has written over twenty books on the subject of evidences for the Christian faith. These include, The Basic Bible Study Series, You Be the Judge, 10 Reasons To Trust the Bible, and The Coming Temple. In the last fifteen years, he has spoken in over thirty countries proclaiming the message that the Christian faith is both reasonable and intelligent.

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http://drrnm.blogspot.com/2006/01/

MURRAY, RUSSELL NORMAN (2010) Theodicy and Practical Theology, Lampeter, The University of Wales. Trinity Saint David.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OxFb7ysR475AqpQkLvxEgYgwLAQISzdn/view

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SHEDD, WILLIAM G.T. (1874-1890)(1980) Dogmatic Theology, Volume 1, Nashville, Thomas Nelson Publishers. 

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STRONG, J. (1890)(1986) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Pickering, Ontario, Welch Publishing Company. 

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