Is Satan Real?
Do Jehovah's Witnesses Believe Satan is Real?
Yes. In the Jehovah Witness faith Satan is very real.
He is thought to be an angel who rebelled against God.
Now he walks the earth tempting humans to sin against God and do evil things.
Interestingly though, Jehovah's Witnesses do not believe that hell is a place of eternal torment. They say that when we die there is no consciousness.
Therefore if you happen to contact a spirit that represents themselves as a friend or relative that has passed away, it's a demonic entity trying to deceive you into believing that there is life after death.
A Demon Angel.
Is Satan a demonic angel? Probably not. It's unlikely that Satan and his demon followers are real angels. There are many ways to interpret the Bible. For every verse taken literally, one can find a symbolic meaning. It's unrealistic to believe that a God of love would allow a rebellious angel to inflict unimaginable pain and suffering upon people for thousands of years.
Satan is the Prince of Darkness for good reason. Light is real. Darkness is not. Darkness is merely the absence of light. In other words, when people are tempted to stray from God's love, they find themselves spiritually dead, - tormented in a world that feels like hell. In that sense, Satan appears real, when in fact he is not.
A good example of this is darkness. It appears very real. What we can't see can be frightening. However darkness is not real. Neither is Satan. e.g. When you walk into a room you will find a 'light' switch but you will never find a 'dark' switch. Why is that? Because light is real. Darkness is not. Darkness is merely a place without light. In a spiritual sense it's a place without God's light.
Temptation.
As humans we are tempted by Satan every day. Sometimes we make God happy. And other times we make Satan happy. The devil is a good way to rationalize unloving behavior and protect our ego. It's easier to blame Satan for tempting or deceiving us rather than taking all the responsibility ourselves.
It's most likely that God is all there is. If he is everywhere, then certainly he wouldn't want to share the same world with his adversary. Instead of being an angel, Satan is likely a choice we make to live our life without God's love and light.
Love God or Love Satan.
When we don't accept God's love, it doesn't matter how much he cares for us. If we can't see his compassion, we are in spiritual darkness. In that dark place we are isolated, alone, angry, afraid, sad, and unloved. When we reach out to God, he pours his love upon us. We can choose to live without God in darkness, or with God in the light where there's nothing to fear. Love is all their is. It is real. The absence of God is darkness and the place where Satan lives.
We get to decide. We can turn on the lights and accept God. Or we can live in spiritual darkness without God's love, isolated from the source of life. His love is always available to those who reach out to him. All we need to do is come into the light of God and accept his love.
Satanic Worship.
The world of the Jehovah's Witnesses is very easy to understand. You belong to God's organization or Satan's. Even though Jehovah's Witnesses are tempted by Satan just like people of other religions, it is thought their religion is controlled by God. All other religions are dominated by Satan.
Critics say there is no middle ground. JW's believe their doctrines come from Jehovah God because they study the Watchtower and go to five meetings every week. They have 'the truth'. The rest of us cannot possibly understand the Bible because we don't read their literature that explains God's word. We are 'out of the truth'. We are in spiritual darkness because we focus our entire faith upon the Bible and God's word.
Jehovah's Witnesses believe they are 'in the truth' because they put WT literature ahead of what the Bible actually says. Here are a few examples. Compare what the Bible says with what the WT says.
Why do the beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses make sense to them? How can WT literature be more truthful than what the Bible actually says? Why is there such a distorted view of reality? See Mind Control
From the early days of Charles Taze Russell, the founder of this controversial religion, it was believed that it's impossible to understand God's purpose and the Bible without their books and magazines. Jehovah's Witnesses believe they are in the light because their organization has interpreted the Bible correctly. All other religions are thought to be 'false' . The entire world (except for their organization) is thought to be dominated by Satan. Watchtower Sept 1, 1989
Other Names For The Devil.
Other names for Satan the Devil and evil:
- Accuser
- Adversary
- Ahriman
- Angra Mainyu
- Antichrist
- Dark Lord
- Iblis
- Lord (of hell, ... of the underworld, ... of this world, ... etc)
- Lucifer (thought to be Satan's name before he fell from God's grace)
- Mephisto (type of demon, thought be like the devil himself)
- Prince of darkness
- Shaitan
- The Number of the Beast - 666 (or 616)
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