Hi there,
So there is a simple lesson to learn, here: don't just punish the Devil. When Satan entered Judas, Jesus didn't say "now I condemn you!" - He said "What you do, do quickly" (gospels, from memory). This implies that the Devil can only do so much and that if we contradict him, the Lord's plans can't completely be worked out. Do we want the Devil to act on the Lord's plan? We should! That's the only way that we can bring an end to suffering into focus. For how long, is another matter, but again the Lord was certainly not prohibitive of the Devil's attempt to make being a son of God attractive (that is, something that could be sold at a price). Did Judas retain the evil, by which he did this? No! But he died.
So when is it safe to punish the Devil? There are three considerations: first, he needs to know what he has done wrong - if Jeus says "do it quickly" he is not saying 'it is wrong' (something can be unrighteous but not wrong). When Adam fell into sin, he did not confess that his sin "was good", the Devil must realize that his sin (tempting Adam) was not therefore 'good' - this implies that the Devil's sin, was pride about the fall of Man, but its still too early to punish for that alone.
Secondly, the Devil needs to know who he has done wrong to. The Bible says that the seed of Abraham paid tithes, because Abraham paid tithes (letters, from memory), so we must conclude immediately, that Adam was not the only one that was wronged, by the Devil's tempting Adam to fall. In Christ we understand that it was every generation of Man from the Cross forward, that was redeemed from the curse of sin. So there is a question of whether the Devil realises that he has wronged every generation after Adam. You can't punish someone, if they do not understand the full extent of their sin. This is case in point.
Thirdly, where those following him (the Devil) are going to end up wrong, is reason to keep the punishment in view. If you can't provide the reason in terms of real consequences, there is nothing to punish. But there is a reason: if the Devil is proud about the fall of Man, mistaking it for good and it affects every generation from Adam on, then those that the follow the Devil are going to end up calling good, that which is not good. This is a travesty! Generation after generation calling good that which is not good, even if the Devil knows what he has done wrong - will not suffice: there must be punishment! If then it has been set out, at the Cross, that the sin go no further, the punishment will certainly come about! This is the honesty of the Cross, the Diligence of God and the Power of the Holy Spirit's Conviction.
The honesty of the Cross, because every sin has been measured, jot for jot, tittle for tittle in the eyes of the Law. The Diligence of God, because that which needs to be punished, will not be slack in punishment, but in the fullness of time, for an end to that sin. The Power of the Holy Spirit's Conviction because once the punishment has been established, He will not let it pass from the memory of Mankind, until the very end of Mankind, what that sin was, who it affected and why. There will be no escape. These things are forgone conclusions in the mind of the Great Witness, and duly taken to heart again and again, in the Justice-One of Christ.
Now, there is no remission of sin, without blood, but we have the blood of Christ, to remain our bedrock - the lives that are sacrificed to come, will attentuate the completeness of that bedrock. I hope this has been of some encouragement to you.
God bless.
So there is a simple lesson to learn, here: don't just punish the Devil. When Satan entered Judas, Jesus didn't say "now I condemn you!" - He said "What you do, do quickly" (gospels, from memory). This implies that the Devil can only do so much and that if we contradict him, the Lord's plans can't completely be worked out. Do we want the Devil to act on the Lord's plan? We should! That's the only way that we can bring an end to suffering into focus. For how long, is another matter, but again the Lord was certainly not prohibitive of the Devil's attempt to make being a son of God attractive (that is, something that could be sold at a price). Did Judas retain the evil, by which he did this? No! But he died.
So when is it safe to punish the Devil? There are three considerations: first, he needs to know what he has done wrong - if Jeus says "do it quickly" he is not saying 'it is wrong' (something can be unrighteous but not wrong). When Adam fell into sin, he did not confess that his sin "was good", the Devil must realize that his sin (tempting Adam) was not therefore 'good' - this implies that the Devil's sin, was pride about the fall of Man, but its still too early to punish for that alone.
Secondly, the Devil needs to know who he has done wrong to. The Bible says that the seed of Abraham paid tithes, because Abraham paid tithes (letters, from memory), so we must conclude immediately, that Adam was not the only one that was wronged, by the Devil's tempting Adam to fall. In Christ we understand that it was every generation of Man from the Cross forward, that was redeemed from the curse of sin. So there is a question of whether the Devil realises that he has wronged every generation after Adam. You can't punish someone, if they do not understand the full extent of their sin. This is case in point.
Thirdly, where those following him (the Devil) are going to end up wrong, is reason to keep the punishment in view. If you can't provide the reason in terms of real consequences, there is nothing to punish. But there is a reason: if the Devil is proud about the fall of Man, mistaking it for good and it affects every generation from Adam on, then those that the follow the Devil are going to end up calling good, that which is not good. This is a travesty! Generation after generation calling good that which is not good, even if the Devil knows what he has done wrong - will not suffice: there must be punishment! If then it has been set out, at the Cross, that the sin go no further, the punishment will certainly come about! This is the honesty of the Cross, the Diligence of God and the Power of the Holy Spirit's Conviction.
The honesty of the Cross, because every sin has been measured, jot for jot, tittle for tittle in the eyes of the Law. The Diligence of God, because that which needs to be punished, will not be slack in punishment, but in the fullness of time, for an end to that sin. The Power of the Holy Spirit's Conviction because once the punishment has been established, He will not let it pass from the memory of Mankind, until the very end of Mankind, what that sin was, who it affected and why. There will be no escape. These things are forgone conclusions in the mind of the Great Witness, and duly taken to heart again and again, in the Justice-One of Christ.
Now, there is no remission of sin, without blood, but we have the blood of Christ, to remain our bedrock - the lives that are sacrificed to come, will attentuate the completeness of that bedrock. I hope this has been of some encouragement to you.
God bless.
