by jimwalton » Wed Mar 21, 2018 11:57 am
What makes sense is that he is actually so self-deceived that he thinks he can actually win this. For instance, while Jesus was on the earth, he must have thought (so it seems) that if he could kill Jesus, that "eternal life" (since God IS life) would die. He could force a contradiction, force a point of no return. Jesus, as a human, had emptied himself (Phil. 2.7) and so had laid aside some of the prerogatives of deity. At that point, then, it's possible that Satan perceived a chink in the armor, so to speak, since God was actually human, and if he could just kill him, it would be a game-changer. Obviously that didn't work.
After that point, though, he seems bent on pulling as many away from God as possible to establish his own kingdom. If you've seen "The Dark Knight" (and Heath Ledger's brilliant performance), we learn that evil doesn't need a reason or even a rational pursuit or purpose, but only evil for evil's sake.
What makes sense is that he is actually so self-deceived that he thinks he can actually win this. For instance, while Jesus was on the earth, he must have thought (so it seems) that if he could kill Jesus, that "eternal life" (since God IS life) would die. He could force a contradiction, force a point of no return. Jesus, as a human, had emptied himself (Phil. 2.7) and so had laid aside some of the prerogatives of deity. At that point, then, it's possible that Satan perceived a chink in the armor, so to speak, since God was actually human, and if he could just kill him, it would be a game-changer. Obviously that didn't work.
After that point, though, he seems bent on pulling as many away from God as possible to establish his own kingdom. If you've seen "The Dark Knight" (and Heath Ledger's brilliant performance), we learn that evil doesn't need a reason or even a rational pursuit or purpose, but only evil for evil's sake.