Has Satan Always Existed? 
撒旦一直都存在嗎？

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From: ERIC LYONS, M.Min.

 https://apologeticspress.org/has-satan-always-existed-817/ 


From a very early age, children learn about the righteousness of God and the wickedness of Satan. We teach children that God is the loving, powerful, and all-knowing Creator and Sustainer of life Who wants them to live right and go to heaven. We also tell them that there is an evil being called Satan who is very influential in the world, and who is doing everything he possibly can to keep them out of heaven. Many Sunday mornings in Bible class, children either sing or study about these two beings. This time of study certainly is worthwhile because children are taught to obey God (John 14:15) and to resist the devil (1 Peter 5:8). In time, however, if young people are not offered additional teaching about the origin of Satan and the eternal nature of God, many inadvertently begin to form a picture in their minds of two opposing “gods” who are at war with each other. Like two heavyweight boxers exchanging punches in the middle of a ring, children begin to think of God and Satan as two equally opposing “forces.”

從很小的時候起，孩子們就認識到神的公義和撒旦的邪惡。 我們教導孩子們，神是充滿愛心、強大、無所不知的生命創造者和維持者，祂希望他們正確地生活並進入天堂。 我們還告訴他們，有一種叫做撒旦的邪惡生物，他在世界上非常有影響力，他正在竭盡全力讓他們遠離天堂。 在聖經課上，許多週日早上，孩子們要麼唱歌，要麼學習這兩個人。 這段時間的學習當然是值得的，因為孩子們被教導要服從神／遵守神的命令（約翰福音14:15）和抵抗魔鬼（彼得前書5：8）。 然而，隨著時間的推移，如果不向年輕人提供關於撒旦起源和神永恆本性的額外教導，許多人會不經意中開始在腦海中形成兩個相互交戰的“神”的畫面。 就像兩個重量級拳擊手在擂臺中間交換拳頭一樣，孩子們開始認為神和撒旦是兩股同樣對立的“力量”。

Although little is suggested in the Bible about Satan’s beginning, we can know that Satan is a created being. Unlike God, the Bible teaches that Satan is not omnipotent (1 John 4:4), omnipresent (cf. Job 1-2; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Luke 4:6; Revelation 20:1-10), or eternal (cf. Deuteronomy 33:27; Psalm 102:27). Furthermore, in speaking of Jesus, Paul wrote: “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him” (Colossians 1:16, emp. added). The apostle John was inspired to write: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:1-3, emp. added). Who made all things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible? Jesus (the Word—John 1:14). Thus, the Bible teaches that Satan is one of God’s created beings. He had a beginning just like you, me, and everything else that exists other than God.

雖然《聖經》中很少提到撒旦的開始，但我們可以知道撒旦是一個被造物。 與神不同，聖經教導撒旦不是無所不能的（約翰一書4:4），是無所不在的（參見 約伯記1-2；哥林多後書4:4；路加福音4:6；啟示錄20:1-10），或永恆（參見 申命記33:27；詩篇102:27）。 此外，在談到耶穌時，保羅寫道：“因為萬有都是靠他造的，無論是天上的，地上的；能看見的，不能看見的；或是有位的，主治的，執政的，掌權的；一概都是藉著他造的，又是為他造的”（歌羅西書1:16，emp. added）。 使徒約翰受啟發寫道：“太初有道，道與神同在，道就是神。 這道太初與神同在。萬物是藉著他造的；凡被造的，沒有一樣不是藉著他造的”（約翰福音1：1-3，emp. added）。 誰創造了天上和地上的所有事物，有形和無形？ 耶穌（聖經——約翰福音1:14）。 因此，聖經教導說，撒旦是神所創造的生物之一。 他有一個開始，就像你，我，以及除了神之外的一切。

But just because God created Satan, does not mean that He created him as an evil being. Rather, God created him good, and then he chose to become evil. The Bible indicates that Satan was one of the angels who lived in heaven, but he (along with other angels) rebelled against God and was cast out of Heaven. The apostle Peter said that “God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment” (2 Peter 2:4). Another inspired writer wrote: “And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day” (Jude 6). Since the Bible also refers to the devil as “the ruler of demons” (Matthew 12:24), and speaks of “the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41, emp. added), it is very likely that the devil is the leader of a group of rebellious angels that was expelled from heaven to eventually spend eternity in hell.

但僅僅因為神創造了撒旦，並不意味著祂創造了他作為一個邪惡的存在。 相反的，神創造了善良的他，然後他選擇成為邪惡。 聖經指出，撒旦是生活在天堂的天使之一，但他（和其他天使）背叛了神，被趕出了天堂。 使徒彼得說：“就是天使犯了罪，神也沒有寬容，曾把他們丟在地獄，交在黑暗坑中，等候審判”（彼得後書2:4）。 另一位受啟發的作家寫道：“又有不守本位、離開自己住處的天使，主用鎖鍊把他們永遠拘留在黑暗裡，等候大日的審判”（猶大書6）。 由於《聖經》還將魔鬼稱為“鬼王別西卜”（馬太福音12:24），並談到“魔鬼和他的使者”（馬太福音25:41，emp. added），魔鬼很可能是一群叛逆天使的領袖，他們被驅逐出天堂，最終在地獄度過永恆。

Thus, unlike the philosophy of dualism (made popular by the Persian—Zoroaster), which teaches that an eternal good being and an eternal evil being exist and oppose one another, the Bible teaches that the Godhead is the only eternal entity. Although Satan is not to be taken lightly, it is a blessing to know that he cannot snatch us from the love of God if we are unwilling to allow him to do so (Romans 8:37-39), nor can he tempt us beyond what we are able to bear (1 Corinthians 10:13). God alone is deity, and He alone deserves our praise and adoration.

因此，與雙重主義哲學（波斯-琐罗亚斯德教流行）不同，該哲學教導永恆的善良存在和永恆的邪惡存在並相互對立，聖經教導神性是唯一永恆的實體。 雖然對撒旦不能掉以輕心，但我們有幸知道，如果我們不允許撒旦把我們從神的愛中奪走，他就不能這樣做（羅馬書8:37-39），他也不能試探我們，超出我們所能承受的範圍（哥林多前書10:13）。 只有神才是真神，只有祂才值得我們讚美和崇拜。



a Christian, writer and homemaker

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