If you were Satan....

[Athetotheist]

I remember a TV preacher once asking his broadcast audience, "If you were Satan....." I don't remember the rest of the question, but I seem to remember that he was talking about prophecy and arguing that Satan was up to some diabolical mischief ("If you were Satan, isn't that what you would do?").

A lot of detail in Christian scripture about what is to happen before Jesus returns is tied to the activity of "Satan". The appearance of the "antichrist", in particular, is supposed to be part of Satan's last gambit before he goes down to utter defeat.

Since it was asked of me how I would react if I were Satan, I think it's fair for me to answer. I know that "Satan" is supposed to be a being of superhuman intelligence, but I can't help thinking that if such a being actually existed and if I were that being, I could do a lot better.

If I were "Satan", I would scrap the antichrist plan. If it's all laid out in the Bible, then everyone knows what to expect and you've lost the element of surprise. With that one simple deviation from the prophetic scenario, the whole thing would be gummed up. No antichrist, no mark of the beast, no abomination of desolation, no anything I was supposed to do as Satan to set the stage for the return of Jesus. And without those prophetic components in place, Jesus couldn't return to fulfill prophecy. And how could anyone stop me? I wouldn't be taking some action which could be prevented; I would be defeating prophecy by not taking action.

So let me pass the preacher's question on to you. If you were "Satan", what would you do----or not do----to thwart prophecy?

[The Nice Centurion]

[Replying to Athetotheist in post #265]
Heres a point why the Sheriff Satan theory could be true:

Evangelical Sex Abuse Worse Than Catholics

AUSTIN, Texas (RNS) The Christian mission field is a "magnet" for sexual abusers, Boz Tchividjian, a Liberty University law professor who investigates abuse said Thursday (Sept. 26) to a room of journalists.

While comparing evangelicals to Catholics on abuse response, "I think we are worse," he said at the Religion Newswriters Association conference, saying too many evangelicals had "sacrificed the souls" of young victims.

"Protestants can be very arrogant when pointing to Catholics," said Tchividjian, a grandson of evangelist Billy Graham and executive director of Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment (GRACE), which has investigated sex abuse allegations.

Earlier this summer, GRACE spearheaded an online petition decrying the "silence" and "inattention" of evangelical leaders to sexual abuse in their churches.

Mission agencies, "where abuse is most prevalent," often don't report abuse because they fear being barred from working in foreign countries, he said. Abusers will get sent home and might join another agency. Of known data from abuse cases, 25 percent are repeat cases, he said.

Still, he says, he sees some positive movements among some Protestants. Bob Jones University has hired GRACE to investigate abuse allegations, a move that encourages Tchividjian, a former Florida prosecutor. "That's like the mothership of fundamentalism," he said. His grandfather split with Bob Jones in a fundamentalist and evangelical division.

"The Protestant culture is defined by independence," Tchividjian said. Evangelicals often frown upon transparency and accountability, he said, as many Protestants rely on Scripture more than religious leaders, compared to Catholics.

Abusers discourage whistle-blowing by condemning gossip to try to keep people from reporting abuse, he said. Victims are also told to protect the reputation of Jesus.

Too many Protestant institutions have sacrificed souls in order to protect their institutions, he said. "We've got the Gospels backwards," he said.
https://www.atheistforums.com/index.php?topic=2599.0

[William]

If a true interpretation about prophesy cannot be established, it would be impossible to know whether prophesy was being fulfilled or not.

[The Nice Centurion]

If a true interpretation about prophesy cannot be established, it would be impossible to know whether prophesy was being fulfilled or not.

It can only be established in a subjective way. Every denomination naturally thinks it has established the one true interpretation.

As I showed; Endtime prophecy is so blurry, that we cannot know if it didnt already happen. For some christian groups it already happened.

If thats true and Satan were still working on his Master Plan to thwart prophecy by inactivity, I wouldnt be surprised if someone called him Doofus!

[Athetotheist]

[Replying to Athetotheist in post #269]

We do not even know if the Second coming didnt already happen!
Here I am listing the Jesus suspects from this millennium alone:

Apollo Quiboloy (b. 1950) is the founder and leader of a Philippines-based Restorationist church, the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, The Name Above Every Name, Inc. He has made claims that he is the "Appointed Son of God".

Alan John Miller (b. 1962), more commonly known as A.J. Miller, a former Jehovah's Witness Elder and current leader of the Australia-based Divine Truth movement.[63] Miller claims to be Jesus Christ reincarnated with others in the 20th century to spread messages that he calls the "Divine Truth". He delivers these messages in seminars and various forms of media along with his current partner Mary Suzanne Luck, who identifies herself as the returned Mary Magdalene.

David Shayler (b. 1965) is a former MI5 agent and whistleblower who, in the summer of 2007, proclaimed himself to be the Messiah. He has released a series of videos on YouTube claiming to be Jesus, although he has not built up any noticeable following since his claims.

Maurice Clemmons (19722009), an American felon responsible for the 2009 murder of four police officers in Washington state, referred to himself in May 2009 as Jesus.

Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez (b. 1990). In November 2011, he fired nine shots with a Romanian Cugir SA semi-automatic rifle at the White House in Washington D.C., believing himself to be Jesus Christ sent to kill U.S. President Barack Obama, whom he believed to be the antichrist.

Todd Kincannon (b. 1981), former head of the South Carolina Republican Party, was arrested in 2018 for killing and mutilating his mother's dog. He claimed to police he was the second coming of Jesus Christ and that God had told him to do it, because "every 1,000 years there needs to be a sacrifice and blood must be spilt."

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of ... o_be_Jesus

If one of these (And how could they ALL be wrong?) happens to be the real divine deal, then Satans supposed inactivity was for naught!

"For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man." (Matthew 24:27)

In other words, everyone is supposed to see it instantly. That hasn't happened. Since that's the way "the real divine deal" is supposed to appear, these are all wrong.

[Athetotheist]

If a true interpretation about prophesy cannot be established, it would be impossible to know whether prophesy was being fulfilled or not.

Exactly. That's why a prophecy has to be precise and unambiguous. Otherwise, you're just left guessing and there might as well not be a prophecy.

[William]

If a true interpretation about prophesy cannot be established, it would be impossible to know whether prophesy was being fulfilled or not.

Exactly. That's why a prophecy has to be precise and unambiguous. Otherwise, you're just left guessing and there might as well not be a prophecy.

Is that the point the OP was really attempting to make?

[Athetotheist]

If a true interpretation about prophesy cannot be established, it would be impossible to know whether prophesy was being fulfilled or not.

Exactly. That's why a prophecy has to be precise and unambiguous. Otherwise, you're just left guessing and there might as well not be a prophecy.

Is that the point the OP was really attempting to make?

The point of the OP is that the prophecy is clear enough to show that if "Satan" didn't play his part, the prophecy would fail.

[William]

If a true interpretation about prophesy cannot be established, it would be impossible to know whether prophesy was being fulfilled or not.

Exactly. That's why a prophecy has to be precise and unambiguous. Otherwise, you're just left guessing and there might as well not be a prophecy.

Is that the point the OP was really attempting to make?

The point of the OP is that the prophecy is clear enough to show that if "Satan" didn't play his part, the prophecy would fail.

But it has been established that the prophesy re Satan is NOT precise and unambiguous...folk can't even agree what The Mark of The Beast signifies re Satan

We don't know what part Satan is supposed to be playing, so cannot say that the part isn't being played...

[Athetotheist]

If a true interpretation about prophesy cannot be established, it would be impossible to know whether prophesy was being fulfilled or not.

Exactly. That's why a prophecy has to be precise and unambiguous. Otherwise, you're just left guessing and there might as well not be a prophecy.

Is that the point the OP was really attempting to make?

The point of the OP is that the prophecy is clear enough to show that if "Satan" didn't play his part, the prophecy would fail.

But it has been established that the prophesy re Satan is NOT precise and unambiguous...folk can't even agree what The Mark of The Beast signifies re Satan

If the prophecy isn't precise and unambiguous, how can a true interpretation of it be established? Are you conceding that the prophecy is of no value?

We don't know what part Satan is supposed to be playing, so cannot say that the part isn't being played...

Are you suggesting that "Satan" isn't necessarily supposed to be behind anything which happens in Rev. 13?

[The Nice Centurion]

[Replying to Athetotheist in post #269]

We do not even know if the Second coming didnt already happen!
Here I am listing the Jesus suspects from this millennium alone:

Apollo Quiboloy (b. 1950) is the founder and leader of a Philippines-based Restorationist church, the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, The Name Above Every Name, Inc. He has made claims that he is the "Appointed Son of God".

Alan John Miller (b. 1962), more commonly known as A.J. Miller, a former Jehovah's Witness Elder and current leader of the Australia-based Divine Truth movement.[63] Miller claims to be Jesus Christ reincarnated with others in the 20th century to spread messages that he calls the "Divine Truth". He delivers these messages in seminars and various forms of media along with his current partner Mary Suzanne Luck, who identifies herself as the returned Mary Magdalene.

David Shayler (b. 1965) is a former MI5 agent and whistleblower who, in the summer of 2007, proclaimed himself to be the Messiah. He has released a series of videos on YouTube claiming to be Jesus, although he has not built up any noticeable following since his claims.

Maurice Clemmons (19722009), an American felon responsible for the 2009 murder of four police officers in Washington state, referred to himself in May 2009 as Jesus.

Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez (b. 1990). In November 2011, he fired nine shots with a Romanian Cugir SA semi-automatic rifle at the White House in Washington D.C., believing himself to be Jesus Christ sent to kill U.S. President Barack Obama, whom he believed to be the antichrist.

Todd Kincannon (b. 1981), former head of the South Carolina Republican Party, was arrested in 2018 for killing and mutilating his mother's dog. He claimed to police he was the second coming of Jesus Christ and that God had told him to do it, because "every 1,000 years there needs to be a sacrifice and blood must be spilt."

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of ... o_be_Jesus

If one of these (And how could they ALL be wrong?) happens to be the real divine deal, then Satans supposed inactivity was for naught!

"For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man." (Matthew 24:27)

In other words, everyone is supposed to see it instantly. That hasn't happened. Since that's the way "the real divine deal" is supposed to appear, these are all wrong.

Ah, here I see, you are stuck with your very own all literal interpretation.
But even then your "Everyone" is nonsense. What about the blind, those who sleep it over . . .
That lightning thingie is complicated to interpret, though.
It could also be interpreted to be all metapher.
With Jehovahs Witnesses and Seventh Day Adventists, Jesus had some second comings going already, but did not even show up as a person. Strange lighting.
Above Persons after all are meetable in person. We have divine photos of them . . .

But your own way of interoreting prophecy is nothing more than that; Your Opinion.

Why do you not found your own christian church where you can promote it?

After all; Your apologetics resemble that of our christian friend We_Are_Venom.