Satan

"In Hebrew, the term Satan is usually translated as “opponent” or “adversary,” and he is often understood to represent the sinful impulse"

"Maimonides seems not to believe Satan actually exists, but rather that he is a symbol of the inclination to sin. The entire Book of Job, he writes, is fictional, intended merely to elucidate certain truths about divine providence. And even if it is true, Maimonides continues, certainly the portion in which God and Satan speak with each other is merely a parable."

https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/satan-the-adversary/

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”
(Jeremiah 17:9)
“From within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications,
murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy,
pride, foolishness: all these evil things come from within, and defile the man.” (Mark 7:21-
23)
“As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: there is none that understandeth,
there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together
become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is in open
sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:
whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: their feet are swift to shed blood:
destruction and misery are in their ways: and the way of peace they have not known: there
is no fear of God before their eyes.” (Romans 3:10-18)

Chatgpt help...

As an AI language model, I do not have personal beliefs or opinions. However, here are some of the Bible verses that Christadelphians use to support their belief that Satan/ the devil is not a personal being but represents the fleshly desires in man:

1. James 1:14-15 - "But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death."
2. Galatians 5:19-21 - "Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God."
3. Ephesians 2:3 - "among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind."
4. 1 Peter 5:8 - "Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour."
5. Matthew 4:1-11 - The temptation of Jesus in the wilderness is seen as an example of how Satan tries to tempt and deceive us with our own desires.
6. 2 Corinthians 11:14 - "And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light."
7. Romans 7:18-25 - "For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out."
8. 1 John 2:16 - "For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world."
9. Romans 8:5-8 - "For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God."
10. Colossians 3:5 - "Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry."

Eve spoke with the serpent. What serpent?

The Hebrew word is חשׁ, nachash, and it is pronounced 'naw-khawsh' H5175 in Strong’s Concordance.

In the Old Testament, this word is rendered as “serpent” by the translators who compiled the King James Version.

Strong’s defines “חשׁ” as “snake”. Nachash is the noun form of a primitive root meaning properly to hiss, that is, whisper a (magic) spell; generally to foretell the future.

You can see how they associated these mystical ideas with snakes, but snake alone doesn’t convey these ideas to the reader.

Rather than serpent, “hisser” or “whisperer” would better give the sense of “nachash”.

In the Old Testament “nachash” describes:

Eve,

the tribe of Dan,

snakes 8 times,

Moses’ rod 2 times,

the serpent of brass 2 times,

invaders 5 times,

evil people twice,

a constellation of heaven,

too much wine

and the Nations.

“nachash”, in Genesis 49, refers to an attribute of the tribe of Dan:

Gen 49:17 “Dan shall be a SERPENT by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.”

In this instance, the serpent is clearly NOT LITERAL. Take away the tribe, and the serpent is gone, because it only describes an attitude of the tribe and has no separate independent existence.

Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

I believe that Eve’s seed mentioned in Genesis 3v15 refers ultimately to our Lord Jesus Christ. If the Lord is the “woman’s seed”, then surely God is not saying that serpent would literally bite the Lord, nor would the Lord literally stomp on that serpent The serpent must then be figurative or a symbol of something else, and so it cannot be a literal animal.

Now that we are aware of this original Hebrew word, we can understand that the nachash in Eden is something other than a snake. Supporting this is the fact that everything created was seen by God to be “very good”.(Genesis 1v31) God would not punish a serpent that was not under any law. If it was under a law, sin came into the world by a snake and not by man. God would not bring retribution on an animal for doing what it was created to do.

It follows then, that the alternative view of the Genesis 3 “serpent” is that it provides animation to those thoughts of Eve which produced Sin. Importantly, this conclusion maintains God’s Righteousness.

This understanding of Eve does not allow the error that God provided His agent to tempt Adam and Eve.

“The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭6‬:‭5‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Hebrews 2:14 (KJV) Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;

Romans 8:3 (KJV) For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:

Ephesians 2:14-16 (KJV) For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:

Numbers 22:22 (KJV) And God's anger was kindled because he went: and the angel of the LORD stood in the way for an adversary against him. Now he was riding upon his ass, and his two servants were with him.

1 Chronicles 21:1 (KJV) And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.

Parallel....

2 Samuel 24:1 (KJV) And again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah.

2 Samuel 19:22 (KJV) And David said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah, that ye should this day be adversaries unto me? shall there any man be put to death this day in Israel? for do not I know that I am this day king over Israel?

1 Kings 11:14 (KJV) And the LORD stirred up an adversary unto Solomon, Hadad the Edomite: he was of the king's seed in Edom.

1 Kings 11:23 (KJV) And God stirred him up another adversary, Rezon the son of Eliadah, which fled from his lord Hadadezer king of Zobah:

1 Kings 11:25 (KJV) And he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, beside the mischief that Hadad did: and he abhorred Israel, and reigned over Syria.

Zechariah 3:1-2 (KJV) And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.
And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?

Parallel...

Ezra 4:4 (KJV) Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building,

Ezra 4:24 (KJV) Then ceased the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem. So it ceased unto the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

an adversary
lə-śā-ṭān לְשָׂטָ֣ן

Matthew 16:23 (KJV) But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

Devil

2 Timothy 3:3 (KJV) Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,

False accuser:
1228. diabolos ►
Strong's Concordance
diabolos: slanderous, accusing falsely
Original Word: διάβολος, ον
Part of Speech: Adjective
Transliteration: diabolos

John 13:2 (KJV) And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him;

Previously....

Matthew 26:14-16 (KJV) Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests,
And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.
And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.

Compare....

Hebrews 2:14 (KJV) Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;

And....

James 1:15 (KJV) Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

...

1 John 2:14 (KJV) I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.

And....

1 John 5:5 (KJV) Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

...

John 17:15 (KJV) I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.

And...

James 1:27 (KJV) Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

...

1 John 3:10 (KJV) In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.

And....

Ephesians 2:2 (KJV) Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

....

Ephesians 4:27 (KJV) Neither give place to the devil.

And....

Romans 13:14 (KJV) But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

Angels cannot fall...

Psalms 91:11 (KJV)  For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

Psalms 103:21 (KJV)  Bless ye the LORD, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure.

Hebrews 1:13-14 (KJV)  But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?
Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?

2 Peter 2:11 (KJV) Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord.

Ezekiel 22:25 (KJV)  There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey; they have devoured souls; they have taken the treasure and precious things; they have made her many widows in the midst thereof.

1 Peter 5:8 (KJV)  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: