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Originally Posted by Bęthberry
Actually, the Bible does not tell us it was "Satan" who instigated the Fall by messing with Eve's mind. Our contemporary concept of Satan is very much derived from New Testament sources.
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If we use scripture to validate a point, we must take all of scripture as one. Just because Satan’s role isn’t clarified as the serpent until Revelation:
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The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. Revelation 12:9
He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.
Revelation 20:2
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Doesn’t mean we should disregard the claim. We cannot pick and choose which parts are true and which aren’t- that’s manipulation.
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Originally Posted by Bęthberry
In fact, Satan in much of at least the Hebrew Bible is simply a minion of God who helps to do God's work by challenging people, to see if they are truly good. (He gives God the idea to make Job prove his faith.) He is not a full blown adversary until far later in Christian history.
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Oh, really?
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Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel.
1 Chronicles 21:1
23 "In the latter part of their reign, when rebels have become completely wicked, a stern-faced king, a master of intrigue, will arise. 24 He will become very strong, but not by his own power. He will cause astounding devastation and will succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy the mighty men and the holy people. 25 He will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior. When they feel secure, he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power.
Daniel 8:23-25
6 One day the angels [a] came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan [b] also came with them.
Job 1:6
(Note: Satan comes from the Hebrew word for accuser.)
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Satan in the Old Testament it clearly regarded as the enemy of Mankind, but even in his rebellion, he cannot deny God’s will. He did not “give God the idea,” rather, God allowed him to do his worst in order to create a much greater victory, a way of revealing Himself to his people.
It is important to recognize that Satan is not the opposite of God. He is the opposite of Michael. To be the opposite of God, he would have to be equal to God, and that he can never achieve.
As for the omniscience, the Music, and Ea: It wasn’t really that Ea was a replay; rather, the music was a pre-play, if that makes any sense. I think that Eru knew what was going to happen, and then allowed things to progress to a greater melody (much as God used Satan in the book of Job
). It’s easy to suggest that God had a general plan in mind when starting things out. Eru, being omniscient, would have known before the music how everything would work out. God, being omniscient, would have known how everything would work out before Genesis 1:1.