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Lent Day 21: Athanasius: Life of Anthony: Chaps. 1-10

...tles with demons Eventually, Anthony withdrew to a burial ground far from his village and set up camp in a tomb. He had friends lock him in, but they would return every couple of days with bread and water for him. But the enemy “could not endure it” and thought that within a “short time Antony would fill the desert with the discipline” and so one night a multitude of demons came to Anthony and physically attacked him, cutting up his back with “stripes”. In the morning, his friends found him and though that he was dead! Upon waking up, he was taken back to the tomb where the devil once again tried to attack him, but this time with loud noises as t...

Is there salvation for fallen angels?

...I've seen and heard this question asked numerous times before, and I've even wondered it myself in my earlier years as a new Christian. Is there salvation for angels and can demons go back to their previous, uncorrupted state? 2 Corinthians 11:14And no wonder! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. As far as scripture is concerned, Satan can pretend to be angelic for the sake of deceit, but that's about it. There's no mention of redemption for angels or demons — that's the long and short of it. So let's explore four areas of Scripture to see what we do know. #1 They have been imprisoned for judgement by God. 2 Peter 2:4For if God did...

Lent Day 25: Athanasius: Life of Anthony: Chaps. 41-50

...nthony on demons and the spiritual battle we are all in as believers. This chapter opens with a strange anecdote from the time that Anthony was still living in his “cell” (the secluded room on the edge of the Nile, not a prison!). “Once someone knocked at the door of my cell”, he says, and getting up to answer the door, he sees “one who seemed of great size and tall” standing there. Enquiring who this person was, he answered, “I am Satan”. Unphased by this, Anthony just asks him what he is doing there at his door! Satan then just bemoans that all of the “monks and all other Christians” just blame him “undeservedly” and curse him “ho...

Lent: Day 14 - Justin Martyr: First Apology, Chaps. 24-35

...gods and demons. Guilt of harming children Justin condemns the practices of “exposing children” – which in this context seems to mean sexually abusing them. He explains that Christians have “been taught that to expose newly-born children is the part of wicked men” and to harm any child is to sin against God himself. As the people of old would herd cattle and raise animals for a purpose, so these children “are brought up to prostitution”; like animals they “rear children only for this shameful use”! Justin paints a terrible sounding picture of his contemporary society, in which the people “commit unmentionable iniquities” and in their lu...

Lent: Day 17 - Justin Martyr: First Apology: Chaps. 60-68

...tation by demons Following on with baptism, Justin goes on to say that due to Isaiah prophesying this, the demons knew what to imitate in the temples to false gods, who would have all their worshippers sprinkled with water on entering and fully immersed on the way out, and also have them remove their shoes as Moses did at the burning bush when “Christ conversed with him under the appearance of fire”. This too shows an early example of how Christians viewed the “nameless God [who] spoke to Moses” in light of the revelation of Christ, the Logos, typically called a “Christophany”. How God appeared to Moses A Christophany is a theological term to me...

Lent Day 29: Athanasius: Life of Anthony: Chaps. 81-94

...t that of demons and their father the devil”. How Anthony was used by the Lord Here it is stated that although many great signs and wonders were done through the hands of Anthony, he never let this go to his head and always pointed to Christ as the reason and source of all the wonders. He would often teach on faith from the words of Jesus; that if you have only faith the size of a mustard seed, you can move mountains and that nothing shall be impossible (Matt 17:20), and that if you ask the Father for anything in the name of Jesus, it shall be given (John 16:23), such as casting out demons, healing the sick and raising the dead (Matt 10:8). He did this so t...