because God created them and gave it to them.
They are fallen angels who rebelled with Satan against God.
They can't just run around doing whatever they want.
This seems to be a very common misconception.
They only have power and authority because God grants it to them to serve his purpose.
Revelation 9:4
And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth,
neither any green thing,
neither any tree;
but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.
Revelation 9:5
And to them it was given that they should not kill them,
but that they should be tormented five months:
and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.
Revelation 9:10
And they had tails like unto scorpions,
and there were stings in their tails:
and their power was to hurt men five months.
"As Martin Luther, the great reformer, said,
“Even the devil is God’s devil.”
We don’t have to fear him.
God has given Satan the power that he possesses."
Or?
If you want an example outside the book of Revelation?
Consider:
1 Kings 22:22
“‘By what means?’ the Lord asked.
“‘I will go out and be a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all his prophets,’ he said.
“‘You will succeed in enticing him,’ said the Lord. ‘Go and do it.’
PROBLEM:
The Scriptures teach that God is truth (Deut. 32:4)
and that it is impossible for Him to lie (Heb. 6:18).
Furthermore, God commands us not to lie (Ex. 20:16),
and He will severely punish those who do (Rev. 21:8).
And yet, in spite of all this, God is portrayed in this passage as enlisting lying spirits to entice wicked king Ahab to seal his own doom.
The text says, “Now therefore, look!
The Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours” (v. 23).
SOLUTION: Several factors should be considered in understanding this situation.
First, this is a vision.
As such, it is a dramatic picture of God’s sovereign authority spelled out in regal imagery.
Second, this dramatic vision represents God in all His sweeping authority so that even evil spirits are represented as being subjected to His ultimate control.
Third, the God of the Bible, in contrast to gods of pagan religions, is in sovereign control of everything, including the forces of evil which He uses to accomplish His good purposes (cf. Job 1–3).
Fourth, the Bible sometimes speaks of God “hardening” people’s hearts (see comments on Rom. 9:17) or even sending them strong delusions (2 Thes. 2:11).
However, on closer examination of the text, we discover that God did this only on those who freely harden their own hearts (Ex. 8:15) and who “did not believe the truth” (2 Thes. 2:12).
In short, God is not commending lying here.
He is simply utilizing it to accomplish His purposes.
God is not promoting lying, but permitting it to bring judgment on evil.
That is, God, for His own purposes of justice,
allowed Ahab to be deceived by evil spirits whom He knew in His omniscience would be used to accomplish His sovereign and good will.
And for good measure:
"The Lord did say, however, that there is a conflict of kingdoms (Matt. 12:22-30).
Paul instructs the Ephesian church about spiritual warfare against the schemes of a dark celestial hierarchy composed of “the devil,” “rulers,” “authorities,” “powers of this dark world,” and “spiritual forces of evil”
(Eph. 6:12, NIV).
(Perhaps territorial spirits are included in this list.)
To fight this war, Paul tells believers to “stand” against them in God’s power using His armor (Eph. 6:11, 14).
The weapons he lists for battle are:
honesty,
righteousness,
witnessing,
assurance of salvation,
belief in God,
and proficiency in the Scriptures.
But wait, isn’t this simply obedient Christian living?
Where’s the mystical mumbo jumbo — the direct encounter with the supernatural?
It would appear that Christians who effectively live out their faith assault satanic oppression of a society with an onslaught that verbal rebukes cannot approach.
Why in the world
people believe in demons
but not the God that created them
and gives them their power and authority to do his will
is beyond me Lucy.
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