Jesus acknowledged satan's existence and TBH the Bible's entire message from Genesis to Revelation makes no sense without him. He is the catalyst for everything that transpired in the garden and for what has happened right down to today. The Bible explains it all if you bother to really study it. Just let it speak for itself.
So...did God create the devil? Do humans give birth to murderers and rapists? No one is born a criminal. Just as a human can choose to become a murderer or a rapist, against the wishes of their parents, so too the devil chose to become a rebel. Free will gives us all that freedom.....even the angels. So why did God allow this rebel to corrupt the human race? To show them what happens when we ignore God in favor of doing our own thing.
If we think we can do everything without God, what are learning from the experience? Look at the state of the world!
Actually our bodies are a vehicle for our spirit, but not in the way that the churches teach. The spirit in all living things is its ability to use oxygen to keep all our cells alive. When God created Adam, he was a lifeless body until God started him breathing. The "breath of life" is the spirit that is active in all living things. When the spirit is gone, the creature ceases to exist.
The "soul" (not the same as the spirit) in the Bible is the whole, living, breathing creature, both man and animals. There is nothing that leaves the body at death, but our breath. (Psalm 146:4) There is no consciousness in death. (Ecclesiastes 9:5; Ecclesiastes 9:10) Souls die. (Ezekiel 18:4)
The brain only functions whilst we are alive. All aspects of personality and consciousness reside in the brain. NDE's are not ADE's. Deprived of oxygen, the dying brain releases a cocktail of chemicals that can give people all kinds of experiences....or none. When you throw in thought manipulation from a supernatural source, then anything is possible. Psychics claim to be able to channel the spirits and can tell people things that only their loved one would know.....but the demons know all about everyone. Think of the power it gives them over ignorant people. Knowledge is power.
Well, then you are basically saying that you are naturally a spiritually minded person.....be grateful for that! God is looking for spiritual people to impart his truth to them. But he is also looking for those who are genuine in their search for him and the answers that his word provides. So many people want to modify their beliefs to suit themselves and what they want to believe....but that is not what God requires.....I believe that he is searching for those who want to do his will, rather than their own. (Matthew 7:21-23)
Have you ever known a person who suffered with delusions? These are not hallucinations, but the brain giving an incredibly real experience to that person that does not exist in reality. The brain is capable of doing that...producing an alternate reality that is as real as any other. Emotions are touched by our experiences so the "angel of light" knows how to exploit any situation to further the first lie he told in Eden....'you won't die'.
Or it can means that people are programmed to experience an NDE according to their own take on religion...conscious beliefs or otherwise. I have seen atheists change their minds about religion after an NDE....but if it was a ruse from the devil then where did it take them? Metaphorically, 'out of the frying pan into the fire'.
That, to me is indicative of mental illness...sorry but I don't see anything awesome about the delusions experienced by the mentally impaired.
