Copyright © 2006 By Doug Lawrence. All Rights Reserved.
Catechism Of The Catholic Church Reprinted With Permission.
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God sent daily manna … "bread from heaven" to sustain His people in the desert.
God gives us the body, blood, soul and divinity of His Son, Jesus, at daily Mass, to
sustain us in our life.
God dwelled with His people in the desert tabernacle. God dwells with us today in
the tabernacle of every Catholic Church, every Eucharistic Adoration Chapel and
in the soul of every faithful and repentant Christian.
Moses and the Hebrews spent a lifetime (40 years) in the desert. Only the just
(and very few) got to "cross over" the Jordan River and make it to the "Promised
Land". We spend a lifetime learning to know and love God. Only the "justified in
Christ" (hopefully, many) get to "cross over" from death to life and make it to our
"Promised Land" … heaven.
There's probably much more we can learn from the Book of
Exodus, but that's enough for now. Take the time to study it
yourself and see where it leads you.
We know, from Scripture and actual events, that Satan was once a good angel to
whom God granted sweeping powers and awesome authority. For reasons
unknown to us, much of Satan's power and authority remained, even after he
rebelled and came under God's judgment for the first time.
We also know that Satan was sentenced to spend eternity in hell, along with all the
other fallen angels. For reasons known only to God, his sentence (and apparently,
some other's) would not be served out in this age, which is pre-destined to last for
only a finite period of time, but in the next, which is believed to be eternal.
One thing is certain: God's Law has always applied to Satan, just
as it applies to you and me. While Satan might resent it, (and
certainly deny it) he is allowed to operate only within the limits of
the power and authority granted to him by God.
Herein lies the key to man's redemption.
According to God's law, the penalty for sin is death. Sin causes us to lose grace
and without grace, death is a certainty.
Satan was allowed to tempt, and then, gain power over man, so Satan is said to
be the one who has been given the "power of death". Adam is unable to pass
along to his offspring that which he does not possess. Hence, every human is born
lacking grace, and every human is born subject to death, and enslaved by Satan.
The only way the cycle of sin and death could be broken was if,
somehow, a man could be born without sin, and remain that way
(sinless) for as long as he lived. Satan would have no power or
authority over such a man.
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