Hello all, I was busy but I'm back now. Let's see if I can shed some light on "MageGrayWolf's" comments. This is great, MageGrayWolf, I haven't done this for a long time.
Sounds like a pretty scary world you live in here. Also sounds like a kid saying the boogie man is in his closet.
If I believe the existence of the Holy Ghost, then I also believe the opposite is true. Satan goes by many names and he is spirit, not human, not monster, not "boogey man". Satan attacks us spiritually by manipulation, humiliation, and is the father of guilt. GOD so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, born of a virgin, to take onto Himself the sin of all mankind, so that we can have life everlasting, guilt free. Satan wants to tell us lies saying we have no hope, no salvation, there's no heaven. This is the struggle that all of us have to endure on earth, why, because this is where Satan was sent when he fell from grace. Satan has no power over me if I don't give him any opening into my head, heart or spirit. My heart is the home of emotions, My head is where I decide what is right, wrong, beautiful, ugly. My spirit is the part of me that communes with GOD, the father by praying or by "testing" the spirits of other humans, like Sunday School teachers, deacons, Pastors. I know that the Holy Spirit lives inside of me because I have a conscious. I can not lie because my words would not sound right to my own ears. This is the test to know if the I am under the "conviction" of the Holy Spirit. These spiritual gifts of discernment are to be used, not "hidden under a basket". Christians are called to be the "Light upon the Hill". Sometimes we do this by reaching out to a stranger when they sound broken and bitter, not knowing where their spirit will go when the body returns to the earth.
But mostly, Christians are called to help each other because there is a real spiritual war going on, See the book of Daniel. After I studied this book my eyes were opened like never before. Please, explain to me how the story of Meshak, Shadrak and Abednigo has survived all of this time if the "furnace" story was a made up fable. I'm serious. I would really like to know. Also, explain to me the story of the "hand writing on the wall". Yes sir I believe the Bible, even the maps.
And this is why I know heaven is a real place that exists in the spiritual realm until Jesus appears in the eastern sky and "we will be changed". We're changed "supernaturally", in an instant, so that we can tolerate the radiation of GOD's radiance. GOD is brilliant pure light which to me does make sense. Humans have to shield their eyes when out in the sun light. GOD is the brightest star in heaven, we will not need a nuclear power plant in heaven because GOD is it.
Satan was in the garden of Eden, GOD punished him as well as Adam and Eve. We can't see the garden with our human eyes because GOD has angels guarding it . For every believing soldier of GOD that is fighting a spiritual battle or, a physical battle there is an angel in heaven fighting too. This is found in the book of Daniel.
Satan still answers to GOD and we know this from the book of Job. Satan had to ask permission to torment Job into denying the existence of GOD but everything and everyone that Job loved was taken away, then painful sores covered Job's body, but after all that, he still claimed with his mouth that GOD is the one true GOD of Heaven.
All I have to do to make satan leave me alone is to say, out loud, "to go to the place that Jesus has prepared for you, Satan, be gone!" And he's got to go, he doesn't have a choice. Only human beings do, not angels. Angels must obey but GOD didn't make human "robots", we have free will.