上帝为什么不消灭魔鬼，任由它败坏人？
Why doesn't God just destroy Satan and stop him from corrupting people?
简答 Short Answer
上帝已经定了魔鬼的罪，但暂缓执行审判，为要借着信徒的忠心顺服来彰显祂的荣耀，并让历史证明魔鬼的叛逆是何等愚蠢。
God has already condemned Satan but delays execution of judgment to glorify Himself through believers' faithful obedience and to let history demonstrate how foolish Satan's rebellion was.
详细解答 Detailed Answer
圣经告诉我们，魔鬼原是天使长，因骄傲背叛上帝，带领三分之一的天使堕落。上帝已经宣判了它的结局——永远的火湖（启20:10）。
那为什么不立刻执行呢？这就像法院宣判了死刑但缓期执行。上帝有祂的时间表和目的：
1.【为了彰显恩典】上帝借着差遣祂的儿子来拯救被魔鬼迷惑的人类，展示了祂令人惊叹的爱和智慧。若魔鬼在人类犯罪前就被消灭，救赎的荣耀故事就不会存在。
2.【为了验证信心的真实】没有试探和考验，人对上帝的顺服就像是被动的程序执行。正因为有魔鬼的诱惑和逼迫，信徒选择跟随基督才更加宝贵，使上帝得到更大的荣耀。
3.【为了使审判无可辩驳】当历史结束、魔鬼及其追随者被定罪时，浩瀚的历史记录将使他们口服心服——上帝的道路完全公义。
Scripture reveals Satan was an archangel who rebelled out of pride, taking a third of the angels with him. God has already pronounced his fate — the eternal lake of fire (Rev 20:10).
So why not execute immediately? Think of it like a death sentence with deferred execution. God has His own timetable and purposes:
1. **To display grace**: By sending His Son to rescue those deceived by Satan, God demonstrated breathtaking love and wisdom. If Satan were destroyed before humanity's fall, the glorious story of redemption would never exist.
2. **To prove faith is genuine**: Without temptation and testing, human obedience to God would be mere passive programming. Because Satan's deceptions and persecutions exist, believers' choice to follow Christ becomes genuinely precious, bringing God greater glory.
3. **To make judgment undeniable**: When history ends and Satan and his followers are condemned, the vast record of history will leave them speechless — God's ways are entirely just.
📖 经文引用 Bible Verses
📚 推荐阅读 Related Readings
- •The Screwtape Letters (C.S. Lewis)
- •God's Devil (Erwin Lutzer)