By Pastor Greg...
Johnny asked his friend, Tony,
whether he had bought his wife a gift for Valentine's Day. "Yes, I bought her a belt and a
bag," replied Tony. "That was
very kind of you," Johnny added, "I hope she appreciated the
thought." Tony smiled as he
replied, "So do I, and hopefully the vacuum cleaner will work better
now."
*Sigh* There is always one in the crowd. Just when a guy begins to think he is changing the world’s impression of men, someone comes along to mess things up.
That’s what Satan has been doing since the beginning.
Throughout the ages, Satan has been corrupting everything God has declared “Good.” The earth was corrupted because of Satan’s deceit. Humanity has been corrupted because of Satan’s lies. He tempted mankind to take their eyes off God, and instead focus on the sensual pleasures in this world; it was Satan’s influence that caused Eve to notice just how tasty the forbidden fruit really looked. Through Satan’s influence, the people of this world worship anything other than God; they are selfish and greedy, have perverted sexuality, have no regard for the lives of others, and are without compassion.
This is the world according to Satan – a world filled with pain, suffering, and death. These are the consequences of sin… the “wages of sin.” Because of sin, death is what we have received, not eternal life. This world, with all its sadness and sorrow, is the life Satan has offered us. Oh, don’t get me wrong. It’s not like he warned us about any of this. He was not candid about the consequences of our disobedience. He didn’t inform us what life would be like without God; we had to learn that the hard way.
Of course, not everyone has been deceived by Satan. Throughout the ages, history has told of men and women who loved the Lord God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength. They were not deceived by his lies; they fought against his corruption. They lived in this world but were not part of this world. They resisted Satan because they believed in God’s promises. They believed that God would make right all the wrongs. They trusted that God was indeed preparing a place for them. And even though they were persecuted in horrible ways, they did not waver in their beliefs.
The author of Hebrews reminds us that, “All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth” [1] (Hebrews 11:13). They were people of faith… people of whom the world was not worthy (Hebrews 11:38)
God has promised to end Satan’s influence in this world. One day, God will remove the Devil from our presence, along with the Antichrist, the False Prophet, and all those who have been seduced by their deceit. When the Lord Jesus returns to this earth, all that is evil and wicked will be taken away. And then, and then this world will finally be at peace once again. The Lord Jesus will, “settle disputes among the nations and provide arbitration for many peoples. They will turn their swords into plows and their spears into pruning knives. Nations will not take up the sword against other nations, and they will never again train for war” [2] (Isaiah 2:4).
When that day finally arrives, all of Heaven will rejoice.
As the Bowls of Wrath are poured out upon the earth, we read that Satan’s religious system (described as a great harlot in Revelation 17), and his political system (described as “Babylon” in Revelation 18) will be destroyed. This news causes all of Heaven to rejoice (Revelation 19:1-5). After seven terrible years filled with tribulation and suffering, Jesus will finally return to the earth; He will deliver Israel from her enemies. Here is that last battle; the “Armageddon” that ends Satan’s rule.
11 Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war. 12 His eyes were like flames of fire, and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on him that no one understood except himself. 13 He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed him on white horses. 15 From his mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will release the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty, like juice flowing from a winepress. 16 On his robe at his thigh was written this title: King of all kings and Lord of all lords.
17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, shouting to the vultures flying high in the sky: “Come! Gather together for the great banquet God has prepared. 18 Come and eat the flesh of kings, generals, and strong warriors; of horses and their riders; and of all humanity, both free and slave, small and great.”
19 Then I saw the beast and the kings of the world and their armies gathered together to fight against the one sitting on the horse and his army. 20 And the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who did mighty miracles on behalf of the beast—miracles that deceived all who had accepted the mark of the beast and who worshiped his statue. Both the beast and his false prophet were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. 21 Their entire army was killed by the sharp sword that came from the mouth of the one riding the white horse. And the vultures all gorged themselves on the dead bodies”[3] (Revelation 19:11-21).
The fate of this army is already sealed. It has been written on a scroll long ago and sealed by the hand of God. And only Jesus is worthy to open this scroll and begin this chain of events that leads to Satan’s defeat. This is the Lord Jesus making right all that is wrong.Like the saints mentioned in Hebrews 11, we too see these end-time events from a distance. Maybe we will die before these events occur as well. But, just like these Old Testament saints, we must remain steadfast in our hope. We must, “lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us. [And] run with endurance the race that lies before us, 2 keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame and has sat down at the right hand of God’s throne”[4] (Hebrews 12:1-2).
Today we cry out “how long;” asking the Lord how much longer it will be until He makes all things new. But one day, and we don’t know when it will happen, one day, Jesus will open that scroll and begin a chain of events that leads to Satan’s defeat. And you can be sure that this will happen. It was written on a scroll long ago. Satan’s power and dominion over this earth will one day end. However, in the meantime, those of us who believe in Jesus must "hold tightly to what we have until Jesus comes" (Revelation 2:25).
One day we will rejoice, but today we endure. We must hold tightly to our faith, and pray for endurance.
*Sigh* There is always one in the crowd. Just when a guy begins to think he is changing the world’s impression of men, someone comes along to mess things up.
That’s what Satan has been doing since the beginning.
Throughout the ages, Satan has been corrupting everything God has declared “Good.” The earth was corrupted because of Satan’s deceit. Humanity has been corrupted because of Satan’s lies. He tempted mankind to take their eyes off God, and instead focus on the sensual pleasures in this world; it was Satan’s influence that caused Eve to notice just how tasty the forbidden fruit really looked. Through Satan’s influence, the people of this world worship anything other than God; they are selfish and greedy, have perverted sexuality, have no regard for the lives of others, and are without compassion.
This is the world according to Satan – a world filled with pain, suffering, and death. These are the consequences of sin… the “wages of sin.” Because of sin, death is what we have received, not eternal life. This world, with all its sadness and sorrow, is the life Satan has offered us. Oh, don’t get me wrong. It’s not like he warned us about any of this. He was not candid about the consequences of our disobedience. He didn’t inform us what life would be like without God; we had to learn that the hard way.
Of course, not everyone has been deceived by Satan. Throughout the ages, history has told of men and women who loved the Lord God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength. They were not deceived by his lies; they fought against his corruption. They lived in this world but were not part of this world. They resisted Satan because they believed in God’s promises. They believed that God would make right all the wrongs. They trusted that God was indeed preparing a place for them. And even though they were persecuted in horrible ways, they did not waver in their beliefs.
The author of Hebrews reminds us that, “All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth” [1] (Hebrews 11:13). They were people of faith… people of whom the world was not worthy (Hebrews 11:38)
God has promised to end Satan’s influence in this world. One day, God will remove the Devil from our presence, along with the Antichrist, the False Prophet, and all those who have been seduced by their deceit. When the Lord Jesus returns to this earth, all that is evil and wicked will be taken away. And then, and then this world will finally be at peace once again. The Lord Jesus will, “settle disputes among the nations and provide arbitration for many peoples. They will turn their swords into plows and their spears into pruning knives. Nations will not take up the sword against other nations, and they will never again train for war” [2] (Isaiah 2:4).
When that day finally arrives, all of Heaven will rejoice.
As the Bowls of Wrath are poured out upon the earth, we read that Satan’s religious system (described as a great harlot in Revelation 17), and his political system (described as “Babylon” in Revelation 18) will be destroyed. This news causes all of Heaven to rejoice (Revelation 19:1-5). After seven terrible years filled with tribulation and suffering, Jesus will finally return to the earth; He will deliver Israel from her enemies. Here is that last battle; the “Armageddon” that ends Satan’s rule.
11 Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war. 12 His eyes were like flames of fire, and on his head were many crowns. A name was written on him that no one understood except himself. 13 He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his title was the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven, dressed in the finest of pure white linen, followed him on white horses. 15 From his mouth came a sharp sword to strike down the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will release the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty, like juice flowing from a winepress. 16 On his robe at his thigh was written this title: King of all kings and Lord of all lords.
17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, shouting to the vultures flying high in the sky: “Come! Gather together for the great banquet God has prepared. 18 Come and eat the flesh of kings, generals, and strong warriors; of horses and their riders; and of all humanity, both free and slave, small and great.”
19 Then I saw the beast and the kings of the world and their armies gathered together to fight against the one sitting on the horse and his army. 20 And the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who did mighty miracles on behalf of the beast—miracles that deceived all who had accepted the mark of the beast and who worshiped his statue. Both the beast and his false prophet were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. 21 Their entire army was killed by the sharp sword that came from the mouth of the one riding the white horse. And the vultures all gorged themselves on the dead bodies”[3] (Revelation 19:11-21).
The fate of this army is already sealed. It has been written on a scroll long ago and sealed by the hand of God. And only Jesus is worthy to open this scroll and begin this chain of events that leads to Satan’s defeat. This is the Lord Jesus making right all that is wrong.Like the saints mentioned in Hebrews 11, we too see these end-time events from a distance. Maybe we will die before these events occur as well. But, just like these Old Testament saints, we must remain steadfast in our hope. We must, “lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us. [And] run with endurance the race that lies before us, 2 keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame and has sat down at the right hand of God’s throne”[4] (Hebrews 12:1-2).
Today we cry out “how long;” asking the Lord how much longer it will be until He makes all things new. But one day, and we don’t know when it will happen, one day, Jesus will open that scroll and begin a chain of events that leads to Satan’s defeat. And you can be sure that this will happen. It was written on a scroll long ago. Satan’s power and dominion over this earth will one day end. However, in the meantime, those of us who believe in Jesus must "hold tightly to what we have until Jesus comes" (Revelation 2:25).
One day we will rejoice, but today we endure. We must hold tightly to our faith, and pray for endurance.
[1] Tyndale House Publishers. (2007). Holy Bible: New Living Translation
(3rd ed., Heb 11:13). Carol Stream, IL.
[2] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version.
(2009). (Is 2:4). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[3] Tyndale House Publishers. (2007).
Holy Bible: New Living Translation
(3rd ed., Re 19:11–21). Carol Stream, IL.
[4] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version.
(2009). (Heb 12:1–2). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
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