We read in Scripture that " For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the Devil " (1 John 3: 8).
Even in the Garden of Eden, consequent on our first parent's fall, we find the LORD God saying to Satan, " I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel " (Gen. 3:1515And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. (Genesis 3:15)).
Satan must have remembered this bruising of the heel of the woman's seed, when having urged man on to commit the greatest crime of all time in the murder of the Son of God, he found that on the third day after His dead body had been placed in the tomb-the tomb sealed, and a watch set-our Lord had risen triumphant from the grave. Satan's apparent victory was the beginning of his sure defeat. That beginning began at the cross of Calvary. The power of the Devil is annulled even now. The word, annul, just quoted in the foregoing text as " destroy " is translated in our English Bibles as follows:
26 times as to loose
1 " " be loosing
3 " " unloose
1 " " put off
2 " " dissolve
6 " " break
1 " " break up
2 " " destroy
This choice of translations will give a cumulative idea of the meaning of the word. That there is conflict between the people of God and spiritual wickedness is clearly stated in Scripture: " We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [heavenly] places " (Eph. 6:1212For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (Ephesians 6:12)). The conflict goes on down the ages. The poet has sung it in eloquent language,
" Truth forever on the scaffold,
Wrong forever on the throne,
Yet that scaffold sways the future,
And behind the dim unknown
Standeth God within the shadow,
Keeping watch above His own."
This conflict is drawing to a close. In the last days we read, "And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the Dragon: and the Dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great Dragon was cast out, that old Serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him " (Rev. 12:7-97And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, 8And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. 9And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. (Revelation 12:7‑9)).
We have seen from Scripture that Satan had power to present himself before the Lord. In the New Testament we get fuller light that Satan himself is the king of the bottomless pit, and that his kingdom is highly organized for evil.
It appears from the passage just quoted that the time will come when Satan's opposition to the saints of God in this present dispensation will be brought to an end. The language of this verse is surely very figurative. It sets forth very serious conflict between satanic and heavenly powers. It is connected, doubtless, with the time of the second coming of our Lord to rapture His church to glory.
Rev. 12 is parenthetic, describing in highly symbolic language, the history of the Jewish nation in relation to the birth of Christ, and what that meant. The Man Child (Christ) is brought forth, and is caught up to the throne of God, consequent as we know on the death and resurrection of our Lord. The Christian era is not taken account of in this Scripture, the subject being Christ in relation to the Jewish nation. But once the Christian era closes, as it does at the rapture of the church, then the history of the Jewish nation will be prominent again, and the prophecies concerning the nation in the last days will be fulfilled.
So we find the woman (the people of Israel) flies into the wilderness, into a place prepared for her of God, and there fed for 1260 days, that is 3 years (counting the prophetic years as consisting of 360 days), the time of the great tribulation, prophesied by Daniel, and again by our Lord when He spoke of the destruction of Jerusalem.
At the end of this time under satanic influence the nations will mass themselves against the Holy Land, eventuating in the great battle of Armageddon, and the raising of the siege of Jerusalem, our Lord setting up His earthly kingdom as King of the Jews, and as Son of Man over the whole earth.
Then we read of an angel coming down from Heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit in his hand,
"And he laid hold on the Dragon, that old Serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years. And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season " (Rev. 20:2,32And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 3And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. (Revelation 20:2‑3)).
The millennial reign of our Lord will cease at the end of 1,000 years when Satan will be loosed. Infuriated more than ever, he will deceive the nations, Gog and Magog (Russia and allies) being specifically mentioned. Vast forces come against Jerusalem when fire will come down from God, and the last great act of, rebellion against God will come to a sudden and ignominious end.
"And the Devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever " (Rev. 20:1010And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. (Revelation 20:10)). This will be the end of the Great Adversary.
May this slight sketch of Satan's origin, character, and doom be helpful to the reader. Scripture throws light on these things, and it is well for us to gain what help we can from it. All subjects in Scripture are not pleasant, but all are profitable, and for our learning.
All we have been considering is worked out in the brief history of this world.
We end with the Apostle Paul's magnificent outburst: "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out I For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been His counselor? or who hath first given to Him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things: to whom be glory forever. Amen " (Rom. 11: 33-36)
To which wonderful ascription of belief in every action of our God, may we all add our humble, deep-felt and worshipping AMEN.
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