Monday, April 13, 2009

The Arch Enemy of Man: Part III: What Is Satan's Destiny

You cannot hide anything from God. He keeps record of our thoughts as well as our actions. We learn this truth by observing how God confronted Lucifer with his sin:
13 “You said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High' “(Isaiah 14:13-14). Lucifer was full of self – full of pride – and rebelled against his Creator God. God changed Lucifer’s name to Satan for becoming an Adversary – a hater of God.

According to the Holy Scriptures, war ignited in Heaven between God and Satan:
Revelation 12:7-12 7 ¶ “Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, 8 but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world--he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. 11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. 12 Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!"

Satan knows that his time is short. The hate that Satan has for God is immense. And because man is made in the image of God, Satan hates mankind as well. The Evil One quickly provided the proper scenario in which Adam and Eve could be tempted with sin in a way that he was familiar:

"Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?" 2 And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'" 4 But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:1b-5).

Adam brought sin into the world when he chose to follow Satan instead of God. With Adam spiritually dead, it didn’t take the Adversary long to become the god of this age.

A spiritual darkness came over this world. Satan’s hatred for man became reflective in all the religions he invented – human sacrifice became the de facto method of worship for fallen man. Satan thought everything was going well until he realized that God was sending His Son, Jesus, into the world to usher in the Kingdom of God. Through the successful work of Jesus on this earth, He was able to say relative to the Evil One,

“…I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven” (Luke 10:18a).

Jesus maintained to his disciples that

“…the kingdom of God is within you"(Luke 17:21).

He reminded them of the fact that

“…the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17).

Satan thought he had defeated Jesus on the Cross by having Christ killed; but Jesus rose from the dead on the third day. And with His resurrection Jesus validated the Kingdom of God which He ushered in when He came into the world. Jesus reigns today as His Kingdom grows.

Satan’s destiny:

“and the devil … was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Revelation 20:10).

Satan’s destiny is the same as all those who reject Jesus, as their personal Savior.

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