2002-01-01
Good Morning Fellow Believers,
God leads me to continue writing about more of what the Scriptures reveal about Satan, his angels, and God's interaction with them as they relate to spiritual warfare. Once again, we must see that nothing in the Bible is there without God's reason. He is giving us "combat intelligence" to help us be prepared for the battles we must wage in our own lives with evil. We have seen over and over again in a number of citations references to Satan and his angels as having been fallen or cast out of heaven down to earth. The verb "fallen" in the original Greek language in which the NT was written is in the past perfect tense. That tense implies a completed action with a present and continuing result. Satan and his angels are fallen; they remain in the fallen state. For them, there is to be no redemption. Since they are still around to make trouble for us, this is not only a past action, but one with at continuing result. We can find comfort in the reminder given us in RO 8: 1, "There is no condemnation for those who live in union with Christ Jesus."
There are a few more citations that we should examine from Revelation. REV 9: 11, "They [the locusts] have a king ruling over them, who is the angel in charge of the abyss. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon: in Greek the name is Apollyon (meaning 'The Destroyer')." Once again, we are given more descriptive names to add to Satan, to go with "serpent," "devil," "beast," and "dragon." The fact that we are given those names in both Hebrew and Greek suggests the consistency of who this adversary of God and man has always been, throughout mankind's history. In other words, the devil that beset the ancient Jews with evil is the same one that plagued people of NT times and brings pain and suffering to us today. He is indeed a destroyer of faith, one who when followed leads people to spiritual death.
This citation occurs the middle of a discussion of the fifth trumpet judgment in which locusts are released from the abyss with same kind of power that scorpions have. REV 9: 5 is hugely revealing of God's power. "The locusts were not allowed to kill these people, but only to torture them for five months. The pain caused by the torture is like the pain caused by a scorpion's sting." Remember MT 24: 22? "But God has already reduced the number of days [referring the length of the Tribulation]; had He not done so, nobody would survive. For the sake of His chosen people, however, God will reduce the days." And, we mustn't forget REV 12: 12, "And be glad, you heavens, and all you that live there ! But how terrible for the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, and he is filled with rage, because he knows that he has only a little time left." When we put all of this together with Daniel's vision of the seventy weeks in DN 9: 24-27, we get a very crystal clear picture of exactly Who is in control. By the way, DN 9: 27 ends with the phrase "...and will remain there until the one [the antichrist] who put it there meets the end which God has prepared for him." We can take real comfort in knowing that our always-righteous and ever-loving Abba holds the reins.
God wants each of us not to lose sight of some key truths throughout the time that we suffer at the hands of evil in our own lives. He knows it's often hard to keep the big picture in mind when one is in pain. But, He also knows that doing that will keep us connected to Him and on the right track that leads to enduring in faith and eventual eternal life with Him in joy and fellowship. It is logical that we should spend some time looking at God's throne, power, and the angels to promote our deeper understanding of why we should remain faithful in the face of the pain we must suffer at Satan's hand. We'll begin doing that tomorrow. For today, we need to examine our own lives and our attitudes toward whatever spiritual warfare with which we are faced. We need to see what the condition of our trust in the Lord really is. Such an examination is not designed to evoke guilt, but instead to allow us to take advantage of the opportunity we have to follow the dictates of RO 12: 2, "Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by the renewal of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God-what is good and pleasing to Him and is perfect."
PRAYER: O Lord, as we study Your word, we cannot help but see both Your compassion and Your sovereign power. The Psalmist in PS 103: 19-22 gives us the words which express this well. "The Lord placed His throne in heaven. He is King over all. Praise the Lord, you strong and mighty angels, who obey His commands, who listen to what He says. Praise the Lord, all you heavenly powers, you servants of His who do His will. Praise the Lord, all His creatures in all the places He rules. Praise the Lord, my soul." The words of PS 146: 5-7 help us to understand why we should hold dear our faith in You. "Happy is the man who has the God of Jacob to help him and who depends on the Lord his God, the Creator of heaven, earth, and the sea, and all that is in them. He always keeps His promises; He judges the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. How blessed we are that PS 145: 10 reveals such an important truth. "The Lord is King forever. Your God, O Zion, will reign for all time." Dearest Abba, You alone limit that time and action of the purveyors of evil. You use their activity for mankind's sanctification and to separate those who come to faith from those who will never do so [MT 25: 32]. We must not lose sight of Your greater goal and Your wonderful attributes through the burden of the pain we must endure. You never give us a test that is greater than we can endure. But, to overcome our trials we must have faith in You. Today, we pledge You our adoration, worship, trust, obedience, loyalty, diligence, humility, glory, honor, praise, and thanksgiving. We come to You to confess our sin and to present You will empty spiritual vessels, so that Your Spirit can fill them. You are our Rock and Redeemer. In Christ's name, we pray. Amen.
Tomorrow, we will look at citations that will reveal the sovereignty of God, Christ's relationship with Him, and the angels. Does it make you feel more comforted to know that God limits the time and power of Satan and his followers to do their dirty work? It certainly does for me. We must consider that none of this control would be exerted by God if He didn't love us tremendously. To me, God is like a loving and guiding Parent, Who stays with me wherever I go and leads me away from the trouble that my natural self would find if it were in complete control. His wisdom is so much greater than mine, that I would be foolish not to let Him be the Leader in my life. What amazes me is that God cares about me so much that He not only wants me to serve Him, but He also wants me to be His friend. I know the same is true about His feelings for each of us. Is your relationship with God something like mine? If it is, then you know the rich warmth of His love surrounding You as a great source of happiness in your life. I pray that you would know this kind of interaction with Him. Peter joins me in this prayer.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn