– The
Devil's Downfall –
HIS DOOM:
Gen
3:15
And I
will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her
Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel."
**2Pet
2:4
For if
God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and
delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment;
**Jude
1:6
And
the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own
abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the
judgment of the great day;
**Reading
in the context of Jude verse 5 there is reasonable supposition that
these verses in referring to
"angels"
could in fact be referencing the "messengers" [same Greek word]
of the Old Covenant that abandoned their priestly function before God as
His ambassadors to the world. On the meaning of "angel"
J. Marcellus Kik writes:
However, the Greek term aggelos does not always refer to such
heavenly spirits. The meaning of the term must be determined by the
context. In the following passages the Greek word aggelos is
translated by the word messenger: Matthew 11:10; Luke 7:24, 27;
9:52; Mark 1:2; James 2:25. John the Baptist is called an aggelos.
The disciples of John the Baptist were also described as angels. And
this was true in regard to the disciples of Christ. In James 2:25 the
messengers sent to Rahab were called 'angels.'
J.
Marcellus Kik, An Eschatology of Victory (Phillipsburg, NJ:
Presbyterian & Reformed, 1971), p. 147f.
Now
regardless of how one might understand the above, one thing is
unmistakable – there was coming a promised end, and it came.
HIS
DEMISE:
Mt
8:19
And
suddenly they cried out, saying, "What have we to do with You, Jesus,
You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?"
Mt
12:28-29
But if
I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has
come upon you. Or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his
goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder
his house.
Mark
1:24
…saying, "Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth?
Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are--the Holy One of God!"
Mk
3:27
No one
can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first
binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house.
HIS
DEFEAT:
Lk
10:18
And He
said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
Jn
12:31
Now is
the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast
out.
Jn
16:11
…of
judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
Col
2:15
Having
disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them,
triumphing over them in it.
HIS
DESTRUCTION:
Mt
25:41
"Then
He will also say to those on the left hand, "Depart from Me, you cursed,
into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:
Heb
2:14
Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He
Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy
him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,
1Jn
3:8
He who
sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For
this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the
works of the devil.
Rev
20:10
The
devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone
where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented
day and night forever and ever.
HIS
IMPENDING POSITION PRE AD70:
Rom
16:20
And
the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of
our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.
Eph
4:27
…nor
give place to the devil.
1Jn
2:13
I
write to you, fathers,
because
you have known Him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men,
because you have overcome the wicked
one. I write to you, little children, because
you have known the Father.
1Jn
5:18
We
know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who was born of God
keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him.
HIS POSITION POST AD70:
Heb
2:5
For He
has not put the world to come, of which we speak, in
subjection to angels.
To
bring under subjection, subordination or influence on whatever level is
to wield power; whether of good or evil, the writer of Hebrews makes
clear that such power of control was no longer under the auspices of
angels to exert.
The
"world
about to [μελλω
– mello] come"
was that of the all-encompassing Kingdom of God [Psa 24:1] of
which Christ brought to fruition in His AD70 Parousia. In this world of
the new creation, the world in which righteousness dwells, there is no
'spirit' bondage, Satan is no longer the accuser of the brethren, or
anyone else [Rom 2:14-16] – the
Devil's doom,
demise,
defeat
and
destruction
by Christ was total and complete. This truth is further borne out
by Paul's words to the pre AD70 first-fruit saints:
1Cor
6:3
Do you
not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain
to this life?
So
what of the tyranny of evil in our world today
–
how does one account for it? According to the Scriptures it is none
other than the heart of man not walking in the light of the redemption
procured for humanity in Christ [Mic 6:8]. What saith the
Scriptures:
Jas
1:14-15
But
each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and
enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to
sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
Jer
17:9
The
heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who
can know it?
Gen
4:7
If you
do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies
at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it."
Rom
6:14
For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not
under law but under grace.
1Jn
2:16
For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the
eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world.
This
world's problem is not Satan but SIN, this world's problem is not the
Devil but DOUBT – doubting the power of forgiven sin in Christ.
Some will say "I have encountered the demonic!" – one could
equally counter: "your experience may well be valid, your
INTERPRETATION of said experience, however, might not."
According to Rev 20:10 there is no longer any demonic deception
of the nations for the Deceiver has been cast eternally into the Lake of
Fire, and this, the Second Death knows no resurrection.
An oft
heard quote: "A man with an experience is never at the mercy of a man
with an argument" – perhaps, but experience that engenders belief does
not always accurately define the truth, e.g., Many years after the close
of World War II, a lost Japanese soldier was found in the jungles of New
Guinea. Unaware that Australia and Japan had long since been at peace,
he thought his rescuers to be enemies, when in fact they were his
reconciled friends: His limited experience had long been at variance
with the facts.
Which
brings the greater clarity – Scripture or experience? "Let God be
true and everyman a liar". Rom 3:4 – as the apostle Paul goes
on to say: "what saith the Scripture?" Rom 4:3.
[DISCUSS
HERE]
David
G. Embury
©
Copyright 2002à
Email:
contact@pantelism.com
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