The Battle of the Ages

The Battle of the Ages is Satan’s attempt to annihilate the Messiah, so that he could remain as ruler of this world (Genesis 3:15; Revelation 12:1-6). Jesus came from the seed of Abraham, and Satan tried to stop Israel throughout the ages. Thanks to President Harry Truman, God returned part of the land to Israel, which He promised to their forefathers. The figurative fig tree has blossomed ever since.

The symbolism in Revelation, chapter twelve shows Israel as the woman clothed in the sun. She is the mortal enemy of Satan. Jesus is the child delivered by this woman from the seed of Abraham. The fiery red dragon is Satan. The seven heads, ten horns, and seven diadems of this dragon depict Satan’s dominion over seven past worldly kingdoms, ten future kingdoms, and the seven members of the revised Roman Empire, the modern day European Union.

World War II was acclaimed as the war to end all wars, and so it should have been after the destruction and degradation to human life that accompanied that war. The Korean War and multiple modern wars ensued after that one, however. The world will also see another war, which is described in Ezekiel 38-39.

This entails the Middle East and Russia attacking Israel, and the stage is set for that war even now. With no remaining world allies, Israel will stand alone, only to see the salvation of their God once again. Thankfully, in God’s economy, He does have a war planned that will definitely end all wars. It is the Battle of Armageddon. 

With the armies of the world gathered in the valley of Megiddo, Satan will attempt once again to gain ascendancy over God; yet God defeats them with one word and ends the battle of the, as well as all human conflict forever (Revelation 19:11-16, 21:4). King Jesus will take His throne and rule and reign on earth forever (Matthew 25:31).

Prayer:

Father God, it is so wonderful to read Daniel, Ezekiel and Revelation and to understand Your timetable for humanity and the culmination of all things. We thank You for Your grace and mercy to save us from eternal damnation in the flames of hell with Satan and his demonic forces (Revelation 20:10). We pray that people whom we know and love will be strengthened by Your Spirit’s power in their inner being, so that Christ may dwell in their hearts through faith (Ephesians 3:16). We look forward to spending eternity with them all in Your presence.

Thought for the Day:

Satan was able to bruise the heel of the woman’s seed, Jesus, at the crucifixion; but the seed of the woman will crush Satan’s head at the end of the Millennium. - Revelation 12:7-8

Part 1 - Is Satan Real?

 

Satan is not a little man in a red suit with a pointy tail and pitchfork, but he certainly is real. God created him as an angel of light with mighty power (Isaiah 14). Yet, this was not enough for him. He led a rebellion of angels against God and he lost (Isaiah 14:13-14). He was demoted as the “ruler” of this world (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11), the “spirit” of this world (1 Corinthians 2:12), the prince of the “power” of the air (Ephesians 2:2), the “enemy” (Matthew 13:25,28,39), and the “god” of this age (2 Corinthians 4:4).

Due to his rebellion and unbelief, Satan will spend eternity bound up in the lake of fire, along with every other rebellious unbeliever on this earth (Revelation 20:10). For now, Satan inspires human beings to seek worldly gratification, ambition, status and riches to the detriment of our relationship with God and our family. He encourages us to enable and rescue others, to boast with pride, to take whatever we want, to surrender to the desires of our flesh, and to make life miserable for everyone around us (1 John 2:16).

Satan whispers lies into our mind about other people, and we react to them with accusations, unforgiveness, bitterness, spitefulness and revenge. He keeps us living in fear. Therefore, we often abandon our responsibilities, thwart our blessings from God, and escape into the fantasy of addictions. Self-preservation causes us to build walls around our heart, which makes us run when confronted or easily angered to keep people from hurting us. Self-indulgence is our motive behind our every action.

Satan condemns us until we hide behind masks, because we are afraid for people to see who we really are (Matthew 4:1; Mark 1:13; Luke 4:2; 1 Corinthians 7:5; 1 Thessalonians 3:5). The last thing Satan wants us to realize is that although we live in the world, we do not have to live as part of the world (John 17:11,14,16). He encourages us to fit in with the crowd, and to covet our neighbor’s wife and goods (Exodus 20:17). He tempted Jesus too, but our Savior contradicted Satan’s accusations with the Word of God (Matthew 4:1-11).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, we can follow in Your footsteps when we deal with the devil. You were tempted in every area that Satan tempts us (Hebrews 4:15), with the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life (1 John 2:16). Yet, You remained faithful. We too can stand against the wiles of the devil by the dynamite power of the Trinity within us (Colossians 1:27). I am so glad that Satan does not have Your powers of omnipresence, omnipotence and omniscience.


Thought for the Day:

Spiritual warfare is very real and constant, but Satan would rather make you believe that it does not exist at all. - Ephesians 6:10-20