Satan's Doom
by Todd Strandberg
"How you have fallen from heaven, O
morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who
once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, “I will ascend to heaven; I
will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount
of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain? I will ascend above
the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” But you are
brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit" (Isa. 14:12-15).
The Bible provides a wealth of helpful advice to apply to
our spiritual lives. Much of this instruction comes from the trials and failures
of others. Paul made reference to the teaching power of the biblical examples,
saying, "Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were
written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore
let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall" (1 Corinthians 10:11-12).
The one thing that makes the Bible unique from all other religious texts is that
God chose not to whitewash accounts of people who turned their back on Him.
Lucifer’s downfall is the greatest
example of failure. Judas is another relevant example. Judas is infamous
for betraying Jesus for money. We are told that he was a devil from the
beginning (John 6:70), so he never was a true follower of Christ. Lucifer was
created perfect, and he served God directly in His holy temple. Despite that
perfect environment, he chose rebellion.
The Bible gives no time frame for when Lucifer fell and
became Satan. I've never understood why so many Christian leaders seem to assume
that the creation and downfall of Lucifer was within a few years of man's
creation. God exists forever. To say that at some point He had a falling-out
with His lead angel leaves open the possibility that this event could have
occurred a very long time ago.
The judgment against Satan is at least 6,000 years ago.
With the last days drawing near, Satan must realize that the vast majority of
his time of being free to do his devilish work has now run out. The fact that he
may only have a few more years left must constantly gnaw at his mind.
Downfall I - Satan Gets Fired
Pride caused Satan's downfall.
God created him with such splendour that Lucifer looked in the mirror one day
and said, "I should be running things around here." He conspired with a third of
the angelic host to launch a coup against the Lord of hosts.
The Bible gives a wonderful illustration of the hopeless
nature of Satan's insurrection. When he made his move, God cast him out of
heaven so fast, his ejection resembled a bolt of lightning streaking across the
sky. Jesus said, "I was watching Satan fall like lightning from heaven" (Luke
10:18).
Even though God cast Satan out of heaven, He did not
forever ban him from re-entering the heavenly realm. The account of Job tells us
that the devil is still able to enter the gates of paradise.
“One day the angels came to present themselves before the
LORD, and Satan also came with them. The LORD said to Satan, 'Where have you
come from?’ Satan answered the LORD, ‘From roaming through the earth and going
back and forth in it’" (Job 1:6-7).
What really happened is that Satan got
fired. He lost his rank, beauty, power, and--most importantly--his
relationship with God. The bitterness from his dismissal is likely what has
transformed him into a being of pure evil.
Satan’s removal from office also came with a promise of
future punishment. God, at some point, created hell and a lake of fire. The
latter had the Devil’s name written on it.
Downfall II - His Fate Is Sealed at Calvary
Having lost his position in heaven,
Satan took up residence on earth. Several passages describe him as the
god of this world. He and the legion of fellow angels that fell with him are the
driving force behind many world empires.
Satan received a temporary boost when he caused Adam and
Eve to fall from grace. By polluting the world with sin, the devil thought that
he had bought himself some time.
Jesus came into this world to defeat Satan, but it wasn’t
clear how He would accomplish this goal. Satan knew that the arrival of the
Messiah spelled trouble for him. When Christ was still a child, the devil tried
to kill him. Jesus latter validated Satan’s reason for fear when He said, "now
shall the prince of this world be cast out" (John 12:31).
The demons who encountered the Lord were scared out of
their minds. They thought Jesus was coming to set up His kingdom and imprison
them in hell. They were very direct, saying, "Let us alone; what have we to do
with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who
thou art; the Holy One of God" (Luke 4:34). Other demons begged that he would
not "torment" them (Mark 5:7).
Satan and his demonic underlings didn't know that the cross
was God’s chosen method of redemption. One of the reasons
Satan hates the cross is that he played an active role in sealing his own fate.
When Jesus rose from the grave, the bondage of sin was broken and the countdown
to Satan’s doom resumed.
"Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they
known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory" (Cor. 2:8).
Downfall III - Kicked Out of Heaven
Satan will be forcefully removed from heaven at some point
during the tribulation. God will decide that the devil is no longer welcome in
His presence, and He will order Michael and His angels to show him the door.
Satan’s permanent banishment from
heaven does not occur until the latter part of the seven-year tribulation.
It is possible that the raptured Christians will witness this eviction battle
first hand. Because Satan spends most of his time accusing saints before God, it
will be a joyous relief to have such an evil pest removed from heaven.
Satan will not take his eviction from heaven very well. He
will go into a fit of rage and focus all his energy on causing as much death and
destruction on earth as possible. Satan will know that his time is short, and
that will fuel his wrath.
"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.
And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength,
and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our
brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they
overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and
they loved not their lives unto the death. Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye
that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the
devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath
but a short time" (Rev. 12:7-12).
Downfall IV - Locked Up for 1000 Years
At the end of the tribulation, Satan will be captured by an
unnamed angel and locked in the bottomless pit for 1000 years. For the first
time ever, he will be subjected to personal punishment. If the bottomless pit is
the same one described in Revelation 9, Satan will face a millennium of hellish
conditions.
"And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key
of the bottomless pit and a great chain 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. 20:1-3).
Satan's mind during his 1000 years of imprisonment will be
consumed with plans for what he will do to deceive the mortal nations living
during the millennial reign of Christ.
Downfall V - Eternal Torment
Satan will be released from the bottomless pit at the end
of the 1000-year reign of Christ. He will immediately make his final attempt to
attack God. Having already failed four times, and with Bible prophecy predicting
he will fall short a fifth time, a sane person would think that Satan would give
up. The devil keeps trying because he is totally depraved in his thinking.
"And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be
loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in
the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to
battle: the number of whom [is] as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the
breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the
beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them"
(Rev. 20:7-9).
Satan will be pitched into the lake of fire once the final
rebellion is vanquished. The greatest murderer of all time will be tormented and
humiliated for all eternity. The devil, after the Great White Throne Judgment,
will be joined by billions of people who followed him in the millennial
rebellion. Satan’s final insult will come when he is stripped of all of his
glory, and will be left a mere shell of his former self. The difference will be
so striking, all those who see Satan will marvel that he is the one who once had
the power to rule over kingdoms.
"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 for ever and ever" (Rev. 20:10).
"Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of
the pit. They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee,
saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake
kingdoms?" (Isa. 14:15-6).
Avoiding Satan's Doom
The vast majority of people have a negative view of Satan.
What they don't realize is that they are doomed to share his fate unless they
turn to Christ. Sin has made us all contaminated with the same corruption that
afflicts the evil one.
The blood of Christ is the only cure that will break that
bond and make us children of the Living God. Jesus said: "I am the way, the
truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me" (John 14:6).
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast"
(Ephesians 2:8-9).
Unlike Satan, whose fate is forever sealed, we have the
option of choosing Jesus as our Saviour. One accomplishes this by repenting and
making Christ Lord of his or her life.
"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is
eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23).
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