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1) Through Jesus' death and resurrection Satan has been defeated
and cast down to the earth: Jesus is victorious over the devil and
has cause the destruction of his power over mankind through His
death, resurrection and ascension into Heaven. Jesus' victory is
both realized and promised.
Jesus' victory is realized, is something of which we can speak as
having already happened because of Jesus' sacrifice. Prior to His
earthly ministry the devil appears to have had direct access to
God:
Job 1:6-7…12 – Now there was
a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the
LORD, and Satan also came among them. 7 And the LORD said to Satan,
"From where do you come?" So Satan answered the LORD and
said, "From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking
back and forth on it"….So Satan went out from the presence
of the LORD.
Zechariah 3:1 – Then he showed me
Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the LORD, and
Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him.
Subsequent to it, however, there is no reference to the devil performing
any type of this activity. It appears that he no longer has the
privilege of direct access to God and is therefore no longer able
to accuse man before God. Jesus seems to speak of this toward the
time of His crucifixion.
John 12:30-32 – Jesus answered and
said, "This voice did not come because of Me, but for your
sake. 31 "Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler
of this world will be cast out. 32 "And I, if I am lifted up
from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself."
Because He bore our punishment God's wrath no longer remains upon
us and the devil's ability to accuse us before God has been removed.
Revelation 12:1-10 – Now a great sign appeared
in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her
feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. 2 Then being with
child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth. 3 And another
sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having
seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. 4 His
tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth.
And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth,
to devour her Child as soon as it was born. 5 She bore a male Child
who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was
caught up to God and His throne. 6 Then the woman fled into the
wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should
feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days. 7 And war
broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon;
and the dragon and his angels fought, 8 but they did not prevail,
nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. 9 So the great
dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan,
who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his
angels were cast out with him. 10 Then I heard a loud voice saying
in heaven, "Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of
our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser
of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night,
has been cast down."
The victory is promised, is something for which we look in hope
because the devil has not yet been finally defeated. Peter writes
that:
1 Peter 5:8-9 – Be sober, be vigilant;
because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion,
seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith,
knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood
in the world.
Showing that the devil is a power of which to be wary, who is alive
in the world and who, while his time remains is actively opposed
to the followers of Christ. That his time is short is a fact of
which he is aware and of which we need to be reassured:
Revelation 12:12 – Therefore rejoice,
O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of
the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having
great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.
Satan is currently held back by God's power for the time being.
He will be released before Jesus' return only to be destroyed forever
following a sequence of failed rebellions:
2 Thessalonians 2:3-8 – Let no one deceive you
by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away
comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,
4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or
that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God,
showing himself that he is God. 5 Do you not remember that when
I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And now you know
what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. 7
For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now
restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. 8 And then
the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with
the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.
2) It is certain that Jesus is at the right hand of God:
Acts 7:55-56 – But he [Stephen],
being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory
of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, 56 and said,
"Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing
at the right hand of God!"
That He currently acts as our high priest:
Hebrews 5:4-10 – And no man takes
this honor to himself, but he who is called by God, just as Aaron
was. 5 So also Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest,
but it was He who said to Him: "You are My Son, Today I have
begotten You." 6 As He also says in another place: "You
are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek";
7 who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers
and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was
able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly
fear, 8 though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things
which He suffered. 9 And having been perfected, He became the author
of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, 10 ¶ called by God
as High Priest "according to the order of Melchizedek,"
That He will return to take us home
Acts 1:8-11 – "But you shall
receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall
be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and
to the end of the earth." 9 Now when He had spoken these things,
while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out
of their sight. 10 And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven
as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, 11
who also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up
into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven,
will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven."
That He will receive authority over all the kingdoms of the earth:
Luke 19:11-12 – Now as they heard
these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem
and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately.
12 Therefore He said: "A certain nobleman went into a far country
to receive for himself a kingdom and to return.
which He will then hand over to the Father:
1 Corinthians 15:20-27 – But now
Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of
those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since by man came death, by
Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all
die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 23 But each one
in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are
Christ’s at His coming. 24 Then comes the end, when He delivers
the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and
all authority and power. 25 For He must reign till He has put all
enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be destroyed
is death. 27 For "He has put all things under His feet."
And that He will be given authority and receive honour for all eternity
for being the means through Whom mankind may be saved:
Revelation 5:6-13 – Then I saw a
Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of
the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders.
He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of
God sent out into all the earth. 7 He came and took the scroll from
the right hand of him who sat on the throne. 8 And when he had taken
it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down
before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden
bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And
they sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and
to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you
purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and
nation. 10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve
our God, and they will reign on the earth." 11 Then I looked
and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands,
and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and
the living creatures and the elders. 12 In a loud voice they sang:
"Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth
and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!" 13
Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the
earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: "To
him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and
glory and power, for ever and ever!" 14 The four living creatures
said, "Amen," and the elders fell down and worshiped.
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