The Devil Gets His Due

Revelation 20:10 (ESV) “and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

Have you ever watched a movie with thrilling highs and plummeting lows? The music intensifies and the bass booms. You pull your legs close to your body and squirm in your seat. Momentarily it appears the bad guys will win. Then just when all seems lost, the good guy comes in and saves the day. Your pulse slows, your body straightens and your breathing returns to a normal rate. You let out a deep sigh. All is well … until the plot twists again.

In Revelation 20, we find ourselves in a major plot turn in the redemptive end to the narrative of God’s story. The thousand-year reign of our hero, Jesus, comes to an end and the villain of the story, Satan, is released from captivity. Using deceit, Satan enlists the help of Gog and Magog. These enemies of Israel are also mentioned in Ezekiel’s prophecy of the end times. (Ezekiel 38-39) This evil bunch is ready to once again wreak havoc on the earth. Their primary target is God’s beloved Israel, and her enemy is relentless.

Jerusalem’s enemy is also our enemy. He entered the picture back in the Garden of Eden. Just as he twisted the truth in his conversation with Eve, (Genesis 3:1-5) Satan continues to misrepresent God’s precious truths and thoughts about us. He seeks to deceive us daily. Our enemy hopes to manipulate our understanding of everyday life situations in order to accomplish the schemes he has planned. (Ephesians 6:11) Satan’s primary goal has been, and always will be, to bring destruction to the Kingdom of God. Ultimately, Jesus has won and will win the final battle, and Satan will not overcome.

Let’s press resume and play the final minutes of that movie. All hope is gone and the villain and his cronies appear to have made the final move in victory. But the unexpected happens. The orchestration rumbles and the hero rides in from the distance to save the day. We have the same future as this feature film!

What is only make-believe in our motion picture will one day happen in real life. We see our hero sending the final, fatal blow to life’s enemy as “fire came down from heaven and consumed them, and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Revelation 20:9-10). With a word from heaven’s throne, Satan is vanquished for all eternity.

Praise God and hallelujah! Satan finally gets everything coming to him. All the pain and suffering he has caused will be redeemed.

My Prayer

Oh, Father, how we long to be with You and to see the evil of this world come to an end. We praise You, Father, for Your promises and for the hope that is ours. We praise You that Your enemy, and our enemy, will finally be defeated. In Jesus’ name, amen.

My Response

Until he is cast into that lake of fire, Satan will cause trouble for God’s people. How do you fight the enemy?

My Power

1 Corinthians 15:57: “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”