A Plan Of Desperation

When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.
–Colossians 2:15

Jesus Christ came to earth to redeem us from sin and death–His death was part of God’s plan to rescue us. Satan knew what God was up to, so he did everything he could to stop that plan of deliverance. Remember when Joseph found out that Mary was with child? He was tempted to divorce her for adultery. Had he done so, not only would Mary have been stoned to death, but the child within her, the Messiah, would have been killed. When that did not work, Satan inspired Herod to kill every Hebrew male two years of age and under, hoping to kill the Messiah. When that did not work, Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, trying to entice Him into sin so that He would no longer be the spotless Lamb of God who could take away the sins of the world. When that did not work, he moved in the hearts of the elders and the religious leaders to prematurely kill Jesus before His appointed time so that He could not fulfill the prophecies that would qualify Him as the Messiah.

But on that Good Friday when Jesus hung on the cross and three days later when God raised Him from the dead, Satan’s vice grip on this creation was forever broken. The apostle Paul described what God did for us in Colossians 2:15: “When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.” Easter Sunday became D-Day–Deliverance Day–for every true child of God.

On that Easter Sunday morning, did Satan wave the white flag of surrender? No, there was still one final round in Satan’s attack against planet Earth, and I call it “Desperation.” Read today’s headlines. Look at the struggles of your family members and friends. Look at the crises that you face every day. It is hard to believe Satan has been defeated, isn’t it?

Do you remember Hal Lindsey’s book called “Satan Is Alive And Well On Planet Earth”? Well, that title is only partially true. It is true that Satan is alive and it is true that he is on planet Earth, but he is not all that well. The truth is, Satan suffered a mortal wound at the cross of Jesus Christ, and the date of his execution has already been placed on God’s calendar. In fact, we get a sneak preview of that final execution in Revelation 20:10: “And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” Satan was disarmed at the cross, and he is ultimately going to be judged at the end of the millennium when Christ returns. But right now you and I are living in the middle time between Satan’s initial disarming and his final destruction. For those of us living in that in-between time, we are both witnesses to and victims of Satan’s final attack against the kingdom of God.

Today’s devotion is excerpted from “War Of The Worlds” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2010.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org.

 

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