Whenever a massive natural disaster or some significant crisis captures our collective attention, it always seems to happen; We are met with heart-wrenching stories of suffering and the crushing weight of loss. But yet occasionally, a story emerges that just stops you in your tracks—a miraculous moment where a young life is rescued against all odds.
I remember a few years ago hearing about a little girl who, during a massive rainstorm, accidentally fell into a flood swollen river and was being carried down as fast as the river flow was moving. Honestly, when you saw the footage of her, you just knew she was gone. And then somehow, seemingly from out out of nowhere, there is a man who comes into the picture powerfully swimming and pulls her to the safety of the shore. In this moment, there were many people there watching in horror because everyone knew what the outcome would be until this man saved her.
When they reached the shore, they were enveloped by everyone there thanking him and congratulating him for such an amazing display of bravery. Then the family arrived and the outpouring of love started all over again. I have never seen a life pulled from the jaws of death like that before. It really was a miracle.
As you can imagine, in the midst of this happiness chaos and cheering a lone reporter came over and thrust her microphone into his face and asked, “why did you do that? Why would you risk your life to save hers?” The man immediately stopped and turned to this reporter in the middle of all these people and looked her straight in the eye and said, “because she couldn’t save herself “ Then he turned away and he and the mob of wellwishers left leaving her standing there.
Apparently, I think his answer surprised the reporter because she just stood there with no follow up question and just watched them walk away. But for me, his answer was a solid “knock me over the head moment”. Why? because this man just described exactly why Christ did what He did for every single human being that has ever existed or walked this earth.
By dying on that cross, Jesus Christ paid the ultimate price of sin for EVERYONE…and why would he do that? For the exact same reason.
Because we can’t save ourselves.
Now I am hoping that statement doesn’t surprise any of you because in this generation, we are told there really isn’t anything we can’t do, or any height that we can’t ascend on our own. But I am telling you the truth. No matter how hard we try or how many good deeds you do or much money you give to the poor, or the church, or a charity. You might give up your time and volunteer at the homeless shelter. You might even do many other things that make you a solid human being but with full transparency there is one thing you cannot do…
You cannot remove your own sin.
You were born into it. We all were and there isn’t anything WE can do by ourselves except one thing. And that is accept what Christ did for you personally.
When He died on that cross, He died as a substitute for you. Every single human was headed for certain death because that is the penalty for sin. Think of it this way, just like the title of this post, “Jesus is wearing my scars”, your scars, EVERYONES scars.
Christ stepped in and did the heavy lifting for all of us which means His sacrifice paid our penalty and now our job is to focus our best efforts each day to follow Him.
Guys, my intent is not to be preachy, but I do hope this will resonate with you today that without what Christ did for us on that cross, we were headed for certain destruction.
Let me leave you with one of my favorite verses in Jeremiah below:
You will seek Me and find Me if you seek Me with ALL of your heart. Jeremiah 29:13
Well, we have arrived at the final installment of our series on the history of our common adversary, Satan. We set out on this path together a few weeks back, aiming to truly understand the enemy who opposes us. He began as Lucifer, a magnificent fallen angel now known simply as Satan. As the Most High’s finest creation, his very existence was meant to reflect the splendor of his God. His rank in Heaven granted him entry into the Father’s throne—a privilege beyond the reach of most heavenly beings. However, as we have seen throughout this series, he became so captivated by his own brilliance that corruption began to take root in his heart.
And Lucifer made a choice that would not only impact him but all the angels that followed along with the humans that chose or still choose to follow him. The ultimate result of that selfish, sinful choice is the topic of this last episode; Satan’s Future.
Take a moment and reflect on a specific crossroads in your personal journey where a single choice possibly redirected your entire future. Maybe it was a life-altering commitment like your marriage or the moment you embraced your faith—decisions that continue to bear good fruit. Yet, on the other hand, we must also acknowledge those poor choices, the ones that carry heavy, lingering ripple-effect consequences.
This is why when you learn more about Satan, you see that his mindset of “thinking he could be better than God” was so short-sighted. Against all rational probability, Lucifer, created by God, waged his will against that of the Creator. This also meant that even through all of his efforts; his scheming, lying, and deception, that God would ultimately still get the glory.
Which is exactly opposite of what Satan intended to take place.
Honestly, the really strange part about our enemy was his myopic view of what he thought would happen. Because the reality for him was the very moment he said, “But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God…. ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” Isa 14:13-14, he was doomed to eternal damnation.
I stil find it mind blowing to consider Satan’s relentless focus to defy God by persisting in his rebellion despite the absolute certainty of his eventual defeat.
So now I ask you to take a step back and look around; I think we can all agree that there is an accelerated intensity level of evil active upon this earth. I do not know what the plans of God are but what I do know is that when God no longer needs Satan for HIS purpose, that is when the end is coming.
Prior to the glorious return of Christ to this earth, the situation for humanity will undoubtedly deteriorate, as Satan and his legion of fallen angels intensify their wicked operations across the globe.
ALL OF THIS evil activity will be the beginning of Satan’s final ruin; This will happen in 3 separate stages:
First, Satan is cast out of Heaven-
Now, there are scholars that believe Satan does NOT still have access to Heaven but I am not one of them. I believe that Satan still has access to Heaven even now and that is evidenced by the final war in Heaven where he battles against the mighty archangel Michael and is defeated. Satan is in heaven already but that defeat meant there was no longer any place for him in Heaven and he was cast out.
Think about this for a second…Satan, who was created by God long before the world was created, and who had only ever known in his existence in both Heaven and earth…and now he was cast out of this place, permanently. God’s judgment is always final.
Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, 8 but he was defeated,and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. Rev 12:7-8 ESV
(By the way, if you didn’t notice, the dragon mentioned above is Satan, and “his angels” are the ones that followed him when he decided he had a better plan for his life than God did)
Second, Satan is bound for 1000 years-
At the end of the age, Satan is to be confined into the Abyss for a thousand years.
Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. 2 And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 3 and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him so that he might not deceive the nations any longer until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be released for a little while. Rev 20:1-3 ESV
Third, Satan is cast into the Lake of Fire–
After his release he will make a final attempt to overthrow God; this act will result in Satan’s final defeat and his being thrown into the Lake of Fire.
And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. 9 And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, 10 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. Rev 20:7-10 ESV
I heard someone say once that God never learns anything new, and if you think about that, you understand that no matter what Satan thought or did…GOD already knew it would happen. The irony for this fallen angel is that he left Heaven thinking he could rule and be like God himself but instead, he continues to exist only FOR the glory of God just as he has always done.
I also love the hypothetical situation someone described that when Satan successfully tempted Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit that there were no emergency meetings in Heaven as to how to respond or combat what the next steps were. Why? Because God is never surprised.
If you’re a Christian, that is a HUGE relief because in the Bible you constantly read about how God has a plan for you and me and again, ironically, for Satan as well. Remember what Paul said in Romans 8:28,
And we know that for those who love Godall things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Here is an absolute truth that you can stand firmly upon:
Guys, regardless of the circumstances you face in your life, understand that nothing occurs by chance…whether good or bad. God knew it before it happened. Sometimes that might be a hard pill to swallow depending on your circumstances but I assure you, as the verse in Romans states; God will weave your personal circumstances ultimately for good.
Finally, guys, I want to thank you for staying with me during this long series. I also think it is important to mention I still skipped a great deal of material about Satan’s story because my intent was only to summarize who he is, what he does, and where he is going. Frankly, I hope you take the baton from here and study more just for you.
Honestly, if this series lites a small flame of interest in you then I will call this a success. Either way I would highly recommend you read the book I have been calling out through this series because it was inspiring to learn from Erwin Lutzer and it was a great help and encouragement to me in this study. I don’t normally recommend books, but this one gave me a HUGE new perspective about this topic that I found particularly strengthening so check it out.
