We have written on a handful of historical events and lives of more than a dozen Old Testament incidents in the series of articles titled the “Conflict of the Ages”. These satanic interventions focused on the negative aspects of these ordeals – the attempts of the Enemy to DESTROY or CORRUPT the Seed of the woman. If the Lord Jesus tarries (as they say) we hope to elaborate on all of these adversarial conflicts symbolically displayed in the lives of men and women recorded in the Old Testament and show how the battle for the souls of men raged on with even greater intensity after the New Covenant was inaugurated. Indeed, the CONFLICT OF THE AGES continues all through the Age of Grace, broadening and deepening even as we draw closer to the time of Satan’s temporary, millennial confinement (see Rev. 20:1-3).

Our readers should be mindful that we write about these satanic onslaughts, demonic eruptions and spiritual “temper tantrums”, not to place undue emphasis on this age-old adversary, or to give him and his minions’ unseemly publicity. Rather, we strive to biblically refute the lies that surround and come forth from Satan. It is our intent to unmask his tactics and expose the deceptions about his non-existence, the myth of evil being nothing more than a vague, impersonal force, and ignorance of the scripturally sound reality that Satan is an actual, but already defeated, foe. As born-again, Spirit filled Christians continually striving to be led by our Lord and determined to be obedient to the leading and promptings of the Holy Ghost, we can act confidently and rejoice in the simple but powerful truth expressed in 2 Corinthians 2:11 ” …for we are not ignorant of his (Satan’s) devices.”

Not only are the Enemy’s schemes, ploys and tactics open to us as we advance on our pilgrim way but the very beginning and the ultimate destiny of Satan is clearly manifested in the revealed Word of God. Lucifer’s once exalted position, his choice of rebellion rather than submission to God, the ever constrictive arena of his field of activity, his legal defeat at Calvary, his limited range of action during the Age of Grace, his expulsion down to the confines of this earth, his imprisonment in the Bottomless Pit and his final destruction in the Lake of Fire – all these momentous, spiritually historical, scripturally prophetic, very real events are vividly described in the Holy Scriptures. A limited, concise, but very graphic picture of Satan’s entire enterprise, from initial rebellion to ultimate destruction can be summed up in one, simple, but rather comprehensive, image. If you can visualize a simple triangle turned upside down with its broad base at the top and its narrowing sides coming to a sharp point at the bottom, you have a geometric description of Satan’s ever-decreasing sphere of activity. The wide area at the top of this imaginary triangle would represent the realm of God when, as Lucifer, Satan was still in fellowship with his Creator. Just one verse from Ezekiel 28 gives us the “feel” of his intimate and exalted relationship with God. “Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth: and I have set thee so: thou was upon the holy mountain of God; thou has walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.” vs 14 We all know of Lucifer’s rebellion and the angelic hosts who sided with him against God. In Luke 10:18 the Lord Jesus Himself tersely, pointedly refers to the consequences of Satan’s tyranny. “I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.” We don’t know the exact boundaries of the Enemy’s present venue. From the book of Job, we learn he has limited access to the presence of God but it seems that the realm of the created universe is currently his principal domain. Ephesians 2:2 calls him “… the prince of the power of the air.”  The converging sides of our mythical triangle narrow still further as we learn from the book of Revelation. The converging sides of our mythical triangle narrow still further as we learn from the book of Revelation that Satan’s operations will be confined to this earth during the time of the Tribulation. Revelation 12:12 ominously warns: “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 he has but a short time.“

We are almost to the triangle’s piercing point as we enter that phase of Satan’s doomed career that is described in Revelation 20:1-3. ”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.” The words, “seal” and “season” strike a nostalgic chord in my heart every time I read this poignant description of good triumphing over evil. “No sadder words of tongue or pen than these – it might have been”, a sniveling poet full of self-pity, once wrote. But here I have no sympathy for the Devil. He knew full well “what might have been” and clear-headedly chose to defy his Maker in spite of such lucid and eminent understanding. What I hearken back to is the glorious fact that we who are willing to be obedient to God through Jesus are established and anointed in Christ by God who seals us and gives us the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts according to 2 Corinthians 1:21-22. And we are reminded again in chapters 1 and 4 of Ephesians that we are sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, the earnest of our inheritance, even unto the day of redemption. If we are willing to choose the path of obedience and submission, then, as long as we have breath we can amply enjoy “the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the communion of the Holy Ghost”. 2 Cor 13:14 What a contrast between the two sealings: the imprisonment of the Enemy of our souls, the very antithesis of the spiritual liberation of Christ’s disciples beginning here on earth and continuing on into eternity!

Satan Being Brought Down

In the Gospel of Luke, chapter 4, verse 13 we are told that when the Devil was finished with the recorded temptations of Jesus “… he departed from Him for a season.” When we continue our study of THE CONFLICT OF THE AGES as revealed in the New Testament we’ll try to catalogue some of the nearly innumerable attempts by Satan to corrupt and even destroy the promised Seed of the woman, the Lord Jesus, the incarnate Word, God in the flesh! Our blessed Savior was harassed all His earthly life by the presence of the Evil One and miraculously repulsed his personal power, delivering countless possessed and oppressed souls from the bondage of demonic control. At the end of this age, as our citation from Revelation 20 reveals, Satan will be bound for a thousand years. Then, as the Scripture states, he will be released to resume his destructive work of deception. The one who left our Savior alone only for a season will be permitted to operate again, but only for a season. Even after the perfect rule of Christ over an imperfect world during the Millennium, a final divine intervention of fire coming down from God out of heaven will devour the rebellious hosts who, like their all too intelligent leader, can never be counted as victims.

Some years ago, I think it was in the 1920’s, a man named Coue made a fortune just by teaching people that they were “Born to Win” and by selling a program of positive confession and achievement. “Everyday and in every way I get better and better” was his silly mantra. Over the centuries numerous schwarz seers or prophets of doom have peddled their philosophies of pessimism convincing the masses that they were “Born to Lose”. Neither of these attitudes and approaches contain the right perspective on this serious matter of life’s basic endeavor. The truth of the situation is that all of us are “Born to Choose”. The Bible, personalized by the Holy Spirit, makes the right choices very, very clear to all those who believe on Jesus. The eternal truths, presented only for graphic illustration in the form of an inverted triangle, can remind us of the everlasting consequences that Satan, the rebellious angels, and all their followers will suffer.

Conflict of the Ages Series: 

Introduction: The Battles of the Lord

[Part 1 – The Gibeonites]

[Part 2 – A Battle Against Envy and Jealousy]

[Part 3 – Perverting the Seed]

[Part 4 – Pharaoh of Egypt and Haman the Amalekite]

Part 5 – Evil’s Ultimate End