“Deliver us from the evil one.” (P4) satan vs Jesus  The War for Our Souls

Review

• Message #1 in this series examined the reality of satan and demons from the words of Jesus.
• Message #2 We showed thru Scripture that God did not create evil. We also looked at the origin of angels, including Lucifer (satan), and his fall, the origin of evil.
• Message #3 We examined the origin of demons and their works of evil and destruction.

Many, if not most, people are asking that question I used in the title. The reference to hell is not profane. Rather, it is a statement of the reality of the unspeakable evil and unmatched chaos in our world today. I am among those who believe the incarnation of Jesus, Who passed thru that heavenly realm to get to our physical world, set off an explosion of satanic/demonic activity that manifests itself in our physical world today as it began to accelerate in His time.

There are reasons for this increasing onslaught of things so unimaginably evil or unthinkably stupid. They (satan and demons) know their time draws closer to an end with every day that passes. Most importantly, their final judgement and eternity in the final hell (lake of fire) await.  It is as certain as our places in Heaven for those born-again in Christ.

We chose to begin this examination with the most furious, vicious attempted destruction of humanity beginning with the satanic attacks on Jesus as a baby thru His crucifixion.

The satanic war on Jesus

• Jesus the baby. (Matthew 2: 1-16)

“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”  When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him…Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared.  And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him…And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way…Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him…Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under,”

satan defeat #1

• Jesus as He is about to begin His ministry – The Temptation of Jesus after His baptism

“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD. Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, ‘HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU’; and ON their HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP, SO THAT YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE. Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written, ‘YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST.’ Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY.’”  Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.”

satan defeat #2

• Jesus’ death on the cross

The Sub-plot

“Then Satan entered Judas Iscariot, who was one of the Twelve. And Judas went to discuss with the chief priests and temple officers how he might betray Jesus to them.…”  Luke 22:3-4

The Crucifixion of Jesus

“They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha.  There they crucified Him, and with Him two other men, one on either side, and Jesus in between.” John 19:17-18

At this point, satan thought he finally won the most important battle of all and got even with God for casting him out of Heaven thousands of years before. Jesus was dead. satan must have smiled thinking, though he could not bring down Jesus in life, His death ended all efforts to redeem mankind. “Not so fast” as one television sports personality used to say. Just as Jesus promised His disciples, on the third day, He rose from the dead.

“The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work” (1 John 3:8). Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,” Hebrews 2:14

But Jesus did not conquer death by His death, He conquered death by His resurrection. On numerous occasions, Jesus told His disciples He would be killed and rise from the dead on the third day. (e.g., Luke 24:7) That was victory over death. Read first evidences in John 20. Jesus appeared to hundreds of disciples before His final act on earth¾visible ascension into Heaven.

satan defeat #3

Since everyone is dead or will die, what does it mean to say that “Jesus defeated death?” It is not the first death to which this refers,i.e., when we die physically.  “Second death” actually is not death at all, although those who experience it for eternity will wish they were completely dead and without feeling.  Jesus referred to this many times throughout His ministry to warn people to repent of their sins and be “born-again” as He first said to Nicodemus. (John 3)

One of the final verses of the Revelation gives one last warning and foretells what happens to those who reject Christ.

“But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” Revelation 21:8

INVITATION: If you continue to reject Christ by walking away from every opportunity the Holy Spirit has afforded you to confess your sins, repent, and receive Jesus are your Savior, you will learn firsthand what that verse means. I may be the last Bible teacher evangelist God sends to you to plead with you to stop, listen, and respond to this final offer of His love for you. Jesus Christ is the ultimate and final expression of God’s love for you.

For Christ’s sake,