"What the Book of Revelation Teaches Us About the Devil" by Hiram Kemp

One of the proofs that the Bible comes full circle is the fact that the

devil is mentioned in the first book of the Bible. In Genesis chapter 3,

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

we're introduced to him as the deceitful serpent who deceives Eve

into disobeying God and ultimately leads to sin being brought into

the world. And we meet him in the final book of the Bible. Landon just

read for us from Revelation 12:9-11 where he's called the ancient

Revelation 12:9–11

serpent, the dragon, the devil, the deceiver of the whole world.

As much as we would like the Bible to, it doesn't really tell us about

the origin of the devil, though we know he's created, and there are some passages

that allude to his downfall— Jude 6 and 2 Peter chapter 2 and verse

2 Peter 2 · chapter mention

4. You start reading throughout the Old Testament, and really the devil

is not a prominent adversary in the sense of what he does in earthly affairs,

though he makes an occasional appearance in places like 1 Chronicles 21

and verse 1, Zechariah 3:1-5.

Zechariah 3:1–5

But other than that, The Bible doesn't really say a whole bunch in the Old

Testament about what the devil does, but when you get to the New Testament,

he's mentioned all over the place, from the first book of Matthew through

to the end in the book of Revelation. And somehow, in between the

first mention in Genesis and the final mention in the book of Revelation,

humanity— and maybe it's just our speculation— has seen fit to add

a host of our own ideas and thoughts about who the devil is and how

he works. Maybe you've heard some of these before, ideas like the devil is

actually the person who is like in charge and running the

realms of hell, when in actuality there is no king in hell,

just cursed rebels, Matthew 25:41. Sometimes people

Matthew 25:41

view the devil as this individual who is an equal and opposite force

against God. God's all-powerful and good, but the devil

at the same time is all-powerful but evil. But the Bible says, no,

this isn't the case at all. God reigns supreme over everything he's created,

and he alone is sovereign and omnipotent. Colossians 1:16.

Colossians 1:16

Or maybe like in art depictions, people picture the devil as

being the most gruesome and ugly figure that you can think of,

when in actuality the Bible says very little about his physical

appearance. In fact, he's a spirit being. But when the Bible does hint and touch

on the fact that he may look a certain way, the Bible doesn't say he's

ugly at all. Instead, the Bible says he's beautiful,

he's enticing, he's like an angel of light, 2 Corinthians 11:14.

2 Corinthians 11:14

And there's a host of other ideas that people have come up with that sort

of cloud our judgment on what the Bible teaches about the devil. The New Testament

not only gives us more information, but Paul says in 2 Corinthians 2:11,

2 Corinthians 2:11

we're not ignorant of his devices. With the fullness

of New Testament revelation, we know who the devil is and we know how he

works. The New Testament not only mentions the devil more than the Old Testament

does, But the book of Revelation mentions the devil more

than any other book in all of the New Testament. And you might

imagine why that's the case. Christians in the book of Revelation experiencing intense persecution

and difficulty, and much of it instigated by the devil, of course, would want to

know a great deal about their foe, their adversary, and how they can ultimately

overcome him. So tonight what I want us to do is look at what the

book of Revelation teaches us about the devil. This lesson is not

going to be an unpacking of all of the details and the intricacies of the

book of Revelation. Neither is it going to really be a comprehensive view of everything

the Bible says about the devil, but it will touch on the passages in the

book of Revelation that tell us who the devil is, how he operates,

and what it has to do with the way that we live our lives.

It's my hope at the end of this lesson— I'm not preaching it so that

we can go out into the world and talk more intelligibly to other people

about the devil. That would be a plus. But the purpose of a lesson like

this one, what the Bible or the book of Revelation teaches us about the devil,

is hopefully going to aid us in living our lives more skillfully in the

presence of our ever-present adversary and opponent. Because non-religious

people are deeply interested in the devil, and maybe sometimes Christians

aren't interested enough. C.S. Lewis in The Screwtape

Letters said, humanity is always in danger of 2 equal and opposite errors.

There are some people on the one hand that are infatuated with the devil and

want to know everything about him, and then there are others on the other hand

that pretend that he's not there. And Lewis says, in the end, the devil

doesn't care if you're a materialist that thinks he's imaginary or a magician

who thinks he's infinite. He'll take you either way.

And if we're going to be the people that thread the middle of that,

that know enough about him that we're not infatuated with him, but that don't fail

to see his presence, we'll be wise to study what the book of Revelation says

about him. And so, here are some of the things that the book of Revelation

teaches about the devil. Number 1, suffering is one of his favorite tactics. If you

have your Bible, go to Revelation chapter 2 and verse 10. This isn't a new

Revelation 2 · chapter mention

verse to us. This is what Jesus says. In his letters to the churches.

Revelation chapter 2 and chapter 3 is where in the book of Revelation

Revelation 2 · chapter mention

John has Jesus speaking to the 7 churches. And in Revelation

Revelation 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2, there's this famous phrase in verse 10: Fear none of the things which

you're about to suffer. Behold, the devil will cast some of you into prison that

you may be tried for 10 days, but be faithful until death and I'll give

you the crown of life. Much has been made about this verse. Sometimes we focus

on the fact that there's going to be this suffering and this difficulty and hardship.

A lot of times this verse is quoted to say to people, hey, after you

become a Christian, you got to be faithful until the end. Matthew 10:22.

Matthew 10:22

And that's right. Sometimes there's something said about the 10-day

period, and maybe this is pointing back to Daniel 1:12

Daniel 1:12

where Daniel says about him and his 3 friends, test us for a period

of 10 days and we'll come out better than the Babylonians. And maybe that's what's

going on in Revelation 2:10. The 10 days signify a period of testing and hardship.

Revelation 2:10

And then we rightfully make great deal about this idea of the crown of life

that God has promised to those that love him, 2 Timothy 4:8.

2 Timothy 4:8

But folded into this verse, in addition to all of those things, is this idea:

suffering is one of the devil's favorite tactics. Notice the verse again.

The devil will cast some of you into prison that you may be tested

for 10 days. One of the devil's favorite ways to operate in our lives

is through suffering. As far as he sees it, if he just hits

hard enough, just creates enough discomfort, enough hardship,

most people are going to give up. That's what he thinks is going to happen

in the book of Job. I mean, we know it didn't work with Job,

but it didn't stop him from trying it. In Job 1:9-10, he says

Job 1:9–10

to God, touch everything that he has and he'll curse you to

your face. After the first wave of temptation, he comes back in Job 2:4-5

Job 2:4–5

and he says, yes, skin for skin, all that a man has he'll give for

his life. And yes, Job proves faithful to the end, but in the devil's mind,

so far as he can see it, if you tempt humanity with suffering,

they'll give in and they'll curse God. This is why he's confused about what God

does at the cross. He has no idea about the salvation Jesus is accomplishing on

the cross, primarily because God didn't tell him, but also because in

the mind of the devil, suffering is where you take a person to break

them, not to bless them. But the Bible says God had other plans in mind.

Who for the joy that was set before Jesus endured the cross, despised the shame,

Hebrews 12:2. He made him to be sin for us who knew no

Hebrews 12:2

sin, 2 Corinthians 5:21. But in the devil's mind,

2 Corinthians 5:21

suffering ruins a person. And it's one of his favorite tactics

that he uses in our lives. And we would be wise to be prepared.

Hardship and suffering is one of the ways that the devil infiltrates our lives and

ultimately tries to get us as Christians to give up

and surrender. It's important that John reveals this. He has to tell them, because the

text says the devil's going to cast some of you into prison. We weren't there,

but I think we can all be for certain that the devil himself didn't literally

grab these Christians and throw them into prison. It would be the Romans who would

do it. But when it happened, They needed to know, hey, this isn't a coincidence.

This isn't happenstance. It's not because you've done anything wrong.

It's the devil, and he uses suffering and discomfort

because he wants to make life difficult for you. Proverbs 24:10

Proverbs 24:10

says, if you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.

Several universities and schools in general, I guess, do this, but there are some top-notch

universities that practice what you might call the weeding out or the filtering

out principle. It's where certain individuals are put in classes and

we've got to whittle down who's really going to be in these classes. NYU and

Harvard, for example, in their law school, they have what's called the 1L classes and

this is for the first-year law students and at the end of the first course,

there's this long 3 to 4 hour exam. Everything in the class hinges

on this one exam. It's 3 to 4 hours and it's pass or fail and

the purpose of this exam is to try to differentiate between all

of these students that made it into this top-notch law school. Who is actually

a person that can think critically and analyze versus a person

who just has linear thinking. And maybe you were smart and intelligent in high school

and in undergrad, but if you can't get through this process, you're weeded out.

The University of California at Berkeley and Princeton do a similar thing in

their Intro to Organic Chemistry class. They start testing kids

in a unique and specific way. They make it difficult on purpose because

what they want to weed out are the rote memorizers. Maybe in high school you

were great at memorizing stuff, but on the path to medical school, they want to

make sure you can synthesize material together. And they ultimately want to see who belongs

in and who belongs out. And suffering does a similar thing. The devil

uses suffering to tempt us, to test us, to ultimately get us to give

up. That's why Revelation 2:10 says you'll suffer tribulation. It's this discomfort.

Revelation 2:10

And what he hopes happens is ultimately through hardship and suffering,

you'll just give way and root yourself out and weed yourself

out and give up. So every one of us needs to have our hearts on

guard, especially when we suffer in any way, to any degree. You might

be thinking about great suffering, but even in small minute ways, just always keep in

mind the devil uses suffering to get us to give way, and it's one of

his favorite tactics. And so, when suffering enters our lives, we need a resolve

that we're not going to give up. These are the 5 commandments of suffering we

all need to have in our minds whenever suffering comes. Number 1, I will not

blame God. When suffering comes, just right out of the gate, know this is a

tactic the devil uses to get me to give up. You won't always know everything

about your suffering, why it's coming, where it's coming from, but when it comes,

we need to resolve I will not blame God. James 1:13, let no man

James 1:13

say when he's tempted, I'm being tempted by God. Here's number 2, I will not

miss church. When suffering time comes, he says, if I can just get

you isolated and away from the group. But Hebrews 10:24-25 says,

Hebrews 10:24–25

you need to be stirred up to love and good works, and do not abandon

the assembling of yourselves together with the saints. Number 3, I will not neglect prayer.

I may be mad at God because of suffering. I may be frustrated with God

because of suffering, but I'll talk to God. I will not neglect prayer. Psalm 61:1-2,

Psalms 61:1–2

David says, from the ends of the earth, when my heart's overwhelmed,

I'll cry unto you. Number 4, I will not abandon Scripture.

John 6:68, Peter says, Lord, to whom shall

John 6:68

we go? You have the words of everlasting life. And then finally, number 5,

I will not give up. 2 Corinthians 4:1,

2 Corinthians 4:1

Paul says, we've received this ministry, and as a result

of this, we do not lose heart. These are the 5 commandments of suffering.

How are you going to get through it? The devil's going to throw some of

you into tribulation for 10 days. We learned the devil uses suffering suffering as

a tactic, but we can overcome. Now, here's number 2. The book of Revelation

teaches us about the devil, that Satan has his people. If you have your Bible,

go to Revelation 2 and notice verse 24. There are several statements throughout the book

of Revelation that you might just slide right past. I mean, the book of Revelation

is about Jesus Christ and his people, Revelation 1:1, the things that God

Revelation 1:1

sent to signify to his servant John and then share with his

people. But the book of Revelation also teaches that Satan has his

people. Revelation 2:24 to the church at Thyatira,

Revelation 2:24

we read about some people teaching what they call the deep things of

Satan. We don't know what those things were, but just like in 1 Corinthians 2:10,

1 Corinthians 2:10

there are the deep things of God. According to this passage, false teachers were

teaching what Jesus calls here the deep things of Satan. And guess what?

Some people went along with it. Later in Revelation 3:9,

Revelation 3:9

he talks about some individuals that Jesus simply says they are

members of what he calls the synagogue of Satan. These are probably Jewish

people still holding on to the Old Testament law and binding it on

other Christians and saying, hey, if you really want to be a faithful servant of

God, you've got to hold to the Old Testament law. Jesus says, since you're

doing that, your synagogue now belongs to Satan. Note— notice that Jesus

doesn't simply say they belong to Satan. He actually names their place

of worship after Satan himself. And then in Revelation 13

and verse 4, some individuals just directly worship the dragon,

who is also known as the devil. One of the things we learn about

the devil in the book of Revelation is Satan has his people.

Maybe you know this already, but there are 700,000 people in the United

States of America known as Satanists. They worship,

they gather. There's some 20 to 30 chapters globally, or congregations

globally throughout the world. They've got ministers in America, Europe,

and in Australia. And the demographics and the size

of those congregations varies from place to place. There's a congregation in Illinois with about

120 members that meet. There's one in Detroit with some 200 members that

meet together. Individuals engaged in these what we call Satan temples,

they go there for worship and for benevolence. They're not devil

worshipers like maybe you might be thinking. They go by the name Satanist, but at

the heart of it, many of them are just naturalists. They don't believe in God,

and they believe, hey, We can accomplish good and do good things whether we

believe in God or not. In fact, we have our own church. The United States

recognizes the Church of Satan as a legitimate religion that people

follow and that they're engaged in. Maybe when you read these texts in the book

of Revelation and you think about Satan having his people, you think about something

like this, but John is saying it's much more subtle than that. There are people

all throughout the world that don't have any idea that they're actually a part of

the synagogue of Satan. That they're following him. Jesus said there would

come a time, John 16:1-3, that those who oppose God would

John 16:1–3

actually think that they were doing God service. There are all sorts of people

that are being misled. It's possible to think I'm doing the right thing and

be completely deceived. What does Jesus say in Matthew 7:21-23?

Matthew 7:21–23

Not everyone that says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter into the kingdom of heaven,

but he that does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will

say to me in that day, Lord, haven't we prophesied in your name, done many

wonderful works? Cast out demons, and I'll profess unto them,

I never knew you. We'll be deceived if we allow ourselves

to be, not because God's tricking us, but because we didn't analyze, evaluate,

and do the hard work. And the book of Revelation teaches God has His people,

but Satan has his people. In Revelation 9, at the end of

that chapter, right after the— one of the first wave of plagues that'll come in

the book of Revelation, Revelation 9:20-21, John says,

Revelation 9:20–21

after all of these things, there were wicked individuals And he says they didn't stop

worshiping demons or idols and gold things that were made with their hands.

They didn't repent and they didn't change their mind. Some people are just committed to

the devil no matter what, and the book of Revelation teaches us Satan has his

people. Now, if any one of these teams on the screen belong to you,

I'm sorry, but what the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Cleveland

Browns, and the Colorado Rockies all have in common is in their respective sports,

if you look back at the records over the past 5 decades, they have the

most losing record in the regular season. There's not a long line of people

waiting to be on the bandwagon of any one of these teams.

They're terrible. They don't have a history of winning. They're really not good. Nobody wants

to sign up to align with them. Most people that are their fans, they're their

fans by right or birthright, and they just simply tolerate these teams.

But for a long time, nobody expects these teams to win anything. Why would you

attach yourself to them? But when you think about the devil, as far as the

Bible reveals it, he's been a loser from eternity's past. Matthew 25:41,

Matthew 25:41

God created hell for the devil and his angels, and yet people

flock to him. Jesus says, I saw Satan fall like lightning, in Luke 10:18.

Luke 10:18

And yet there are some people that love darkness rather than light because their

deeds are evil, John 3:19. It may be hard for us to

John 3:19

accept, but one of the things the book of Revelation teaches, no matter what God

does, no matter how much revelation is given in Scripture, the devil is going

to always have people that go his way. There's at least one more thing to

say on this point though, and it is this: in the book of Revelation,

John through the Holy Spirit only knows 2 groups of people.

Either people are with God and his people, or they're with the devil and his

people. That doesn't mean everybody on the devil's side is the epitome of wickedness.

As image bearers of God, Genesis 1:26-29,

Genesis 1:26–29

they can and are capable of much good. But we need to keep a sober

reminder in front of ourselves that there is really only 2 camps. There are

2 camps that everybody in the world falls into. And if a person's not

of the people of God, like we talked about this morning, we need to be

doing everything that we can to move them toward this way, because at the

end of the day, God has his people and the devil has his people.

Here's number 3. The book of Revelation teaches us the devil's many names

describe his many works. Throughout the New Testament,

we're told several things about the devil. He's our adversary, 1 Peter

1 Peter 5:8

5:8. He's the enemy,

Matthew 13:28. He's a strong man,

Matthew 13:28

Matthew chapter 12 and verse 29. He's the lowercase

Matthew 12 · chapter mention

g god of this world, 2 Corinthians 4 and verse 4.

He's also described as the ruler of this world, John 12:31 and

John 12:31

John 14 and verse 30. If that's all we had, we'd know enough about the

way that he operates and he works so that we could know what we're up

against. But the book of Revelation, John says more. Look at Revelation 12:9-10.

Revelation 12:9–10

Just in these verses alone, John says that he's a dragon,

He's the ancient serpent in verse 9. He's the devil. He's called Satan.

He's the deceiver of the whole world. That's in verse 9. In verse

10, he calls him the deceiver of the whole world. And then in verse 17,

he makes war against the woman and her offspring. That's Christians.

The many names of the devil tell us a great deal about the way that

he operates in the world and ultimately in our lives. When Jesus says the

thief comes only to steal, to kill, and to destroy, But I've come that

you might have life and have it more abundantly. He's talking to us about the

way that the devil tries to work in our lives and ultimately in the

world so that we're not deceived, so that we know how he works,

so that we can overcome him. His many names describe his many works.

The name Satan means he's our enemy, our adversary.

Jesus told Peter, Satan has desired to have you that he might

sift you like wheat, Luke 22:31. The name devil means slanderer,

Luke 22:31

an individual that speaks against you and that tries to mislead you.

When God approaches Eve after her sin in Genesis 3, she says

in verse 13, Satan deceived me. The serpent, he deceived me.

It's what he does. In the Kentucky Living magazine,

there was an article in this month's edition, and it talked about how you can

guard yourself against scams, whether it's through text message or through

phone calling. And this is how you know you're being scammed. They gave a list

of certain things primarily that people would do when they're trying to scam you.

If a person calls you or texts you, they say, here are some of the

markers that you're being scammed. Number 1, the person is urging you to act immediately.

You've got to do this right now or the offer or whatever it is,

it'll be gone. They make everything seem like in the second place,

it's an emergency. If they call you on the phone and it sounds like they're

far away, they say, well, this is probably an indication that it's not a genuine

call, or if they ask to have remote access to your phone or your

computer where they call and say, hey, just let me take over your phone and

your computer and I'll do everything from there. You read that list and you think

to yourself, who would fall for that? Who would just give their information to somebody?

Who would give over access to their phone or their computer or their tablet

to a stranger halfway across the world? And yet the soul scammer has

been doing the same things to us throughout time. And sometimes we've

got to ask ourselves, are we ignorant of his devices or do we know

how he operates? In your life, one of the ways you know

it's the devil and not God is when you're being rushed.

God does a lot of things, but he never rushes us. Psalm 46:10 says,

Psalms 46:10

be still, and know that I'm God. How does the devil work?

Often in haste. You know it's the devil and not

God when it seems strange, like it didn't really come from

the Bible. It sounds spiritual, it sounds deep, but I can't find any passage

to back that up. Hebrews 13:9 says, don't be carried

Hebrews 13:9

away with strange and diverse doctrines, things that aren't in the Bible.

It's probably the devil and not God active in your life if it

says something to you, or the effects of the relationship or the situation goes something

like this: well, you know, if you do this, you can always repent later.

I mean, God's forgiving. You can always repent later. Jude verse

4 says that certain individuals come in and they turn the grace of God into

licentiousness, a license to do wrong. It's the devil

and not God whenever it calls for you to violate your conscience.

Romans 14:23. This doesn't feel right. It doesn't sound right,

Romans 14:23

but I'm just going to do it anyway. And it's the devil and not God

when it fuels our arrogance and pride rather than our humility.

I'm going to do this activity and this deed and this good so

that other people can see me. That's not God sending you on that errand.

It's the devil. And how do we know it? Because we know how he operates.

Jesus says, serve others like I did and put others above yourself,

Mark 10:43-45. The book of Revelation teaches us

Mark 10:43–45

how the devil works. Through his many names, and his devices are described through

those works. Here's number 4: the book of Revelation teaches

that his time is short. Still in Revelation chapter 12,

Revelation 12 · chapter mention

John says in verse 12, the devil in his wrath comes

out to cause havoc on the earth, and then he adds this

phrase, because he knows that his time is short.

The book of Revelation teaches us about the devil. He's only going to

be able to do what he's doing for a short time. A momentary time,

and we should know the very same thing. Throughout the New Testament,

the New Testament writers are sometimes trying to encourage Christians about

the joy that's coming by saying the difficulty you're currently experiencing is

going to be over before you know it. Think about some of the passages that

talk about heaven and how it's going to spring upon us in a moment of

time. Romans 8:18 says, for our light affliction— Romans

Romans 8:18 Romans 8:18

8:18 says, the sufferings of this present time aren't worthy

to be compared with the glory that will be revealed. Or Romans 13:11

Romans 13:11

says, now is our salvation nearer than when we first believed.

When Paul talked about the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15:52,

1 Corinthians 15:52

he says, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,

just like that, he says, our bodies will be raised and ultimately transformed,

and they'll be glorified and changed. Our light and momentary affliction,

which is but for a moment, is producing for us a far more exceeding and

eternal weight of glory 2 Corinthians 4:16-17.

2 Corinthians 4:16–17

The book of Revelation has the devil at war against God's people, at war

against God in heaven, causing havoc throughout the first-century church. And then John says,

but by the way, his time is short. The most striking thing

about this verse— look at your Bible, look at verse 12. It says the devil

knows his time is short. That's striking to me because it says the devil knows

it. Here's the question: do we know it? I mean, do you know it?

The devil's time is short. The Bible says he knows this. The question

is, do we know it? And do we know what this means? If the devil's

time is short, what does this mean? It means every day you wake up,

there is coming a day when you'll never hear sirens again.

You'll never go to a doctor again. There'll never be any crime, injustice,

wickedness, sin. There is coming a day you'll never go to another funeral again.

The devil and all of his wickedness, his time is

short. And if the devil knows that, the people of God need

to know it to a greater degree. Listen, there are all kinds of things in

your life that are just a part of your life. There's nothing you can do

about it. You can't unsubscribe from some things. Some things are coming. You didn't

ask for them, but here they are. Mondays, as long as you live,

Mondays are coming. They're coming. There's no way out of it. Mondays are coming

whether you like it or not. Red lights when you're running late, they're coming.

You can't unsubscribe. You're going to be running late and you're going to get behind

somebody that's just a law-abiding citizen doing 5 miles under the speed limit.

There's no way around it. Laundry, it's not going anywhere.

You can't unsubscribe from it. You can't. You can't unsubscribe

from aches and pains and allergies. But this point is about reminding

you of all the things you can unsubscribe from if you're a Christian.

Don't unsubscribe from hope, because according to the Bible,

the true light is already breaking into the world, John 1:9.

John 1:9

Our glorious forever sunshine day is currently being downloaded,

and it won't last for just a short time. The Bible describes it as eternal.

It's a sure and steadfast hope, an anchor for the soul,

Hebrews 6:18. And the book of Revelation teaches us about

Hebrews 6:18

the devil. His time is short. Here's number 5: he's temporarily allowed to exercise

power. I don't like this part

of it, and unbelievers and believers struggle with this being a reality.

But before we start with our questions, we just need to accept

this as a reality as God reveals it in Scripture. There are reasons why,

and some reasons unknown to us, that God allows the devil

to temporarily exercise power in the world. When Jesus taught the

parable of the wheat and the tares, which is really about the world and the

wickedness that is sown into God's good world, in Matthew 13:30,

Matthew 13:30

he says, God speaking, let them both grow together, and then

at the harvest, at the end of the world, he'll separate them. God allows the

devil in this present world to temporarily exercise power. Look at Revelation chapter

Revelation 20 · chapter mention

20. In Revelation 20, in verse 2, it says the devil's bound

and cast into prison. But then in verse 3, it says he's only there for

a short time and then he must be released. And when you get down

to verse 7, it says the devil is released out of his prison.

Listen, we may not like this, but the Bible tells us the devil is temporarily

allowed to exercise power in the world, and the book of Revelation teaches

this. And you could think about a host of reasons why that's the case.

A part of that is because you and I live in a fallen world.

And when we're in the world, there will be tribulation, John 16:33.

John 16:33

God allows the devil to exercise power because sometimes human beings choose with

our own free will to cooperate with the devil and

to do his bidding. Ephesians 2:2-3 says that we sometimes

Ephesians 2:2–3

have gone into the power of the wickedness— of the wicked one,

the prince of the power of the air. And then the other reasons

we can think of are probably God just hasn't told us. And maybe you can

think to yourself of some reasons why God shouldn't allow this to be the case.

If God is God and he's loving and good and cares about everybody,

why allow the devil to exercise any power? Once he was thrown in prison in

Revelation 20, why allow him to be out for any amount of time? And maybe

you and I can't think of any good reasons why that would be the case,

but we're not God. Isaiah 55:8-9 says,

Isaiah 55:8–9

his ways are higher than our ways, his thoughts higher than our thoughts.

As the heavens are high above the earth, so are his ways above our ways

and his thoughts over our thoughts. Oh, the depths and the riches both of the

wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and his ways

past finding out! Who's known the mind of the Lord? Who's ever given anything

to God that he needs to be repaid? For of him and through him and

to him are all things. To him belongs glory forever. Romans 11:33-36.

Romans 11:33–36

God in his infinite wisdom chooses to allow the devil

to temporarily exercise power in the world.

If you were in the medical field, you would know what this term is,

and I can't pronounce it right now because I'm drawing a memory blank, but it's

a nice O word. You see it up there. It's a procedure

though where the doctors go in and they cut a person's bone in order

to set something in its proper place, and when they do this, they cause

pain, they cause trouble. If you were at the procedure and you didn't know what

was going on, you would think that the surgeons performing this procedure have

lost their mind because they're breaking a bone. They're creating an issue so

that they can realign something and set it in its proper place. And if you

came in and tried to disrupt the procedure, you'd be causing all kinds of havoc

because you can't see what the surgeon can see. The surgeon can see

things, and what temporarily looks like pain and discomfort and hardship

is ultimately going to lead to relief and setting things

right and putting things in their proper place. That God choose to

allow the devil to exercise power in this present world in the ways

that he decides and chooses to us it may not make sense, but it's

not because God's ways are not sensible, it's because we're short-sighted. It's amazing

to me that we will undergo surgery through finite human beings,

never doubt anything. We'll go through it unconsciously, trusting them all

the way, and at the very same time doubt the infinite God.

Job 40:2, God says, who will find fault with his Maker?

Job 40:2

Let him stand before me and ask questions. The book of Revelation teaches that

God allows the devil for a temporary time to exercise

some power, but never forget who ultimately wields all of it.

Here's number 6: the book of Revelation teaches that the devil will

be eternally destroyed. Revelation 20:10 says

Revelation 20:10

that he'll be cast into the lake of fire and he'll burn with fire

and brimstone forever and ever. I imagine the first

time Christians read this, there was great rejoicing on their part because they were suffering

terribly at the instigation of the devil. Revelation 19, when this

is first introduced, Revelation 19:1-3 has the Christians

Revelation 19:1–3

and saints praising God and saying, hallelujah, praise be to God and salvation

to Him because the punishment that's coming on the devil. In Revelation 6,

there are souls under the altar. These are people that are already in heaven who've

been killed for their faith, and in their minds, they still want to know one

thing: God, when are you going to get vengeance on us and

on our blood for the persecution we've suffered? People that have suffered in this

world at the hands of the devil and the wickedness that was instigated by his

activity, they don't just want relief. They want retribution and revenge,

and it's a biblical response. And Revelation 20:10

Revelation 20:10

says the day's coming. God doesn't reckon time like

we do, but the day is coming in which the devil will be thrown into

hell. Matthew 25:46 says it'll last as long

Matthew 25:46

as heaven. It'll be forever and ever. Sometimes people wonder,

when I get to heaven, how is it going to be the case that I

never sin again? I mean, in this body, all I've ever known is temptation and

hardship. What if I make a mistake in heaven? Am I, like, going to get

kicked out or something? Is God going to renege on his promise? That won't happen.

But here's one of the major reasons we know it won't happen. The person largely

involved with and responsible for the great deal of temptation that we suffer

in this world, he'll be forever removed and put out of the way. And whatever

God possesses that allows him not to be tempted and not to struggle with sin

whatsoever, there's a sense in which we've got to know he's going to share that

very same thing with us. The book of Revelation teaches us that ultimately the devil

will be destroyed and he'll be destroyed forever. And here's number 7,

and finally, the book of Revelation teaches Christians can

overcome him now. In Revelation 12:11,

Revelation 12:11

John says that Christians overcame the devil by

the blood of the Lamb, by the word of their testimony, and because they

didn't love their lives unto death. And we overcome by those very

same things. By the blood of the Lamb. Revelation 1:5 says, to him who

Revelation 1:5

loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood.

By the word of our testimony. That's what we say we believe. That's what you

said before you were baptized. I believe Jesus is the Son of God. Romans 10:9-10.

Romans 10:9–10

And this loving our life— not loving our lives unto death is saying What

matters to me most in life is not this physical life, for to me

to live is Christ and to die is ultimately gain, Philippians 1:21.

Philippians 1:21

Christians can overcome the devil now. We will overcome him in eternity,

but the Bible teaches right now we can be victorious. These first-century

Christians were. Revelation 14:4 says they followed the Lamb

Revelation 14:4

wherever he went. As you read through the New Testament, there's an already and not

yet principle. The New Testament is teaching one day the things

that you and I know by faith, we'll know by sight, and victory over Satan

is one of them. But there are a dozen passages in the New Testament that

also teach if you're a Christian, you're victorious over him right

now. In fact, you can read through the New Testament and you'll find passages that

say flee temptation, flee sin, but not one verse

in the Bible ever tells you to flee from the devil because we're not supposed

to run from him. If we stand up against him and fight him with the

armor of God, James 4:7 says, Resist the devil and he'll

James 4:7

flee from you. He's the coward. He's the one that'll run in the other direction.

But as a Christian, you have nothing to fear. You already have eternal life,

1 John 5:13. Jesus says, you'll receive a hundredfold now

1 John 5:13

in this time for following me and in the age to come everlasting life.

The book of Revelation teaches us this about the devil. You can

overcome him right now if you're a Christian. Listen, your soul will

feed on and survive on whatever you feed it.

If you feed it, I'm a loser, the devil tempts me, I've been struggling with

this for 20 years, I'm never overcoming, your soul will feed on and

survive on whatever you feed it. But if you feed it things like,

I'm more than a conqueror, Romans 8:37. Oh, but the devil has death.

Romans 8:37

Yes, but we have resurrection. The devil has hardship. Yes,

but we've got comfort. Oh, the devil has anxiety. Yes, but we have peace.

And if you feed your soul the biblical truths of the New Testament,

you will begin to taste what will eventually be ours forever and ever,

and that is the overcoming of the devil and what John calls

in Revelation 21:5, Him making all things new.

Revelation 21:5

I was at the barbershop on Friday, and then this text came through, or the

ESPN notification. A'ja Wilson won her 5th WNBA

MVP, record-breaking. I don't know if you know anything about

basketball. Some people in here do. Do you know what that means when you're guarding

A'ja Wilson and you put a hand like that in her face? The photograph

was taken by a famous photographer and it's gone viral. Do you know what that

means when you put a hand like that in her face in the middle of

a game? It means nothing. I mean, this is all they

could do. The defender puts her hand in A'ja Wilson's face and in this game

she scored 36 points, had 10 rebounds and 2 blocks. When you put a hand

in somebody's face like A'ja Wilson who's dominant and on the top of her game,

all it is is a distraction. It ultimately can stop and

do nothing. You're a Christian. That's your life. The devil can put his hand

in your face. At best, he can try to distract you. But if you're in

Christ, do you know what that means for you? It means nothing.

All the things that are going to come up this week and all of the

things that are going to come up in your life from this time until you

see him, they're just like a hand in your face, things that think they can

stop you, things that think they can distract you. But what John says

in Revelation 12:11, it's true about you, it's true about me, it's true about every

Revelation 12:11

Christian. They overcame him. Not that they will, it's already happened. They've overcome

him by the blood of the Lamb, by the word of their testimony,

and because they didn't love their lives unto death. Already winners, already victorious,

because we appeal to the blood of Jesus rather than our own.

And no matter how many hands are put in our face, no matter how many

distractions the world tries to throw at us, the Bible teaches about the devil in

the book of Revelation and throughout the New Testament, he's a defeated foe.

The devil's mentioned in the first book of the Bible and in the last book

of the Bible, but that by no means means to teach us or suggest that

he has the first word of the Bible or the last word. The first person

to talk in the Bible is God. He creates the heavens and the earth,

and the last verse of the Bible is about the grace of our Lord Jesus

Christ, Revelation 22:21. This is God's

Revelation 22:21

book. This is God's world. And we're God's people. The book

of Revelation says a great deal about the devil, but as you get launched out

into the week, don't forget what it tells you about Jesus. The book of Revelation

says Jesus has been raised, Jesus is reigning,

and Jesus will return. But until then, we reign

with him on earth, and one day we'll reign with him in glory. Tonight,

if you need to respond to heaven's invitation, become a Christian by

the word of your testimony. I believe Jesus is the Son of God. Turning away

from sin and allowing your body to be immersed in water for the forgiveness of

sins. Revelation 1:5 says it's there that he'll wash away all your sins

Revelation 1:5

in his blood, and you'll have all the power God offers to

overcome and ultimately defeat the devil, both now and ultimately in

eternity. If we can pray with you or pray for you, Bill's going to lead

us in a song to encourage us. Come now, as together we stand and as

we sing.