The Fall of Satan

Luke records for us an occasion in his gospel where Yeshua (Jesus) was stating that He saw Satan fall, as lightning from heaven. The question which has concerned commentators for ages is, was Satan's fall here indicative of him then rushing to earth so as to do battle with Yeshua and His disciples, or did the Lord see in some sort of vision where Satan was some day going to be cast out of heaven as evidence of his ultimate demise and defeat?

LUKE 10:17-20 And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.
And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall [pipto] from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.

The word which has been rendered here as fall is from the Greek word pipto, which is defined by Vine's Dictionary as fall down from and by Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon as to be thrust down. The word is used ninety times on at least sixty five different occasions in the Christian Scriptures (the New Testament), and rarely does it suggest an aggressive attack upon another. Below is one of the few examples where it does.

MATTHEW 21:44 And whosoever shall fall [pipto] on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall [pipto], it will grind him to powder.

Generally pipto means falling down in fear or reverence, as in prayer or thanksgiving. Howbeit, on rare occasions it does have reference to buildings (LUKE 13:4) or mountains (LUKE 23:30) falling upon someone, such as in the above passage. In this last sense Satan might have been charging back to earth so as to defend his kingdom, but the saying most likely suggest that Yeshua saw the evil one being cast out of heaven, falling from his position of authority.

MATTHEW 10:29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall [pipto] on the ground without your Father.

There is a scene in the book of REVELATION which might well describe the very event which Yeshua saw.

REVELATION 12:7-12 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power [exousia] of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. . . . .
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 that he hath but a short time.

It is curious that John doesn't mention here, as he usually does in REVELATION, that this incident was a vision. Rather it appears to be the record of some recent historical event. Apparently, John was briefly digressing from these visions, which foresaw much of what was to occur during Christ's Parousia, so as to explain to the reader why Satan was then so urgent in his endeavors to work his evil. His time was short.

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If this narrative in REVELATION 12 was indeed describing the same incident which Yeshua saw, of Satan falling like lightning to earth, then we can understand that even though he was to be forcibly removed and cast out of heaven, he was not necessarily finished, not yet anyway. According to John's report here, Satan still had work to do upon the inhabitants of the earth before his final and complete annihilation.

The question which concerns us in this Study, is whether or not his evil work is now, today terminated, or is Satan still, even yet wreaking havoc upon mankind. We can't depend or rely upon the conjectures and supposed exorcisms of so-called demon possessed individuals, but we must rely instead upon the scriptures. What do they say?

I was once taught that the secret of the Devil's success is the secrecy of his moves. He is thought to be successful because he often pulls the strings from behind the curtain, so to speak. This supposition sought to explain why we rarely if ever see concrete proof of his existence. It was also thought and taught that this is the reason that we don't witness all of the devil possessions which were so common in the Gospels.

As such, this is how some "defenders of the faith" answer the skeptics who suggest that those possessions were really no more than medical ailments, which they suppose were cured sometimes by mere accident. Yet to accept that conjecture we must then reject much of what the evangelists plainly wrote. On no small number of occasions they stated that unclean spirits were cast out of sufferers and that they were thus healed of their afflictions.

Leaving that aside, it is important for us to note that at the onset of Yeshua's ministry, Satan had declared that authority (exousia) over all of the kingdoms of the world had been given unto him (LUKE 4:6). This word exousia, is variously translated in the KJV as authority, power, strength, right and as in the passage below, jurisdiction.

LUKE 23:7 And as soon as he [Pilate] knew that he [Yeshua] belonged unto Herod’s jurisdiction [exousia], he sent him to Herod, who himself also was at Jerusalem at that time.

Yeshua was of Galilee which at that time was ruled by Herod, so Pilate thought to relieve himself of the burden of the case by sending Him to that sovereign. This Greek word exousia is thus well defined as the jurisdiction which certain sovereigns possessed over their subjects. The fact that this authority was variously given to different individuals was plainly stated on another occasion by a certain Roman centurion, as he beseeched Yeshua to heal his servant.

MATTHEW 8:9 For I am a man under authority [exousia], having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.

This commander was well aware that just as the Roman army was organized under different and separate authorities and powers, so he recognized that Yeshua had also been given authority to heal his servant. On a later occasion Yeshua Himself reminded Pilate of this same principle.

JOHN 19:10-11 Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power [exousia] to crucify thee, and have power [exousia] to release thee? Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power [exousia] at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.

During His earthly ministry, Yeshua had been given authority to forgive sins (MATTHEW 9:6 MARK 2:10. LUKE 5:24), authority against unclean spirits (MATTHEW 10:1 MARK 1:27), authority so as to heal sicknesses (MARK 3:15), and authority to execute judgment (JOHN 5:27). But according to what we read concerning Satan having power over all of the kingdoms of the world (LUKE 4:6), Yeshua was apparently still under his jurisdiction, and was therefore subject unto his authority, at least in some sense.

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Of course that didn't mean that Satan had total and complete power over Yeshua, but rather he had authority insomuch as had been conferred upon him, as is likewise reported with the incident concerning Job.

JOB 1:12 And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, all that he [Job] hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. . . .

Satan was limited according to what GOD allowed, but within that limitation he exercised overwhelming authority upon his subjects. His kingdom was much like the kingdoms of this world, with a supreme ruler exercising dominion over his underlings.

Yeshua had given the Twelve (LUKE 9:1), and the Seventy (LUKE 10:17) authority over unclean spirits, but that authority did not extend over Satan. GOD had apparently given Yeshua dominion over the unclean spirits but not over Satan himself; thus the unclean spirits were subject unto the disciples, but only in Yeshua's name. When the disciples invoked His name then the unclean spirits had to obey.

In that spiritual battle Satan's individual soldiers may have been subject unto Yeshua and His disciples, but not Satan himself. At least not until after he had been cast out of heaven following Yeshua's resurrection. Then Yeshua over-ruled all.

Evidently, the kingdoms of this world are subject under and patterned after the kingdoms of GOD. Each authority has been given his own particular responsibility, but is also cautioned about overstepping that specific jurisdiction. Jude reminded his readers of this same truth.

JUDE 6 Jerusalem Bible Next let me remind you of the angels who had supreme authority but did not keep it and left their appointed sphere; he has kept them down in the dark, in spiritual chains, to be judged on the great day.

Evidently the penalty for them overstepping their authority was to be bound with some sort of chain. Each and every sovereign, whether earthly or heavenly, are restricted within the confines which has been delegated to them. If they endeavor to step out beyond that exousia, then some kind of restraint is sure to follow.

When exactly it was that the god of this world had received this authority we are not told, but as noted above we know that he still had it during Yeshua's temptation in the wilderness. Perhaps he first obtained it when he persuaded Adam and Eve to disobey GOD in the Garden of Eden; or he may have acquired it when GOD reconstituted HIS creation in GENESIS 1:2. Nevertheless, precisely how Satan became the god of this world isn't critical to our Study, but rather, we are more concerned with when exactly it was that he fell from that lofty position, if indeed he has.

Shortly before He was taken captive in the Garden of Gethsemane, Yeshua declared that the prince of this world had been judged (JOHN 16:11); howbeit, we are not told here just what that sentence was, or when it was to be carried out and put into effect, only that judgement had been passed. Nevertheless, at the time of His arrest, Satan apparently still wielded some authority over Yeshua, for He revealed that even then He was subject unto the power (exousia) of darkness (LUKE 22:53).

But just a few days later, and not long after His resurrection, Yeshua declared that all this power and authority (exousia) had then been given unto Him, both in heaven and in earth (MATTHEW 28:18). As such, Yeshua's resurrection had evidently been the mechanism and catalyst by which Satan fell, or at least the occasion when he lost much of the authority which he had previously possessed. As a result of His resurrection and ascension into heaven that power had then been transferred to Yeshua, as Peter noted in his epistle.

1 PETER 3:22 Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities [exousia] and powers being made subject unto him.

Obviously these angels and authorities and powers were not always subject unto Yeshua, but were made so after His resurrection, when He was seated at the right hand of GOD. At that time He was no longer subject unto the power of darkness. Now it was Yeshua who had authority over the dominions of heaven and earth. Now He ruled and over-ruled, seated at GOD's right hand. It is probably a reasonable conjecture that it was around this same time when Satan was cast out of heaven and fell to earth.

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But apparently, according to what we read in John's account in REVELATION 12, Satan was at this time still at work on earth, inflicting whatever damage he could. And according to Paul in his epistle to the Corinthians, the god of this world was still blinding those which believed not (2 CORINTHIANS 4:4). Howbeit, no longer could he have been commanding the same power which he had previously exercised. No longer was there a place in heaven from where he could accuse the brethren, for apparently he had been cast out. Now the angels, authorities and powers were subject unto Yeshua.

But the question still remains, What is Satan up to now, today? What authority does he currently hold over the kingdoms of this world? Great light may indeed be shed upon this question in one of John's final visions.

REVELATION 20:1-3, 10 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit [abyssos, abyss] 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 [abyssos, abyss], and shut him up, and set a seal upon him. . . .
And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

John saw in this vision Satan being bound for a thousand years, which evidently meant that he was no longer going to be able to work his evil upon the earth. For the interested reader, explanations are offered for this thousand year period here.

And further, he was being cast away into the abyss, and shut up, no longer able to deceive the nations. And even beyond that, he was then to be tormented day and night, for ever and ever, in a lake of fire and brimstone. Obviously, that was to be the end of his power and authority. But our question still lingers, When? When were these visions to take place? To what age did the book of REVELATION apply?

Was John told or did he have any idea when the accomplishment of these visions were to occur? Again, we must resist the temptation to search outside the scriptures for the answers to these most important but fundamental questions. We must not depend upon the preaching and commentaries of present day theologians. Instead, we would do well to focus our search on what John had been told. If John was instructed about when these visions were to come to pass, then we should be able to search the record and find out. But if he wasn't told, if the time of the fulfillment of these visions were sealed up, or a mystery, then we can only offer guesses and speculations.

But fortunately for our search, John was told. And he was evidently told to reveal it in this Book. According to his own explicit testimony, Yeshua's angel had told him that these visions were going to "shortly come to pass" (REVELATION 1:1).

As we shall see below, these visions in REVELATION had to do exclusively with Yeshua's coming in His kingdom, His Parousia. This Book was not a hodgepodge of hallucinations or apparitions imagined or dreamed up by someone in a trance or ecstasy. Nor were they a collection of unconnected historical events, sporadically spread out into the distant future. They did not have to do with the fall of Rome, or with some later Pope, or with the first or second World Wars, nor with the current conflicts in the Middles East. Rather, the Book was intended to show John and his readers just exactly what was soon to occur, at Christ's return.

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REVELATION 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass . . . .

Consider this opening phrase of REVELATION along with what Yeshua had Himself promised years earlier.

MATTHEW 16:28 Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.

Indeed, events of that age were speeding towards His second coming. Every Christian writer had said so, that the Lord's return was near. Now John was being given a series of visions which were depicting in graphic detail that Return, for from the first chapter of the Book it was declared,

Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him . . . . (1:7),

through to the final passage,

He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus (22:20).

The entire Book of REVELATION was concerned with Christ's second coming. It described GOD's wrath being poured out upon that unregenerate and unrepentant nation and people. It was also concerned with the destruction of the City and Temple. In their place would be built a heavenly City and Temple, to be filled with His elect. All this was to occur, according to Yeshua's own promise, within that very generation.

MATTHEW 24:29-34 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth [Land] mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: so likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

That Return, which was at the door, was now being shown John in fearsome revelations.

REVELATION 14:14 And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.

This time He was not coming so as to be humiliated, and spit upon and nailed to a cross. Instead, as Yeshua had revealed elsewhere, when He returned He was coming back to take care of some serious business, "in the glory of his Father with his angels" (MATTHEW 16:27 & REVELATION 1:7).

Yeshua had again prophesied that after the tribulation of those days, "then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven. . . . and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory" (MATTHEW 24:30 & REVELATION 14:14-16). This power and great glory with which He was returning, and the sharp sickle which was seen in His hand, was for the purpose of dispensing the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty GOD (REVELATION 19:15). And this was precisely what these believers had been told to expect. And now John was seeing it play out in his visions.

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The apostle was being given a preview of the Lord's return, which Yeshua had explicitly forewarned them about in the Gospels. It was all being laid out for him in panoramic color, exactly what was going to come to pass during those calamitous days, when the Temple and Jerusalem itself were to be destroyed (MATTHEW 24:2 & REVELATION 14:8). Note that in John's vision, the great city which was to be destroyed was called Babylon, the mother of harlots, which some have thought to mean Rome. But Rome was never destroyed as John's visions portray; howbeit, Jerusalem and the temple therein were both soon to be completely laid waste by the Romans, as Yeshua had both foreseen and predicted.

LUKE 19:43-44 For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.

As such, Babylon might very well depict Jerusalem instead of Rome. The reader may want to consult J. Stuart Russell's The Parousia, where he devotes pages 482-498 to thirteen significant and important points, comprehensively examining that supposition.

John's visions in REVELATION likewise mirrored Yeshua's warnings that His disciples were to be delivered up, and afflicted, and killed (MATTHEW 24:9 & REVELATION 2:10; 3:10). The Lord had also warned them of false prophets which would be able to show great signs and wonders (MATTHEW 24:24 & REVELATION 13:13-15; 16:13-15), and further that the sun and the moon would be darkened and the stars would appear to fall from the sky, while the heavens themselves were to be shaken (MATTHEW 24:29 & REVELATION 6:12-13).

The reader should note that the sun and moon and stars often represent powers and authorities, and not merely the celestial bodies (GENESIS 37:9-10 NUMBERS 24:17 ISAIAH 14:12-15 DANIEL 8:10 JUDE 10-13 REVELATION 1:20).

All of these prophesies which Yeshua had spoken of in the Gospels were being previewed in John's visions. And why not? This was that generation's great expectation. His return was what motivated and drove the first century Christians to remain faithful. Each and every writer had spoken of the continued and renewed promises that His return was near, even at the door (JAMES 5:8-9).

HEBREWS 10:37 For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.

If we thus recognize and accept the clear and oft repeated statements recorded by John in this Book of REVELATION, that this was the unfolding of Yeshua's promised return, and that that Return was accomplished during the lives of those first century believers, then the time of Satan's fall is unsealed and revealed for us. Otherwise, it remains shrouded in mystery and conjecture.

Perhaps the importance and necessity of looking at and focusing upon John's own account was best stated by J. Stuart Russell.

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If there be one thing which more than any other is explicitly and repeatedly affirmed in the Apocalypse [the Book of REVELATION] it is the nearness of the events which it predicts. This is stated, and reiterated again and again, in the beginning, the middle, and the end. We are warned that 'the time is at hand;' 'These things must shortly come to pass,' 'Behold, I come quickly;' 'Surely I come quickly.' Yet, in the face of these express and oft-repeated declarations, most interpreters have felt at liberty to ignore the limitations of time altogether, and to roam at will over the ages and centuries, regarding the book as a syllabus of church history, an almanac of politico-ecclesiastical events for all Christendom to the end of time. This has been a fatal and inexcusable blunder. To neglect the obvious and clear definition of the time so constantly thrust on the attention of the reader by the book itself is to stumble on the very threshold. Accordingly this inattention has vitiated by far the greatest number of apocalyptic interpretations. It may truly be said that the key has all the while hung by the door, plainly visible to every one who had eyes to see; yet men have tried to pick the lock, or force the door, or climb up some other way, rather than avail themselves of so simple and ready a way of admission as to use the key made and provided for them. (from The Parousia, page 367)

This key hanging by the door, to which Mr. Russell referred here were the plain words found at the very opening and commencement of the Book,

REVELATION 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John.

How else can these words be understood except that shortly, what then was beginning to be revealed, was going to come to pass. Shortly cannot by any stretch of the imagination be two thousand years. And an almost equally important statement was made just a couple verses later.

REVELATION 1:3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

This revelation was given by GOD to Yeshua, who then commanded His angel to show it to John. And the express reason for this unveiling, was so that the hearer, and the reader, may be blessed. And how and why were they going to be blessed? Because the time was at hand.

The visions regarded, not some distant day in the future which had nothing whatever to do with the trials and temptations and tribulations of John's readers, but they had to do with these believers' immediate future. It had to do with them being blessed by hearing and reading that their persecutors were about to meet their just end. They were blessed because now they could soon expect to be gathered together and called up into that heavenly kingdom. They were blessed because now the time of their salvation was at hand.

Where most of us had for so long gone wrong was when we assumed that the entire globe was going to be overturned and obliterated at Yeshua's return. We had thought that when Satan was defeated and destroyed that these present heavens and earth were also then coming to an end. As such, His return must still lie somewhere in the future.

We had been told that then, all believers were going to be raptured into heaven and there live for peaceful eternity on some cloud, I suppose doing nothing but resting in eternal bliss. But all these are unfounded conjectures, based primarily on misinterpretations and misunderstandings of the symbolisms of the oriental mind (see the Study, The Sun, The Moon and The Stars).

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According to the clear evidence of scripture, Satan fell from heaven when Yeshua was resurrected. Nevertheless, as the god of this world he still had power to inflict pain and suffering and deceit upon an unsuspecting planet; however not without limit but only within the constraints which GOD allowed. Then at Yeshua's promised Return, on the Day of His judgment (REVELATION 1:10), Satan was at last to be finally bound, eventually to be burned in an eternal fire.

REVELATION 14:14-16 And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth [ge, Land] is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth [ge, Land]; and the earth [ge, Land] was reaped.

And so the Land was thus reaped. The time had come for GOD's wrath to be unleashed upon this unrepentant and unregenerate nation and people. They had for too long persecuted and murdered the righteous prophets which had been sent unto them. Now it was time for them to receive their just due. Now it was time for their judgment to be administered and carried out.

It was time for the chaff to be blown away, but it was also time for the true believers to be gathered together into the New Jerusalem (REVELATION 21:10 & MATTHEW 24:31). Their redemption was finally at hand. Their rewards for faithfulness awaited them.

Nevertheless, many Christians today still think and suppose that they see a boogie man around every corner and behind every tree, who is just waiting to pounce on them. They have elevated Satan as some fearsome power from which they often fall victim. All of their failings and hardships and temptations are thought to be the result of Satan's incessant attacks upon them. They see him forever maneuvering and plotting their demise.

But if we are willing to discard Church tradition and teaching, and consider and ponder that the visions contained in REVELATION had to do with those events of the first century, indeed within that very generation of original disciples and apostles, then we will finally be able to sort out the time of Satan's fall. Thus, if according to those visions given to John, Satan has indeed already been cast into the abyss, into that lake of fire, then he can no longer be deceiving and tormenting mankind. He cannot today be roaring as a lion, walking about seeking whom he may devour (1 PETER 5:8). His evil days are over. His fearsome time is past. He has been defanged and de-toothed and rendered impotent.

One might wonder then, if Satan has been destroyed, if the Devil has been forever done away with, then why is there still so much evil in the world? This is a fair and reasonable question.

First we must ask ourselves, was every mis-step and sin committed over the ages the direct result of Satan? Every time someone smacked their finger with a hammer, was that because of Satan's omnipotent dominion? Was each and every fender-bender because Satan had somehow worked to cause it? Was every act of hate and anger caused by Satan? If not, then we must also recognize that without Satan's existence, bad things are still prone to happen.

The simple cause and reason for much of life's problems and adversities, is that our world was never designed to be a pleasure cruise. Rather it was created to be a classroom for learning. As such, life was never intended by its Creator to be free from hardship and struggle. Instead, our time in this present life is so as to groom and mature us for some higher and eternal purpose. We are being prepared for those heavenly responsibilities which we will one day be required to carry.

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The Creator uses HIS creation to work upon us that which is necessary for our growth. As an infant learns and grows into an adult, so we too must learn to become mature men and women of GOD. We must learn to develop the Christian virtues (2 PETER 1:3-10) so as to minister to those who haven't yet had the opportunities we have enjoyed. We must in this present life acquire and nurture the fruit of the spirit (see the Study, Nurturing and Harvesting the Fruit of the Spirit).

But in order for us to be able to learn to walk and run and dance, we must first be inclined to stumble, and fall and then be enabled to pick ourselves back up again. If we are to know how to forgive, we must first experience forgiveness.

As such, we must be free to make choices, which means that at times they will be bad choices. All of our decisions, both the good as well as the bad, will of necessity have consequences. These consequences are how we learn the lessons of life. It has nothing whatever to do with the existence of Satan, but rather it is the Creator's marvelous and wonderful design for our lives, so as to teach us that which we require for our coming services in HIS kingdom.

Strength requires resistance, as any weight lifter realizes. Without an obstacle in our path we would not know the possibility of tripping. Without the sense of being burned we would never learn to avoid the flame. Without mishaps we would be hard pressed to recognize successes.

Evil continues to be present and active in this world, often because there are individuals who absolutely refuse to subject themselves unto GOD's laws. They rebel and revolt and angrily lash out, oftentimes at the defenseless. It is of course distressing to us when we learn of this savagery, which is sometimes even inflicted upon our friends and family. But nevertheless, there it is.

We would do well to remember that GOD's perspective is eternal. What HE may allow for a moment, might very well achieve everlasting results. HE permitted brutality to be unleashed upon HIS beloved Son for forty some hours, but the worthy results were endless. But as it was with His disciples (JOHN 14:28), it is likewise difficult for us as mortals to look past the grave into next life and see what might lie ahead for us or our loved ones. What might seem to us as wrong and cruel and unjust, might very well be sorted out in the hereafter.

As such, we need not be subdued or defeated by this world. We can indeed become more than conquerors (ROMANS 8:37) and over-comers (REVELATION 2:7) whenever we dust ourselves off and then learn from our experiences. Our Creator has designed this world to equip us to be fully ready for our heavenly responsibilities. When we finally arrive in HIS kingdom our joy will know no bounds as we join with the other faithful followers of the Lord.

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