Episode Transcript
Speaker 1 00:00:07 Hey there, welcome to village church, serving Q and a I'm pastor Alex. And I'm here with pastor Craig and pastor Michael, and on September 12th, 2021, we preached another sermon in our spiritual war series. And we are answering questions about that today. So pastor Michael, this question is for you, does Satan know that he's going to lose the battle?
Speaker 2 00:00:30 Uh, let me give an answer and then explain it. Okay. I think before the birth of Christ, maybe even the death resurrection and the teaching of the apostles, I, I think there might be a little bit of him that thought he had a chance, but, but after the death and resurrection of Jesus, uh, Jesus made such a pop public mockery of him. Caution says he was shamed, humiliated, triumphed over him. That there's just no question as to his doom. And then in the first century, you know, he, he sees what God reveals to John and revelation about the end times. And he's like, oh, that's me. I think I know how this is going to end. Probably even the ministry of Jesus, where he teaches that hell was prepared for the devil and his angels. He probably has this notion, but let's, let's go back in time.
Speaker 2 00:01:11 And then I invite you to have a different opinion because we've never talked about this. Yeah. So, but remember that angels only know when they were created, what God infused them with the knowledge, the wisdom that they have. And as they move on, they're learning about God's redemptive plan as things unfold. So imagine you're in the garden, you're Satan and you're beautiful and you're cutting and you get this idea. You're going to trick Eve, but you don't know the consequences. You don't know that hell is a possibility. You don't know what God's going to do. You know, he's good and he's loving and you're probably maybe banking on his mercy. Well, when you get cursed and you realize, oh no, this is really bad. And probably, I mean, this would be my guess that the demons who followed the third of the angels who followed Satan, followed him before they knew the outcome of the Christ.
Speaker 2 00:01:56 That would be my surmising, just guessing. Otherwise they're dumb as rocks. Um, and so they're like, oh wow, this is, this is our end. And then in, in the curse, uh, there was a promise that there would be an offspring, right? So Satan doesn't know who the Austrian is going to be. He doesn't know what's going to be God in the flesh. Jesus. And so as time goes on, he sees Cain and Abel and he's like, well, Keynes, the battle enables a good one. It's got to be able, so let's kill Abel. And then you go on and it's like, well, Moses, there's something happened in there. So let's make sure all of those babies are dead. Like, and you start to follow this because that's the combination of a 400 year prophecy where God's people would be brought back into their land. And so he's counting the years and Moses is, time is like, just spot on numerically.
Speaker 2 00:02:37 And, and then you watch it. And it seems like they're learning as revelation is being given. So if you were to sit down with a Jew and 800 BC in Israelite, they had no idea how the end of the world was going to happen. Scripture hadn't revealed that they didn't know about the details of heaven and of how, in fact it was the first five to the last five to 700 years of BC era where you start to get some of the categories and then Jesus clarifies those categories and Paul and John and Peter expound on them in Jude in unbelievable ways. Right? And so it's interesting that they seem to be learning. I don't want to presume that they know, and there's a passage in first, Peter, one 12. I just think it's great. It says it was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves.
Speaker 2 00:03:22 But you talked about the profits and the things that have now been announced to you through those who preach the good news to you by the holy spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look, there's this, there's this category of information, gospel, the holy spirit, the plan of God, the history of redemption that angels are looking at it and going what's happening. The, I imagine when God became flesh in Christ, when that happened and all of the angels are singing, that they probably had unbelievable clarity. I wonder if there's like an information warfare happening where they didn't tell any of the demonic it was going to happen. And then all of a sudden, all the angels are shouting. They're like, wait a minute. What's happening here, kill all the babies. Right. And again, I am surmising, but I have no reason to think that Satan had any access into the redemptive plan of God longterm, um, at all. And so I would go, I mean, I would just say, what did he know? Um, my guess is based on first Peter, that he knew what the prophets knew. It was as the mystery of salvation, was this confusing to the angelic and demonic realm as it was a prophet, right. People. And when it was revealed, they were like, what? This is unbelievable. And that's where you watch in the ministry of Jesus. Like Satan's warfare against him personally is just through the roof,
Speaker 1 00:04:40 Even all the way up to the, like the cross and the temptations that are leading up to that moment. It's as if Satan still believes that he's
Speaker 2 00:04:49 Going to win. So
Speaker 3 00:04:50 What you're saying is, so what is your say? Okay, so here's the thing. Yeah. The way that you just laid that out, I think is brilliant from a demonic point of view from a, from a, from a, uh, strategy, because all throughout history from the beginning of time, Satan is after the authority of God, if there is a curse on his head, it has to come through the good people, right. Or God's chosen. Yeah. So history is about Satan trying to destroy the authority of God by destroying that curse by destroying that line, something in
Speaker 2 00:05:25 That line and the line he's going after it. Oh, my
Speaker 3 00:05:27 Word, take out. Able take out, uh, uh, take out Moses, take out, um, take out the babies, you know, but, and it's always interesting that he works through the authorities of the earth to destroy the line of Jesus.
Speaker 2 00:05:41 And then think about all the idols we talked about in a previous Q and a that there are demons that are just basically our idols. Like w I mean, imagine like the larger play agenda to take down the nation of Israel, one by one, God, Abraham.
Speaker 3 00:05:54 But it's interesting. I mean, even Babylon coming in and destroying, taking them into captivity, I mean, Satan is clearly on a play level where he's looking to you, SERP God's plan. And in, in that way, I like Alex, what you said a while ago, you said, Satan doesn't want to be God. He wants to be like a God. And that means he wants to have the authority of God and the way that he does that, he destroys the plan of God. And the plan of God is to bring Jesus into the world. So when Jesus is born, it's no wonder all the demonic realm in and crouches on Jesus and his family, all of this activity and Jesus casting out demons, because, because the goal is destroy Jesus, because now we know who it is, or there were lots of massages in the past, but now we know it's Jesus get rid of them. And so I wonder when he got crucified on the cross, did the devil know that was a success? Now he got the Messiah, all of these thousands of years, he's finally achieved his goal, kill the mess. And the one big messenger of God that would bring the gospel to humankind. I don't, I, I wonder that because I know that gets sung in Christian songs and preach from different pulpits. But I wonder if when Jesus died on the cross, did Satan think that's a victory? Like that is the ultimate victory.
Speaker 2 00:07:08 Four days later, he was like, oh, then he figured
Speaker 3 00:07:10 Out the rest, or did he think, oh boy, this, this, like, somehow he figured it out, right?
Speaker 2 00:07:19 Yeah. When he did. Yeah. I don't know if it was, I think there's gotta be a point where Jesus is teaching that, how it was created for the devil and his angels that he's now at least somewhat aware that there is a destination that's really, really bad. And I just want, like, I do wonder, did he learn the details with the rest of humanity when John revealed it to us or when Paul's writing about the nature of hell and the second coming, is he like, he like Paul's writing and he's like, what are you saying? I need to know what's happening.
Speaker 3 00:07:45 The question is, if he knows, now Jesus has risen from the dead. The gospel is clearly laid out. We are under the authority of God that the earth will be redeemed with us in it one day, those who are followers of Jesus, now that he knows it. Why does he keep fighting now?
Speaker 2 00:08:00 Gosh. I mean, when you have been made ugly, you've been destroyed. You've been given fully over to your sin. You are now the worst you could possibly be all the time ever. You're a rational. It's like, why does, like, why do people who are given totally over their sin? Why are they in jail? And they just it's like, they know they're going to die in jail. So they just become their worst.
Speaker 3 00:08:17 And then they get let out to jail. They do the same thing. Oh, that's so here's, here's an interesting to go along with that, which I've actually adhere to. But in the book of revelation, it says that all hell will break loose on the planet. And there will be a time. I think it's one of the end bowls that, that isn't going to be let out the wrath of God. There'll be a time that the world will know this judgment is coming from God. And they'll hate him more. Yep. That's just because
Speaker 2 00:08:44 Of God, that's what you do. All you gotta
Speaker 3 00:08:46 Do is ask for forgiveness, can come to him and, but they'll hate him more. Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:08:50 Right. Yeah. I want to, I want to come back to something you said earlier, and I really liked it. Um, I don't remember exactly, but it sparked a thought, but Satan, it's interesting because the city state, the nation state of tire, T Y R E, which is where Satan himself took a personal residence. We'd learned that in Ezekiel 28, which we taught on last week. So what's really weird is that it's a really small nation state city state. It's very small. It's almost inconsequential, but why did Satan take up residence there? Well, because they're the primary trade partner with the nation of Israel. And that was the easiest way to get access to a form idolatry into that nation. Very interesting to me that he like, w we think right now, one of the questions I pose in church was what nation is Satan overseeing right now?
Speaker 2 00:09:35 And it may not be what we think, right? What is the most like strategic long play for him to influence world events? Now I have opinions, which I'm not going to talk about publicly, but I'd like to hear your thoughts off here, but I find it very interesting that he is up until the resurrection or the cross and resurrection, even the birth of Christ is just, he knows it's going to come out of Israel. He doesn't know when, and imagine the torment for him, 400 years of prophetic silence, you know, the time before Christ what's happening, you know, and I almost wonder if like, we look at this from a human perspective. We're like, why God are you silent? And God's like, I'm just tormenting Satan. It's a blast.
Speaker 3 00:10:13 But he does. He does know that Rome will rise. I mean, he's got the prophecies of Daniel who knows what comes next, then the stone that crushes the feet. So he knows all of that. But I agree. I think, I think the waiting had to be just torment on them. And then finally Jesus is born. He goes, all right, let's bring it on. And that's why heightens up. Yeah.
Speaker 1 00:10:32 Well, and you, so you asked the question, okay. So if he knows that he's already defeated and we kind of get at that a little bit, if he knows he's already defeated, why does he keep doing what he's doing? And I think like an inclination of this is given in first John chapter four, it says every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which to be against Christ. Yeah. Uh, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. Like at this point, he's going to do everything. So he can't destroy the planet, God, any more, but he's going to do everything he can to get as many people as he possibly can to stop from believing in that plan or to make their lives hell on the brakes and make their, yeah.
Speaker 3 00:11:16 I think that's a good way to put it because that means his mission is the same. If he can't crush the gospel, he can crush those who will come to the gospel. And so he's after the most vulnerable and they're already born on his side, all he has to do is make their lives, whatever they need to be until he gets them with him, very eternity. So ultimately his goal has always been to usurp the authority of God. And unfortunately, I think irrationalism where that you use. He continues to do so simply because his goal is not to be God, but to be like God, and to get you to be convinced he is. Yeah.
Speaker 1 00:11:52 Well, thank you so much for joining us on serving Q and a and stick around for more questions.
