Focal Passage: Revelation 12:1-17
Unstoppable. Unconquerable. Invincible. Impregnable. Do these words enter your mind today as you think about the Kingdom of God?
It may look as though God’s Kingdom is losing ground. The so-called Islamic State and other enemies of the gospel are mercilessly killing our brothers and sisters in numbers greater than ever. In our country, the ethics of God’s Kingdom are becoming a stigma. Christians are increasingly seen as a hindrance to progress. It’s easy to think Satan is winning.
Yet, remember how God has carried out his plan throughout history. This isn’t the first time it appeared unlikely that God’s Kingdom plans would triumph.
It appeared Satan hindered God’s plan in the beginning when he successfully led Adam and Eve to sin, bringing corruption to God’s good creation. Yet, God had redemption planned through the seed of woman who would crush the serpent’s head. Throughout the Old Testament Satan fought to prevent the coming of that Son.
Satan corrupted the world to the point of total destruction, but God preserved Noah. Athaliah killed the sons of Judah’s lineage, but God preserved Joash. Judah was threatened by the Babylonians, but God promised through Isaiah that His plans would be fulfilled through the miraculous virgin birth of Immanuel. When it looked like every Jew would be exterminated under the reign of Ahasuerus, God raised up Esther to preserve His people and His plan.
When the promised seed was finally born in Bethlehem, Herod decreed all children his age to be killed, but God gave Mary and Joseph escape in Egypt. Satan still didn’t give up. He tempted Jesus to sin – unsuccessfully. He roused people to brutally kill the Messiah, but he failed to understand that the death of Jesus would be the crushing of his own head.
The blood of the lamb has defeated Satan. Still today he inflicts suffering upon the people of God, but God has a proven record of turning suffering into triumph. Trust in our victorious Savior, and watch God carry out His perfect plan even if it costs us our lives.