“Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short” (Revelation 12:12).
SIGNS OF THE TIMES
We see here that the devil is aware of the times. He knows that his time to cause mayhem and destruction is drawing to a close. And if the devil can see the signs of the times, those who know their God should know the signs too.
We have a saying that “It’s always darkest before the dawn”, whether that’s true or not I don’t know but I know the sentiment is true, at least from a biblical standpoint. Many heroes of faith have had their toughest moments when close to victory. Jesus himself withstood the onslaught of the devil’s schemes on the cross, coming through victorious. “Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb 12:2).
Haman, seemed unassailable in his pursuit to rid the land of the Jews, he ate in the presence of the King and Queen Esther not knowing a gallows had been prepared for him and Esther and all her fellow countrymen would be saved. Dark though it was for Esther, the Lord provided a marvellous victory.
Paul and Silas were in the depths of the dark prison, beaten, sore but rejoicing because they knew they were on the winning side. The prison chains were soon cracked open and the heart of the jailer was softened and brought to Christ.
This doesn’t mean that Christians are escapists—who more than Christians should be realists? We don’t pretend that everything is fine in the world while whistling “Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life.” We know we are fallen people in need of salvation, we acknowledge the deprivation of humankind, and understand that the universe is subject to entropy and decay. However, we also know that space and time is unfolding in a loving direction. Evil is not the force or power some people would have us believe. Evil is the absence of good, in the same way that darkness is the absence of light.
Evil is a hole, a gap, and those who ally themselves with it are futilely trying to resist the flow of the river of life. Just like a man who might stand in an estuary trying to halt the surging waters flowing into the sea using only his arms and legs. Satan’s evil schemes are an aberration of the daily journey towards goodness; wickedness is a hiatus that will come to an end.
Life may not seem that way at present because the devil knows his time is short and makes his presence felt. Each day is another page turned in the story of divine goodness where God is working all things together for those who love Him. We are living in what the Bible calls “the old order of things” (Rev 21:4).
When the new order of things comes, the old order will seem like a far and distant memory. In the spectrum of eternity, evil will look like a tiny minuscule blip on the distant horizon looking over our shoulder from where we have come. The longer eternity is, the smaller evil becomes; we won’t even bring the former things to mind. “Behold I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind” (Isa 65:17).