A Few Good Men and Women
A Few Good Men and Women
(MY APOLOGIES TO THE UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS, OF WHICH I ONCE WAS A MEMBER, FOR BORROWING THEIR SLOGAN.)
Have you ever wondered why God has permitted Satan and those who follow him to keep polluting the earth? I have.
Notice, in the following passage how God, when He was through using them to accomplish His purposes, burned up the army of the wicked:
They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. (Revelation 20:9)
"Fire came down from heaven and devoured them." Have you observed that there are multitudes of rebellious people in the world today? Why doesn't God just make the earth a better place to live by burning up all the wicked people?
When we understand the answer to this mystery we will have gone a long way to answer many of the questions raised by people concerning God, His salvation, and His righteousness.
I am taking into account that God waits patiently for some who might possibly turn to the Lord. But I believe there is more to this question than God's patience with the unsaved.
Perhaps we need to go back to the Book of Job to begin to get an answer to the question why God, if He has the power to do so, does not remove wicked people from the earth.
The Bible maintains that God is going to remove sin and wicked people in the future, but certain events must occur first.
As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. (Matthew 13:40,41)
Why doesn't the Son of Man weed out of His kingdom today everything that causes sin? He certainly has enough power to do so, when the Father gives the word.
But what do we find in the Book of Job?
On another day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them to present himself before him. And the Lord said to Satan, "Where have you come from?" Satan answered the Lord, "From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it." (Job 2:1,2)
Satan today is "roaming throughout the earth." Why doesn't the Lord stop Satan from causing such problems when we are attempting to live and serve God?
Notice the following:
"Skin for skin!" Satan replied. "A man will give all he has for his own life. But now stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face." The Lord said to Satan, "Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life." (Job 2:4-6)
The mystery is: why would God put Job in Satan's hands?
Satan obviously was attempting to prove to God, and to all other interested persons, that Job served the Lord only because Job was experiencing many material blessings. Why would Satan want to prove this point, and why would God give Satan a chance to show that Job served God only because of Job's blessings?
If we think about the answer to these two questions we will discover why God continues to permit Satan to perform his destructive works among people on the earth.
And perhaps in the heavens also, because this scenario was not taking place on earth but in the spirit world, it appears.
First, why would Satan point to Job, a righteous man, in the hope that God could find some fault in Job's character?
Perhaps the answer is that Satan was endeavoring to prove that if Satan is to be punished, then Job should be punished also because in his heart Job was as wicked as Satan.
We can view this sort of satanic behavior among people on the earth, as they seek to prove that they should not be punished because there are other people just as guilty as they.
Perhaps that is the answer to the first question as to why Job was trying to prove that if enough pressure was placed on Job an inner wickedness would be revealed.
The idea from Satan's point of view is that God really is unrighteous. He is going to put Satan in the Lake of Fire when God's sons are as rebellious in their heart as Satan is.
Satan was challenging God's righteousness. He is doing the same thing today if he can get anyone to listen to him. Satan is a rebel against God and he wants to get as many angels and people as he can to rebel against God and seek to overthrow God and His people.
The second question is: Why would God give Satan a chance to show that Job served God only because of Job's blessings?
Who is it that God has to answer to concerning His righteousness or lack of it? I do not know. We do not understand enough about the court of Heaven to understand why God would have to answer to anyone about His righteousness.
A somewhat revealing statement was made by David's prophet, Nathan:
But you have given great opportunity to the enemies of the Lord to despise and blaspheme him, so your child shall die. (II Samuel 12:14–TLB)
Who are these enemies that the Lord has to answer to? Since we do not know, we must conclude that there are personages of some sort who are enemies of God and are ready to criticize God's decisions.
It appears, therefore, that Satan always is ready to criticize God's people, proving they are no better than Satan. Also there appear to be other personages to whom God feels a need to prove His righteousness.
It is hard to accept that the second statement could be true; but if it is true, it might explain why God does not move at this time and put an end to Satan and all others who feel free to call into question God's righteousness.
Now we go to the Book of Revelation.
Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. (Revelation 12:7,8)
The dragon and his angels lost their place in heaven. What an awesome event! How significant for the people on the earth!
Why didn't this victory take place sooner? What event took place that made it possible for Michael to defeat Satan at this point in time?
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: "Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.
They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. (Revelation 12:10,11)
"They triumphed over him."
Who triumphed over Satan?
"Our brothers and sisters."
How did our brothers and sisters triumph over Satan, thus enabling God to empower Michael to force Satan and his angels from their place in heaven?
"By the blood of the Lamb."
"By the word of their testimony."
"By not loving their life to the point of death."
The Lord Jesus Christ made an atonement for sin for all who will call on His name. This atonement was made by His own blood, offered as a sacrifice to God.
I think most Christians have been taught and have received by faith the atonement for their sins made by the blood of the Lamb.
However, there is another aspect of the blood of the Lamb that may not be preached as often as is the atonement for sin. That is the power and authority of the blood that are associated with our resurrection from the dead.
Jesus said to them, "Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day." (John 6:53,54)
It is my personal opinion that eating the flesh of Christ and drinking His blood are not referring to the Communion service, although that symbolic drama reminds us of the sacrifice made on Calvary.
Rather, I believe that eating the flesh of Christ and drinking His blood should be the way we are living. As we resist temptation, or are seeking the strength to resist temptation, we are nourished in the spirit realm with the body and blood of Christ. These are "hidden manna" given only to those who are resisting sin.
Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it. (Revelation 2:17)
It is the body and blood of the Lamb, the Lord Jesus, that will draw us up to meet the slain Lamb in the air when He appears, and it is one reason why, if we expect to go to be with the Lord; when He appears, that we must learn to live by the body and blood of the Lamb.
This is one aspect of overcoming the Accuser by means of the blood.
If you have not been aware that there is power in the blood to enable you to gain victory over Satan, the next time you are having a struggle forgiving someone or resisting sexual lust, ask Jesus to strengthen you with the power that is in His blood.
Both of these effects of the blood of the Lamb, the atonement for sin and the power of the blood to raise us from death, enable us to triumph over Satan. When Satan accuses us, the authority of the blood successfully resists his accusations.
The victory of the brothers and sisters over Satan empowers the Father to issue the needed strength to Michael and His angels.
The authority of the blood of the Lamb stops the mouths of those who would accuse the Father of unrighteousness. God gave His Son. The Son kept the Law of Moses perfectly and completely. Then the Son suffered the penalty for breaking the Law of Moses, which He never broke.
So there was righteousness left over, we might say. Jesus then can apply this righteousness to whomever He desires.
Jesus paid the price, and this is God's answer to those who accuse Him of unrighteousness.
Satan's problem, and that of his associates, is that they cannot repent and accept forgiveness through the blood. Repentance is a gift given to those who obey God.
When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, "So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life." (Acts 11:18)
God has to grant repentance before an individual can repent.
Since Satan and his associates do not obey God, they cannot repent and receive the blessing of forgiveness, which is given only to those who obey God.
No heavenly personage, no principality no matter how exalted, can gainsay what Christ, the innocent Lamb, accomplished by going to the cross and offering Himself to God as a sacrifice on behalf of all those who would receive Him as their Lord and Savior.
It is true also that the blood causes the destroyer to "pass over" us and those of our household when he goes through the earth to execute judgment against sin.
The Passover blood protects us from the Divine judgment, especially at the time when we first receive the Lamb of God as our Lord and Savior and decide to leave the spirit of the world and enter the Kingdom of God. We reveal our determination by being baptized in water.
"By the word of their testimony." What is our testimony? It is that God is utterly righteous and faithful in all His promises. We make this profession by our actions and our words.
How does this overcome the Accuser? The Accuser charges the Father and the Son with unrighteousness. But the victorious saints reveal in themselves and their speech that God is righteous. Thus the Accuser is overcome.
"You are my witnesses," declares the Lord, "and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me." (Isaiah 43:10)
Witnesses of the Character of God are not made in one or two years. After we have served the Lord Jesus in patient, cross-carrying obedience for thirty or forty years, we can testify with conviction that God is faithful.
So many temptations! So many fires! So many dangers! But God always has been present. The never-failing truth of His promises kept us through the darkest of nights. His mercies were renewed every morning, as His Word states.
What can Satan say about this? It is true. It happened. We are here to tell of God's utter faithfulness. By this we overcome the lies of the accuser who would claim God is unrighteous.
Our lifetime of serving Christ enables us to destroy the lies of Satan.
The faithful saints tear down all the forces of wickedness through the authority and power of the blood of the Lamb; by means of their testimony that has been developed throughout the years of their discipleship. And:
"By not loving their life to the point of death."
Perhaps of greatest importance, when it comes to destroying the forces of Hell, is that the victorious saints have had the sentence of death in themselves that they would not trust in themselves but in God who raises the dead.
I think trusting ourselves instead of Jesus occurs more often than we realize, and accounts for the loss of power we experience. That person is poor in spirit and is blessed who does not trust himself to do anything successfully but trusts only the Lord Jesus.
Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. (II Corinthians 1:9)
They have placed their treasures in Heaven, willing to have their desires deferred throughout their entire lifetimes that they might have a better resurrection.
Our strength is not physical and not material. Our greatest strength is stern, consistent, never-ending obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ. The power is not of us but of God. This is why strict obedience is so utterly, utterly necessary if we are to be victorious.
Satan, and the other wicked personages, cannot possibly overcome those who keep placing all their treasures plus their own life also, on the altar of God to do with whatever pleases Him.
Such are the few good men and women whose sacrifice has made it possible for the entire fabric of evil to be torn down and thrown into the Lake of Fire, there to be kept from the Presence of God and His children for the eternity of eternities.
Perhaps you will be one of those who are willing to die in the Lord to the extent that the power of the seven thunders of pure Divine power may be restored to the Christian testimony.