September 11: SLEEPWALKERS
“Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.” Revelation 12:12
The exuberant song of the heaven-dwellers erupted over joy that the defeat of Satan at the cross brought all of them into complete agreement over his eviction. God’s way of governing is one of transparency with His citizens. Remember that Satan’s original accusations were against the character of God. He has allowed those accusations to “float” for thousands of years in order for individuals to observe the results of the two styles of government, reach their own conclusions, and make their choice.
The song of the elders takes a turn at the end toward the inhabitants of the earth and the sea, a reference to all of the people on planet earth. This phrase is especially symbolic, as we will see in the next chapter, for John was shown that Satan’s two allies rise up out of the sea (13:1) and out of the earth (13:11). Though the heavens rejoice over the permanent ousting of the rebel from their abodes, they are deeply concerned for our planet, which is currently the place of confinement for Satan and his angels (now demons). As the end of earth’s history nears, his great wrath intensifies. What we are seeing on the news is just the “tip of the iceberg.” Many watch in morbid fascination these distractions from the issue of preparation for His second advent. Our preparation includes reaching out to others for the kingdom, helping them to also prepare. Our enemy knows the word of God. His concentrated efforts are against those who cling to that word, for he need not waste his brief remaining time on those who reject it; their derailment is already accomplished, or so he thinks. But those of us who hold fast cultivate a living hope (1 Peter 1:3) to share with those in need of hope.
Satan’s Biblical knowledge is honed for the purpose of wrecking the faith of believers. He specializes in twisting its meaning so that professed believers will engage in activities and habits that negatively affect themselves and those around them. His distortions seem “plausible interpretations” when in fact they are misinterpretations, the purpose being to lead people away from Jesus, weaken minds and bodies, break down confidence in His word, and propagate a false message. When he tempted Jesus in the wilderness, he quoted from Psalm 91:11-12 leaving out part of verse 11. This is a clue to his plan: to eclipse the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27) and alter its meaning. Jesus did not buy into any of his terrible ideas, and we are to follow His example. Satan exploits Biblical ignorance as well as the trust that sleepwalking humans place into other sleepwalking humans. It is a fact that many well-meaning but misguided people have put forth error as truth, while clinging to ideas such as 1) souls are immortal, and 2) are transported instantly to heaven or hell upon death, 3) God tortures the unrepentant in hellfire for eternity, 4) infant baptism saves babies from hellfire, 5) the Ten Commandments are abolished, 6) scavenger animals are food, 7) the Sabbath has been changed to Sunday, 8) occasional confessions to a priest replace a daily relationship with Christ, 9) alcohol consumption is AOK, 10) once-saved-always-saved, 11) obedience is legalism, 12) no assurance of salvation, 13) repetitious prayers for forgiveness, 14) many more.* Not only do these ideas conflict with Scripture, they conflict with each other.
Today’s verse reveals a timestamp: From the day of the cross forward, Satan has been confined to this earth. Therefore, its warning applies directly to all of us who live here. Beloved, do not ‘sleepwalk’ through the last days of this world’s history, bereft of God’s Holy Spirit. Wake up!
“But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.” Matthew 25:5
*(1) Genesis 2:17; 3:4; Ezekiel 18:4,20; (2) Acts 2:29,34; 1 Corinthians 15:51-55; 1 Thessalonians 2:19; 4:16; Hebrews 11:39-40 (3) Psalm 37:20; Revelation 20:9; Malachi 4:3 (4) Matthew 19:14; Acts 8:37 (5) Matthew 5:17-18; 7:23; James 1:25 (6) Acts 10:28-29; 1 Timothy 4:3; Genesis 7:2; Isaiah 66:17 (7) Genesis 2:2-3; Isaiah 56:6; Daniel 7:25; Luke 23:56; Acts 17:2 (8) Daniel 8:11-13; 11:31; 1 Corinthians 15:31 (9) Proverbs 20:1; 23:20-35; 31:4-5 {see Revelation 1:6} Romans 14:21; Galatians 5:21 (10) Matthew 7:22-23; 1 Corinthians 9:27; Hebrews 10:18&26; 2 Peter 2:20 (11) Deuteronomy 26:18-19; 28:1; 1 Samuel 15:22; Matthew 7:24; Romans 1:5 (12) 1 John 5:13 (13) Matthew 6:7 (14) Mark 7:7-8