Game over, almost. Th earth is groaning, (Romans 8:22) men’s hearts are failing them for fear, (Luke 21:26) and Satan is going about like a roaring lion. (1 Peter 5:8)
Have you ever wondered about that verse, “knowing his time is short.” How does he know that, the only knowledge of the future that Satan knows about, as far as we know, comes from the Word of God, the only Book ever written that foretells the future with exact detail. We know it as the word prophesy, at least in this subject matter, for us today, the born-again believers, to prophecy means to expound on the truths of the Scriptures, for all prophecies for this age of grace, this dispensation of time, if you like, have been fulfilled, save for one, the rapture of the church. (1 Thess. 4:17)
Satan presents himself before God when he is called to do so, (Job 1:6) how often this happens, we cannot say, but there is one guarantee, when God says to show up, he shows up, and I am quite sure that beyond the arrogance that he exhibits at these moments, that he detests this part of his existence vehemently. Satan is of course a spiritual being, he has absolutely no idea what it means to be human, only the Lord Jesus Christ has this blessing, for He is both totally man and totally God, but that does not mean that our adversary is not well versed in the ways of man, they are indeed quite simple for him to discern, and whenever possible, to manipulate. But he does have an incredible advantage over the humans in the area of this planet’s course, and it is the answer as to why he knows his time is short, he can see what is going on in the spiritual realm as it concerns itself with the last prophetic message for the church, the rapture.
God Almighty is not only a God of order, but a God who is orderly, there is if you will, pomp and procession in the heavenlies before an event is going to occur, when God moves, all of the spiritual realm pays rapt attention. We know many of the things that will occur in the last days, wars and rumors of wars, pestilence, earthquakes in divers places, (Luke 21:11) and much more, these are not prophecies, they are signs, for a prophecy is a specific event, though the terminology could be debatable. Satan not only sees these events occurring as well if not better than we do, but he also has the advantage of a spiritual presence, he can see that events are occurring in the kingdom of God, a preparation of sorts, and so he can assume, and quite rightly so, that his time is becoming short, he is well assured of his end, and his anger and violence will begin to exert itself exponentially.
The attacks will become more fierce, the lies and deceits will attempt to persuade even the elect, (Matt. 24:24) everything he has ever done is for the leading up to this moment, worship him or die horribly, bow the knee or suffer. Satan has an advantage, we have the Holy Spirit of God Himself, he is looking for those to devour, we are reaching out to the lost, to show them the eternal hope that is in Christ, he is a roaring lion, we are as wise as serpents and gentle as doves. We both have one thing in common though, we have an expected end.
God’s timeline should be our timeline, we must always think eternally, no matter how difficult, trying, or frightening the days may seem, our home is not this world, yet while we are here we must make the only things in this world that will last throughout eternity our main concern, the Word of God and people. What Satan wants, everything he wants, will fade away, this world, the people he will subjugate will in time be placed in the same place he is going to spend eternity in, and there are no rulers in hell.
The Lord is moving His hand off of this earth, He is preparing for the next step in His plan, and this will not arrive without preparation, the signs are as sure in heaven as they are here on earth, a marriage feast requires preparation. The main difference is that while Satan goes about as a roaring lion, we are comforted, (2 Cor. 1:4) for our redemption draws nigh. (Luke 21:28) Go about your life with great joy in your heart, soon we will go home, let that joy spill over to all you meet, invite them to the marriage feast, show them the only One that can save them from the approaching days of wrath.
