It's a Mystery - article by Joel Hempel
Most people like a good mystery, a “who done it?” But in the text from this past Sunday’s sermon, Revelation 20:1-6, we know who done it. Satan done it. Satan is the originator of evil, the author of lies, and the grand deceiver. Whatever name you want to call him, he is trouble! When it comes to evil, there is no mystery. Evil and its byproduct, sin, will make a mess of things.
The real mystery is why Satan still has so much power and influence. And that, my friends, remains a mystery within the mind of God. But his power is limited. The Devil can do only what God will let him do (see Job 2:1-6; Matthew 4:1). As Pastor Scott preached, “God is in control! The Devil is not.”
When Jesus took upon himself the sins of humankind, died on the cross, descended into hell, confronted the Evil One, and when our Lord rose from the grave victorious over death, humankind was not only given hope in this life and for the next, we were also given the ability to withstand Satan’s attacks and even defeat him.
The way most of us experience Satan is when we are tempted. Decades ago there was a book entitled, The Games People Play by Eric Berne. One game Berne described is important for Christians to remember and guard against. The “game” is called Gold Stamps and Brown Stamps. Many people reading this article will remember Green Stamps. We would get these at grocery stores and other retailers. When we filled up a stamp book, we would be rewarded with free merchandise or groceries.
Make-believe gold and brown stamps work similarly. People “earn” brown stamps by enduring problems during the day, and gold stamps by achieving success. With imaginary gold or brown stamps in hand, people would convince themselves they had a right to indulge in destructive but pleasant behavior. This game continues today. And the primary pusher of brown and gold stamps is Satan.
In all of his many disguises, Satan seeks to lure us away from The Way of Jesus. But the Gospel of Christ will ALWAYS defeat the Evil One: “God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability [to resist], but with temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it (1 Corinthians 10:13).” And when we fail and give into Satan’s deceitful lures, Jesus forgives us, and empowers us to triumph over Satan’s efforts to make us despair (Acts 26:18).
There is no mystery about our Lord’s mercy. It is real, concrete, and enduring.
