Rereading the Gospels from the perspective of spiritual warfare is interesting. It puts the focus on what, spiritually, was taking place at humanity’s most pivotal moment. This is not of merely academic interest. It gets at the ancient question of why God tolerates evil, even gives it authority at various times.
It’s a hard question because it’s the wrong question.
The correct question is, how did Satan expect to win? Evil came into the world as part of Satan’s attempt to unseat God, right? It’s not a standalone topic.
He’s not a fool. He would never have opposed the Almighty unless there was a nonzero chance of success.
One could argue that he was forced to rebel, but I do not. The smart response to being shoved of a cliff is to hang on and call for help, not fling yourself off the cliff face in order to give your assailant the show he wants. Maybe God would have refused to hear such pleas, but maybe not, and if opposing God is impossible then there’s no other play.
Scripture doesn’t describe his plan, but I think it was Eden. Satan knew that God loved us humans. He tempted Eve into rebellion, and as he expected, Adam loved Eve so much that he deliberately damned himself by submitting to her rebellion. In other words, mercy led him to deny justice.
Next, was God’s turn. He was now in Adam’s position. Would He act in justice, condemn humanity, destroy all creation in order to deny the devil, against His own wishes? Or, would He act in mercy, and sanction a blatantly rebellious act?
Either way, God loses, in exactly the situation Adam was in just a moment ago.
God chose the third option of status quo. He would tolerate humanity existing in a state of rebellion against Him, being also a state of (limited) access to Him, and upon their death, leaving them in the grave pending… Satan wasn’t sure.
How suspicious the devil must have been, to watch God play for time, how he must have wondered if he’d miscalculated. Surely God had only two options, justice or mercy! But no, God opted to let the rebellion against Him expand & continue.
Then Christ Our Savior was born.
An exploitable move by God! Everything previous had been via proxies.
Satan’s first plan was simply to murder baby Jesus. Joseph fled to Egypt because if he hadn’t, Satan would have successfully murdered God. There was no magical force field.
Satan’s next plan was to step back and let Jesus endure daily life as a human. That had been enough to corrupt every other human that ever existed, after all.
That effort’s final failure was the Temptation.
Satan had failed again. But what should be his next move? If you can’t stop Christ then you stop Christ’s mission, obviously, but what WAS Christ’s mission?
Two choices. Judgment. Mercy. One must be thwarted, after which, Satan gets a fancy new chair.
Jesus told us His plan, but in code… parables… language that deceivers couldn’t understand, apparently. We have seen this today, hilariously, with the Marxists’ inability to meme. Dissidents in other Marxist cultures were about to speak against the Regime by using similarly coded language.
We already have one scientific test for Marxism, the strength of the disgust reflex. I suspect that in the future, another scientific test will be a linguistic Rorschach test, if you’re capable of understanding memes and parables. But I digress.
Christ said He was going to die and be raised from the dead. Satan having the Marxist linguistic disability, heard what he wanted to hear: he would get the chance to murder Christ after all. Sure, Christ would eventually escape Sheol because He was innocent, therefore God could show mercy without compromising justice, but at least that little glitch in the Matrix would be gone, and Satan would be on the scoreboard as a slayer of gods.
Then Christ resurrected Lazarus. In the context of Satan wondering how Christ’s death & resurrection might break the spiritual stalemate.
John 12, NIV translation
Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him… Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in him.
Mr. Evil": “Dangit, He’s solved the dilemma! I still don’t know the details, but He’s begun to resurrect His dead followers and build a kingdom! At first people didn’t know what to make of Him, but now He’s proven He can defeat death itself!
“Hmm… death for everybody else, at least. I remember him fleeing the country when I tried the first time.”
The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,
“Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the king of Israel!”
Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written: “Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.”
Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him. So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!”
“AIEEE! He *IS* setting up shop!”
Let me digress here. Jesus is invoking prophecies in order to confirm His worldly authority. Actually no, of course, He was fulfilling prophecy, but the Jews (and I presume by extension, Satan himself) still think this way. “If we declare the United States to be Edom… and ourselves to be Jacob… then God will be forced by his prophecy recorded by Moses, to give us worldly victory on these terms.” It’s hard to explain because it’s so alien to honest minds, but that donkey is a good example.
Why did Jesus ride in on a donkey?
Seriously. Why?
It’s kinda silly when you think about it. There’s no spiritual significance to donkeys. Christ could have opted for “the king will ride in on a horse” or just “the king will ride into town”, but no, Jesus specified a donkey. And He might not have ridden it for more than a couple hundred yards. He didn’t even ride a donkey between towns, so far as we’re told. This was just for the entry.
I can tell you what a Talmudist would do. A Talmudist would make a point of riding into town on a donkey every time he wanted the proles to believe he was a king. It wouldn’t be true; but he could say “the prophecy says the king comes in on a donkey. I came in on a donkey. Therefore, obviously, I AM KING WORSHIP ME!”
In truth, the prophecy is useless as an identifier of who the coming king would be. Every yokel with a burro can force it to be true for them.
I think Christ made that prophecy and kept it, not because of any mystical significance to kings upon barn animals, or even of any benefit to Him personally, but because He knew Satan would interpret such a move as forcing a prophecy to claim kingship. Because that’s how Satanists use prophecies. They invoke ‘em as spells. They don’t search for truth.
So, the devil thought Jesus was forcing the fulfillment of the prophecy “the king will come on a donkey” and panicked, because that’s what he would do in that situation. That was his great mistake: thinking Christ was forcing a mortal kingdom. That Christ was trying to win the game he’s set up.
Emphases mine:
Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.
Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
“Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!”
Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.
Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.
That is what Jesus said. But what did Satan hear? Let me take a guess.
Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be crowned as king. Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Like Lazarus did; he died and I brought him back, and now many people believe in me! Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I rule, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
“Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, obey me!”
Then a voice came from heaven, “As you ordered me, I glorify my name.” The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.
Christ told God to glorify his name, in order to demonstrate authority over God. We believers know that this is not actually divine submission; we know, unlike Satan, the meaning of “family”. We know that Christ being perfect, means He’d never act against God even if he had the authority to. Which is why God went along with this demonstration: to spook Satan into the worst decision of his immortal life.
Notice that God never stated “Jesus rules over me”. He only demonstrated it. This was a feint… war propaganda. Heck, Joshua ordered God in Joshua 10. That didn’t make him God.
Re-quoting real scripture instead of my Not-Inspired Version:
Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out.
That was obviously shots fired, to spook Satan into… doing what, exactly?
And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”
There it is: Satan’s Easter gambit. “I’m gonna drive out Satan! My cunning plan is to die and then return to life in three days. See Lazarus here? It’ll be like that.”
(Although Lazarus was in the tomb at least four days.)
If Satan didn’t kill Jesus then Jesus would build His worldly kingdom. If Satan DID kill Jesus, then if Jesus was exalted out of the grave, He would build his worldly kingdom.
But… if Satan killed Jesus and kept him buried… thereby invalidating Christ’s prophecy… see, that’s how his kind thinks.
Forgotten in his calculations, was the possibility of Christ’s kingdom NOT being worldly. Christ had previous indicated that, true, but that’s NOT how his kind thinks.
Christ was pushing Satan’s buttons everywhere in that speech.
Recap:
Jesus brought back Lazarus to put bodily resurrection on the table. The only form of resurrection that a God-hater would value.
Jesus entered Jerusalem as its king, while “invoking prophecies” to confirm that kingship.
God publicly showed obedience to “King” Jesus.
Jesus publicly bragged that this was going to be the moment of the devil’s defeat…
…when Prophecy XYZ takes place.
Number 5 takes advantage of the diabolical habit of forcing prophecies to come true instead of using them as indicators and signposts. Prophecies only work if they work for you, right?
The devil took that gambit, murdered the innocent Christ, and proceeded to thwart Prophecy XYZ.
Matthew 27:62-66
The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.”
“Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.
QED. They tried to invalidate Christ’s prophecy by ensuring that He stayed buried! Which would have proven Christ either a liar or a fraud, and either would have given Satan his long-sought victory.
Meanwhile, Christ won the game that Satan had originally set up. God’s only choices were justice or mercy, and either would have capital-D Damned the Almighty. But now, God had a Murdered, Innocent Man.
God can have BOTH justice AND mercy for such a Man.
Checkmate, pretty boy.
While Satan was holding a gun to His holey corpse, Jesus was prison-breaking the grave. He did come back on schedule, but only for a few victory laps before heading off to be crowned King of Kings. Those soldiers didn’t get the chance to kill Jesus a second time because, apparently, God sent them an angelic enforcer with the message Daddy Says No.
Honestly, if you look at all the supernatural events that happened at the moment of Good Friday, it’s obvious that that was the moment God took off the kid gloves. Satan should have sent demons to guard that tomb, not Romans. Maybe he did. Maybe he failed even more completely than we’ve been told.
Satan had a chance to unseat the Ancient of Days, but then Christ played his hopes and fears so well that the devil damned himself. Now, the only thing he can do is build a mortal kingdom to compete against Christ’s heavenly kingdom. Talk about sloppy seconds, but more than that, Christ is gonna come back, take over that mortal kingdom and run it for a thousand years just for the humiliation factor. He will let Satan build his empire of lies because He can’t wreck it until it exists.
And just to twist that final, Sco’ish blade, He’ll raise some of us from the dead, who were killed during the construction of that kingdom… a la Lazarus… to help run that mortal kingdom that Satan was panicked about in the first place.
Happy Resurrection Day! Victory Day! I like my Savior’s style.
Amen Brother!
" For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder"!
The men who deny the Scriptures and the Power of God (post-millennialists) claim that this means "ruling from heaven" and that Christ is ruling on David's Throne in heaven. Uh... last time I checked David is dead and his throne was in Old Jerusalem. I am Thankful that God has promised us more than that!