Total Victory Over Satan: Coming Soon (Romans Sermon 118 of 120)

Introduction

A Christian man walks through the city. It's dark, and the street light is out. He passes an alley and hears some low voices, perhaps a drug deal being consummated. His heart rate escalates, he begins to sweat. He chides himself for even being in this foolish predicament because he had a parking ticket that he procrastinated paying off, and now the authorities have put the Denver boot on his car. So now he's walking through a particularly rough area of town. His eyes dart back and forth, and he sees a woman wearing alluring clothing walking on the other side of the street. She smiles at him, but he knows that it's not a smile of affection, but rather an attack on his soul.

He feels for his wallet as he sees a group of teenagers coming toward him. They're cursing and punching each other, aimlessly looking for some fun on a Saturday night. They spot him and come toward him. He panics and wants to run. They chase him. They knock him to the ground, and they steal his wallet. But a police siren one block away scares the young men and saves his life. He staggers to his feet and manages somehow to get to a payphone to call his wife. She comes and picks him up, she's understandably worried because he's late. And as they ride together, she starts in on him for not taking better care of his affairs. It's not good timing. His anger flares, he bites back at her, and soon they're in some kind of a stress-induced argument, saying things they ought not to say to each other.

The argument continues until she goes to bed. He decides to stay up and watch TV. That was a mistake. He restlessly scans the stations of his satellite TV service, and soon, images come on that he ought not to be looking at. Ashamed that there's any appeal within him at all for that kind of thing, he wonders again why he hasn't canceled the service as his wife has urged him to do time and again. He overcomes by the power of the indwelling Spirit, turns the TV off. He remembers that he woke up too late that morning to have a quiet time and that his accountability partner is going to ask him tomorrow about his devotional life. More out of duty than desire, he opens the Bible and begins to read. He gets down on his knees and prays, but while he prays he's distracted by all the things that have gone on to him that evening. He can't keep his mind on his prayers, he begins to worry about the car that he left on the street and about the money that it'll take to get it back, if he even can get it back.

And soon he falls asleep on his knees. His prayer time ended ignominiously in the sounds of his snoring. After a couple of hours, he wakes up, staggers to bed forgetting to brush his teeth. And as he lays there next to his wife, somewhere in the invisible spiritual realm above his bed, there is a malevolent and intelligent figure plotting his downfall for the next day. Now if this were a Frank Peretti novel, we would have the name of the demon and we'd be talking about glinting red eyes and about leather wings and other things like that.

I'm going to stop here and not go beyond into the invisible spiritual realm. But we have arrayed against us a powerful enemy. Satan is his name, the Devil, that ancient serpent that we heard about read in Revelation 12, who is plotting our ruin every day. Who wants our misery, who would like our very souls if he could get at it. And in the midst of all of that shines brightly the promise from the single verse that we're going to look at today, Romans 16:20, "The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet." Hallelujah. In the midst of this darkness and the struggle that we have every day against the unseen forces of evil in the heavenly realms, we have the promises of God, and this is one of them. "The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet." Oh, what a thrilling promise is that. And it's my job this morning, my delightful job, to help you hear, stealing on your ear that distant triumph song that we sang about in that hymn for all the saints.

Some day we're going to win. The victory is guaranteed through the blood of Christ. And if you know that and if you really believe it, you'll fight differently than if you don't know it and don't really believe it. And that's what I'm after today. Your energy and your strength in the internal journey of holiness and that external journey of evangelization and mission work, that's what I want today.

I. Understanding Our Enemy, and His Effect on Our Lives

Now what is the context of this promise? Well, it's the Book of Romans, in which he's unfolding Gospel doctrine, 11 chapters of magnificent explanation of the doctrine of salvation, ending in a tremendous doxology in Romans 11, and then five wonderful chapters of practical everyday life application of that Gospel doctrine. And now we've come pretty much to the end of that. And in Romans 16, we have many saints greeting one another, he's sending greetings from some and asking that he be remembered to them. And then after that, he warns the church about those who cause divisions and put obstacles in their way that are contrary to the doctrine that he's laid out. "Watch out for those false teachers, they're coming. Protect yourself." And then at the end of that, he says, "The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet."

So within the context of the coming, the impending attack of false teachers on the church at Rome is this promise. But I believe the promise goes far beyond just that local church and their struggle against false teaching. I think it's a timeless, eternal, transferable principle and concept that we should meditate much on today. And so this whole sermon is just a meditation on what it's going to be like when God at last destroys Satan.

What Does the Scripture Teach Us About Satan

But we have to begin by trying to understand who Satan is. What does the Scripture teach us about him? Well, first of all, Satan is the enemy of God, and therefore, he is the enemy of God's people. He is a spiritual being created good, an angel, I believe, created good originally. But he fell into rebellion because of pride in his own beauty and power. He led a vast rebellion of angels who fell with him, he was defeated and thrown to the earth, as you heard about in Revelation 12. He was given a finite amount of time and a finite amount of power to wield on the earth. He tempted Adam and Eve to join in his rebellion, and all of us joined that rebellion in Adam. We joined Satan in his rebellion against almighty God, the human race fell at that point in Adam. In so doing, Satan led the world into its present state of general rebellion against God.

Now what effect does the Scripture say Satan has in this world? Well, he is the tempter. He tempts people to do evil. Says in Matthew 4:1, "Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil." It also says in the Lord's prayer, a little more careful translation of the Lord's Prayer would give us this: "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one." Not just generally from evil, but from the evil one who's plotting to lead us into temptation. He is called "the god of this age" or "the god of this world" in 2 Corinthians 4:4. He puts stumbling blocks in our paths, Matthew 16:23. Picture this: You're walking along the road of salvation, just making your way through your life following Christ. Suddenly, something happens, you stumble and fall in some way into sin. You're hurt, you're wounded, you feel guilty, you feel dirty, what happened? You stumbled over a stumbling stone. Satan put it there. He puts stumbling blocks in our ways.

And then he accuses us of our sins. The ultimate hypocrisy. He lures us into sin and then turns around and accuses us of the very things he was luring us to do. But it says in Zechariah 3:1, "Then I saw Joshua, the high priest, standing before the angel of the Lord and Satan standing at His right hand to accuse Him." As a matter of fact, the Hebrew word "Satan" literally means "accuser." The verb form is "to accuse." He's the one who accuses us. And so also in Revelation 12:10, it calls him "the accuser of our brothers." It says, "The accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down." Day and night, he accuses you to the Father. He directly opposes the advance of the Gospel. He fights against it every moment. He does that by blinding eyes, again, 2 Corinthians 4:4 says, "The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ who is the image of God." So he blinds unbelievers in seeing the glory of Christ.

He also snatches seeds that are sown. The parable of the seed and the sower, that which is sown along the path, the birds come and eat it up. Jesus interprets that saying the devil comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. They don't give it another thought, not even thinking about it, because the devil has taken it away. He also hinders the evangelists that are bringing the message. He strategically hinders them, he makes their lives difficult and harasses them. In 1 Thessalonians 2:18, the apostle Paul says, "We wanted to come to you, certainly, I, Paul, did again and again, but Satan stopped us." So again, there's a strategic blocking there by the power of the devil.

Satan causes material ruin and financial calamity. He also kills people. We get this out of the book of Job. By the power of Satan, Job lost his oxen and servants to a raiding party of evil men, his sheep and servants to lightning, his camels and servants to another raiding party of evil men, and finally, his own children who are eating together to a natural disaster. All of this ascribed to the work of Satan. He causes physical pain and suffering through disease and illness. Again from Job, Job 2:7, it says, "So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his foot to the top of his head." The apostle Paul said he had a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment him. So he causes physical pain.

He tests us and sifts us like wheat, with intelligence, malevolent intelligence. As Jesus said, "Simon, Simon, Satan has demanded to sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail." Oh, never forget this: Jesus' prayer is more mighty than Satan's sifting. And he will sift us and he will test us, but Jesus has prayed for us that our faith will not fail. Will Jesus get what He asked for? Yes, He will. Our faith will not fail, but yet there is Satan sifting us and testing us. And what followed for Simon Peter that night was the most wretched and miserable night of his entire life. He began at a spirit-empowered, strong servant of Christ, saying, "I can do anything, I'm ready to go and die." He ends up a craven coward saying to a little servant girl, "I never heard of Jesus," calling down curses on himself. That's what the devil can do to any of us in one night. He can enter people and take them over. As soon as Judas took the bread, John 13, Satan entered into him. "What you're about to do, do quickly," Jesus said. Isn't it wonderful that Jesus can give Satan orders? I love that.

Satan is a liar, and therefore he leads people to lie. He is a murderer, and therefore leads people to murder. We get both of that out of John 8:44, Jesus speaking of the Devil says, "He was a murderer from the beginning not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies." Now if he's the father of all lies, therefore he's the father of all false religions, he's the father of all cults, the father of all con games and deceptions. He's the father of all government cover-ups and corruption. He's the father of every deception. He's also the father of all murders. He's behind all gang-related violence, all the school shootings and post office shootings, every murder connected with drugs or domestic violence. Satan is the father of murder. And since Jesus linked murder to anger in the Sermon of the Mount, Satan is also the father of all sinful anger. He stimulates anger in relationships. He foments dissensions and factions and envy to divide people. He's just ultimately the father of all broken human relationships. Wherever there's brokenness in human relationships, Satan's work is there.

I do not discount the role of our own sinful nature and our own flesh, but he is the schoolmaster of that sinful nature. He's been training it all these many years. He makes schemes and plots against God's people. Ephesians 6, "Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes." He masquerades as an angel of light, 2 Corinthians 11:14. He doesn't come and say, "Here I am, I'm a wicked, evil being and I'm here to destroy your life." He doesn't say that; instead, he entices you and appeals to something that you think might be beautiful or attractive. He sows false seeds among the true ones, false teachers and false brothers among those that are true, Matthew 13, the parable of the wheat and the tares. Jesus interpreted it this way: "The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the one who sows them is the devil." Thus all non-elect, all the non-elect, the unbelievers and the rebels who never will come to Christ, ever, they are, Christ calls them, "sons of the evil one," "sons of the Devil."

And Jesus said it directly to the Jews that were opposing Him, "You belong to your father, the Devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire." Satan has an organized kingdom on earth. Matthew 12:26. It says, "If Satan drives out Satan, how then can his kingdom stand, since he is divided against himself?" He is, in Ephesians 2, the ruler of the kingdom of the air. Ephesians 6, "Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." So there's an intelligent arrangement of evil against us. He is "like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour," 1 Peter 5:8. Lions are cunning, powerful, vicious beasts of prey, have been known to weigh as much as 700 pounds and be 11 feet in length. Their roar can be heard five miles away. It is better to have a lion coming after you than Satan. He is able to do counterfeit miracles to deceive even the elect, if that were possible. He will do so through the anti-Christ at the end of time 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10.

He has a throne in a dwelling place on earth, for it says in Revelation 2, "I know where you live, where Satan has his throne," he said that to the people of Pergamum. He is called "a great dragon…who leads the whole world astray," Revelation 12. He is filled with rage because he knows his time is short, more on that later, thank God. He's filled with rage because he knows his time is short, and sinners who never come to Christ follow his rebellion to his destruction, because the King will say to those on his left, "Depart from Me, you who are cursed into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels."

Satan’s Effect on the Lives of Christians

Now what effect does Satan have on the lives of Christians? Well, the first thing to know is that Satan's effect on our lives is limited by the sovereign power of God. He's on a leash, praise God, and he can't just have full at us because if he would, then what happened to Simon Peter that night would happen to us immediately, and that would be it. Satan's effects on believers are limited by God's sovereign protection. Job 1:10, Satan complaining to God saying, "Have you not put a hedge around him in his household and all his possessions?" Do you sense the satanic frustration there? "I just can't get at him! Love to, but I can't, because You have protected him." And thus, every temptation and test that comes our way must first pass God's filter. "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man, but God is faithful who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you can bear, but with the temptation, will provide the way of escape so that you can stand up under it." Every temptation is filtered.

However, Satan's effects on us are immense and pervasive, even still. Jesus was extremely concerned about leaving His small band of followers in the world where Satan still was, and so in His high priestly prayer, in John 17, He says this: "I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of Your name. While I was with them, I kept them safe and protected them by that name You gave Me. Father, protect them that they may be one and none of them may be lost." Do you see the passion of Jesus and His concern for leaving us here where Satan is? We are hurt daily by the Devil's wicked attack on us. Every temptation you felt since the moment you gave your life to Christ can be traced to Satan's attack on the people of God. He is your enemy, the Devil, prowling to seek your very life. Pain, suffering, anguish, death, financial ruin, fear, anxiety, regrets, depression, unbelief, and guilt: They are his truck and trade, that's what he does. These are Satan's weapons to make you and me miserable.

And meanwhile, we're surrounded by a malevolent world system intelligently put together to drag us away from Christ every moment. We're surrounded by Vanity Fair with all of its evil allurements, with its lust and sparkly materials and enticements. That world is Satan's special creation, a filthy, lurking, enemy of your soul. It gives you not a moment's peace, and it pulls on you constantly, to abandon the Savior that you profess to love.

Now, let me ask you a question. What do you think just one day would be like, totally free from his influence? What would it feel like? What would it feel like in your stomach, what would it feel like in your mind? What would your thoughts be like? What would your prayers be like? What would your evangelism be like? Just one day free from this influence, completely free. You know what's incredible, God has promised us not just one day, he has promised us eternity like that, free forever, from all of the things I've been talking about. And you're probably saying, "I thought this was going to be encouraging sermon. This has been rather dreary up to this point." Well we're about to turn, because this is the one that the Lord has come to destroy. Satan's total defeat is promised in the text.

II. Satan’s Total Defeat Promised

Satan will be Crushed

Look at it again, look at verse 20, "The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet." Satan will be crushed. Now, this word is a powerful word, both in the New Testament and in the Old Testament. The Greek translation of the Old Testament. It's a powerful word. The demoniac of the Gadarenes ripped to shreds the chains with which he was bound, broke them and shattered them. That's what God's going to do to Satan. It's what Samson did to the lion that attacked him in Judges 14:6, "The Spirit of the Lord came upon Samson in power, so that he tore the lion apart as one would tear apart a young goat." That's what God is going to do to Satan. It's what the voice of the Lord does to oaks in Psalm 29, "The voice of the Lord is over the waters: The God of glory thunders, the Lord thunders, over the mighty waters, the voice of the Lord is powerful, the voice of the Lord is Majestic. The voice of the Lord breaks the Cedars. The Lord breaks in pieces the Cedars of Lebanon." Well, let's get past the Cedars of Lebanon and go right to Satan. What did he say? The Lord will break him in pieces and there'll be nothing left of his kingdom. Satan, his person, his kingdom will be totally and completely shattered. That's what's promised here.

The God of Peace Will Do the Crushing

And it says, the God of peace will be the one to do the crushing. He will crush Satan. All glory, honor and power will go to God for that crushing. We will know it was not by our strength that the crushing happened, it was God who crushed him. Satan may be the most powerful created being God ever made, possibly. No clear text on that in Scripture. But the evidence seems to point in that direction. There was a spiritual being, so powerful that the Archangel Michael had to have the help of the archangel Gabriel or vice versa, to just get past this evil being, and they struggled for 21 days until they could finally get an answer to Daniel in his prayer time.

How would you like to face that evil being alone, unaided? You would lose. So we have a sense of the magnitude of Satan's power, but Satan cannot compare with the Creator of the ends of the Earth. He cannot compare with the Lord God who rules over all things. They are not equal in opposites. God is the creator and ruler of the universe and he can pull the plug on Satan anytime he wants. Now you may wonder why he hasn't done it yet, he has his own purposes, but some day he will do it, the God of peace will do this crushing. Now why is it say, The God of peace, what does that mean, the God of peace? Well, first and foremost, peace simply characterizes God, it is his nature, he is a peace-filled being, he is at peace within himself. There has never been the slightest shadow or shade of disagreement between the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, and there never will be. God is completely one and at peace within himself.

Like a placid tranquil lake that for a 1000 years has been untroubled by a single pebble or by a single breeze, without a single ripple, that is the nature of the tranquility, the peace of the heart of God, He is characterized by peace. He's not troubled by the upcoming crushing that's going to happen and he's not troubled by anything that Satan is doing. He's not threatened in any way by it. He is the God of peace. But secondly perhaps, Paul calls him the God of peace in this context, because there's an immense contrast between Satan and God, on this point. They're very different in this regard.

Satan is constantly churning and angry and frustrated. God never is. So also, all of Satan's demons who Jesus say, roam the earth, restlessly seeking rest and they never find it. So, also, are all the wicked who follow his evil ways. Isaiah says, "The wicked are like the tossing sea which cannot rest, whose waves cast up mire and mud. 'There is no peace,' says my God, 'for the wicked.'"

In the immediate context of Romans 16, the false teachers who are going to come and cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the way of teaching that I've given you, they are not at peace either. But the God of peace is at peace. But most of all, I think that Paul calls him the God of peace to speak of the peace that he will give his children when he does the crushing. What's it going to feel like to be that at peace? I don't think any of us has ever felt it. I think we can scarcely imagine it. What a rich peace it will be to sit and watch a perfect sunset over perfect mountains. Perfectly at peace with God, and with every single human being, redeemed person on Earth and in heaven, what will that even feel like?

What a rich peace it will be to see Christ walking toward you in a fragrant orchard, smiling and greeting you, knowing that, unlike Adam, cowering in the Garden of Eden, you have nothing to hide. You don't need to run, you're glad to see him. What a rich peace it will be to have a conscience that is at rest in a world free from all evil people, in a new creation, free from all curse. And what a rich peace it will be constantly to approach the throne of grace with confidence, and know that he has welcomed you, as an adopted son, and daughter. That's the peace that will happen after the crushing. The God of peace is going to produce that in your heart and soul and in the world around you, if you're a Christian.

Mystery: The Crushing Will Be Under Our Feet

Now, the mystery of this text is that the crushing will somehow be done under our feet. Now how does that work? How will the God of peace, crush Satan under our feet? Well, it may be that God will empower us in some military way, in some final way to crush Satan at the great time of the Second Coming. And so in Revelation 19, when Christ returns, and he's dressed in white, and his robe is dipped in blood, and he is the Word of God, and there's written on his thigh King of Kings and Lord of Lords, when he comes back, it says in Revelation 19, following him, are the armies of heaven dressed in white riding on white horses and they have come to conquer and they're not going to lose. And we'll be involved, and we get to be part of that final crushing by the power of God. Perhaps it's in a judgment role. It says in 1 Corinthians 6:3, "Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life."

Most probably it would be that God will in some mysterious sense, make Satan lie down and we get to put our feet on his neck. As happened in Joshua 10, when Joshua was conquering the promised land and five kings came out to fight against the people of God and their hearts were afraid. But, Joshua said, don't be afraid, God is basically being really efficient here. We'll just take care of them all at once, get them all together and we'll do them all at once. And they won by the power of God and the five kings were there. And Joshua made them lay down on the ground. And he invited the men of Israel to come and put their feet on the necks of the enemies of the people of God. Thus will God do to all of your enemies. But what happened in the physical realm, by the physical sword and the conquest of the promised land in the Old Testament is nothing compared to what will happen in the ultimate and eternal spiritual conquest, when the God of peace will crush Satan under our feet.

Satan boasted to Christ, that the kingdoms of the world had been given to him and he can give them to anyone he wants. Remember that? Corinthians does call him "the god of this age." He is, in some sense, the king of this world. Well, guess what, the kingdom is going to be taken away from him, and you know who it's going to be given to, it's going to be given to the people of God. For the meek will inherit the earth. We get it. Oh, he's roaming to and fro, he's the god of the age and all that, but someday we get what used to be his. The powerful mighty warrior has been bound by the power of a greater one and he is being plundered, and all of that stuff is going to be given to the people of God, to us. It says in Daniel 7:18, "The saints of the Most High will receive the Kingdom and will possess it forever." Yes, forever and ever. And Satan will be nowhere to be found. He'll be gone forever. More on that in a moment. But he'll be gone forever.

Now, what does the text say, about the time frame? The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. Soon. I know what you're thinking, you're thinking, not soon enough, let it be today. Amen, come Lord Jesus, let it be today, if he so chooses. But it does say soon, the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. Now, you may be troubled by that word. You may think, "Ah, here at last, there's an error in the Bible. It's been 2000 years since Paul wrote this." Well, you know very well that the whole Bible ends in the word soon. Almost the last concept, Revelation 22:12, "Behold said The Lord I am coming soon." Jesus is coming soon. Well soon has been 2000 years, right? And we're waiting for it. But remember with the Lord, a day is like a 1000 years and a 1000 years is like a day. It's coming soon, friends, this crushing, very soon.

III. Satan Already and Not Yet Crushed

Now, there's an idea in theology, especially eschatology, the study of end times, the idea is that of the already and not yet. Those things that are already ours in Christ and those things that are not yet ours but they are coming.

There's a sense in which we can already experience the end time things and a sense in which some of those are yet to come. Already and not yet. And so therefore, I think that Satan is already crushed and not yet crushed. I believe that Jesus crushed Satan, at the cross. This is the very thing that God predicted would happen in Genesis 3:15, the first inkling of the Gospel in which God spoke to Satan, that serpent in the Garden of Eden, and he said that the seed of woman will crush your head and you will bruise his heel. This I think is a prediction of the crucifixion of Christ in which Christ would destroy the evil one. And so it says in Hebrews 2:14, that Christ became a man, and died on the cross, "so that by his death, he might destroy him who holds the power of death. And by his death, he might free those who all their lives, were held in slavery captivity to their fear of death." Christ did that at the cross. Or again, it says in Colossians 2:15, "And having disarmed the powers and authorities," that's Satan's realm, "He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross." So the cross of Jesus Christ is the crushing of Satan. And it happened 2000 years ago.

Well, Satan's crushing, has been extended for 2000 years by the advance of the Gospel through evangelism and missions. God was not content with a quick kill, in this matter. He wanted a 2000-year kill at least and so Satan has been being crushed now for 2000 years. How? By the advance of the Gospel, by the simple sound of the tramp of human feet over the roads of history. The advance of the Gospel over every hill, over every raging mountain stream, beyond every turbulent sea, through every satanic obstacle that he's thrown up for 2000 years, he has not been able to stop it. "I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it." And so Christ has, through us, built his church. Isaiah prophesied this trampling of the evil satanic city. In Isaiah 26:5-7, it says there, "He humbles those who dwell on high, He lays the lofty city low. He levels it to the ground and casts it to the dust. Feet trample it down. The feet of the oppressed, the footsteps of the poor. The path of the righteous is level. O, upright one, you make the path of the righteous smooth." Yes Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you. Your name and renown are the desire of our hearts." Isaiah 26.

Now, what is the sound of the feet tramping the evil satanic city? It's the advance of the Gospel. And so it says in Romans 10:15, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news." It's the last time the word feet was mentioned in the Bible. So I thought I'd go back to that one, Romans 10:15, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news." God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. When the Apostle Paul's feet, carried him across the Dardanelles, over to Philippi, and he led Lydia to Christ and began the evangelization of Europe, Satan was crushed a little bit more. When the feet of Roman Christians carried them courageously into the Coliseum that their blood would be shed by lions and gladiators for the entertainment of pagan people, and unflinching-ly they went to their death singing praise songs to Jesus, Satan was crushed a little bit more.

When the missionary Raymond Lull in the 13th century, drew up his courage, and got on a boat and went to the Saracens, the Muslims to lead them to Christ, and they eventually martyred him, but he led numbers of them to Christ, Satan's kingdom was crushed a little bit more. In 1521 when Martin Luther's feet carried him to the Diet of Worms to defend the rediscovered Gospel of Jesus Christ. And he said, "I'll go, even if there are more devils than tiles of roofs, opposed against me." Satan's kingdom is crushed a little bit more. Every time that George Whitfield went up the stairs to a platform to preach the Gospel of the new birth during the Great Awakening, Satan's kingdom was crushed a little bit more. Whenever Hudson Taylor went to a new village in the inland regions of China to preach the Gospel to those that had never heard the name of Christ in the inner regions of China and vast numbers were brought to Christ, the God of peace has crushed Satan a little bit more under his feet.

And when you go across the street, or across the office and share the Gospel with somebody, bring them to faith in Christ, the God of peace has just crushed Satan a little bit more. Like I said, "God has not been pleased to kill, to kill Satan's kingdom quickly. He wanted a 2000-year kill at least. And every time we advance the Gospel by sharing the Gospel. Reach out, every time you get on a plane and go on a short-term mission trip or as a career missionary, anything you do to advance the Gospel of Christ, the God of peace is crushing Satan under your feet. But you know, I'm not satisfied with that. I want the final crushing don't you? I want the absolute total complete thing. I want to go to whatever the Greek word means and have that happen to Satan. That's the full crushing, that's the not yet thing. This has been going on, that's the full crushing. That's just a foretaste of the crushing. I want the whole crushing.

And the whole crushing happens when Jesus sends Satan to hell. Now don't imagine for a moment that Satan will like it. God is not stupid. What is the Lake of Fire for? It's a punishment for Satan. He doesn't miss his mark and create something that Satan actually likes. It's a destructive place and that's why he's filled with rage, because he knows he's going to hell and there is no Gospel for him. There's no possibility of redemption for him, or any of his demons, and therefore the demons are trembling in fear in front of Jesus. They're not fighting as equals and they know it, they are afraid of it. And do you see the devastation that he can actually bring human beings with him into the Lake of Fire?

Any of you who are listening to me today, if you have not trusted in Christ, that is your future. But unlike the devil, you can repent, there is a Gospel for you. You don't need to walk out of this place and continue the road to hell, you can actually turn and repent and believe today. The blood of Christ sufficient for all of your sins if you just simply trust in him. His fate doesn't need to be your fate, but it is his fate. Listen to what it says, Revelation 20:10, "And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented, day and night for ever and ever."

IV. What Life Will Be Like After Satan is Crushed

Alright, after that, what? What will it be like when he's finally there and we're still here in the new heaven and the new earth? It's called in 2 Peter, "The home of righteousness." And we will be perfectly righteous, not by our own works, but by the blood of Christ, and the imputation of the righteousness of Christ, we will be perfectly righteous and therefore, fit for that beautiful place.

We will be transformed, we will be in resurrection bodies. What will life be like apart from Satan? Well, there'll be no temptation at all. Imagine not a single pull in the slightest way, away from Christ. Nothing, no temptation. There will be no accusation of past sins, no feelings of guilt. It's been swallowed up by the ocean of grace that flowed from the cross of Christ. There'll be no guilt, no recriminations, no sense of, "If only I had done this." Or, or, "If only I hadn't done that." None of that. We'll be free from that. There'll be no evil world system and no wicked people. You'll be able to walk through the city and not be afraid of anything. There'll be no laws, because, "The laws" it says in Timothy, "are made for the wicked, the adulterers and perjurers, and slave traders and all those wicked people." We're not under the law, and so therefore we won't need any law. We'll be at a higher level. We will love God completely, and love our neighbor as ourselves completely. And so there's not going to be any, no trespassing signs, friend. When you see a beautiful meadow, just go there and walk through it. Private Property, No Trespassing. Will shoot on sight, and all that kind of stuff. Gone for good.  No death, no mourning, no crying, no pain, no danger of future fear or trouble, nothing, no curse on the Earth.

And so, as I began with a bit of imaginative prose I'm going to end that way. Imagine a single day in the new heaven and the new earth, what will it be like? You walk through the New Jerusalem. Your perfect eyesight sees the vivid colors of the city wall, sparkling in the supernatural light of the glory of God. You stand at a street corner without any fear whatsoever of being mugged or attacked in any way. As a matter of fact, those fears and anxieties are totally foreign to your peace filled mind. Every sight you see points you to Christ. Every thought that fills your mind, heightens your love for God. Your resurrection body, far from pulling you away from God as your flesh used to do, now with constant energy and power draws you close to God at every moment. You stoop and drink water from the River of Life flowing clear as crystal through the center of the city. Now, this is going to be a busy day as steward of your inheritance, you're very own possession, some eternal real estate, more spectacular than any mansion this present age ever dreamed about.

You walk through the magnificent gates of the city of God each one of them, it says made of a single iridescent Pearl and you go through to the green grass of the new Earth. You climb energetically to the top of a well-situated hill and your ears are filled with the songs of birds, and the sounds of animals perfectly at peace with each other. The leaves on every tree, glow with the light of God and are lifted and caressed by a soothing gentle breeze. You sit on the hill and look out over the valley. The River of Life which originated at the throne of God flows serenely at the bottom of the valley. No insects annoy you, no ants swarm around you, no mosquitoes whine in your ears. You feel completely at peace with no sense of time-pressure anxiety. It's not like the end of a long weekend and you soon have to be back at a job you hate. Nothing like that crowds your mind. You see some of the brothers and sisters in Christ walking up the hill towards you and your heart leaps for joy. There's no diminishment of the experience by having them there.

You have no fear whatsoever that they're going to attack you, or insult you or diminish your peace in any way. Rather, you're delighted in them, they're gloriously radiant with the light and the glory of Christ, just as you are. You greet them by name for they're familiar to you, and they sit and join your peaceful gazing out over the fruitful valley. You sit and talk about the power and love of God and all his saving works of grace. It's as though joy compels you to speak out your worship. Every word you say, enhances the joy of your companions and so also their words do the same to your heart. The aroma of the fruit trees and flowers fills you, as you breathe deeply. You share some of the fruit with them and they with you and one single joyful idea fills your mind. Maybe not these words, but this concept. When we've been there 10,000 years, bright shining as the sun, We've no less days to sing God's praise, than when we first begun.

You are at last kings and queens on the earth ruling under Christ for eternity. This is your Father's world and he's been pleased to give it to you. Satan. Oh yeah, him. He's the farthest thing from your mind, he's gone. He was the loser of the past age and he's gone now, he's been crushed forever. Death, mourning, crying, pain, gone forever. So also the curse on the land and the fruit of your hands. Everything you put your hand to will prosper under the power of God.

That sounds good, doesn't it? Until then, what? Well, the verse doesn't end with, "The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet." There's more in the verse, do you see it? What does it say? It says, "The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you." We're going to need it friends, because you're going to walk from this sanctuary and go out to whatever will happen out there and Satan is going to be involved in it. He's going to try to tempt you and hurt you in some way. You need grace, future grace and it will be there for you. It will be there as much as you need to get you to this place. Are you ready? Have you come in here today in a graceless state, you've not trusted in Christ? Don't walk out that way. Trust in him, believe in him for the salvation of your soul. If you came in here knowing Christ, but your knees are weak and your arms are weak, then let the distant triumph song steal in your ear and give you strength and bravery to fight. Stand firm against the devil and his schemes. He's a loser. Why would you want to join him in his losing? Say no to the sins of the flesh, and advance the Gospel. Rescue more people from the dominion of darkness and bring them into the kingdom of the Son that God loves. Close with me in prayer.