The Two Seekers – Chapter 11, The Final Destiny of the Seeker-Destroyer

The True Tale of the Two Seekers, Ch. 11, The Final Destiny of the Destroyer.

“The Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost… On the other hand, the devil, our great enemy and accuser, is constantly prowling around like a roaring lion, seeking someone, anyone, to devour. This adversary is like a thief whose only purpose is to steal, kill and destroy. But the almighty Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, was revealed to us for this purpose: to destroy the works of the devil, to undo his evil activities, and completely put an end to everything that the Evil One has accomplished.” (quoted from Luke 19:10, 1 Peter 5:8, 1 John 3:8, and John 10:10).  

The Ultimate Bully. Have you ever had to endure a neighborhood bully, someone who is without a conscience and tries to lie, cheat, steal, intimidate everyone within his reach?  This bully seems always on the verge of doing something violent, but like many bullies, resistance and self-defense will often send the bully scurrying away. And how would you feel when you see the sheriff come into your neighborhood, put the bully in handcuffs, load him into his patrol car, and take him away for a well-earned imprisonment? The whole neighborhood would breathe a collective sigh of relief, right? Now, multiply that relief a few million times in scope, and we can sense what the world will experience when the devil, the world’s neighborhood bully, is finally vanquished and put into prison forever.

And the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ages of ages, forever and ever.” (Revelations 20:10). 

Held Accountable. This demise of Satan at the hands of God answers the age-old question… Do we live in a moral universe? Will evil eventually be destroyed? Will there finally be some accountability for the source of all this evil we see every day? Yes! In St. John’s vision of the devil being hurled into everlasting torment, we see that God will ultimately judge the evil one and make sure that goodness triumphs and evil is vanquished once and for all. As Eugene Peterson put it, “The problem of evil is a question that isn’t left dangling. It’s resolved. And it is resolved in judgment. In the end, every form of evil is banished from history. Finally and forever!” As Jesus proclaimed in Matthew 25:41, God has had a lake of eternal fire all prepared for the devil and his angel demons. God has planned all along for the devil’s eventual eternal damnation.

The Devil’s Identity. This is the devil, remember, whose evil is beyond description, and so earned a large array of biblical titles to point out his despicable identity:  the Father of Lies (John 8:44); the Adversary, Satan (1 Peter 5:8 and over 50 times in NT); the Ruler of Darkness (Eph 6:12); the Accuser of the Brethren (Rev. 12:10); the Enemy (Matt. 13:39, Luke 10:18-19); the Slanderer, the Devil (given 38 times in NT); Ruler of the power of the air (Eph. 2:2); the King of Death (Heb. 2:14); Prince of this world (John 12:31); the Lord of the Flies, Beelzebub (Matt. 12:24); the Great Dragon (Rev. 12:9); the Ancient Serpent (Rev. 12:9, 2 Cor. 11:3); the Angel of the Bottomless Pit (Rev. 9:11); the Tempter (Matt.4:3); the false Angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14); the Roaring Lion (1 Peter 5:8); the Ruler of Demons (Matt. 12:24); the Evil One (Matt. 6:13); the Murderer (John 8:44); the Daystar and Son of the Morning, Lucifer (Isaiah 14:2); the Shining One, Lucifer (Isaiah 14:2); the Worthless One, Belial (Deut. 13:14, 1 Sam. 2:12, Ps. 18:4, Ps. 41:8); the Deceiver of the whole world (Rev. 12:8-9); the Destroyer, Apollyon (Rev. 9:11, Ps. 17:4, 1 Cor. 10:10)).

The Devil’s Desires. And need we be reminded of what this ultimate neighborhood bully was capable of? This is quite a character description:  He wants to assume the throne of the Most High God; he hates the truth; he wants to take life out of people and replace it with death; he accuses the innocent and slanders the godly; he tells nothing but lies; he loves to thwart the purposes of God and hinder the gospel; he loves to antagonize the followers of Jesus; he is poised to tempt those in their weak moments; he is always prowling for those who are vulnerable; he is a clever master of disguise; he counterfeits that which is good and perverts what is pure; he spawns evil through those who are fooled into following him; he would deceive the whole world if he could; he loves to mar and deface that which is beautiful; he loves to be smooth and alluring and convincing in his temptations; he overflows with ambition and pride; he wants to embrace all the glory due to God and desires for all to worship him alone; he will be accountable to no one but himself; he is the original sneaky trickster and plays dirty; he knows now that Jesus came into the world to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8), and works extra hard to bring as many as he can down with him to his doom.

And what will the new heaven and earth be like without the evil one? It will be a perfectly restored Garden of Eden without that slithering serpent. It will be a pure Paradise to enjoy to our heart’s content. It will be the fulfilling privilege of taking a place at the heavenly table as we joyfully participate in the eucharistic Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19:6-9). There will be a perfectly inspiring fulfillment of God’s great gift of music with a ‘new song’ around every corner. There will be a profound visceral fulfillment of every good thing hinted at during our time on earth, including friendships, marriage, nature, worship, and our creative impulse.   It will be a world in which God will wipe away every tear from our eyes, where there will be no more death, or sorrow, or pain. (Rev. 21:4). It will be a sunless world, because the glory of the Lord and the Lamb will be the light source. (Rev. 21). It will be a place of permanent shalom and peace with a healing of all the nations. (Rev. 22:2). As St. Paul exclaimed in 1 Corinthians 2:9, “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it even occurred to the human heart, all the things God has prepared for those who love Him.” The best part of life in heaven, though, will be seeing our dear friend Jesus face-to-face and walking with Him in the Garden in the cool of the day.