Revelation 20:1-3 “1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time.”

WHIPPED!

Did you read that? Did you catch that? One, count them, ONE angel grabbed hold of the Devil and threw him into the pit. Why do we fear him so? God didn’t send a legion of angels to do the job. It only took one.

We hear all the time how scary and powerful the devil is. And he is if we try to take him on ourselves. He can whip any of us. But when we surrender our will to the Lord and let Him do our fighting, the devil shrinks away in utter defeat.

It’s no wonder he is mad all the time. He already knows he has lost. Why don’t we just keep reminding him of that? Of course, when we do, do it all in the power of the One who is All Powerful.

TEACHING MOMENT

Children are naturally curious about the devil. They see things on TV or hear things from friends that greatly exaggerate Satan’s power. We need to educate them about the reality of the devil, but also make sure they understand that they, through the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives, can defeat him with just one word – Jesus.

The next time your child brings up the devil or the subject comes up in your house, take the time to talk about these verses. Knowing the end of a story before you read it can ruin the whole book, but not in this case. Knowing we win, in the end, is comforting. It gives us courage to fight every day for truth and holiness. Amen?