Loving our God or Loving our Blessings

Have you ever commended someone for having “the patience of Job”? It’s curious how that expression developed when the story is not at all about Job being patient.

From Tragedy to Triumph

Christ suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried, and descended into hell (compare Romans 10:7; Ephesians 4:9).

Imagine Christ’s descent into hell: demons in an ecstasy of glee—strutting and parading, gloating and cackling as they celebrate the death and demise of the Son of God. Then Satan arrives amidst thunderous applause. There’s backslapping and high-fives; congratulations for finally winning what they believed to be the ultimate victory.

Humanity and Divinity

Jesus comes to the Jordan River where two events occur that mark the beginning of his public ministry. First, Jesus is baptized. Given John’s vocal teaching of repentance and baptism, why did Jesus submit to a baptism of repentance? He was sinless. Secondly, why did the Holy Spirit come down to him like a dove during his baptism only to then whisk him “right away,” as Mark puts it, into the desert where Satan tested him for 40 days?

Good Riddance!

So far we have seen what is happening to the world and the Church throughout history. Now we begin to see why it is happening: enter Satan. How do you see him? A principle of evil, a scary character with a pitchfork? John pictures him as a great red dragon with seven crowned heads and seven horns, and a tail that can dislodge a third of the stars.

The Great White Throne Judgment

Five significant events take place in this chapter: Satan is seized and sealed in the Abyss for a thousand years, Christ and the saints rule on earth for a thousand years, Satan is released at the end of the Millennium and makes a final attempt to overthrow Christ, then the dramatic conclusion with Satan’s end, the scrolls opened, and all sinners cast into the lake of fire.