And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, (Rev. 20:10).
If you believe in God, and have confidence in the inspiration of the Bible, you probably also believe in the Devil. In the same way that God loves you and Jesus has a wonderful plan for your life, the Devil hates you, and has a diabolical plan for your life. He is our enemy. But if you think God and the Devil are co-equal powers of good and evil respectively, then you are a Zoroastrian, not a Christian.
There is evil in the world. It causes pain, suffering, disaster, and death. It is not just a negative force. Evil is the product of a spiritual being who has deceived and destroyed millions of men and women throughout the centuries. He goes by a number of names in the Bible. Along with the title The Evil One, he is called Satan, the Devil, the Dragon, and Lucifer. His origins are hazy at best, but the consensus of biblical theologians is that he is a fallen angel of tremendous power. But he is a created being and his power and influence have limits. One day…he is going to be destroyed. More accurately, one day he is going to be put in a place of torment…forever. We call it Hell. Revelation pictures it as a fiery lake of burning sulphur.
We have three “enemies” in our quest to follow Jesus and live a life that is pleasing to God. The Bible says the world system we operate in has been distorted by sin and creates an atmosphere that is hostile to the plans and purposes of God.
The Bible also says that as descendants of Adam, we possess a fallen nature that when unrestrained will always drift toward sin and conformity to the fallen world system.
And the Bible says that there are demonic forces at work in the world trying to keep us from living the way God intended us to live and exerting powerful influence over both the world system and our fallen nature. The three combined are referred to as “the world, the flesh, and the devil.”
But the Bible also says a day is coming when all these enemies will be vanquished. The world will pass away and there will be a new heaven and a new earth that exists in perfect harmony with the workings of God. When that day comes, we will be changed. We will see Jesus as he is and our old nature will be eradicated so that we will always live in the power of the Spirit. And on that day, Satan will be defeated and cast into the “fiery lake of burning sulphur.” He will not be able to attack anymore. What a day that will be!!!