Not long ago, I did an exegetical study on the book of Revelation. I have always subscribed to the amillenial viewpoint on eschatology but felt challenged to really shore up my foundations on that (Did I mention I am a big, fat nerd? Well, I am.) As I studied that often misunderstood and mysterious book, time and time again I came back to the relentless love of God for us and the relentless hatred of Satan toward we who are described by David in Psalm 17:8 as the apple of God's eye.
I am the apple of God's eye. You are the apple of God's eye. We are adored. Cherished. Cared for. Loved. And we are hated. Hated for no other reason than that we are precious to God. Since mankind's time in the Garden, Satan has been on an all-out unquenchable, murderous quest to be sure that we couldn't be reunited with God's heart. That we couldn't be restored. That we couldn't be made right with God once again. That we couldn't be redeemed. That though we were once lost, we could never be found. John 10 tells us that Satan lives to steal, kill, and destroy our lives. 1 Peter 5 likens him to a prowling lion looking for someone to devour. So as I was studying Revelation, it was like a movie was rewinding in my head of all the times throughout history that Satan has been bent on preventing us from encountering the person he has hated more than any other human in all of time: our Redeemer. And how, throughout Scripture his fury rose every time he thought - even for just a moment or a decade or a generation - that he had won, only to see God rise victorious again bringing us ever closer to our Redeemer.
In that same way, his fury rises when he thinks he has reduced a life to dependency and powerlessness through addiction, only to see us - through the power of Christ - rise from the ashes fully dependent on Jesus like never before. Or when he thinks has reduced a marriage to rubble through infidelity only to see us - through the power of Christ - rise from the ashes more united than ever. Or when he thinks that he has maimed and immobilized a precious soul through the terrors of childhood sexual abuse, only to see us - through the power of Christ - overcome that which has been done to us and use it to bring freedom to others. God's great power coupled with our heart's desire to let Him mold and shape us through the fiery pain of Satan's unleashed fury only serves to bring us closer to God's desired wholeness for us and to Satan's ultimate destruction for him on the last day.
They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because He is Lord of lords and King of kings - and with Him will be His called, chosen, and faithful followers. " Revelation 17:14
When it's all said and done, no matter your eschatological view of Revelation, it is clear that there is a winner and a loser. An ending. A reckoning. And certainly for us who know Him, no reason to fear. Now, my dear apples, go forth and continue to make him furious with how you live your lives. And fear not because the Lamb has already overcome him.
*And P.S., if you're interested in doing your own little study on the amillenial perspective on Revelation, two of the commentaries I used were, "The Lamb and His Enemies" by Rubel Shelly, and "More Than Conquerors" by William Hendriksen. And if you live near me, you can even borrow mine. I'm just nice like that.
