Begin—End, 10of12

~ Spiritual Warfare Initiated > Continual Skirmishes > Spiritual Victory Finalized ~

There are a number of fascinating parallels between the first three chapters of the Bible (Genesis 1-3) and the last three chapters of the Bible (Revelation 20-22).  In between we find 1,183 chapters which record mankind’s struggles as well as instructions for the struggle.  In this series each post looks at one of the parallels—it is not an exhaustive coverage of all the parallels. 

The Beginning  ~  Satan won the first skirmish in the great spiritual war.  “So the Lord God said to the serpent: ‘Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life.  And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head [fatal], and you shall bruise His heel [not fatal]’” (Genesis 3:14-15). 

The Middle  ~  Believers continue to fight the spiritual war.  “Do not love the world or the things in the world.  If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.  And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:15-17). 

The End  ~  Jesus Christ—The Lamb of God—wins the war!  “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.  He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished.  But after these things he must be released for a little while” (Revelation 20:1-3).  “The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are.  And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Revelation 20:10). 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

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