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Sunday, March 23
... then the end, whenever he delivers the kingdom to God the Father, whenever he abolishes allrule and all authority and power ... (1 Corinthians 15:24)
The Secret Service was established in 1865. Many people don't know that its founding purpose was not to protect the president but to ght currency counterfeiting. In recent years it's been busy in this regard. A new $20 bill came rst, with new color schemes and background art. New $50 and $100 bills were released next, as the Treasury continues to respond to counterfeiting techniques. But the criminals always have an answer. They "leech" the bills, bleaching out the ink and replacing it with higher currency features. Or they digitally reproduce them.
And so banks still teach their tellers to ght counterfeit bills the way they always have. They give them so much time with the real currency that they can spot a fake the moment they see or touch it.
Satan is the great counterfeiter. When you face the "father of lies" (John 8:44) today, what will you do?
What God's word means
When Jesus returns, the end ("conclusion, consummation") comes. As C. S. Lewis noted, when the author of the play steps onto the stage, the drama is over. At his second coming Jesus delivers ("hands over") the kingdom he initiated at his rst coming (Matthew 4:17). Proving that all authority has been entrusted to him (Matthew 28:18), he gives the kingdom to God the Father.
At that time, he abolishes ("invalidates, makes useless") all ("every") rule ("dominion"), authority ("absolute power") and power ("might, capability, strength"). These nouns refer to evil powers under whose dominion the world has fallen. They include human rulers (cf. Romans 13:1-3), but especially comprise spiritual authorities (cf. Ephesians 3:10; Colossians 1:16). Satan is the "god of this age" (2 Corinthians 4:4, NIV), the "prince of this world" (John 12:31, NIV) who controls this fallen age (1 John 5:19). Paul warned that "we do not wrestle against fl esh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12). But when the "King of Kings and Lord of Lords" returns (Revelation 19:16), he will cast Satan into the lake of re to be "tormented day and night forever and ever" (Revelation 20:10).
Why Easter matters
Jesus' resurrection and return are more connected than many people realize. Jesus prayed for us before his death (John 17:20-26); he prays for us now in his ascended glory (Romans 8:34). He rose in a miraculous body (John 20:19, 26); he will return in heavenly splendor (Revelation 19:11-16). He rose from his grave to ascend to heaven; at his return, the dead in Christ will rise from their graves to join him there (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).
If Jesus was not raised from the grave to glory, he could not return from heaven to earth. His resurrection was no more miraculous than his return will be. If we can believe in Easter, we can believe in the Second Coming.
How to respond
Hiroo Onoda enlisted in the Imperial Japanese Army at the age of 20 and was sent to Lubang Island in the Philippines. He was instructed never to surrender or take his own life. When Allied forces landed on his island, he and three other soldiers retreated to the hills. They continued guerrilla warfare against Filipino inhabitants and police.
After World War II ended, lea flets were dropped on their island calling on them to lay down their weapons and return to civilization. However, the four believed these lea ets to be enemy propaganda. One surrendered ve years later; a second was killed in 1954, and a third in 1972. Onoda refused to surrender unless the proper military authority relieved him of duty. Finally his long-retired commanding o cer, Major Yoshimi Taniguchi, was located. He was own to Lubang Island, where he accepted Onoda's surrender on March 9, 1974.
Jesus defeated Satan on Good Friday and Easter Sunday. He is more powerful than our enemy still today: "greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world" (1 John 4:4). Like Hiroo Onoda, we can try to hold out against him in our strength. Or when the devil tempts and attacks us, we can turn to our risen Lord for help. When we do, we can "resist the devil, and he will ee from you" (James 4:7). Not "might" but "will"—guaranteed.
When temptation fi nds you today, to whom will you turn?
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