The pro football season is about to begin. Thirty-two football teams will each play seventeen games over the next five months, followed by the playoffs, and all culminating in the Super Bowl with the two best teams going at it head-to-head. Everyone expects it to be a showdown of epic proportions as every player on each team gives their all to win.
This intense, winner-take-all combat brings to mind the two cosmic “teams” currently battling to the death. What they’re fighting for is far more monumental than any Super Bowl trophy. Although I don’t watch sports, I know a lot of people love football, so I couldn’t resist using this earthly competition as a metaphor for the universal spiritual battle between God and Satan. The battle currently raging is for nothing less than the hearts and minds of every human being on Earth. God and His followers are locked in mortal combat with Satan and his followers, pitting good versus evil.
how it began
How did the cosmic conflict start? Ezekiel, chapter 28, and Isaiah 14 tell us it all started with a beautiful angel named Lucifer who served as a “guardian cherub” near God’s throne. He was magnificent! He is described as “the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty” (Ezekiel 28:12) and “blameless” (verse 15). But, instead of being grateful for the beauty and wisdom God gave him, Satan glorified himself.
“Your heart became proud on account of your beauty,
and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor” (verse 17).
His pride grew into a full-on selfish ambition to be like God Himself, saying,
“I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
I will also sit on the mount of the congregation
On the farthest sides of the north;
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
I will be like the Most High” (Isaiah 14:13,14, NKJV).
The beautiful angel Lucifer became Satan, the leader of a revolt against God and His government. The Bible tells us what happened next: “And war broke out in heaven: Michael [another name for Christ] and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him” (Revelation 12:7–9, NKJV).
The great controversy between good and evil began in heaven and continues to this day here on Earth.
rules of engagement
God desires our love and loyalty. He wants us to freely choose His gifts of salvation and eternal life. He longs to be our heavenly Father, but He will not force us: “As many as received Him [Christ], to them He gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12, NKJV; emphasis added).
Satan, on the other hand, will do whatever it takes to keep us on his team, pursuing our own sinful ambitions and deeds so that we’ll be eternally lost. Misery loves company, and ever since Satan was thrown out of heaven, his main goal has been to drag as many of us down with him as he can! It hurts God to lose even one of us, so Satan wants to torture Him as much as possible by claiming as many of us as he can. The Bible warns: “Your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8, NKJV). It also records a loud voice in heaven saying, “Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time [between now and Christ’s second coming]” (Revelation 12:12, NKJV).
ready for battle
The Bible describes the cosmic battle that we’re presently caught up in: “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12).
How can we overcome such foes? The Bible provides us with an awesome answer:
Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. . . . Put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people (verses 10–18).
how it will end
Whenever you’re tempted to feel overwhelmed or to wonder whether Satan may win after all, just remember to read the end of the book. Pick up your Bible and turn to Revelation 20:9, 10. It announces the ultimate victorious outcome: “They [Satan and his followers] marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur.”
Early next year, the two best pro football teams will play in the Super Bowl. Everyone will guess which team will win, but who can know for sure? But in the great battle between good and evil, we already know that God will win. The only question is this: Will you and I be on the right team? I certainly hope so!
