Was Satan Defeated at the Cross?

This is not a heretical question. It deserves consideration, because the book of Revelation indicates that Satan is not bound until the millennial reign and is not thrown into the lake of fire until after the millennial reign.

When Jesus cried out, “It is finished”, we must not presume what He meant. Obviously Satan is still around and creating havoc on earth. So what did Jesus mean when He said “It is finished”?

It means that He had accomplished that which He came to do. 1 John 3:8 says that Jesus came to defeat the works of the devil. Jesus said in Matthew 28:18, after His resurrection, that all authority had been given Him in heaven and on earth. Jesus said to His disciples in Luke 10:19 that He had given them all authority over the power of the enemy.

It’s all about Jesus, of course. Without Him, we can do nothing. But He has chosen to do things in a certain way. At the cross, He legally defeated Satan and gained back all authority in heaven and on earth. Then He turned to His disciples and said, “I have given you all authority over the power of the enemy.” So He wants His corporate body, in His power and authority, to get involved in the ultimate defeat of Satan. One might say that Jesus legally defeated Satan at the cross, but He has delayed the carrying out of the sentence in order to involve His disciples.

God has a plan to ultimately defeat Satan which involves Jesus’ disciples; i.e., Jesus corporate body: i.e., the church. It is revealed in Ephesians 3:9-11,

. . . and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things; so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord (Ephesians 3:9-11)

The book of Revelation describes the ultimate defeat of Satan through the church. But it’s not won by millions of Christians marching to the strains of “Onward Christian Soldiers, marching as to war.” It’s done as we Christians are “given over” to the antichrist system as sheep to be slaughtered. To say it in any softer terms is to distort what the book of Revelation describes. It is the wisdom of the cross by Jesus’ corporate body that is going to ultimately defeat the antichrist system and thereby Satan. The church is not going to take over and restore the systems of this world. We’ re going to die. When Jesus returns, then the world will be restored and we will be right there involved in that. But the order of things is that first comes death, then the resurrection. That is the wisdom of the cross and if me miss that, we risk finding ourselves in a situation which goes against everything that the natural man would think. Who thought that Jesus hanging physically smashed on the cross was a symbol of victory? God did. And He has the same plan for His church.

Oh yes, there is glory. Oh yes, there is victory coming. We will inherit the kingdom. But let’s get rid of this theology that ignores the cross waiting in our paths. Because if we don’t, we set ourselves up to be stumbled by events that Jesus warned us of in advance specifically so that we would not be stumbled when they take place.

There’s a real danger in taking on an “either or” mentality here. If we take on a defeatist attitude, we will miss what Jesus has in mind for His church at the end of the age. Because He is empowering His church to walk in His power and authority and to do exploits and to do even greater things than He did. The Holy Spirit is going to be poured out in great measure. There is going to be a great harvest. And we must work in that until the time comes when we can no longer work. It will be very much parallel to Jesus’ life. His public ministry lasted three and a half years. The last three and a half years of this age will be the church’s greatest testimony on earth and the last lap of the ultimate victory of good over evil. But the time will come when we must set our faces like flint in order to endure and fulfill our destiny.

The other danger is to believe that the church is going to take dominion and restore all things before Jesus returns. That is theology that completely goes against what the book of Revelation teaches. Sure it sounds good to the natural mind. But it is contrary to the plan of God as He intends to demonstrate His wisdom of the cross through the church.

We’ve got to grow up and understand this vision as part of God’s loving plan for His children and the redemption of His creation. We have to walk this out just like Jesus walked it out.

Vern Kuenzi

http://www.restoringthevision.com