The End of the Devil

It’s Monday Grace!

The devil has an end. I said that last week. There will be a time when the evil one will not work against us. His end is coming.

For most believers, the devil is the personification of evil. Not that all evil is done by the devil. No, there are other forces, and we have had our part. But evil seems to be blamed on the devil in the beginning, and evil will continue as long as he continues. It is important that we believe and remember that evil has an end.

It’s hard for most of us to imagine the terror of wondering if the next bomb will hit where we are hiding or the horror of being kidnapped and trafficked. The evil that people do to each other is hard to think about. It seems like new and nastier things happen every day.

But one day that will all end.

I actually don’t know how the devil will meet his end. The Scriptures speak of him being thrown into the lake of fire. Some people think he will be annihilated, along with any who have followed him. Some think he will burn forever. Some even think the devil will convert and bow before the Lord. (I don’t see that last one anywhere in Scripture, but even that would end the devil.) The point is that there is an end to the evil and to the one who has caused and nurtured evil throughout the ages.

And that’s good news.

This is not hopeful thinking, not just a happy ending for a difficult story. This is fact. The day of glory is coming. The evil around us will end.

Today, bad people seem to get their way. They cheat, they lie, they abuse, they manipulate. They hurt others without remorse and have no intention of stopping. But they will stop. It will end.

Today, you might be struggling with the evil around you. Your pain and suffering is real, just as is the pain and suffering we so often hear about around the world. The Lord has not forgotten you. There will be an end to your pain.

Yes, I know that the end might be when we leave this world. That would certainly be okay with me. When that time comes, I want to have a smile on my face. I want to laugh at the evil one and leave him behind. Death, for the believer, is simply a passing from this world to the continual and glorious presence of Jesus. I am not certain what that will look like, but I am certain it will be very good. So, if the evil of this world ends when I die, that’s fine with me.

But there will also be a comprehensive end to evil and the devil in this world. The pain and suffering, the cruelty and abuse, will stop. All evil is temporary.

The love of Jesus is forever.

Hope that is placed in Jesus, in the promises He gives, is secure hope. It will be done.