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TIME-TRAVEL THEOLOGY

I'm not much of a science-fiction fan, but it's not my fault when someone ELSE passes along to me a decent spiritual application coming from that particular genre. In a story entitled Time After Time, the old time-travel writer, H. G. Wells, has traveled out of the 19th century and into 1979 San Francisco, and is trying to prevent Jack the Ripper from committing yet another terrible crime.

Now, because of this time-traveling miracle, Wells knows all about the future murder. He knows where and when and how it will take place. He's determined to prevent it; he thinks he can alter a future event. But as he's traveling to the scene of the yet-to-be-committed crime, suddenly a car tire goes flat. And the crime, which he KNEW was going to happen . . . happens. Things were fixed in destiny; he couldn't change them.

Probably a more well-known Hollywood sci-fi project along a similar theme was the old Back to the Future trilogy, where a kid named Marty McFly, played by Michael J. Fox, travels into the past and the future via a DeLorean time machine. And even there you see this thread where sometimes the future COULD be changed, the so-called space-time continuum . . . and sometimes it COULDN'T be changed. He'd try to prevent something terrible from happening — because he KNOWS it's about to — and he runs out of gas.

Probably the most wrenching — and certainly cheapest — of such imaginary adventures is an old TV program where a time traveler determined to travel back to a Friday in Dallas, November 22, 1963 . . . and try to PREVENT John F. Kennedy from being assassinated. So he went back in time to, let's say, twelve-FIFTEEN in the afternoon there in Dallas. But you know, every single time, something would go wrong. Flat tire. Traffic. The elevator wouldn't work at the Texas Book Depository. And the hard thing was that the actor playing Kennedy kept getting killed over and over and over again. That assassination was a fixed event that could not be erased out of history.

Well, it's maybe an interesting bit of fantasy. But friend, I actually find in this odd little kind of story a powerful Bible truth. And here it is: GOD IS GOING TO WIN. That . . . is a fixed truth. It can't be changed; it can't be overcome; it can't be undone. The fact of God's victory is concrete truth that you can hold onto today.

There are things about the war between Christ and His enemy, Satan, that are still in the future. They haven't happened yet. And one might think that those future events are subject to alteration. A great heroic effort, or a demonic one, could overturn them — you would think.

And you couple that suggestion with the concept that we mentioned yesterday: how the Church of Christ is STRUGGLING here in this last decade before the 21st century. The devil is winning wars all over the place. Things are shaky for the people of God.

And yet . . . the Bible promises about ultimate victory are absolute, unshakeable, unchangeable truth.

In the book of Revelation, especially starting in chapter 19, we find ringing promises that tell us God simply IS NOT going to lose. Chapter 19 describes the Rider on the White Horse, Jesus Christ. And, friend, He's followed by the armies of heaven. They don't come down here to lose; they come down here to WIN.

Chapter 20, verse eight, describes the final battle: Armageddon. What happens? God wins, the devil loses. That's verse 10.

Chapters 21 and 22: more descriptions of the victory, not only for God, but for God's people. Those who are allied with God will share in His victory. Listen to this:

"Now the dwelling of God is WITH MEN, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

I want to tell you something today. And I hope this doesn't sound flip or casual. But I almost see God's enemy in terms of that kid driving around helplessly in that time-traveling DeLorean. No matter where he is in the space-time continuum, no matter what he tries to do, THE DEVIL JUST KEEPS LOSING. He's the Flat-Tire King of all time. Every strategy he tries backfires! In fact, even when he wins . . . he loses.

Let's go to the Garden of Eden. And we see the devil's DeLorean parked outside the front gate behind a bush. And he wins a little battle; Adam and Eve sin and become his captives.

Then what? Not one chapter later, a Redeemer is promised. Jesus will win them back. And the serpent's victory turns into defeat.

Travel down a couple of thousand years. There's that same DeLorean parked on a sand dune by the Red Sea. The Children of Israel are trapped. Mountains all around, the sea's in front of them, the whole Egyptian army's behind them and coming on strong. The devil can't lose this time! Except that God opens up the Red Sea, then closes it just in time to swallow up the whole enemy army. Another blockbuster loss.

Now we move to Jesus in that Garden of Gethsemane, and then on the cross of Calvary. This looks like the biggest enemy win of all history. Jesus is dead in the tomb; the war's over. Satan has won! But it turns out not to be. The resurrected Son of God comes OUT of the tomb. Darkness turns into light. Tragedy becomes triumph. And all Satan can do is watch in bitter frustration from the sidelines as his biggest campaign fails. No matter what he tries, GOD SIMPLY WILL NOT BE BEAT.

In the early Christian church, God's followers are persecuted and tortured and killed. The battlefield is covered with blood. But for every Christian soldier who falls, a hundred new ones spring up to take his or her place. The blood of those martyrs waters the meadows of the Dark Ages, and the church actually grows and thrives. Satan . . . simply . . . can't . . . win.

It gets to be the year 1517. The medieval church is locked in heresy and superstition; the enemy has managed to infiltrate it with pagan practices and false teachings. He's on the verge of a huge triumph. But then October 31 comes around, exactly 478 years ago today, and a monk named Martin Luther goes up to the church there in Wittenburg and nails something called "The 95 Theses" to the door. The Protestant Reformation is born; the pure Christian church is revived. Satan was SO CLOSE . . . and he loses again.

And here in the 2001, the same scenario is being played out again. Maybe it's happening in your life. Lucifer is attacking YOU; he's pelting you with temptations and discouragement. Maybe he's hitting you with the temptation to seek a divorce or a habit you just can't break. He's so close to victory, because you're about ready to give up.

But you know something? He pushes you just a little bit TOO FAR. His hatred overshadows his wisdom and his craftiness. He's so close to enslaving you for good, but that last temptation, that last trial is just one too many. And you're so discouraged, so in despair that the devil actually drives you down ONTO YOUR KNEES. That's right! He pushes you TO YOUR KNEES — and you cry out, "Jesus, save me!"

And I've seen this time after time; in fact, I've experienced it in my own life! The devil doesn't know when to quit, and he sabotages his own campaigns! He ends up losing in the very projects he starts. He steps on his own land mines.

I want to tell you HALF of my favorite expression. Just half . . . and here it is. "SATAN IS MIGHTY."

Would you agree with that? He IS! He's a mighty foe! The book of First Peter describes him as an enemy, an adversary, a roaring lion capable of devouring us. He's a dangerous enemy; he's not to be trifled with. Here at The Voice of Prophecy we consider Lucifer to be a very real being, a tangible enemy, a formidable foe. He's the Prince of Darkness. Let me say again: SATAN IS MIGHTY.

But friend . . . praise God, because that's only HALF of my favorite saying. And I know YOU KNOW what the entire saying is. Repeat it with me right now as you're listening on your radio.

SATAN IS MIGHTY . . . BUT JESUS IS ALMIGHTY!!

That's right, friend. Wherever you are, know this to be true. Satan IS mighty. He absolutely is. But Jesus Christ is ALMIGHTY. And when it comes to war, "ALMIGHTY" beats "MIGHTY" every single time.

I don't know if you've ever played that old kid's card game, ironically called "War." You pull out a card and then your opponent pulls one out — and the higher card wins. And every time Satan pulls out a six, God has a seven. Satan gets a king, and God has an ace. Every time! He doesn't lose!

In one of our favorite Voice of Prophecy resource books, THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE HOLY, by A. W. Tozer, he points out that the English Bible uses the word "ALMIGHTY" 56 times. And do you know something? All 56 are in reference to God. Not to us; not to a great king like David or Solomon. Not to the 12 disciples. And friend, not to the devil. The devil is mighty, but GOD is ALMIGHTY. He doesn't EVER lose. No matter where you park your DeLorean and get out, you see God winning again.