"And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the Lake of Fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false Prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever." Revelation 20:10

I was watching the History Channel one night when a two-hour program entitled "God vs Satan" came on the air. I didn't plan to stay tuned and certainly didn't expect much out of the program. I have been constantly amazed by how inaccurate this network has been when programming Bible or Christian topics. It didn't take long for problems to show up this time either.

 The documentary depicted a great controversy between God and Satan for the souls of men. Satan is often thought of as the ruler of Hell who is trying to gather as many souls as he can that they may serve him for all eternity. Among the Gothic crowd the cry, -"I would rather rule in Hell with Satan than to serve God in Heaven!" is a common expression.

 However, this whole concept is a lie. Satan does not rule Hell, God made Hell to destroy him and his demons, -"Depart from Me accused ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels." (Matt.25) Revelation 14 says that those in Hell will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of Jesus, the Lamb of God.

The returning Jesus is the King of kings and Lord of lords who will establish His rule over all, including Hell. There will be torment in Hell but eventually all who are cast into Hell will die - the Lake of Fire is called the "second death." The expression "everlasting fire" can mean lasting an age in Greek, which is a thousand years.

One thing is certain, there will be no instantaneous death in Hell. The damned will weep, gnash their teeth, be denied rest, and suffer torment. Ezekiel 28 says that even Satan will eventually be burned to ashes, -"Therefore I have brought fire from the midst of you; It has consumed you, and I have turned you to ashes on the earth."

There is a great struggle between the forces of Light and the forces of Darkness, but the battle is raging in the hearts of men, not in a personal war between God and Satan. It is our fight and our choice. We can choose the Light or the Darkness, but let us never be deceived - just a tiny light overpowers the darkness.

Satan is a defeated foe and it took no more than Michael, another angel to defeat him and cast him down to the earth. And when Jesus sentences him to the abyss it will take only a single angel to carry out the mission, -"Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he threw him into the abyss." (Rev.20)

 Jesus has already come to destroy the works of the devil and all we need do is submit to God and resist the devil and he will run from us. In Christ, we have armor which cannot be penetrated and divinely powerful weapons which are able to destroy the devil's fortresses.

Let us march courageously forward for no weapon formed against us can prosper and he has nowhere safe to hide.