"The Cosmic War On Earth”

In Jesus Holy Name January 28, 2024

Text: Mark 1:21-25 Epiphany III Redeemer

“The Cosmic War on Earth”

Jesus and his disciple have entered the local Synagogue on the Sabbath.

Jesus was an honored guest. He was asked to address those who had assembled. Back then a guest preacher would begin by quoting some saintly scholar. But the guest preacher, Jesus, didn’t do what others normally did. He did not have to quote anyone famous. They noted that He taught with authority. He didn’t quote other Rabbi’s, He spoke as if He had written the scriptures…which of course He had.

Mark chapter 1 reminds us that God has an invisible enemy, Satan, who was an angel who wanted to displace God, or at least be equal with God. Jesus called Satan the “great Deceiver”. He will tell us everything from “God isn’t real” to “God isn’t good.” When Jesus was active in His ministry, Satan and his demons, those who had joined His rebellion against God were out in force in their attempt to defeat Jesus and His mission. (quote from Rev. Tom Zelt)

I love the way Mark has chosen to explain this Cosmic War on Earth. His words are short and to the point: “This is the gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God.” The Messiah as arrived. After his baptism, Mark writes, Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was driven by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days the “cosmic battle” between God and Satan continued to play out through the life of Jesus.

This “cosmic battle” was and is ongoing. I am reminded that Satan used both Pride, Jealousy and Political power under Herod the Great to try to kill the infant Messiah in Bethlehem. When that failed Satan came himself and tempted Jesus in the wilderness. Now in Mark 1 in the synagogue we see the ongoing battle and confrontation with evil. This cosmic war is a religious war. It is a battle between the forces of evil controlled by Satan and God over the human life and soul. This cosmic conflict is not only visible in the ministry of Jesus, but in our lives and our culture as well.

Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The first version, published in 1667, consists of ten books with over ten thousand lines of verse. The poem concerns the biblical story of the fall of man: the temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel Satan and their expulsion from the Garden of Eden.

The epic continues in Milton’s second edition, which followed in 1674, also arranged into twelve books, to explain the ongoing battle between God and Satan in our lives and in human history. Milton states that Satan is a tragic figure who famously declares: "Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven" (1.263). Following his vain rebellion against God he is cast out from Heaven and condemned to Hell. The rebellion stems from Satan's pride and envy, his desire to replace the Creator of the Universe.

Each Sunday morning our bible study has been studying the Book of Revelation. The past several Sundays we have looked in depth at Chapter 12. In Revelation 12 & 13 we are told that Satan lost the “war in heaven”… after his defeat by the archangel Michael …the dragon and his angels lost their place in heaven and were cast down to the earth where Satan his minions now lead the whole world astray.” John writes: “the dragon went off to make war against those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.” That’s us! (Read Rev. 13:17)

The Gospel of Mark is clear: “The time of the Messiah has come. God’s Son has arrived on the earth He created in order to destroy the devil.” When Jesus entered the synagogue in Capernaum the demons who possessed the man’s body knew who Jesus was. “We know who you are, the Holy One of God. Have you come to destroy us?”

Friends, Satan knew very well who Jesus was.

When Satan’s 2nd attempt to defeat Jesus in the wilderness failed…we fine .Jesus engaged in His third battle. The engagement happens in a synagogue in Capernaum. (read 1:21-24) You see, they, the demons, thought this was the “final judgment of God explained in Revelation 20 when they would be destroyed in the eternal lake of fire. They thought that the “end of the world” and God’s final judgment had arrived. Rev. 11 and 21 both proclaim:

“Then I saw a great white throne”, writes John, “and Him who was seated on it.” The Judgement of God, the end of all human history has arrived. “Then death and Hades gave up their dead and along with Satan were thrown into the lake of Fire.” This is the second death…. Rev. 20;