One of the problems of our perception of Jesus and what he was doing is how we understand the language of the Bible. We often take a very worldly view of what the word of God says. For example, many of us see Jesus’ “Second Coming” as his literally coming in the clouds of heaven, which would occur sometime after he had ascended into heaven (Matthew 24:30; cp. Acts 1:9-11). However, how could the disciples question about Jesus’ coming at the end of the age (Matthew 24:3) refer to his coming out of heaven or even coming to earth a second time, if they didn’t realize he was about to leave them (John 13:36-37; 16:17-18)? Prognosticators of the Second Coming of Christ see Jesus coming in glory with or against the largest army ever to be brought together, 200,000,000 men (Revelation 9:13-16; cp. 14:20)! The combined Allied and Axis powers of World War II was only a third of that number, 70,000,000 men. Yet, whether we consider this enormous army to be human or spirit beings, some scholars, without even questioning their reasoning, take the number literally, but even though many other scholars take the number symbolically, all presume Christ will literally fight mankind and destroy one third of humanity with this army (Revelation 9:16-18).[1]
The current population of the world is a little over 8 billion people, and one-third of this figure would be a little over 2.5 billion people! Yet, we don’t even blink about charging God with this kind of destruction, which says a lot about the hardness of our hearts and the violence that permeates our own worldview of power. For example, conservative estimates of folks slain in World War I is between 16 and 20 million. Death totals from bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki range from 150-250 thousand. This is what man does and calls it just. Nevertheless, if we consider what God did in the Genesis Flood, a conservative estimate of the total number of deaths occurring then is a little over 41,000.[2] What man does is very violent, but the judgment of God in its totality is merciful. With this in mind, how certain can we be that what we think the Second Coming of Christ should look like is actually true? How certain can we be that we understand what Jesus was saying and doing, when he spoke of judgment?
I ask these questions, because, whether we consider the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) or Jesus’ Nazareth Manifesto (Luke 4:16-30), the strange mention of the binding of the strong man (Matthew 12:26-29) or the “coming of the Son of Man” (Matthew 16:28; 24:27, 30, 37-39; 26:64), it seems as though Jesus was already in a great battle that was racing toward a climax.
What seems strange about this battle is that neither Jesus’ enemies nor his disciples perceived that this was the kind of battle they expected the Messiah to wage. They believed the battle would be violent and decisive, and depending upon one’s faith in him, Jesus would either destroy the oppressor of the Jews (the theory of the disciples) or destroy both Jerusalem and the Temple in a rebellion against Rome (the theory of Jesus’ enemies; Luke 22:38; John 18:10-11; Mark 1:24; Luke 4:34; cp. John 11:45-48).
So, what kind of battle was Jesus waging, and who was the enemy? We are told that the battle, in which we are engaged, is spiritual and not with flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12), but what does this mean? Are our enemies spirit beings or do our human enemies possess spiritual authority, which is used against Christ and his Church?
If “Satan” is the enemy, who or what is he? The word satan comes from the Hebrew satan (H7854) and simply means “adversary” or “enemy.” Many Christian scholars have used the word as a name for a figure in the myth of a rebellious angelic being, but we cannot prove that being was ever angelic, if we use only the Bible for our information. In 1Samuel 29:4 David is called the Philistines’ satan (H7854). In 2Samuel 19:22 one of David’s close associates acted as his satan by giving him bad advice that cost the lives of thousands of Israelis. 1Kings 5:4 tells us God gave Solomon peace on all his borders, and he had no satans or enemies! Later, however, the Lord stirred up several satans, because of Solomon’s unfaithfulness (cf. 1Kings 11:14, 23, 25). We can even find that the Angel of the Lord was Balaam’s satan or adversary (H7854; Numbers 22:22, 32)!
In each of these cases the same Hebrew word that we use as a name for an evil spirit being was used to describe only men, with the sole exception of the Angel of the Lord (Numbers 22:22, 32). So, just because we see the word satan (H7854) used in scripture, it doesn’t necessarily point to an evil, powerful spirit being. The fact is, if we use only the Bible for our information, no spirit beings are ever called Satan, the Devil. All mentions of “Satan” are men, with the sole exception of the Angel of the Lord!
So, in terms of the Lord coming to his Temple (Malachi 3:1) and the battle that follows (Malachi 3:2-5), how would that actually take place? If Jesus was in that battle, how did the battle transpire, and how did it end? Did it end, or are Jesus’ disciples still in such a battle? If so, what does that look like? These questions are fundamental to knowing the problems both Jesus and his disciples face(d), and how those problems get to be solved.
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[1] I believe the number 200,000,000 is figurative, and my reasoning is laid out in my previous study of the Apocalypse: The Whole Army of God.
[2] See my previous study of the Genesis Flood: The Genesis Flood and the Morality of God.
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