“War broke out in heaven…” (Revelation 12:7).
Satan launched his revolt against God not with bullets and bombs but with subtly spun lies. The Greek word for “war” in the above text is polemos, from which we get words like polemic and politics. Polemos is the idea of arguing against an opponent or saying something about a person that has the effect of turning others against him.
In other words, Satan is a politician. God’s character is the focus of his attack. The devil specializes in formulating theological ideas that are calculated to portray God as self-centered, self-exalting, self-serving. Jesus came to our world for the specific purpose of giving a true revelation of God’s character. In His incarnation, life, and death, we encounter the truth about God.
Ellen White gets to the core of the issue like this:
“Unselfishness, the principle of God’s kingdom, is the principle that Satan hates; its very existence he denies. From the beginning of the great controversy he has endeavored to prove God’s principles of action to be selfish, and he deals in the same way with all who serve God. To disprove Satan’s claim is the work of Christ and of all who bear His name. It was to give in His own life an illustration of unselfishness that Jesus came in the form of humanity. And all who accept this principle are to be workers together with Him in demonstrating it in practical life” (Ellen White, Education, p. 154).
In other words, Satan is a politician. God’s character is the focus of his attack.
A comparison of three simple biblical statements tell the whole story:
“God is love” (1 John 4:8).
“Love…is not self-seeking” (1 Corinthians 13:4-5, NIV).
“He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself” (Hebrews 9:26, NIV).
When the Bible says, “God is love,” it does not mean what pop culture means by its use of the word “love”—a sentimental feeling of attraction to whoever or whatever we find pleasant or beautiful. Rather, it means that God is “not self-seeking.” He is relationally faithful to all others at any cost to Himself. The self-sacrificing death of Jesus on the cross is the irrefutable proof that Satan’s charges against God are false. The war between good and evil, quite simply, is won by love.
Ty Gibson
Ty is a speaker/director of Light Bearers. A passionate communicator with a message that opens minds and moves hearts, Ty teaches on a variety of topics, emphasizing God’s unfailing love as the central theme of the Bible. Ty and his wife Sue have three adult children and two grandsons.
