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Genesis 3:14-15
Satan had little trouble deceiving Eve and goading Adam to sin—just as he has swayed every other human being except Jesus to sin. However, he will not go unpunished for his part in deceiving the whole world. God makes this clear in Genesis 3:14-15, where he curses the serpent. God says plainly that Satan would be put down; the woman's Seed—Messiah—would “bruise his head.” The Hebrew word for “bruise,” qâmal, means “to slay, kill.” When a person's head is “bruised” in this way—given a killing blow—he dies, while the same blow on the heel causes pain and damage, but not death. God's curse on the serpent signals what the ultimate end of Satan will be. Even so, we still must resist the Devil's daily, evil influences. He and his demons are still around. Despite putting a hedge around us, God does not forbid Satan to try to deceive us after baptism. He tried his best to turn Jesus from His course (Matthew 4, Luke 4), but our Savior showed us how to fight and repel him. Satan is still trying to deceive and tempt human beings, especially God's children, since they have been chosen to be part of the Family destined to take over his throne with Jesus Christ. God will always be faithful to His character and to His promises, so Satan does not waste his time attacking Him. There are easier fish to fry—us. Some doubt still exists in Satan's mind whether we will endure to the end, so we must be strong and resist him in the faith (I Peter 5:9), remembering Paul's encouraging words in Romans 16:19-20: “I want you to be wise in what is good, and simple [pure] concerning evil. And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.” The Greek word rendered as “crush” (syntribô; Strong's #4937) in verse 20 means “to break the power of, deprive of strength, debilitate.” It can also be translated as “crush” or “bruise,” as in Genesis 3:15.
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
The Binding of Satan
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