Day 736: Satan's defeat - Genesis 3 vs 14-15

14 The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. 15 I will put enmity between you and the woman,and between your seed (offspring) and her seed (offspring) - he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” Genesis 3:15 English Standard Version

In my previous post on Genesis I said that vs 15 foretold what would be the conflict of the ages – that of the animosity of Satan and his forces towards those born of woman. And it's believed by many that vs 15 also tells of the climax of this conflict between the seed of the woman and the serpent, and that it was fulfilled at Calvary. One reason for holding this view is because of the visions the apostle John saw and recorded in Revelation. He said: “I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended.” (Revelation 20:1-3)

That was one aspect of the battle taking place in the world. Another aspect of it is seen earlier in Revelation when John said: “A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant, and cried out because she was in labour, in pain from giving birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: it was a great fiery red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and seven royal crowns on his heads. His tail swept down a third of heaven’s stars and threw them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth so that when she gave birth, he might devour her child. She gave birth to a son, a male child who is to rule all the nations with an iron rod. Her child was snatched up to God and his throne.” (Revelation 12:1-5)

While John's visions are not easy to interpret, it seems this last one was a summary of Satan's attempt to destroy Christ (who was born to a woman) even before He entered the world. King Herod had all male offspring under two years of age in the region of Bethlehem killed. John's reference to the woman's child being 'snatched up to heaven' would refer to Christ's ascension after His victory over Satan at Calvary.

Regarding that victory, the New Testament book of Hebrews, speaking of Jesus, puts it this way: “Since the children (i.e. the offspring of woman) share in flesh and blood, He also shared the same things in the same way. He did this to destroy the one who holds the power over death - the devil - by dying. He set free those who were held in slavery their entire lives by their fear of death. Of course, He isn’t trying to help angels, but rather He’s helping Abraham’s descendants. Therefore, He had to be made like his brothers and sisters in every way.” (Hebrews 2:14-17)

The fall of Satan and his impending ultimate defeat was already evident when Jesus sent out 72 of His followers ahead of Him, two by two, into every town and place where He Himself was about to go. And we read that “The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, 'Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!' And He said to them, 'I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, don’t rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.'” (Luke 10:17-20)

While the New Testament writers don't quote a direct fulfilment of Genesis 3:15, the picture of someone being struck by a serpent on the foot, and him then striking the serpent's head, certainly fits in with what happened at Calvary. Satan must have thought he'd won the contest when Jesus died, but Christ's resurrection was a death-knell to Satan's power over death. It is through that victory that the names of Christ’s followers are written in heaven!