TWO LIONS

Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He can open the scroll and its seven seals.” Revelation 5:5.

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8.

The devil wants to be in charge. He thinks that he is in control of the world and all the people in the world. He believes that the world belongs to him and that he can frighten people into doing what he wants. But the devil is not the true lion. He is only a counterfeit lion. He makes a noise like a lion, but he has no power to do anything to people unless they give him that power by believing his lies.

The world is full of people who believe his lies, are afraid of him and worship him through many false religions that keep them in bondage to fear. The devil uses the powerful weapon of fear to keep people enslaved to him. He has a very clever way of making people believe in him. He disguises himself as a god in many different forms. Some gods are idols or images that are terrifying and evil. These gods demand sacrifices and need to be appeased by doing rituals or behaving in cruel or ugly ways. All these practices show us what kind of a god he is, causing people to do things that are disgusting, making them undignified and inhuman.

Jesus is the true Lion. He does not harm or destroy people even though He is called “the Lion of the tribe of Judah”. He is strong and powerful, but He used His power to destroy the devil’s work by allowing Satan to do the worst he could to Him, killing Him on a cross. Jesus rose from the dead to show us that Satan’s most powerful weapon, death, could not hold Him because he is the perfect Son of God. He rose from death and will never die again.

By overcoming the devil, Jesus showed us that He is the Lord of all creation. He is in charge, not Satan. His kingdom will rule forever, not the kingdom of darkness. Jesus rules by love, not hatred and destruction. He will restore all of creation to its perfection when He returns to the earth to rule over His kingdom forever. He loves us and has rescued us from the devil’s power.

Satan wants us to believe that he is in charge so that he can destroy humanity because he hates God, and people belong to God. There is only one lion that will have the final victory and it is not the lion who can only roar but do nothing else. Jesus, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, has triumphed. When He comes, He will destroy Satan forever and all who have followed him. Then He will reign forever and we will reign with Him.