The Best of Times, the Worst of Times
Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.
- Revelation 12:12
Charles Dickens' novel, A Tale of Two Cities, opens with the words, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. . . . " That is how our world will be prior to the return of Jesus Christ: both the best and the worst will be happening at the same time. In the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares, Jesus paints a picture of the last days in which both God and the devil will be at work.
The good news is that people will be coming to faith in Jesus Christ. God says that in the last days, He "will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams" (Acts 2:17).
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But here is the bad news: the devil will be seeking to undermine faith. We are told in 2 Timothy 3:13, "But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived." Right up until the return of Christ, a spiritual battle will be raging. We will see the good and the bad, the godly and the ungodly together.
Revelation 12:12 says, "Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time." The devil will be busy in the last days. And he will be sizing up his opponents and varying his attacks and deceptions and ploys accordingly.
Sometimes the devil will attack in all of his depravity and wickedness, like a roaring lion. At other times he will attack more subtly, appearing as an angel of light. That is why we need to be on the alert and be aware of his tactics.
