Never is Never

“All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.” (Eze 28:19 AV)

 

Ezekiel chapter 28 is one of the two main chapters dealing with the nature and attributes of Satan.  The immediate context here is the king of Tyrus.  Tyrus was a maritime city jutting out into the Mediterranean Sea.  It was almost impenetrable.  The advancing armies of Rome eventually took the city by building a causeway to this island fortress.  For several generations, Tyrus was the city of cities that traded with all other nation-states that traded by sea.  This is the cause for the first statement in our passage.  Tyrus was a wonder of mankind.  However, when Rome conquered Tyrus, the world ceased to wonder.  It is that last phrase for which we can rejoice.  The city of Tyrus does not exist anymore.  The island is still there.  The causeway is still visible.  But it is relegated to the annuls of history.  The same will be true of Satan.  He may be a wonderment to the sea of humanity, but there is coming a day when he will not even be a distant thought.  Simply put, he shall not be anymore.

I have very interesting dreams.  It is partly due to the Melatonin supplements I take to sleep better.  They tell you vivid dreams are a side-effect of this supplement and I can tell you this is very true.  At first, they disturbed me.  But then I realized dreams were God’s way of helping us deal with life’s issues we are burying rather than confronting.  There are anxieties we bury that we are not even aware of.  Our dreams bring them to the surface so we can seek help from the Holy Spirit and confront them.  What I find astounding are dreams regarding people or events that are decades in the past.  An intolerable boss or horrific experience from decades ago seems to surface in a different storyline.  But they appear nonetheless.  Perhaps it was a serious health issue, a horrific experience in grade school, or a turbulent time we had in our childhood.  The events run the gamut.  One dream I used to have all the time was returning to High School because I never completed my graduation requirements.  Mostly, it was English or Gym.  I used to have a dream that no matter how hard I tried, there was always one more class I had to take.  This comes from two events in my life.  I never went to my High School graduation.  No closure.  The Bible Institute I went to constantly changed the curriculum so it took me thirteen years to complete a three-year degree.  The point is, we have monsters that come in the night.  They may always be a part of this life.  But there is coming a day when these anxieties will cease.  No more monsters in the night.  Not ever.

I like the little word ‘never’.  I like it better than ‘ever’.  Never is final.  Never means there is no more possibility Satan will be loosed for all of eternity.  Once he is cast into the bottomless pit, there is no escape.  Not ever!  Never!  It is fascinating to launch Google Earth and look at the satellite image of Tyrus.  It is one big mound of rocks.  The causeway now resides underwater.  The only use for Tyrus today is for fishermen to dry their nets.  There is no city.  There never will be again.  Not ever.  Never!  When we look from space and see a pile of rocks, let us remember the same future awaits our adversary.  Never will he again be!  He will not exist in any part of God’s creation outside of hell itself.  Never!