With the Breath of His Mouth

"And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming." 2 Th 2:8

Most movies & stories try to set themselves up so that the hero, while very brave and determined, usually will need to go against huge disadvantages, take huge risks with no certainty of the outcome. In fact, some of the best movies and stories leave the outcome in doubt almost to the last page. And, for three days 2,000 years ago, that is exactly how the disciples saw it. Their Messiah (a.k.a. the next David) was just crucified and buried. Now the Jewish leaders were after them. But, the Resurrection changed everything.

Now Jesus is alive. Now Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father. Now Jesus is interceding for us. Now all authority on heaven and on earth have been given to Jesus. Now Jesus is opening the scroll of human history.

And one day soon Jesus will face His enemy and ours. The battle may be cosmic, but it won't be dramatic. In fact in sporting terms it will be a blow-out. Jesus' mere presence and his mere breath will defeat the singular evil that has held this universe in bondage ever since his temptation of Adam and Eve in the garden.

My point? Jesus is the ultimate hero of our faith, but He is unlike any other hero we have, real or imagined. He endured the greatest humiliation (no one will ever approach that) and defeat, but because of this and his perfectly righteous life, He is now undefeatable, unconquerable and inexorably moving history to His ultimate victory. And if we have put our faith in Him, if we take Him at His word, if we trust Him to do what He says, then His victory will be ours.  There is no fear in death. There is no fear in Satan. Both are toothless, venom-less snakes that hiss and lunge, but can no longer poison or kill.

To God Alone be the Glory