I found it difficult to adequately explain to them that Satan was, as we might say, mortally wounded by His battle with Jesus, but still lives today, and is doing as much damage to the Church as he can. One conjures images of, say, a dying bull, still deadly in his wounded thrashings, a peril to the matador even in his death throes.
But my oldest daughter, Grace, came up with an image I like better. By way of preface, I recently finished reading The Lord of the Rings to my two oldest (Grace, 11, and William, 9). They have both become great Tolkien fans as a result, but Grace, in particular, is developing into something of a Middle-Earth scholar.
Her suggestion for understanding the current status of Satan was to compare him to Saruman, the fallen wizard: “his staff was broken, but he still had the power of his voice,” she said.
Saruman was decisively defeated by Gandalf at Orthanc, and cast from the White Council, at which time Gandalf declared, “your staff is broken.” Yet Saruman still had the power of his voice to enchant and deceive; and before the story was over, he would use that power to do great mischief and work much evil.
It is an apt image of Satan, the deceiver, the “father of lies” (John 8:44). Though impaled by Christ, he thrashes about, seeking to strike and maim and kill while he may. And he does this especially by the power of his lying voice, as he tempted Eve in the Garden long ago.
All this is clearly laid out in the Bible, of course:
“Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down…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.” (Rev. 12:10, 12).
Satan is still dangerous, yet it remains true that we are dealing with a defeated enemy. We should never take him lightly; yet we should not live in fear, either. Rather, resistance should be the keynote of our mindset (James 4:7).
When my youngest son, Nathanael, was a baby, I killed a snake outside our home (a bit too near the house for the safety of the children). After I had struck the death blow, the serpent continued to thrash about for some time, as I held Nathanael, now asleep. I was struck by the strange combination of a sleeping baby, and a dying, still dangerous serpent nearby. I don’t often write songs, but this image inspired one of the few. Here are the lyrics for Nathanael’s Lullaby:
Sleep, my child, by light of day;
Your enemy has passed away.
The serpent lies near, clove in twain;
The one who sought you has been slain.
Sleep, my child, in restful peace;
The serpent’s writhing soon shall cease.
His thrashing’s but a last resort,
For now he knows his time is short.
Though moving still, his eyes grow dim—
No longer need for fear of him;
Though mouth is opened, fangs are bared,
You needn’t ever more be scared.
Sleep, my child, by light of day;
Your enemy has passed away.
The serpent lies near, clove in twain;
The one who sought you has been slain.
