The Death of the Adversary

      Isaiah chapter 50 is about Jesus as is most prophetic writings. I selectively picked two verses for commentary today because they contain two personages; examine of whom I write:

Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God. Who is mine adversary? let him come near to me. (Isa 50:10,8)

     The first person is the voice of his servant. His characteristic is that he has no light, and is called God's "adversary".  The specific adversary is the Devil, according to scripture, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Pet 5:8). The doctrine of sin is walking in darkness, which of course, is the absence of light.
     The second person is the Name by whom God is called. Scripture identifies God's Name: "(The people) took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him (Jesus), and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord" (John 12:13). That is Jesus - the Name of the Lord  which was spoken throughout the Old Testament. The Lord was Jesus all the time; he had only yet to be called that (Luke 2:21).
     The world is engaged in a spiritual battle. Two persons vie for our living souls; one of them fighting for your eternal life, and the other that you should perish. One person is gracious and the other adversarial. Christians who fight on the Lord's side are gracious, but those on the Devil's side are adversarial. Everyone must make a decision for whom to serve and how to live; is it serving Jesus in grace, or the Devil adversely?
     "Adversely" is opposed to God's interests; that is God's will or the Law of God. People who willingly sin, are adversaries of the Lord. They are adversaries of Jesus, and as such, helped nail Jesus to the cross (vicariously). They violate the Fifth Commandment by taking the Lord's Name in vain; that Jesus died without a purpose!
     "Gracious" is a spiritual kindness, a person disposed toward loving others. Gracious people love Jesus because of his grace. Christians are to love Jesus because he first loved them.
     Gracious Christians fight fairly, but adversaries use whatever hateful means at hand. Christians use the "sword of the spirit" which is the Word (Ephes 6:17) while adversaries hate others and are murderous (1 John 3:15). When people hate others or the Lord, they vicariously crucify the Lord again (Heb 6:6), and also remove the Serpent from the tree from which he was crucified.
     The Serpent crucified? How can that be? Jesus was in the Tree of Life because he is the "way, truth, and the life" (John 14:16). The Serpent was also in a tree; the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil." He used the knowledge of truth to present evil. That is called "deception." The forbidden tree was adversarial to the Tree of Life!
     The Tree of Life died on his tree, "The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree" (Acts 5:30). People saw Jesus die, but yet Jesus defined death for the righteous as sleep. (Mat 9:24). Jesus slept for three days; his flesh died, but his Spirit did not, he gave up the Ghost when he fell asleep (Mark 15:37). His flesh had been transfigured - glorified - so that it was incorruptible. In other words, Jesus did not die as people think of dying!
     No one noticed, but the Serpent died on Calvary. "For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil" (1 John 3:8). The law of sin was defeated when Jesus died on the tree. Satan was emasculated when Jesus was crucified. Somewhere, someplace the Serpent was killed as Jesus was crucified. Moses and the righteous Hebrews saw the lifeless brass serpent shining red in the sun on his own "tree" which was a pole. Regeneration is looking at Jesus on his tree, and understanding that it was the Serpent who died that day! (John 3:14). That enlightenment is "born again" which Jesus said not to marvel (John 3:7).
    Was the Serpent actually crucified on Calvary? Jesus Barabbas - "Jesus, the son of the father" - was released. He was symbolic of the beast - the Antichrist. He was the Serpent's "scapegoat" it seems to keep the law of sin alive. However, one malefactor who died on the cross, perhaps represented the Serpent.
     One thief trusted Jesus. He was with Jesus in Paradise that day (Luke 23:43). The other thief failed to trust Jesus, and even scoffed at him. Since the repentant thief was in Paradise that day, it makes sense that the unrepentant thief was in Hell that day!
     The second thief was the vicarious death of the Serpent. The old Snake effectually died that day, waiting only to be cast into Hell, unlike Jesus who went to Paradise and is there to this day.
     When we look at the cross, we don't see Jesus on it. He survived the cross. When we see the empty cross, our mind's eyes should put the Serpent back in his tree for it was the viperous Devil who truly died on Calvary.
      Adam and Eve did not understand death, so they sinned. Mankind still does not understand death. It is not something detectable since we cannot see a dying spirit, but mankind has been dying from the day the Serpent "killed" Adam until the Word redeemed him. Likewise, no one can see the Serpent dead visually, but with the mind's eye, Satan is as dead. Christians are not saved yet, but they are as good as saved because the spirit of the Serpent has indeed been crucified!