Almost two thousand years have passed since God won His case on Calvary. Satan’s lies and accusations have long ago been met. The freedom of the universe has been eternally secured. So why do you think God still tolerates this one rebellious spot in His loyal universe? All the rest of its inhabitants have been convinced. We know that He longs to recreate our world, as described in Isaiah, Revelation, and elsewhere, and give it to His trusting saints. Why, then, does God still wait?

When Jesus returns, He will come to a generation of believers who have experienced Satan’s final desperate attempt to deceive and destroy God’s loyal children on this planet. This generation of believers will have accomplished something that one-third of the brilliant angels failed to do. They will have refused to be turned against God by Satan’s lies. They will have been able to say with Paul, “If anyone, if even an angel from heaven, should come with a different version of the everlasting good news, a different picture of God, he is wrong and we will not believe it” (based on Galatians 1:8-9).