The Bible shows Job’s experience as an example. God desires that His Son reign, yet Satan constantly rebels against God. God will not and must not deal with Satan by Himself. If God Himself were to deal with Satan, Satan’s mouth would never be shut. God’s desire is not only to deal with Satan but also to silence him; this will be a shame to Satan. God can silence Satan by showing him a group of people on the earth whom He has gained and who submit to His authority.
If a brother today submits to God’s authority in the same way that Job did, the events that took place in heaven in the book of Job will be repeated; Satan will again go before God to argue with Him. This is not a hypothetical statement. Revelation 12 says that Satan is the one who accuses our brothers before God day and night (v. 10b). In the Old Testament age Satan spoke of Job before God in such a way; likewise, today in the New Testament age Satan still accuses our brothers before God.
How does Satan accuse our brothers? He always comes before God and tells Him, “Has So-and-so not been redeemed with Your precious blood? Has he not been regenerated by Your life? Does he not have Your Holy Spirit in him? Yet have You seen how he lives today? He plays cards at home all the time and goes to the movies on the weekend. Moreover, he went dancing only a few weeks ago. This is a person redeemed with Your precious blood, regenerated by Your powerful life, and indwelt by Your Holy Spirit. This person who watches movies on the weekends, goes dancing, and plays cards all the time is one of Your redeemed!” It is not too much to say this. This is the way Satan accuses us before God in order to insult God.
According to Satan’s feeling, he is not the only creature who does not submit to God’s authority; he thinks that all Adam’s descendants, people created by God, do not submit to God’s authority. He feels that even Christians, those who have been redeemed with Christ’s precious blood and regenerated by His life and who have the Holy Spirit in them, do not submit to God’s authority. Hence, he has the boldness to challenge God. If we, as saved ones, give ground for Satan to make such accusations, our God will be forced to remain silent in heaven. If this were the case, He could only say, “Satan, I have nothing to say. I have lost to you completely. You were created by Me, and you rebel against Me. Adam’s descendants were created by Me, and they too rebel against Me. These Christians have been redeemed and regenerated by Me, and they also rebel against Me. What else can I say?” If this were the case, how could God’s kingdom come? How could God deal with and get rid of His enemy, the rebellious Satan? There would be absolutely no way. Not only so, but God’s mouth would be shut by Satan.
However, this has not been the situation in the past two thousand years. When Satan says to God, “This one played cards this week, went to the movies last week, and went dancing the week before,” God can answer him, “Have you considered My servant Brother Chen?” Such persons make it possible for God to open His mouth; they enable God to speak to Satan. God asks Satan, “Have you considered Brother Chen?” Then Satan says, “Does he love You without cause? It is because You bless him, enabling him to make a great deal of money in his import and export business.” This is merely a hypothetical illustration; the principle is always the same. God will then say to Satan, “All right, Satan, I will show you that he truly loves Me. You may bring down his business.” Then Satan joyfully goes to bring down Brother Chen’s business.
As a result, although others make money by importing goods, Brother Chen loses money; although others make money by exporting merchandise, Brother Chen loses money. Eventually, he loses all his money. At that time his wife asks him, “Do you still love the Lord? You have loved the Lord, yet in the end you have gone out of business; are you going to still love Him? I think you should not love Him anymore. Also, do not be an elder anymore. Why should you continue to be an elder? Your store has closed down, and your business is gone. What else can you say?” Nevertheless, Brother Chen simply bears the cross and prays, “Lord, I know that You are my King. You bestow the blessing, and You strip off the blessing. I worship You. I have nothing more to say. You are my King.” This brother truly gives God the ground to speak.
Then one day Satan comes again. God asks him, “Have you considered My servant Brother Chen? Have you seen him?” After thinking for a while, Satan says, “Poverty does not mean much. If you allow Brother Chen to be seriously ill and bedridden, we will see what he will be like. He will surely forsake You and deny You as the King of kings.” God says, “All right, Satan, I give you his body, but spare his life.” As a result, Satan does something, and this brother becomes seriously ill. His wife comes again and says to her husband, “Do you still pray? You have loved the Lord, but in the end your store is closed down. You have prayed, but in the end you are seriously ill. Will you still believe in the Lord? Will you still fear Him?” Although his wife tries to provoke him in this way, this brother would still testify that the Lord is the Lord and the King. He says, “When He treats me kindly, He is the Lord; when He treats me harshly, He is still the Lord. I worship Him. I have nothing more to say.”
God can point to this redeemed one and say to Satan, “There is one who submits to My authority. Although you do not submit to Me, he does. Satan, I can show you not only this one brother but also many more like him; they all submit to My authority.” We must see that this matter of submitting to authority puts Satan to shame. If we as God’s children do not submit to God’s authority, our God will suffer a great shame. He will have no way to deal with or judge Satan. But thank God that among His children there have been some throughout the ages who have loved Him and submitted to His authority.
John Bunyan said in his autobiography that when he was facing death, if the God whom he served would not come to intervene, he would die without regret, “come heaven; come hell.” Even if the Lord would not save him at the end, he would willingly face death for the Lord’s name. This shows that there was someone on the earth who was faithful unto death; he was subject to God’s authority and ruling. This person was a shame to Satan; through him God was able to shut Satan’s mouth.
I believe that God will raise up more believers like John Bunyan at the end of this age. These believers are the man-child spoken of in Revelation 12:5; they are the overcomers in the church. They neither covet pleasure nor fear suffering. They know only God’s kingdom, and they submit to God’s authority and accept God’s ruling. Hence, the kingdom has come upon them today. They disregard temptation, suffering, and sickness. Neither worldly enjoyment nor earthly position can shake them. They are subject to God’s authority, and there is a kingdom in them. Their being subject to God’s authority puts Satan to shame and shuts his mouth. In these last days there should be more and more of God’s people like this every day, to the extent that Satan will eventually find no place in the universe. This will be a silent judgment to Satan. This silent judgment, this silent shame, is the kingdom life lived by God’s children, those who are ruled by God.