Series: “The Great War” (post #4)

The Great War that is the ongoing battle between Satan and God produces four distinct results. Thus far in this series we’ve covered two of those results. Result #1: Soldiers are enlisted for the war. Result #2: The war produces casualties on both sides. This post will identify result #3, which is: The war produces injuries on both sides.

Casualties resulting from war are obviously worse than injuries resulting from it, but the injuries shouldn’t be overlooked. As for scriptural examples of individuals who suffered injuries inflicted by Satan, I’ll mention three. They are:

1. In Job 2:1-10, we read about how Satan attacked Job physically by inflicting him with painful boils that covered his body from head to foot.
2. In Luke 13:10-17, we read about a Jewish woman whom Satan had bound with “a spirit of infirmity” for 18 years. This “spirit of infirmity” was a demon that produced a crippling back condition inside the woman. That condition left her stooped over, unable to raise herself erect, for 18 years. Jesus loosed her from the demon and in so doing healed her, and He was quick to point out that her condition had been the work of Satan.
3. In Matthew 17:14-20, Mark 9:14-29, and Luke 9:37-43, we read about a father who brought his son to Jesus. The boy was possessed by a demon that caused him to foam at the mouth, gnash his teeth, experience violent seizures, become as stiff as a board, and injure himself by either throwing himself into fire or trying to drown himself in water.

These stories prove conclusively that Satan, either personally or working through his demons, can produce physical injury to an individual. But are there times when God doles out such injuries? You’d better believe it. Here are three scriptural examples of those:

1. In 2 Kings 6:8-23, we read about an army of Syrian soldiers who were sent to bring the prophet Elisha to the king of Syria. But Elisha prayed that God would strike those soldiers with blindness, and God did just that. Even though God soon restored their sight, those soldiers were definitely injured for a while.
2. In Acts 13:4-12, we read about a sorcerer named Elymas who caused problems for Saul (the apostle Paul) and Barnabas as the pair ministered on the island of Paphos. At one point Saul had had enough and called for the hand of the Lord to strike Elymas with blindness. Immediately a dark mist fell upon Elymas and he became so blind that he had to be led around by the hand. In this instance, the blindness was permanent.
3. In Revelation 16:1-2, we read about a foul, loathsome sore that God inflicts upon each person who takes the mark of the beat (the Antichrist) in the coming tribulation period. In addition to being gross, this sore will also be exceedingly painful. As a matter of fact, it will be so painful that it will cause each person who has it to gnaw his or her tongue in pain (Revelation 16:10-11).

And so, make no mistake, as the fighting between Satan and God rages on, there are injuries that are inflicted upon both sides. Sometimes Satan is the cause of these injuries, but sometimes God is their cause. Sometimes the injuries are temporary, but sometimes they are permanent. But no matter what type the injuries are, and no matter who is responsible for them, the injuries are very real and very debilitating, and they are yet another result of The Great War.