EDITOR, THE MINISTRY:
In Revelation 13:13, 14 the revelator is seeing in vision the final acts in the struggle between Christ and Satan, and the miracle working brought to view has its purpose to deceive the inhabitants of the earth into yielding obedience to someone other than God.
"And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do." Rev. 13:13, 14.
This struggle began in heaven itself in Satan's rebellion against the government of God. (Rev. 12 :7-9.) The first phase of the struggle ended in Satan's being cast out of heaven into the earth (Rev. 12:9), where he continued on through such agents as he could control.
When Eve and Adam had succumbed to Satan's sophistries and had been expelled from Paradise and deprived from access to the tree of life, a promise was made of a Seed who would bruise the head of Satan (Gen. 3:1-15), give victory and deliverance from the power of Satan, and restore man to Eden and the tree of life. (Rev. 2 :7; 22 :I 4.)
From the time of that promise it was Satan's prime object to destroy the promised Seed and make it impossible for Him to carry out the assured deliverance. (Rev. 12:1-5.) In this he failed utterly. Then Satan turned his attention to the woman, and sought to destroy her. (Rev. 12:13-15.) The woman is a symbol of the people of God. Again he utterly failed to accomplish his purpose.
Finally the enemy directs his wrath against the remnant of the woman's seed, the last of God's people on earth, and seeks to lead them astray. (Rev. 12:17.) It is in this warfare against the remnant that he makes "fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men" that he might deceive them and lead them away from obedience to God.
There is nothing very new in this bringing of fire from heaven. We read the story of how Satan did so in the days of Job, when "the fire of God" was reported to have "fallen from heaven" and burned up Job's sheep with his shepherds. ( Job 1:12-16.) That was his work then, and he can do it again. The bringing of fire from heaven in the sight of men was made a test in Elijah's time, in the days of the apostasy of Israel, to prove that Jehovah or Baal was the true God, and it may now be considered a repetition of that proof. (See I Kings 18: 22-39.)
There is no connection between this bringing of fire down from heaven and atomic fission. Atomic fission is not made to deceive, nor is it intended to lead men away from the worship of God. It could hardly be said to be a work of Satan. The use made of the discovery may be satanic, as the use of any scientific discovery may be, but that only demonstrates the depravity of the men who use it, and is no evidence that the discovery itself is infernal. The discoveries of science may look miraculous. They are usually quite simple applications of known laws. But however wonderful, they do not necessarily lead men to obey some power other than God. There is no religious deception in them.
The lesson men should learn from the record of the struggle between Christ and Satan, as delineated in the Revelation, is that the Word of God is a more reliable foundation for faith in God than any number of the most wonderful miracles wrought by men, or by demons in the form of men. Miracles may deceive, but the Word of God is sure, and those who build on it build for eternity. Satan will once more fail miserably, for the remnant will keep the commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus.
(See Rev. 14 :1-5 ; 15:2.)
GEORGE KEOLTGH.
