“…the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them.” (Revelation 11:7-14, NASB)

Why does God allow Satan to win sometimes? Why does He permit the enemy to attack His people and overcome them sometimes? Why does He allow them to rejoice over their defeat sometimes? These are the questions that came to my mind as I read today’s passage. I’m sure there are other believers who have thought the same. It says in today’s passage,

“And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them. And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which mystically is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. And those from the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will look at their dead bodies for three and a half days, and will not permit their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb. And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry; and they will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth. And after the three and a half days the breath of life from God came into them, and they stood on their feet; and great fear fell upon those who were beholding them. And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, ‘Come up here.’ And they went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies beheld them. And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; and seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second woe is past; behold, the third woe is coming quickly.”

My immediate question was, “Why did God allow Satan to do this to His two servants?” No matter how you interpret the identity of these two witnesses, the truth is that they were God’s servants, and He allowed the enemy to overcome and kill them. This is difficult to process indeed. We see similar circumstances throughout the Bible. There are numerous instances where God grants permission to Satan to attack and overcome His faithful servants. The greatest example of this is why God allowed the enemy to crucify His only begotten Son. Also, why did God give Job permission to be tested? Why did God allow Peter to be tested?

In each of these circumstances, however, it is also clear that God was in total control of all things, even Satan. For example, Jesus told Peter, “Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers” (Lk.22:31-32). The Lord gave Satan permission to tempt Peter, but he had great confidence that his “faith would not fail.” Peter denied Jesus three times and failed, but the Lord already knew that he would and told him so. Satan overcoming and Peter failing were not the main test. The real test was about what Peter would do after he failed three times, and the Lord prayed for him that he would do the right thing. Therefore, asking the question, “Why does God allow Satan to win sometimes?” is not the right question. The right question is, “What are we going to do when Satan overcomes us and we are defeated?” The right question to ask is, “Through whose eyes are we going to view and interpret our circumstances, events, and outcomes?” When we look through the eyes of enemies of God, it will certainly appear as though we are completely defeated, and they will rejoice. However, when we look through God’s eyes in heaven, we will see a completely different story.

The two witnesses faithfully proclaimed God’s words and died for it. While the enemies were celebrating and giving gifts to one another, life returned to their bodies after three days! And because they were faithful in obeying God to the point of death, God resurrected them and took them to heaven and rewarded them (Rev.11:11-12). How about you? Would you remain faithful to God knowing that He has given Satan permission to hurt you? Would you obey God’s commandment to preach the gospel even if it would cost your life? Will you trust God that He knows what He is doing even though things may look out of control? The Bible says, “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Cor.10:13). Notice that God will allow our enemies to attack and overcome us, but also will not allow them to tempt us beyond our abilities. He has set boundaries on what they can and cannot do. He has also provided a “way of escape” so that we will not fail the main test. God knows what He is doing, and whatever circumstances we are going through, He knows we will be able to handle them. The right question to ask is not, “Why is this happening?” but “What must I do?”

• Why do you think God allowed the beast to make war against the two witnesses and kill them?
• What do you think is God’s main test for us when we are attacked by the enemy?