Dewayne Dulaney

Poem: God Will Have the Last Word

Tuesday, August 28, 2007 4:48:36 AM

Christian poems, Christian poetry, battle with evil, God's judgement, victory over Satan, last judgement

Dewayne Dulaney

Introduction

As a Christian, the struggle with temptation and victories over it in my life I see as a small reflection of the larger battle between God and Satan over the souls of mankind. It is not popular to believe these days, but I nonetheless believe,as the Bible asserts, that God is real, that Satan and evil are real, and that there is a battle going on for each and every human soul. A spiritual battle in which you are on either God's side or the Devil's side. This poem just came to me one day; despite its length, it all came out of my head on one day. I hope its depiction of the battle and the confidence it shows in God's ultimate victory over evil and the Evil One will encourage and challenge you in your own spiritual battle. Whose side are you on? About the photo: a thunderstorm was brewing in the north as my wife and I watched in our back yard when I took this picture. The burst of light apparently near the electrical tower was lightning (which, despite appearances, was not actually close to the tower) in the distance. Everytime I see a display like this, it reminds me of the awesome power of Yahweh God, of which a thunderstorm is only a small sample. And now, the poem.

GOD WILL HAVE THE LAST WORD

"...woe to the earth and the

sea,

Because the devil has gone

down to you!

He is filled with fury,

Because he knows that his

time is short."

(Revelation 12:12, NIV)

Satan rages and rends his flesh

Rants and raves and roars impotently

Because he knows, too, that

God will have the last word

Just as God had the first.

God, the great Yahweh, the I AM--

God, the Message become Man--

God, the Pure Dove and mighty yet

gentle wind--

Had the first word: "Let there

be light!"

And there was light.

The last word will be his, too:

"I am making everything new!

Write this down, for these words

are trustworthy and true."

And over time as the battle has

flowed and ebbed

between Yahweh and his angels

and Belial and his,

Again and again

God has had many last words.

And each time the old serpent and

ancient dragon,

blind and foolish and smug

has thought he could still win

Until, one day his head was crushed--

as he thought to do

to the Man from Nazareth

At Calvary, the Place of the Skull,

But only bruised his heel instead.

And God had another last word:

"I am the One who raises the dead

and gives them life."

And Baalzebub thrashed about

in a blind panic

because God had just taken

his greatest weapon

and made it powerless

for those who believe that

God has the last word

and will yet again, despite

Satan's deluded dreams

of diabolical victory.

Their titanic but unequal

contest began

even before

The Fall of Man,

When Aidenn the Golden,

Eden the Fair

was still ours

And the ugliness called Sin

had not yet marred

The bliss of the first pair.

When it started we cannot know,

But when it began it began with

a terrible blow

As a once-pure Ethereal

Decided he would rather reign

Over mankind as a tyrant prince,

even though himself

doomed to Hell,

Than serve in Heaven.

Thus he fell through pride

and rebelled

and became Satan,

Diabolos,

The great and terrible

Adversary,

Enemy of Yahweh and of Man

and Tempter and Accuser

of humankind.

The war continued

Age after age

But no matter how much

the Devil might rage,

God had the last word.

When Moses' flock stood imperiled

Between the sea and Pharoah's legions

The Devil howled with fiendish glee,

And said, "I've got you now! Victory

belongs to me!"

But God said, "I will gain glory

through Pharoah and

all his army,

through his chariots

and horsemen.

And the Egyptians will know

that I am Yahweh."

And God hurled the horse and

its rider

Into the sea

And became Israel's strength

and her song

And her salvation--

Having the last word

After all.

The Fiend tried again later on

Sending Sennacherib's minions

Against Zion

Like a wolf in the fold.

The Assyrian officers mocked God

and ridiculed those who

trusted in him.

But good king Hezekiah

Prayed for deliverance

And God sent his Death Angel

To strike down the proud foe;

The next morning

Thousands lay dead in

the enemy camp.

Though Satan shrieked and sulked

God had the last word.

When Messiah came

The Devil tried yet again

To defeat God's eternal plan

by causing the Son to fall.

But Jesus said,

"It is written".

And God had the last word.

As time went on

The Caesars thought they saw

in the followers of the Way

a threat to their throne,

an attack on their

Kingdom of iron mixed with clay.

They were right, but not in

the way they thought:

For the Christians

Used weapons of righteousness

In the right hand and in the left,

Not weapons of Roman steel.

They waged a spiritual war,

Not one against the Senate and People.

Though emperors condemned them to crosses and fire,

To the executioner's axe and sword

And on the cruel sands of the arena their

blood was outpoured

The blood of martyrs became seed

And God still had the last word.

Later Satan thought to trump God

By follies in science and philosophy

To cause the faith of millions to weaken and die

because of the blasphemies and pride

of a learned few.

So he led Darwin to offer Chance in place of God

And Nietzsche to say, "God is dead".

But God-believing and God-fearing Newton and Pasteur

And others like them

Affirmed God as the Author of Life,

the living Author

of Creation's scroll--

No bell for him had tolled!

And one day God said, "Nietzsche is dead".

Guess who had the last word?

One day soon, we know not when

Jesus will come back and then

In flaming fire vengeance will take

on Satan and on all who hate

What is good and who love sin.

Into the fiery Pit, the sulphur Lake

Will be thrown

The Devil, the beast, his prophet false

And everyone else

Who puts Self, not God

Upon the throne.

"As surely as I live," says the Lord

"every knee will bow

And every tongue will confess to God."

Then God will have the final last word,

And none of Satan's lies

Will avail or be heard.

Brother, Sister

In Adam and in Christ

Take to heart these things

And believe what you've heard

In the eternal Gospel,

For God will indeed

Have the last word.

Salvation is yours today

If you trust and obey

And remain firm to the end.

God has given his word

in flesh and on parchment

A word that cannot fail:

Precious promises that sustain the soul.

Make the good confession and

give him your word,

enter the water

And let the Blood of the Lamb

cleanse you;

So that when he speaks the last word

You will hear "Well done"

And not "Go to your doom".

Heed his word and follow it

For only God's word will prevail.

8-21-1998

Works Cited

Mac Gallery http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Ridge/1217/MacGalleryIndex.html (No copyright info listed): I found the "Made with a Mac" banner here.

Microsoft Office Online: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/default.aspx (Clip art and photos). I found the image of the "Roman Librarian" (by the "You're Invited to Comment" statement) at this site. © 2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Copyright and Trademark Notices

Scripture marked NIV taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

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—Dewayne Dulaney