On my 30th birthday I experienced my first surprise party. I knew something was going on, but I couldn’t quite figure out what. I tried to piece it together, and I thought I had it figured out. Nevertheless, when finally everyone showed up for the unexpected event, I could never have guessed the number of people that came and where it was!
My friends had kept a secret. They wanted to surprise me. The details of the party to me were mysterious and unknown. In the end though, the secret was revealed, and my friends had a blast telling me what all they had done to plan the party!
What They Knew
When humanity fell, the rest of creation observed the terrible event. The devil, himself, had used his wiles to twist God’s words and cause humanity to separate from God. Yet, even as Satan celebrated what may have been his victory, that devil was made quite aware of his limited reign on the earth:
“And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise his heel.” - Genesis 3:15
Yet the devil had his own will, recalled for us in Isaiah, “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High” Lucifer states in Isaiah 14:14.
As time went on, God formed a nation, Israel, and gave them promises. This nation would be his people and they would grow and one day take back the lands promised to them by God. God gave to them a law to keep that expressed His righteous standard. Israel would one day rise and their Messiah would come, their saviour. Through Jerusalem, all nations of the earth would come to learn of God - finding access to Him by Israel’s priests. Israel would be the mediators between God and the Gentiles (all other nations).
The devil knew God’s plan to take back the earth. He knew that Christ would come, even that He would have to die. The devil knew of the prophecies God had given to man regarding Israel's Messiah:
“But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5
Isaiah 53 and other numerous prophecies laid out God’s plan to take back the earth. The devil, knowing that the Messiah would come, knowing that He would die for Israel and atone for their sins, waited for this one to arrive. It didn’t matter to Satan, he would crucify Christ when He showed up. It was settled.