Invaded

I saw Him come from heaven on that dark
night of my soul, descending to embark
upon my ruin. But I would not sit by
and let this Messenger from God all my
achievements bring to naught. He must be taught
the even He can be deceived and bought
off with the right enticement, when I’ve wrought
my wiles against Him. So, at least, I thought.

All in due course, all in due course, my curious
inquirer. Before His advent, sin a furious
and far-flung empire had become among
the peoples of the earth. The old, the young,
men, women, nations – every tribe and tongue –
including nearly everyone who clung
fast to the covenant of God – were bound
and owned by me. My lovely lies were found
in every culture, in a multitude
of guises, some sublime, while others crude,
but all effective to divert the minds
of men from seeing clearly all the signs
of God’s existence, leading them instead
to make up gods and systems in their heads,[1]
by which they justified their fleshly ways,
all true and saving thoughts of God debased,
and gave their worship and devotion to
the one who taught them such fine things to do –
that would be I. And while for some this great
achievement might have been enough, the hate
I bore within my soul for Him who all
the while ruled every detail, great and small,
of my vast empire, left me discontent
with all that I had thus far gained, and bent
with firm resolve to drag Him from that throne
and make all final sovereignty my own!

So, when He dared my earthly compound to
invade, I saw at once what I must do
my kingdom to defend and all my gains
preserve.

And yet, I also saw those chains,[2]
borne in His hand, and wondered what could be
their use to such a lowly babe as He.

Though I made efforts early on to thwart
His mission – I proposed a change of heart
to him who to His mother was engaged,[3]
and, somewhat later, stirred up an enraged
but inept ruler in a bloody scheme
to do Him in, and came within a dream
each time of full success[4] – I came to see
that if my victory complete would be,
I had to choose my timing carefully.
Let Him be grown and strong, and let Him be
presented to the world, endorsed by some
divine announcement of why He had come
here in the first place. The embarrassment
that I could bring upon His covenant
would be more luscious and convincing when
I humbled Him Who in the eyes of men
was set for my destruction by divine
approval. I would therefore bide my time
and, at the proper moment, strike the blow
that would my awesome, fearsome prowess show,
by making Him who came to vanquish me
my prize and slave for all eternity.
And then, His Son my captive once for all,
I would effect the Lord Almighty’s fall.

But there was much to do till then. I drilled
my demon hosts relentlessly. It thrilled
me to observe  their full obedience to
my every word, as to and fro, to do
my bidding, they fulfilled the bivouac
I exercised them in for the attack
I planned to launch against the gates of heav’n.
Mine were the orders daily to them giv’n;
I orchestrated all their movements; for
my pleasure they deceived, tormented, or,
if I preferred, destroyed both men and nations.
I stimulated vain imaginations
to yet more foolish schemes; I prodded kings
and emperors to feats of vanquishing
and bloodshed never seen before. I blotted
the glory of the Lord from minds besotted
with sensuality and lust. I stirred
up strife, spread fear and famine in the herd
of men, and sowed confusion everywhere. I strewed
the world with warfare, plagues, and storms. I skewed
sound reason when it sought to penetrate
the veil of lies and darkness to create
a space for truth. I reveled, I delighted,
I fairly gushed to watch as men, benighted
by their insatiable lust, distorted truth
to suit their selfish interests or to soothe
their guilty consciences, and gave to me,
in many guises, what should only be
to God ascribed – complete devotion! All
the world before my feet would one day crawl,
and then would be the time to mount the skies
and lay hold on my glorious heavenly prize!

Thus every day, from that bright morning when
He first appeared among the ranks of men,
I shored up all my gains, intensified
my presence among men, spread far and wide
my demon hosts, and made an atmosphere
on earth uncordial to His being here,
so that, when our great confrontation came
to pass, He would regret in deepest shame
that He had ever left His distant throne
to challenge and confront me in my own
domain. Yes, there would be a binding and
subduing then – but not quite as I’d planned.