Crush Satan
“And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.” ( Romans 16:20 ) This is an intriguing promise, suggesting that believers can somehow inflict bruises on the devil, who is perpetually seeking to “devour” them ( 1 Peter 5:8 ). This promise is a clear allusion to the primeval assurance of Genesis 3:15 , when God promised that the unique “seed” of “the woman” would eventually “bruise” (actually “crush”) the head of the old serpent, the devil. This prophecy will finally be fulfilled in Christ ’s ultimate victory, when Satan first will be bound for a thousand years in the bottomless pit and then confined forever in the lake of fire ( Revelation 20:2 , 10). In the meantime, believers, who also in a sense are the woman’s spiritual “seed” ( Revelation 12:17 ), can repeatedly achieve local and temporary victories over Satan and his wiles by resisting him “stedfast in the faith” ( 1 Peter 5:9 ). If we resist him as