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“You will bruise His heel, but He will crush your head” – Genesis 3:15

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 If you had to hear these words at the beginning of a movie, you would sit in expectation of a real humdinger – an action-packed thriller where evil goes up against good and seeks to overthrow it, but where good has vowed punishment against the perpetrator of evil and to restore complete law and order.

What makes for a good movie? In my perspective, it would be one that has a cause, an effect and a solution. It would not drag in getting to the point but start quickly. There would be action throughout, suspense, drama, romance, a pivotal point and good would finally triumph over evil, leaving you feeling happy and satisfied. It would be a movie that if it stopped 5 minutes from the end, you would be highly upset and couldn’t wait for it to come back on again. It would be a story where the beginning was as important as the end, where if you did not know the beginning, the rest of the story would not make proper sense.

This is the Bible from cover to cover. The first and last books, Genesis and Revelation, are key to the whole of it. Without Genesis, you don’t know why things are taking place in the middle and without Revelation, you don’t know the outcome, which is like stopping the movie 5 minutes from the end. Sadly, these two books are the two that most seek to discredit and destroy. However, throughout Scripture there is reference back to Genesis and reference connected to Revelation. It keeps one aware of the beginning, the reason for it all, while simultaneously driving towards the climax, the final showdown, the battle royal and happily-ever-after. It maintains the cause while moving towards the conclusion.

Consider the following:

• In Genesis we find the commencement of the creation of heaven and earth, but in Revelation we find the consummation of heaven and earth.
• In Genesis we see the dawn of Satan and his activity; in Revelation we see the doom of Satan and His activity.
• In Genesis we see the entrance of sin and the curse; in Revelation we find the exit of sin and the curse.
• In Genesis the Tree of Life is relinquished; in Revelation the Tree of Life is regained.
• In Genesis death enters; in Revelation death exits.
• In Genesis sorrow begins; in Revelation sorrow is banished
• In Genesis the relationship between God and man is ripped; in Revelation it is completely restored when God comes down once again to dwell with His people.

Interestingly, the very declaration “You will bruise His heel, but He will crush your head” was made by God Himself to Satan. It was the beginning of a new chapter in the story of mankind. The devil had gained a victory, having caused man to succumb to temptation and fall into disobedience to the Almighty God. Here, barely three chapters in, evil had seduced what was good and pure and innocent into its vile trap and thus begins the war, the tension, strife, sorrow, heartache, remorse and gross evil that continues throughout millennia that God has to deal with and sort out. But God’s declaration is pivotal upon which the above points hinge. So who is He? Who could He be?

There were signs to be fulfilled, recorded in the story’s build-up, confirming the coming One who would crush Satan’s head.

Consider the following:

• He would be the seed (offspring) of a woman (Genesis 3:15). That happened (Galatians 4:4).
• He must be the seed (offspring) of Abraham (Genesis 12:3). That happened (Matthew 1:1).
• He must be the seed (offspring) of Isaac (Genesis 17:19). That happened (Luke 3:34).
• He must be descendant from the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10). That happened (Luke 3:33).
• He must be from the house of Jesse (Isaiah 11:1,10). That happened (Matthew 1:6).
• He must be from the line of David (2 Samuel 7:12–13). That happened (Matthew 1:1–17).
• He must be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). That happened (Luke 2:4).
• He must be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14). That happened (Luke 1:31).
• As a babe He must go down to Egypt (Hosea 11:1). That happened (Matthew 2:15).
• He must come speaking in parables (Psalm 78:2). That happened (Matthew 13:34).
• He must heal the broken-hearted (Isaiah 51:1-2). That happened (Luke 4:18).
• He must be rejected by His own people (Isaiah 53:3). That happened (John 1:11).
• He must come riding on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9). That happened (Matthew 21:5).
• He must be sold for 30 pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12). That happened (Matthew 26:15).
• He must be silent when He stands before those who accuse Him (Isaiah 53:7). That happened (Mark 15:5).
• He must be crucified (Psalm 22:16). That happened (John 19:16).
• They must pierce His side (Zechariah 12:10). That happened (John 19:34).
• They must divide His garments and cast lots for His clothing (Psalm 22:18). That happened (John 19:23–24).
• He must be buried with the rich (Isaiah 53:9). That happened (Matthew 27:60).
• He must be raised to life again (Psalm 16:10). That happened (Luke 24:6).
• He must ascend into heaven (Psalm 110:1). That happened (Mark 16:19).

These are just a few of the over 300 signs prophesied that the Saviour would fulfil. When fulfilled about 4000 years after God’s pronouncement, it would represent a major turning point in the history of the world. In fact, it was so pivotal that the life of Jesus, of whom this declaration refers, is represented in our calendar – BC to AD, or BCE to CE. His birth was heralded and exalted by angels, sought and praised by wise men, in awe and wonder by shepherds and the surrounding lands and his life sought to be taken by Herod. Yet, He was born in poverty, reared in obscurity, rejected by His own, humiliated so that we may be liberated, pierced that we may be pardoned. What a story! Only the LORD God could think of such a plot, design such a purpose and bring about the fulfilment of such vast prophecy in One man. That is why the apostle Paul says, “Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1 Corinthians 1:24–25).

Now if we stop the movie at this pivotal point we have seen a great victory by God on behalf of sinful man, but the story is yet to unfold and the glory yet to come. We dare not stop the movie now! For,

• In the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) we see Christ’s humiliation; in Revelation we see His glorification.
• In the Gospels Jesus receives death; in Revelation He rebukes death.
• In the Gospels Jesus comes to convict; in Revelation He comes to condemn.
• In the Gospels His enemies applaud; in Revelation His enemies appeal.
• In the Gospels we see Him in misery; in Revelation we see Him in Majesty.
• In the Gospels Jesus is a Saviour; in Revelation Jesus Christ is a Sentencer.
• In the Gospels He is pierced; in Revelation He is praised.
• In the Gospels He is the victim; in the book of Revelation He is the victor.
• In the Gospels they give Him thorns; in the book of Revelation He gets a Throne.
• In the Gospels Jesus gets a Cross; in Revelation He gets a Crown.
• In the Gospels they call Him a criminal; in the book of Revelation He is a conqueror.
• In the Gospels Jesus has to accept the guilt; in Revelation Jesus accepts the glory.

This is now Jesus Christ the risen Saviour, who comes as a conquering King to rescue His bride and vanquish his enemies once and for all who have gathered together against Him. He now rules in power and reigns in majesty, never again to be ridiculed, spat upon, beaten, humbled and rejected. With the power of His word He will strike the nations and judge the peoples. Then, His enemies will be banished to eternal torment, while His bride, those who have accepted Him as Lord and Saviour and walk in His ways with sincerity of heart, will live with Him happily ever after.

Who could do such things? Who could surpass with such great wonder what man’s mind could not even conceive? Who could provide beyond what man could deem possible? Who could redeem from the depths of depravity and despair? Who could bestow such kindness in renewing and restoring that which was outcast? This is that great story, where man was deceived and rebelled, but where God delivers and restores. But it’s not just a story, it’s not just history, and many tend to see Scripture as one of the two. However, due its nature and due to the hundreds of prophecies representing the past, present and future, it is living! For those who lived through the fulfilment of the time of Jesus’ life on earth, it was “living history”. Today it is no different for us as we live out the continuation of that story and what is to come. The pages of Scripture are both a telling of the past and a foretelling of the future, influencing the temporal as well as the eternal. For God, who wrote Scripture through men’s hands, is eternal, from everlasting to everlasting. We are all part of this “living history”, all playing a role in the greatest living movie ever to be created. But where will we stand on the side of history when it reaches its climax? Will we be condemned or comforted? Slaughtered or saved? Banished or brought near? Having tears of distress or tears of delight?

Many ask how a good God can permit evil. What we often fail to recognise is man’s part in bringing about that evil. Sickness, disease and death all entered through man’s disobedience, and he was warned that it would happen. We have the prophecies to bear the authority, testimony and truth of what was and what will be. What we further often fail to recognise is God’s response to rectify the problem, and it is recorded in that very declaration written above – He would send a saviour. But let me ask you this: if you were drowning and someone threw you a lifebuoy but you did not take hold of it, how would you be saved? If you were dying and someone brought you medicine that would cure you but you did not take it, how would you be healed? You would consider a person a fool not to reach out and take it. Know, then, that in respect to the spiritual the same principle applies. If we will not reach out to God to save us but would rather spurn His lifeline, how do we expect to be saved when we pass from this life into the next? A good God is one who does not leave us in trouble but provides a solution to the problem, and that is exactly what God did. In this very act is the love of God, for as the apostle John says, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

To those who turn and repent and embrace this love, this salvation, it is a powerful love revealed. To those who turn away and reject it, it becomes upon them a powerful judgement. Man needlessly perishes when so great a work has been done on his behalf by the Sovereign God: wrath exchanged for mercy, judgement exchanged for grace, hell exchanged for heaven, torment exchanged for bliss, and damnation and eternal separation exchanged for redemption and eternal communion with Christ the Lord and the Heavenly Father.

Scripture is clear and the outcome certain:

• “Repent and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19).
• “God now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man (Jesus) whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead” (Acts 17:30–31).
• “There is no salvation in any other [than Jesus], for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
• “To all who received Him (took hold of the lifebuoy, drank the medicine – i.e. received Christ Jesus as Lord and Saviour), to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God” (John 1:12).
• “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides (remains) on him” (John 3:36).
• “Let us hear the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgement, including every secret thing, whether good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:13–14).
• “I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:11–15).

Dear Reader, when one considers the magnitude of Christ’s life and what it represents, the pivotal point in history, His birth was certainly worthy of angelic praise. Yet, if He came for the redemption of man, should man’s praise of Him not be considered more fitting than that of even the angels? An issue often in the way is how we see ourselves. Firstly, our hearts are deceptive and proud, for we all see ourselves better than what we really are. Secondly, how we see ourselves is irrelevant, it’s how God sees us and the commands He has given that matter. The apostle Paul says that outside of Jesus Christ we are considered disqualified (2 Corinthians 13:5) – the word in Hebrew meaning: unapproved, rejected, worthless, castaway, reprobate. It means that without Christ in our lives, we are considered bad guys and enemies of God. That is how God sees us when we have not been reconciled to Him through repentance of our sins and the acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, the atonement on our behalf.

The script is playing out according to the Creator’s purpose. Very few of us ever like to see the bad guys win. It never goes down well and we feel a bit unhappy and let down, for we like to see good eventually triumph over evil. If it didn’t, it wouldn’t be considered a good movie (excuse the pun). Why? Because generally we have a sense of justice, and our conscience has a tendency towards wanting to see justice done. God is a God of perfect justice. Why, then, would we want the story of humanity to unfold differently?

Our sins are worthy of punishment and Scripture tells us that the wages of sin is death. However, it doesn’t stop there, it continues to tell us that the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23). Christ took on Himself that punishment and paid the price on our behalf because we could not pay it ourselves. He threw us that lifeline that can draw us to safety. To those who have received Christ Jesus as Lord and Saviour, sing His praise for the part He played and still plays. If you haven’t reached out your hand for God’s lifeline given through the life of Jesus, I implore you to do so today that your role may take on a new part, one that will be on the side of victory and lead to praise, thanksgiving and eternal joy in the greatest ever action movie being staged.

Judson McCawl