Death Set Aside

Dear Christian, don't fear that Satan will win
His futile war to scale God's throne sublime;
Though he still ravages the sons of men
On the earth, he's left with so little time.
Yes, he reigns here as prince of this world,
Ruler of the planet; God set him free;
He will fall when the Son of God is hurled
To bind him with chains for all the world to see!
Jesus Christ gave His life the world to re-win,
And greater still, He overcame the flesh,
That we escape the dread wages of sin.
Restored by grace heaven from hell afresh!
What a great change occurred, the day Christ died;
He dethroned the Beast, and set death aside!

Human reason has a hard time understanding why God let Lucifer free when he was defeated in his attempt to overthrow God in the war in heaven (see Revelation 12:7-10). God has all power; Lucifer was doomed to defeat before the war began; and having lost, the usual punishment would have been death, even from a merciful God.

The reason God did not kill the traitor angel, or imprison him for eternity, is the same reason He allowed him to rebel in the first place: It was God Himself that planned to use Lucifer as the stern test that men must survive in order to be saved to heaven. He put the evil in Lucifer's heart, in order to send him to earth as an implacable enemy of the men that God planned to create. God wants sincerity in the hearts of men that choose Him over Satan, and He wants it there by the unfettered free choice of the sincere believer. The choice is deliberately difficult; Satan offers men temporary (that is, only for their brief years of life on earth) enjoyment of their vilest lusts; God offers a life that requires a rigorous will power in denying oneself of the pleasures that men most desire. It's no wonder the Bible describes God's path as so narrow that only a few choose it, and Satan's road as so broad that many find it (see Matthew 7:13-14).

Therefore, Satan was sent to earth as "prince of the earth" to provide the toughest test as he possibly could for men. that only a few might pass it, yet they would be completely reliable to God. Satan's punishment is simply delayed for a time. Jesus came to earth as a man and passed Satan's test with flying colors, then died innocent of any crime against Rome or Israel; His death atoned for all men's sins, those who believe in Him, and those who do not. It's a shame so many failed God's test; their sins were atoned for, and dying for them was a waste of grace by Jesus Christ. I imagine He knows that. (Read about Satan's final punishment in Revelation 20:7-10)