Jive Monkey Gold: Our Place In The Story

I will return shortly with a new column but for now, here's the first issue of "Jive Monkey Gold," a reprinting of a former column, still pertinent, that you may have missed. This particular one features a message that will ring true till Kingdom Come:

And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a publicspectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. (Col 2:15)

The recent blockbuster Lord of the Rings: Return of the King left out the final scene from the book version. In the book, the hobbits return home to the Shire, as they do in the movie --triumphant. The ultimate battle between good and evil has ended, and good has prevailed. The righteous and true king has defeated evil and routed the armies of death. Peace has enveloped the land.
Here's where the movie departs from novel: as the hobbit heroes enter the Shire, they find that the hobbits back home are unaware of the victory.The vile wizard Saruman, driven out of his castle during the battle, has taken refuge in the Shire. He has assumed control of the humble village, aided by petty thiefs and bullies. So the returning heroes, aided by the knowledge that the True Victory has already been won, retake their Shire and corner Saruman. He tries one final time to scare the righteous into submission:" ... do not think that when I lost all my goods I lost all my power! Whoever strikes me shall be accursed. And if my blood stains the Shire, it shall wither and never again be healed."
Of course, he is bluffing. When he dies, the Shire is free.
Despite access to the Bible, we often act like ignorant hobbits, cowering in fear of an enemy whom our King has vanquished. TheGospels declare that Christ entered history to battle the devil. The pages of the New Testament are filled with accounts of such skirmishes, always won by Christ and His apostles. Jesus consistently displayed His power over death, disease, and demon possesion, then delivered the mortal blow at Calvary.
Satan's only real power comes if we let him blind us to thereality of his defeat (the Gospels) and the inevitable outcome of that defeat (Revelation). Let's keep reminding each other, and telling others, this Good News. The war is over; evil is defeated. Our enemy is mortally wounded. Every Christian who dies is initiated into an immortal army whose leader sits on a white horse, ready to free the Shire called Earth from the desperate last grasp of an enemy who knows his days are numbered.

Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, (Heb. 2:14)