Have you counted the seconds between a flash of lightning and the clap of thunder? It is supposed to help you determine how far away the lightning storm is from you. The lightning and thunder occur at the same time. But light travels faster than sound so we witness the gap between the two.
The Bible tells us that Satan was defeated by Christ on the cross: “Having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it” (Col. 2:14,15). Satan’s power was broken and his doom sealed with Christ’s death on the cross. When the disciples returned from a ministry trip they reported the wonders that God had unleashed through them. Jesus said: “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven” (Luke 10:18). The victory over Satan at the cross was the lightning. However the thunder of his judgment will happen one day in the future. Rev. 20:10 tells us: “The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever”.
We are currently living in the gap between the lightning of Satan’s defeat and the thunder of his judgment. This reminds me of King Saul in the Old Testament. God had stripped him of his privilege of being king of Israel and given the kingship to David. Yet in his stubbornness and rebellion he continued to rule and harass David for 10 more years. Our enemy the devil is a defeated foe yet he is still active in his work of trying to tempt believers and to thwart the cause of Jesus Christ. He blinds the lost to the gospel, he lays snares for believers, and makes accusations against them to God.
How is your battle going in the gap? Be encouraged child of God, just as the lightning has fallen, one day the thunder will crash.