- 65. No Lion or Beast
Isaiah 35:9 No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there.
Since the Fall many animals became like lions and wild beasts, some of which are untamable and have become harmful to human life. Before the Fall all animals were subject to the dominion of the created human, such that Adam could name the animals and control them all. But sin and the curse changed the environment so that nature itself became hostile to mankind to some degree. But the Lord still loved the world in this way: He gave His Son to redeem the cursed Creation. Now, since Christ came to redeem, “the creation waits eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.”
There will come a Day when the lion will lie down with the lamb and children will play on the holes of snakes without harm. Lions and ravenous beasts are symbols of evil and the personification of Evil, the devil. “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” But he can be resisted, for He has been defeated.
The promise is that there shall be no lion or ravenous beast on the road to heaven. Heaven comes into our hearts, and the devil cannot live there where the Lord is in charge. The redeemed shall walk there. Life without evil is beyond our imagination for we have never experienced such a righteous, wonderful life. For those in Christ that kind of life now exists side by side with the desert of the soul where devouring lions and ravenous beasts used to live. We actually live in two worlds, one by faith and one by sight. Faith believes the promise: no lion shall be there. He is still there, but he has no power and he can be resisted by the Life living in us.
This brings up the old question: “Can a Christian have a demon?” The answer is Yes, but we can believe the promise and take authority over it and drive it out. Satan has no right to our life, although he will never stop trying and lying. By the power of the Holy Spirit we can choose which world to dwell in. Therefore, choose life, that you may live. By believing you may have life in his name.