you: And yet Satan already knows he's utterly doomed, and knew it from the get-go. This is what I don't understand. I'm beginning to think it's beyond human comprehension altogether.
And it does seem odd that he would even bother, knowing that the end is already written, that his efforts are futile.
Perhaps he is deluded according to God’s will? God has given men over to delusions and reprobate minds, so why not Satan?
And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: - 2 Ths 2:11
Very well put.
One prophetic sort of character I know has mused that all Creation is God’s effort to redeem his former high ranking assistant.
I’m rather exceedingly skeptical of that . . .
We will see some interesting things, however . . . between here and Armageddon and after.
My own theory is that when the Adversary rebelled, he did so having deluded himself that the Holy One was just some sort of super-angel who could eventually be superceded. That's why evolution and the idea of the overthrow of the elder god(s) are both such important elements in so many pagan belief systems: They're a reflection of the Adversary's desire to be "like the Most High."
His strategy all hinges on the hope that he can somehow outmaneuver God and prevent even one of His promises from coming to pass. If he could, that would prove that God is not truly Eternal (that is, outside of Time) and therefore not truly the Creator of Space and Time. Furthermore, in Genesis 15, the Holy One entered into a one-sided covenant with Abraham, and did so according to an ancient form that said by its symbolism: "If I break My word, then let me be torn apart like these animals." Satan is so focused on destroying the Jewish people because if he could do so, God would either have to destroy Himself or would be shown to have broken His promise to do so in front of the whole universe.
Of course, since the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is the Eternal One, the Adversary doesn't have a chance--but after some six thousand years of rebellion, lies, and death, Satan a) probably has deceived himself into believing his own lies, and b) doesn't really have a choice but to push through and to hope against hope that he can find some strategem that will work. He stands condemned either way, with no hope of redemption, so why stop now? Why not at the very least steal away some of the Father's joy by destroying many of His children?
The Chevlei Mashiach, the Birth-Pangs of the Messiah, are not judgments by God per se. Rather, the increasing tempo of chaos, of false messiahs, wars and rumors of wars, famines, earthquakes, disease, and signs in the heavens result from the Adversary's increasing desperation as his every attempt to block the completion of the Great Commission, destroy Israel, prevent the reconciliation of Israel's children, stop construction of the Third Temple, etc. are defeated. This will culminate in his final expulsion from the heavenlies at the midpoint of Daniel's Seventieth Week: "But woe to you, earth and sea, for the Devil has come down to you in great fury, for he knows he has but a short time" (Rev. 12:12).
Therefore, this is not a time to fear or become complacent. It is a time to rejoice even as we roll up our sleves "as you look forward to the Day of God and speed its coming" (2Pt. 3:12).
Shalom.