“The God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly” (Rom. 16:20).
The two key words here are: crush and shortly. One tells how thoroughly powerless our enemy has been made since his defeat at Calvary; crush indicates total destruction. The other tells us how soon we can expect to see this destruction; shortly indicates that we do not have long to wait.
In the original Greek text, the word translated crush (bruise in the King James Version) is suntribo (soon-tree’bo), which is a verb meaning “to crush completely; to shatter; to break in pieces; to pulverize, disintegrate, torpedo, annihilate.” The word represents an image of all the works of the enemy being thoroughly taken apart. What a promise of victory for the Christian.
In the original, shortly is an expression made up of two Greek words: en (en) and tachos (tahk’-os). It is defined as “in haste, as soon as possible, without delay, suddenly, swiftly, with all speed.” This too is encouraging to the believer.
Do you have problems? Quote this verse as a confession of faith: “The God of peace is going to shatter the enemy under my feet without delay. In Luke 10:19 my Lord has promised that I will tread on Satan and his demons. My feet are shod with the gospel of peace. I am ready for the imminent victory — right now in Jesus’ name!”
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers
Dick Mills was ordained at The International Church of the Foursquare Gospel in 1949. He and his wife Betty traveled as evangelists all over the United States, Canada, Mexico, Latin America, Europe, and Australia. Dick and Betty are now home in heaven.
In 1966 Dick and Betty became a part of the then-emerging Charismatic Renewal. Passing through all denominational barriers, Dick has had the opportunity to speak in thousands of churches of varied backgrounds all over the world.
He ministered within several Christian organizations, including the Full Gospel Business Men, Women's Aglow, Inter-church Renewal Catholic Pentecostals, mainline Charismatic groups, CBN and TBN television networks, and many other independent Christian TV stations.
Dick appeared on numerous radio talk shows, written several magazine articles, and spoke at many Bible conferences and universities. He served as an adjunct professor at six Schools of the Bible and Seminaries.
In addition, Dick authored and co-authored several books and tapes. Dick's ministry was characterized by the unique gifts God has blessed him with. His services informed, enlightened, and motivated people to a higher level of commitment to God.