One of the central themes in most apocalyptic books is that the world is experiencing some kind of spiritual warfare. Apocalyptic literature generally sees the world as a great conflict between the powers of evil, represented by Satan, and the powers of good, represented by God. Daniel 12:1-4, for example, anticipates “a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time” and only those “whose name shall be found written in the book” will be delivered when the great prince Michael arises. Some people will be raised to “be like stars forever” while others are raised and suffer “shame and everlasting contempt.”
No. Not like this.
Although Daniel and Revelation describe a great conflict, it is not an equal battle between God and Satan. Satan does attempt to destroy the people of God and to exert control, but God very simply destroys Satan, there isn’t much of a battle at Armageddon or Gog and Magog. God and Satan are certainly not equals in Revelation.
Because of this sense of spiritual warfare, apocalyptic seems pessimistic. The writers of non-Biblical apocalyptic tend to be pessimistic about the world, seeing it as a dark place full of terror and usually see the followers of God as being a persecuted minority. There is no solution for the problems of this world other than a dramatic intervention by God to set things right again. 4 Ezra 8:1, for example, states that few will participate in the new age.
This sort of pessimism often accompanies popular apocalyptic literature any time in history. One of the complaints against classic dispensationalism is that it is pessimistic about the church’s ability to effect any real change in the world. Typically dispensationalists who are involved in “social action” run some sort of evangelistic ministry to the homeless.
Daniel and Revelation, however, does not seem to be as pessimistic. While there will be a great persecution, salvation will come out of that tribulation. The function of non-biblical prophecies was to urge holy living, but often that took the form of revolt against the oppressors. These movements typically fail (Daniel and the Maccabean revolt, for example, or the apocalyptic fervor prior to the fall of Jerusalem A.D. 70), but they do generate a committed following willing to die to effect change!
On the other hand, Leon Morris considers Revelation to be a very optimistic book. “History is the sphere in which God has wrought redemption” (Apocalyptic, 92-3). Both Daniel and Revelation look forward to God completing the plan he initiated in the Garden to restore his creation. Although there is bad news for those who “worship the beast,” the ones who do not are promised vindication at the final judgment.
Reblogged this on Talmidimblogging.
The events surrounding the apocalypse are both pessimistic and optimistic for both believers in different ways. First of all, although we eagerly await the day when the Lord returns and we will be taken up to be with Him (Philippians 3:20-21), we are also aware as Christ followers that we will have to trials and suffering leading up to the tribulation. As mentioned, one of the main “complaints” again classic dispensationalism is that believers and the Church and not affect any “significant” change in the world. This statement is both correct but also incorrect at the same time. Can the church impact the world with broad, overarching change that affects the multitudes? No. We are told this will not happen by God’s word itself. The city of Sardis is a simple example of this. Revelation 3:4: “Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. Also, Luke 13:24: “Strive to enter through the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and not be able”. The inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah were not complete fools. They were away they were choosing to live wicked and evil lives. Yet one heart was still open to the righteousness of God, that of Lot. As aforementioned, while the church will not change every human being or every country or nation, there will be small changes, Individual souls will come to know Jesus Christ and choose the difficult path of going against the sin of the world. We will be mocked and scorned for choosing the path of righteousness, as Lot did. But we can remember and take comfort for the coming apocalypse from the words of Jesus Himself: John 16:33: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world”.
Saxon,
I really enjoyed your post and felt like you made some very accurate points. The way you explained how there are both positives and negatives to the tribulation and end times was very interesting to me. I agree with you that up until these end times we believers will have to endure many difficult trials and hardships, but that we will ultimately prevail through Christ. Going off on somewhat of a side note but one I think is important to mention, is that even though believers will have to go through hard times up until the tribulation, I personally believe that as Christians we should not just sit around and despair. We need to be out in the world telling the lost about what is going to come if they don’t repent and turn to God. Lastly, I really loved how you made sure to point out that while Christians can do their very best to reach out to the unbelievers and try to show them the truth about the world, that in the end it is their choice and we cannot save everyone. God has told us that there will be many who will not repent and who will have to spend eternity in punishment because of it. Please do not misunderstand what I am saying here. I am not saying that we should stop evangelizing. Not at all. But that we should do our best to reach the lost and leave the results up to God.
Though this post is based on the reality of the tribulation it’s view is very pessimistic when in fact there is so much to be optimistic about. One day the Lord will come back and take back his people. We will see our Savior face to face and be able to stay with him for eternity. An eternity in which there will be no more tears no more fear, no more pain, and no longer a broken relationship but a restored one with our loving, holy father. No longer will Satan be able to tempt us, no longer will he try to take us down to the depths. But Jesus will and has already defeated him. We won’t have to listen to the lies he tries to tell us and try to fight because the battle is one as it has been one by him already. Yes as the post says there is a pessimistic view of this great day where the apocalypse will take place and Christ will return but we already have that freedom in Christ though it is nothing compared to what the Lord has prepared to us. Through Christ here on earth now we can enjoy and look forward to what the Lord has for us in this life. We have such a great call as Christians to share this peace and freedom in Christ with the whole wide world and to live and do the other things that the Lord has called us to. We get to live now in a relationship with a heavenly father who died for us. though there will be trials and we still will have tears and oppression we also have great hope. Yes it is important to look forward to the apocalypse since that is the greatest promise the Lord has given to us but we can still have joy in the times where we are going through trials, having hope and knowing the Lord is “Working everything together for our good” (Romans 8:28) and his glory. As seen through Daniel and Revelation we are called to do great things for the Lord right now living a holy life onto the Lord for all that He is, all He has done, and all that He will do. We are called to share the gospel with everyone so they do not have to bow down to the beast at the end but survive the apocalypse with hope in Christ. Though if they do not accept the free gift of love paid for them by the death of Jesus Christ and do not choose to walk with him then there is nothing we can do. But we can have the hope that we will be saved. We will be walking with our savior forever. Amen.
I think that this article hit on a major misconception that so many people in today’s world just totally miss. And that misconception is that when the end of days comes Satan and God will duke it out and whoever comes out on top will decide the fate of the world and humanity. But you don’t have to understand a ton about who God and the devil are to know that this just isn’t going to be the case. The devil is not somehow God’s equal or even close to being able to pick a fight with the Almighty. No. God created the angel who fell from heaven and became the devil. And because God created him he is infinitely above him. So there is no contest. Another great point that this article makes is how we often see apocalyptic literature as very pessimistic and dark, but that is not the way that Daniel and Revelation portray the end times for believers. If you read these two books well you will begin to understand that they are actually the beautiful unfolding of the master plan that God has had all along for his creation. We often get so caught up in all of the chaos that is going on around us that we easily forget that nothing surprises our God. He always has been and always will be. So I don’t think we should let talk of the end times scare us or depress us, we should instead be seeking God and looking for ways to spread the news of his kingdom so others who are lost will not be lost for eternity.
I think that this article hit on a major misconception that so many people in today’s world just totally miss. And that misconception is that when the end of days comes Satan and God will duke it out and whoever comes out on top will decide the fate of the world and humanity. But you don’t have to understand a ton about who God and the devil are to know that this just isn’t going to be the case. The devil is not somehow God’s equal or even close to being able to pick a fight with the Almighty. No. God created the angel who fell from heaven and became the devil. And because God created him he is infinitely above him. So there is no contest. Another great point that this article makes is how we often see apocalyptic literature as very pessimistic and dark, but that is not the way that Daniel and Revelation portray the end times for believers. If you read these two books well you will begin to understand that they are actually the beautiful unfolding of the master plan that God has had all along for his creation. We often get so caught up in all of the chaos that is going on around us that we easily forget that nothing surprises our God. He always has been and always will be. So I don’t think we should let talk of the end times scare us or depress us, we should instead be seeking God and looking for ways to spread the news of his kingdom so others who are lost will not be lost for eternity.
I do like how in the blog you touched on the fact that the devil and his fallen angels will not have a chance against God. I feel that oftentimes a big misconception is that during the battle of armageddon it will be a long battle and we will lose some Christians to death. I like how you pointed out that God is all-powerful and the devel really does not have a chance. I would also like to point out how you were talking about how the world sees apocalyptic literature as a spiritual battle. I think that oftentimes we can get caught up in our mind that spiritual things are like ghosts and that may be the case some times although it is probably not the case here because these spiritual can have bodies as well, and I think that this can be a hard topic to wrap our heads around as Americans.
My pastor back home would often claim from the pulpit that he is not a pessimist; he is merely a realist! In other words, while some individuals would accuse him as being overly pessimistic, he would argue that he simply viewed life in a balanced fashion–taking into account the good and the bad. He certainly did not neglect the good, however. I think he was just a little more keen to the emptiness and futility of a life lived without Jesus. In the same way, this is how John wrote his apocalyptic book, Revelation. It is certainly not a pessimistic book; John merely takes the messaged delivered to him and transmits it to the public. This is quite obvious from the content of the message of Revelation. Contained within all other human apocalyptic literature–the kind that is not canonical–one finds a rather interesting dynamic. God and the Devil are equally powerful and with the universe on the line, they fight these epic battles with their armies. A lot of Eastern religions, especially Buddhism, view the world this way. They believe that life is all about balance, that some portion of evil is actually necessary for the universe to operate optimally. This is, however, completely contrary to the Biblical view of the world. God is infinitely greater than the devil, and any power he has was given to him by God. In other words, without God, Satan is powerless. So, just like everything else in the cosmos, he is utterly dependent on God. The book of Revelation simply describes how God is going to bring the story of creation to an end–and this of course includes the destruction of Satan. There is scarcely any battle involved. But my point here is that this is unlike pretty much all other apocalyptic literature that we find in human history. It is not a pessimistic rant meant to stir up confusion; rather, the book of Revelation is a glorious book about the hope that we have in God and in His Son, Jesus Christ.
It has always been true that Satan wants God’s people to fall in sin, and we know this since the beginning. In Genesis we see that Satan is very evil and he wanted Adam and Eve to sin, and by it, they would become “like God”. Satan has always been tempting and has put barriers in our lives from reaching God, and there is no question about it. Daniel and Revelation do mention that there will be a great conflict, but that does not mean that Satan is equally as powerful as God. There is not even a small comparison to Gods and Satan’s power. You are accurate, Daniel and the revelation does not seem to be pessimistic. Yes, there will be many bad things that could happen, and in some way or another, God allows those things to happen but that does not mean that we should deceive Him and stop trusting Him.
The end of times could be a scary thing, but what will keep us from being afraid is to let God have complete control of our lives and wait for His return patiently and faithfully. It is understandable to believe that Satan has some power and many times he stands in our way, but if we have God in our hearts, we ourselves could ultimately defeat Satan himself through God’s power. The end of times could be scary, but if we have given our lives to God, we will be safe and saved.
God is all-powerful and can do anything possible. God and Satan cannot be equal because God is powerful and can easily destroy Satan. In the end of everything ,God wins because he has already won. The story of Revelation tells us that the Son of God is coming and he will bring a new heaven and earth for us to live in. He will save us from persecution and leave those who do not want to follow. It is telling us of what God is going to do in the end and restore his new creation. He will remove all pain and bring joy back. God has already beat Satan and he had Jesus take away death. “He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4). Daniel and Revelation and giving us hope in the future because both tells us of the coming of a new creation and that Jesus will be coming back to save us. Spiritual warfare happens around us even if we cannot fully see it. There are times when we are struggling to fight between good and evil and we cry and mourn when something bad happens. But, one of the purposes of Daniel and Revelation is to show us that there are trials and temptations that happen, but with faith in God we can fight through and in the end, Jesus will come back bring us out of the darkness.
The imagery of Jesus overcoming evil is a very powerful one. I do like however that it is pointed out in the article that this “fight” is not really a fight at all. Jesus has already overcome death and has won the war. This final hurrah is more of a little tussle like a little, annoying dog still nipping at the heal of an elephant that has already crushed its ribs. There is no way that the dog is going to survive smahed on the ground, but it still tries to bite. It amazes me how the devil, time and time again, still thinks he can outdo God in some way. Or maybe perhaps he has realized that he has lost and this final fight he has with Jesus is not to take him down, but to take as many human beings as he can with him, for that is the only way he has left to fight. However, those who believe in and love the Lord are also able to declare victory over the devil as shown in verses such as 1 Corinthians 15:57, Psalm 60:11-12, and Proverbs 21:31. We will have eternal life, and this is why the book of Revelation is seen as an optimistic one. In the end, evil will be no more, and all believers will be living with God forever. God’s plan for his people will be fulfilled and they will share in his victory over death.
Yes I can completely see Revelation as being an optimistic book in nature. Realizing that Jesus has done what he came to do, live a perfect life, die on the cross for the payment of our sins, and be raised to life again which is recognized in Revelation. Jesus caries the keys to death and hades, showing that he is fully in control and even in the midst of the suffering and persecution, we know that the battle has already been won and it allows us to live a life God calls us to live here on earth being patient in our affliction while at the same time living holy lives. It encourages people to evaluate their faith in Jesus to know whether or not their names will be found in the book of life. So Yes revelation is an optimistic book for those who are followers of Jesus, and a book of doom for those who decide not to recognize Jesus as the savior of the world.
I believe since the beginning of time, there has always been spiritual warfare between good and evil. Now, in our modern time, this spiritual warfare has increased with much casualty falling into chaos, premature accidents, oppression, and so on. Since, the defeat of sin and death at the cross, the time is now on the free-will crossroads people make, of whom they serve. Much of the spiritual warfare lays within the decision making to whether whom we should worship to and have a relationship with. There are still people who do not know the real Jesus Christ, and the works he has done on earth and the heavens. Some, have yet to recognized His identity. the book of Revelations can be view with many characteristics, such as wrongly fear or fear of God. Some may view it as an oppression weapon many past even present pastors/churches have use to manipulate. Some may view it as hope in God who has restored all things are now manifesting. Some believe when Jesus Christ return that it’s going to be all happy and jolly, when in fact it says in Revelation 19:15, “from his mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it he may strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron; and he treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the almighty.” One thing for certain, is this, that those who see this and were not written in the book of life would wish they would die, but then it would be too late for them. Depending what kind of revelation, you would get from reading the Book of Revelations, or what season you are in, when it comes to spiritual growth, I feel there is yet so much for the book of Revelation to evolve within the reap of its seed.
I think the book of Revelation is often seen as a dark and pessimistic book like you said in your post. It talks about war, death, hell, and other things that can be pretty disheartening, however, it is also very optimistic. Throughout the book it talks about spiritual warfare and conflict between God and Satan and how God will come to take his people home and destroy Satan. This may sound kind of scary but the great part about it is that Satan doesn’t stand a chance against God and his amazing power. As a result of this conflict there could be pain and warfare, but in the end there will be salvation for those who trust in God. Eventually, after all the conflict, we will be taken with Christ to eternal life where we won’t have to experience anymore warfare and the devil will be defeated. Both Daniel and Revelation speak of conflict in different ways. Daniel speaks a lot on the conflict between God and the earthly kingdoms where Revelation as I have said speaks on the conflict between God and Satan. There are many people who have different views on the themes and characteristics of this book, but I believe they still consist of spiritual warfare and turmoil, mythological images and symbolism, salvation, worship, and optimism.
I can understand why people would see apocalyptic literature as pessimistic. When you read revelation and especially chapter eight one third of everything is destroyed. If you read it and take it literally there is not much room for optimism. It is easy for us to take this book out of its historical context and forget what the Christians were going through at the time this book was written. While there was not much of a battle between God and Satan or at Gog and Magog I do not think the point here is the length of the battle or the destruction caused by those battles, but the triumph of God over the evil in the world. The idea of God’s triumph over coming evil is a way of reinsuring people that God loves us regardless and that we should be mindful that our actions have consequences and at some point we will need to suffer those consequences. I think the author of revelation is trying to reflect the uncertainty of the time and trying to give the Jewish and gentile Christians a sense of security and calm.
It is of some interest to me how humans have the desire to revolt violently against their oppression. Perhaps it is merely the psychology major in me, but I certainly understand how difficult it would be to live peacefully, a living testimony to the truth rather than fighting against persecution. After all, fighting back against injustice is part of how our country of America was founded; it is part of our culture, in a way. And yet we are told by the Bible not to react to the world in violence, even during persecution. Instead we are supposed to continue living peacefully according to God’s will.
Daniel’s companions did not resist with violence when the King of Babylon threatened to throw them into the furnace; instead they held fast to their beliefs, and their faith was vindicated by God’s intervention. This is juxtaposed in the book of second Maccabees, where there is hope in God to provide a new ruler who will come and avenge the torture of the faithful and the disregard for the Law (Blackwell, Goodrich, & Maston, 69). The book of Revelation has more in common with the book of Daniel, with the martyrs waiting with patient endurance for God himself to avenge them (Blackwell, Goodrich, & Maston, 71). The two canonical books have an emphasis on the provision of God to judge those that disregard the truth of God’s word. And this is indeed what happens—the battle of Armageddon is not a battle at all—it’s merely the destruction of Satan and his followers, those that would persecute and harm God’s people.
Blackwell, Ben C., et al. Reading Revelation in Context: Johns Apocalypse and Second Temple Judaism. Zondervan Academic, 2019.
While reading through my classmate’s responses to the initial blog post, Jamison said something that really stood out to me. There is a misconception in our world that people are unaware of. There are many people that believe that when the end of world comes, Satan and God will battle it out to see who wins and determines the course for human kind. But as Christians we know that this is not the case. There is no battle to even be fought. We know that there is no one equal to our God and there is not even a chance that the devil would defeat our Lord. There is a lot of pessimism that surrounds the apocalyptic literature and reading, but we have so much hope when reading these verses. We know that the end of times means Jesus is coming back and we will be brought to Heaven with Him—if He returns during our time still. There is still fear because so much is unknown to us, but we can also find so much peace knowing that our Father is in control and He knows what He is doing. He has had this plan all along, and all of this is no surprise to Him. If anything, knowing about the end times should motivate us to always be prepared and on guard knowing that the Lord could return at any time. Just like Matthew 24:44 tell us, “Therefore you must also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (NIV). There is a misconception that the end times is full of dark and pessimism, but as Christians we should refocus and see all the positive and optimism that comes from these books.
I agree with your statement that God and Satan are not an equal match. Yes, God has the ability to beat Satan at any time according to his will. As I read the original post though, I wondered what we would say to those who disagree with the statement, “there isn’t much of a battle.” As we all know, our world is getting worse and worse each day, with evil growing progressively. So… then how should we respond when they say that there is, in fact, an even battle between good (God) and evil (Satan) because if you look out at the world today, many people would attest to that. But as Christians, it’s important that we hold a different mindset, because if we even consider the fact that evil is doing so well right now, it somehow diminishes our belief in an all good and all powerful God. This is why I think that pessimistic view is so dangerous, and since many people hold that view, we as Christians need to know how to combat it with the truth. What is the best way in your opinion to go about this?
Again though, I do believe that God has the ability to completely destroy any enemy (Satan), but he chooses not to do it directly to him. It’s a very tough concept for many to grasp, like why does God allow all of this evil and suffering in the world today? Spiritual warfare is a real thing, but the battle isn’t as one-sided as we may believe (although it very well could be). Satan has his grips on much of our world. I agree with the fact that we should be optimistic rather than pessimistic though, because Satan wants us to be sad and pessimistic. By having a positive outlook on evil, you are directly taking the power of evil itself away from him.
Apocalyptic literature gives us a touch into the cosmic struggle of good and evil, apocalyptic literature usually gives a good picture of spiritual warfare. Some of these texts seem pretty eh, writing about a world that is overrun by darkness and persecution. Other texts do a good job of giving a sense of hope even though there is chaos happening. In many works like Daniel and Revelation, the conflict between God and Satan is portrayed as anything but fair. God is the ultimate victor over the pressures and darkness of evil. Even through the trials and tribulations that are faced by believers, there is a hint of optimism that is running through these narratives, this optimism is the hint of redemption and restoration. Interpretations of apocalyptic literature can be varied widely. Some people focus on the realities of persecution of despair, while other people like Leon Morris, see the brighter side. The brighter side involves hope found in the ultimate plan of God for humanity.
So often apocalyptic literature is understood to be centered around an epic battle between Satan and God, evil vs. good. In this picture people like to paint these two contenders are in an even match up. As pointed out in this post though, this is completely untrue as obviously Satan is not nearly on the same level of God and apocalyptic literature as a whole is actually much more nuanced than this one simple illustration of the battle for the ages. This article mentions the perceived pessimistic nature that people gather from the genre. A feeling that is easy to come away with regarding some instances in which the world is described, or how God’s people are treated. However, the genre as a whole is far more positive and optimistic than it is given credit for. For example Daniel 2:44, this verse discusses the creation of the Kingdom in heaven ushering in the destruction to the kingdoms on earth. To take from this verse the destruction of the kingdoms of earth is to have a pessimistic view when this verse is actually very hopeful for the future of believers. Another verse regarding the eternal Kingdom is Revelation 21:1, once again discussing the destruction of our earthly kingdom, however, to gather only that front the verse is to disregard the hope and salvation of the new Kingdom.
This is one thing I do not understand about the book of revelation, is the hopelessness that evil has in the end. Eventually there will be a clear attempt at a resistance from Satan and an army of evil, and there are entire chapters dedicated to describing the armies and minions of Satan. Why relay importance on these subjects if it is almost laughable the attempt at fighting back from Satan. For revelation I would view that history is pessimistic up until the point of Jesus return, and the final climatic conclusion of our history. The world was under spiritual warfare, for what could be thousands plus more years, and then there was the triumphant return of Jesus Christ leading to an optimistic conclusion. Like what was said in the blog, I can understand what seems like pointless pursuit of changing the world for the church. The church even goes through a persecution like never seen before in the end times, but in the end the church is dissolved and or integrated because it is no longer needed. Because the end times will involve many conflicts between Christians and Beast-Worshippers, how will Christians carry themselves in this conflict, can they resist? Especially because many if not all the governments will be Beast-worshipping organizations, and come in complete contrast to scripture.
Long’s analysis of spiritual warfare as a central theme in apocalyptic literature offers a compelling perspective on the cosmic struggle between good and evil. Texts like Daniel and Revelation vividly depict this conflict, portraying the forces of darkness led by Satan pitted against the powers of light under God’s dominion. The anticipation of a time of unprecedented trouble, as described in Daniel 12:1-4, looks at the severity of the spiritual battle and the ultimate deliverance of the righteous. The observation that apocalyptic literature tends towards pessimism due to its portrayal of a dark and terrifying world is astute. The writers of these texts often view the followers of God as a persecuted minority amidst a hostile environment, with the only hope for resolution lying in divine intervention. This is evident in both Biblical and non-Biblical apocalyptic writings, reflecting a profound sense of despair regarding the human condition and the inability of earthly powers to effect lasting change. Long’s critique of classic dispensationalism’s pessimism towards the church’s ability to enact meaningful change in the world raises important questions about the role of eschatology in shaping social action. While some may view apocalyptic literature as inherently pessimistic, texts like Daniel and Revelation offer a more nuanced perspective, acknowledging the reality of persecution while also proclaiming the ultimate triumph of God’s redemptive plan. The contrast between pessimism and optimism in interpreting Revelation, as discussed by Leon Morris, adds depth to the conversation. While some may perceive Revelation as a bleak portrayal of judgment and destruction, others, like Morris, emphasize its underlying message of hope and redemption. The promise of vindication for the faithful underscores the optimistic outlook that permeates apocalyptic literature, viewing history as the stage for God’s redemptive work. Long’s exploration of spiritual warfare and its implications in apocalyptic literature looks at the complex interplay between pessimism and optimism in understanding these ancient texts. By disclosing the theological and literary nuances of these narratives, we gain a deeper appreciation for their enduring relevance and profound insights into the human condition and divine providence.
Apocalyptic literature is characterized by different structures that distinguish it from other genres. Long (2020) highlights a few of these characteristics such as rich symbolism, salvation, armies of angels and demons, and cosmic catastrophe, just to mention a few (158). The blog post talks of how apocalyptic texts were often written during times of political and social upheaval, such as the Hellenistic period or the Roman occupation of Judea. These tough times shaped the worldview of the writers, influencing their portrayal of cosmic conflict and the struggle between good and evil. By understanding the historical backdrop of apocalyptic literature, we can appreciate the ways in which it served as a response to present events and a source of comfort for those facing persecution. One important thing to note, however, is that this ‘struggle’ between good and evil does not mean God is at the same level as Satan, it is not an equal battle as God is far greater (Long, 158). In the book of Daniel, this aspect of God defeating evil with no doubt is portrayed in various chapters like 2,7 and 12. All this to say, even though non-Biblical apocalyptic books and movies portray apocalyptic times as negative, such is not the case with the books of Revelation and Daniel.