Satan, the serpent in the garden, established himself as the archenemy of God and man when he tempted our first parents to believe him instead of their Creator.  This set into motion their destruction and that of all God’s creation.  But God intervened.  His first act of rescue was by the power of His word.  He cursed the serpent, stripped him of his beauty, caused him to crawl on the ground, and condemned him to ultimate death.  This began the path toward Satan’s end, sealed at Christ’s crucifixion.  Satan’s certain and final defeat is our hope as we learn that, through our trust in Christ, we can have the power to resist the devil and he will flee from us.