Chizuk Emunah (Pt 2) Under the Microscope: Chapter 82

Romans 16:20, "And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly," etc. In 1 Thessalonians 2:18, Paul says, "We would have come unto you again, even I, Paul, but Satan hindered us."

The Christians, in consequence of the above quotations, maintain the belief that the power of Satan was broken by the death of Jesus, who "bruised the head of the serpent." If so, how then did it happen that Satan, after the death of Jesus, had such sway as to obstruct the very apostles of Jesus in the pursuit of their ministrations? 

Let me first answer this challenge with a cheap shot. In Romans, Paul said that God would soon bruise Satan under the feet of the Roman Christians, meaning that he had not done so yet. In 1 Thessalonians, Paul said that he was hindered by Satan. Troki's entire case hinges upon the assumption that Romans was written before 1 Thessalonians. Was it? Let's take a look at a chart based on very liberal scholarship:

So no, 1 Thessalonians was written a good 7 years before Romans. Troki's argument merely reflects his ignorance of New Testament scholarship, which can be forgiven considering how long ago he wrote his work. Recently, I have been watching lectures by Jews for Judaism rabbis on New Testament subjects, and their ignorance of this topic is obvious. For Example, Michael Skobac dates Acts in the 90-120 A.D. range, even though no contemporary scholar dates Acts later than 95 due to Domitian's persecution of the church in that era. Atheist scholars like James Crossley date Acts around 75, and conservative scholars such as D.A. Carson and Doug Moo date Acts in the late 50s-early 60s.

The challenge regarding Satan would be better answered by a preacher than a biblical scholar. It is a misinterpretation to say that Jesus crushing the head of Satan means that Satan is immediately annihilated and has no power to do anything. The cross and the resurrection has mortally wounded the enemy, and now he is trying to do as much damage as possible before his final defeat.

Again, the rabbis keep making this assumption that upon the arrival of Messiah, all prophecies will be completely fulfilled within one lifetime. There is no reason to expect this, and the story of the mustard seed tells us that we should expect a slow and gradual fulfillment of prophecy over a very long period of time until all is complete. We need to be patient and think in terms of long-term strategies instead of thinking that Jesus will return in our lifetimes..