I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” (Luke 10:18, NKJV)
In the previous teaching we examined the presence and working of Evil in the lives of people. The arrival of the New Testament was preceded by Jesus’ time on earth. Throughout His life and ministry He had opposed Satan, and when it was needed, drove spirits from people. There are a myriad examples found in the gospels:
- 4:1-11 offers a detailed sketch of Satan negotiating with Jesus.
- “Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him.” (Mark 1:34)
- “And He was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons.” (Mark 1:39)
- “And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, ‘You are the Son of God.’” (Mark 3:11)
- A dramatic event is found in Mark 5:2-5: “And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains, because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones.”
- Another dramatic event: “Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon. And he cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!’ But Jesus rebuked him, saying, ‘Be quiet, and come out of him!’ And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him.” (Luke 4:33-35).
- And of course, after Judas had betrayed Jesus, Luke 22:3 states: “Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve.”
And then came the cross, and it became the pinnacle of the reverse of demonic control on earth. When Jesus, completely broken, triumphantly calls out “It if finished!” (John 19:30), He actually shouted “Come forth, new creation!” (as Dutch Sheets beautifully translates in Intercessory Prayer). With this sacrificial act Jesus dealt with Satan’s power on earth, and brought about a completely new dispensation for believers dealing with demonic powers.
- Selah: How has the cross brought change to the demonic realm?
- Read: 1-3
- Examine the OT-typology: 2:11 (Tip: Zech. 14:1)
- For a deeper understanding: Read Jessie Penn-Lewis’s book War on the Saints.