“I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightening.” –Jesus
If you ever wondered if Jesus had a sense of humor, here it is. The Bible says Jesus “appointed seventy-two others, and sent them ahead of Him in pairs to every town and place where He Himself was about to go” (Luke 10:1). When they returned, they were excited and full of joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in Your name” (Luke 10:17)!
I can almost picture His face, happy for their discovery yet laughing because He saw firsthand the fall of Satan. “Look, I have given you the authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy; nothing at all will harm you” (Luke 10:19). And then I imagine His tone shifted and with all seriousness, He said, “However, don’t rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven” (vs. 20).
Balance the Truth.
The shift here reminds me of the old expression “Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.” In other words, don’t discard what’s essential with your zeal.
I’ll never argue if demonic activity is real– I believe it is. And I think Satan has duped a lot of people because they don’t recognize him and therefore don’t deal with him either. When a spirit of strife or fear shows up, most people add fuel to the fire instead of using their authority to put out the fire!
I also believe this is the underlying emphasis of Paul’s words to the Corinthians when he said, “Now concerning spiritual gifts brethren, I don’t want you to be ignorant” (1 Corinthians 12:1). The word ignorant means a lack of knowledge or to ignore. Both are very dangerous. What you don’t know can hurt you. And choosing to ignore is just foolish because it gives the enemy the upper hand.
We shouldn’t be ignorant.
If we understood Satan’s influence more, I’d like to think we’d deal with it — and rejoice like the early disciples that “even the demons are subject to us in His name”! But unfortunately, most of the church doesn’t recognize the sly advances of the enemy. Paul said, “Lest Satan should take advantage of us, we shouldn’t be ignorant of his devices” (2 Corinthians 2:11).
Well said Paul.
We would do well to recognize the spiritual warfare around us.
BUT Jesus brought everything into perspective when He said, “Don’t rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” The greater victory isn’t that demons have to flee when we resist them in Jesus’ name, but that all who have put their faith in Christ have avoided following Satan to hell.
I’ve heard people say if God is so good, why does He send people to hell? That’s actually the wrong question (and a big clue any person asking that question doesn’t know or understand the Bible). God is good– this is correct. And in His kindness, He made a way for people not to go to hell. When Adam fell, every person from then on belonged to Satan and was destined to follow him to the abyss for eternity.
BUT…
“While we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly… God proves His own love for us in that while we were sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6,8).
This is what Jesus knew was coming and why He emphasized it to the seventy-two that day they came back rejoicing. Privately, He also said to his disciples, “Blessed are the eyes that see the things you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see the things you see but didn’t see them; to hear the things you hear but didn’t hear them” (Luke 10:23-24).
It was so true. Romans 4:6-8 says, “Likewise, David also speaks of the blessing of the person to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: Blessed are those whose lawless acts are forgiven and whose sins are covered. Bless is the person the Lord will never charge with sin.” David looked forward to the day you and I live in. He desired it but it didn’t happen in his lifetime.
This is why Jesus rejoiced. He knew the day had come. Believers would now have restored authority on earth and a confident expectation of heaven.
You and I are the blessed ones David spoke about. I pray this reminder encourages your heart and fuels your fire. May you rejoice with Jesus!
