Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. (James 4:7)
This is a very good time for us to study and understand who satan is. He is called by many names: “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! (Isaiah 14:12) So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. (Romans 12:9) And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He [God] has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; (Jude 1:6) When the final judgement day comes, And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. (Revelations 20:9-10)
In order for any of this to make since to us, we must believe and accept that there is a spiritual war going on, For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12) Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. (I Peter 5:8) He is very smart and tricky, and he attacks us where we're the weakest, which is usually in our belief and faith, just as he did with Eve in the beginning: And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:16-17) Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.(Genesis 3:1, 4-6)
Why go into all this background about satan? Because if we aren't sure that we believe there is a devil, we will have a hard time believing what Jesus says and does while in Capernaum. The world paints an image of the devil as being a crazy and ugly looking guy in a red suit with a horn tail and a pitchfork. That's a trick of the devil to weaken the nations and deceives the whole world. But he looks nothing like that. God describes him as “You were the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; (Ezekiel 28:12-13) Believing the lie about how the devil looks or even that he is not real is the reason why many have been, are and will be deceived. That's why a great multitude of people will also be deceived and believe in the anit-christ when he comes, before Christ's return (see World Being Prepared For The Deception, Part 1). But we who are Christians, Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. (II Thessalonians 2:3-4)
Well, Christ is going to show us how to deal with demons and demonic attacks: Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and taught. And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, 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!” (Mark 1:21-24; Luke 4:31-34) Wow, You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! (James 2:19) 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. Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, “What a word this is! For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.” And the report about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region. (Luke 4:35-37; Mark 1:25-28)
The power is in THE WORD OF GOD! You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. (I Thessalonians 5:5) For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light. (Ephesians 5:8) God, Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path. (Psalms 119:105) Now He arose from the synagogue and entered Simon’s [Peter] house. But Simon’s wife’s mother was sick with a high fever, and they made request of Him concerning her. So He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. And immediately she arose and served them. [Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit. (Proverbs 18:21)] When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them. And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, “You are the Christ, the Son of God!” And He, rebuking them, did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ. (Luke 4:38-41; Matthew 8:14-17; Mark 1:29-34) Christ doesn't need demons to proclaim who He is! But He does expect us, who are children of God through our faith in Him to make known to [all] that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit! (I Corinthians 12:3)
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