I added the pictures above to the message I shared below.
What Demons Know
[source: HopeAndPassion.org]
There is an appointed time and place of God’s unbelievable judgment. Demons know this. Though they continue to wage war against God, they are fully aware of their own coming demise. Demons also know of the current power of Jesus Christ to command their comings and goings, for they acknowledge Jesus Christ as the Son of God. Demonic powers recognize the God-Man and His dominion. They react to His Kingship now to the degree God ordains in this age, and they will finally be demolished to the absolute degree at God’s appointed time.
If only we human beings knew of God’s power and judgment! And, of course, I mean “knew” in the sense of acting upon the information. I fear the people of God live far too timidly in this dark world and experience far too little victory and hope. Jesus Christ is Lord over the domain of darkness and self-destruction. Let’s recognize Him as such and take Him at His Word.
Matthew, Mark, and Luke all explain the account of Jesus Christ casting a legion of demons out of a man in the first century A.D. While Matthew tells us of two demon-possessed men, Mark and Luke focus on only one of the demoniacs at the scene. The demons had such horrid effects on this human life that no other people could come near the man. He was violent, self-destructive, out of his right mind, and living among the tombs of the dead due to the influence of Satan’s minions. Matthew tells us of both the demon-possessed men that they were “so fierce that no one could pass that way” (Matthew 8:28, ESV). Mark explains the horror: “He lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones” (Mark 5:3-6, ESV). The physician, Luke, informs us that the demoniac wore no clothes while living among tombs instead of in a house. We have, therefore, a terrible and comprehensive description of Satan’s influence on this person. The demons wrought devastation in this life – and the effects were obvious to all.
And yet, despite all the damage the demons could do, they yielded to the awesome power of Jesus Christ. Even though no human could get near these demons inhabiting a man, when Jesus Christ came close, they met Him and cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” (Matthew 8:29b, ESV) Notice three things about the demons’ knowledge:
1) They recognize and name Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and
2) They realize there is a specific, future time of their punishment; and
3) They admit that Jesus Christ has the power to torment them.
Though Satan is the father of lies (John 8:44), even His demons must acknowledge the Truth of God in Jesus Christ. Satan makes it his business to slander and lie by twisting the truth and withholding it from us, but Jesus Christ stands as the Truth of God in Person. Lies cannot stand up to Jesus Christ, who is the Way and the Truth and the Life (John 14:6). Though they rebel against His way, the demons realize their rebellion is, in fact, against the very real God of the universe.
The demons function in futility. They work hard to torment and enslave, knowing all the while the final doom they face. As Matthew recorded, they know the time is coming. Luke says, “And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss” (Luke 8:31, ESV). Satan and his disgusting servants are aware of the material of the book of Revelation, as well they should be; for hell itself was originally prepared for the devil and his angels. (Matthew 25:41)
Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while … And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. (Revelation 20:1-3, 7-10, ESV)
The demons’ awareness does not stop them. Jesus Christ made clear that “The thief comes to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10, ESV). The devil will battle to the bitter end. Knowing his fate is sealed, it appears his goal is to take as many people with him as he can.
We notice that although the demonic forces torment willing humans, demons recognize that Jesus Christ has the power to torment them eternally. For every bit of destruction Satan has brought upon mankind, he will be repaid. His cohorts know this. Justice will be served by the holy God who sees everything and rights all wrongs.
My prayer is that we would act on the knowledge we have. Demons know much, but they have no saving faith. In a discussion about faith and works, James tells us that true faith will result in action. He brings to our attention demons – who believe in the sense of knowing – but are not saved from damnation. He says to the church, “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe – and shudder!” Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? (James 2:19-20, ESV)
James here expresses a vital truth. At the very least, we need to know what demons know about God’s power and judgment. However, we must also ACT on our knowledge, for that is true belief. Angels and demons are who they are from now into eternity; humans alone are the objects of God’s wonderful salvation. In fact, when Peter tells us of this good news of salvation through Jesus Christ, he adds that they are “things into which angels long to look” (I Peter 1:12b, ESV). In other words, angels do not know of the glorious experience of being loved despite sin — to the point of Jesus Christ paying the price for their lives. Only a redeemed human can know the depth of that love. Angles and demons remain who they are – with their end already determined, glorious and damnable, respectively. People, on the other hand, must decide to act on the truth we have been given. We must believe to the point of a changed life.
If we as Christians acted out our belief in 1) Jesus as the Son of God, and 2) His power to bring about His specific, future time of punishment; the world would be different. I would worship Him more intensely and prayerfully witness to unsaved people with increased fervency.
Knowing the fear demons had of Jesus’ power, I should act more boldly in the spiritual realm. Putting on the full armor of God, I should stand firm. (Ephesians 6:13) Waging war against demonic strongholds on a regular basis, I should actively access divine power and begin destroying the work of the enemy in my life. (II Corinthians 10:3-4) After all, “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil” (I John 3:8b, ESV). Obviously, even the demons know that!
I added the pictures above to the message I shared below.
written by Michael Benson Ajayi
[source: Grave Vine Family Daily Devotional]
Luke 10:17 - "And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name."
Isa 29:6 NIV " the Lord Almighty will come with thunder and earthquake and great noise, with windstorm and tempest and flames of a devouring fire."
A person's name is a summary of his or her character. Whenever a name is mentioned, a demand is made on the power inherent in that name. Therefore, whenever the name of Jesus Christ was mentioned by the disciples it was as though Jesus Christ was present in their midst in the fullness of His almighty power. Demons had no option but to obey.
The scriptures describes the potency in the name of Jesus Christ in 2: Phil 2:9-12 “Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honour and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus Christ every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father“ Jesus Christ is the embodiment of the word of God. The same way a man can send a message to a subordinate by recording a video of himself, likewise the all-powerful God formed a body in the womb of a virgin filling it with His word and mindset and sent Him as an indestructible witness to humanity. Jesus was sent to show us the will of the father and confirmed it through signs and wonders.
It was the power in the name of Jesus Christ and the disciples' faith that made the demons subject unto the disciples The sons of Sceva learnt this lesson the hard way when they attempted to invoke the name of Christ like a magician would without divine authorization and faith in Christ ( Acts 19:13-17), the result was quite disastrous as they had no license to use the name. It is the faith we have in Jesus Christ as our lord and saviour that activates the power behind the name. The bible describes what happens when the name of Jesus Christ is mentioned in Isaiah 29:6 the name brings with it ..." thunder and earthquake and great noise, with windstorm and tempest and flames of a devouring fire." Faith is like the password to God’s miracle working power. Faith opens the door to unlimited possibilities. Without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrew 11.6). Most persons out of desperation seek a church membership instead of faith in Christ.This exposes them to fear, demonic manipulation and bondage.
Without doubt the mystical art of exorcism has been practiced by men throughout history mainly by appeasement in which case another host was provided before the demon left it’s primary host. Demons are like terrorists and Jesus Christ never negotiates with terrorists. He simply removes them from their victims and that’s what he expects His followers to do: only Jesus Christ and those who have received His life are successful at casting out demons. To doubt the existence of demons amounts to doubting God’s existence. Demons are mentioned in over eighty references in the new testament. We are engaged in a daily battle with these forces of darkness (Ephesians 6:12). The name of Jesus Christ is not a magic formula neither is it a charm. It is the summation of God’s power and His authority in the universe and through faith in his name victory is assured in our battle against Satan and his demons" (Acts 3:16). Satan responds in obedience to the born again child of God who has a clear understanding of his or her rights and privileges as he would respond to Jesus Christ. 2 Cor 10:4 NIV, The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. As you receive Jesus Christ as your lord and saviour and read this now, every demonic stronghold in operation in your life is hereby demolished now in Jesus name. AMEN.
UPDATE 1/2/23 at 12:20am: Added info below.
So I was about to log off and I was led to look up 1211 in the Strong's Concordance the timestamp of my update with regard to my Instagram video I shared above. Very interesting correlation.
Strong's Greek- 1211 means dé: indeed, now (used to give emphasis or urgency to a statement).
(dḗ) is often not even translated even though it dramatically "gives precision and emphasis to a command – implying that it is for a special purpose, and to be obeyed at the time".
dḗ ("certainly") strongly affirms what at last has "become clear and now may be assumed as true" (R, 1149), i.e. has passed through the needed process and can be fully relied upon. Thus 1211 (dḗ) conveys what is "surely the case . . . ".
Strong's Hebrew- batsal: an onion. From an unused root apparently meaning to peel.
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