Tuesday 31st December 2019 Prayer Devotion
Scripture Reading:- Revelation 12:1-15
Topic:- 10 Things You Should Know about Demons and Satan [2]
Text:- Revelation 20:2
6. Christ Is The Victor Over Satan:
Jesus came into the world as the incarnate Son of God to accomplish more than one thing. Here is a sampling.
a. Jesus came to reveal the Father. See John 1:18.
b. To be a Model for the Disciple’s behavior. See John 13:12-15; 1 John 2:6.
c. To be our great High Priest. See Hebrews 4:14-16.
d. To die for our sins in our place. See Hebrews 10:1-10; 1 John 4:8-10.
e. To defeat the devil. See 1 John 3:8.
f. He defeats the devil by tasting death for us. See Hebrews 2:14-15.
g. The devil’s power lies in bringing death. After death comes judgment, and the fear of it. See Hebrews 9:27-28.
h. Jesus has addressed the matter of judgement on the cross, and he has, then the believer’s fear is relieved. See Colossians 2:13-15.
After death comes judgment and the fear of it. But if Jesus has addressed the matter of judgement on the cross, and he has, then the believer’s fear is relieved.
7. Demon Inhabitation Is Real:
a. Demon possession is the stuff of movies. The Exorcist comes to mind as a classic horror movie. However, some scholars contest the use of possession to characterize a demon’s grip on a human subject. These scholars prefer to describe the man presented in Mark 5 as demonized.
b. The traditional descriptor is “demon-possessed.” I prefer the descriptor “demon inhabited.” Provides an illuminating example. Jesus permits the demons to come out of the man and to enter the pigs. See Mark 5:1-20.
c. Another example is the parable Jesus told of an unclean spirit going out of a person. The unclean spirit returns to the person who is compared to a house, which the returning evil spirits now indwell (Luke 11:24–25). Spatial imagery is used in both instances. The idea of possession may give the impression of ownership, whereas the demons are squatters. The language of demonized may be too broad to be overly useful.
8. Believers Cannot Be Demon Inhabited:
a. Can believers be demon inhabited? This is a question which many ask. Theologically considered, it is hard to believe that it is possible that a believer can both be a dwelling place for a demon and the temple of the indwelling Holy Spirit. See 1 Corinthians 6:19; 2 Corinthians 6:16.
b. However, there is every reason to believe that a believer may be demonized in the sense of oppressed by demonic malevolence. See 1 Peter 5:8-9.
c. Likewise, the devil may actively seek to harass a godly servant as Paul tells the Corinthians. In brief: inhabited, no; oppressed, yes. See 2 Corinthians 12:7.
9. The Devil And Demons Have No Future With God:
a. It is surprising to learn that some very important early-church thinkers were of a very different opinion. Origen (d. c. AD 354) was one of the greatest speculative theologians in the history of the church. He argued that all will be saved, including the devil.
b. Gregory of Nyssa (AD 335–394) was more cautious about making the same claim. He hoped, though, that the devil will be saved. For his boldness, Origen was condemned by the Council of Constantinople II in AD 553, but Gregory of Nyssa was not.
c. The scriptural testimony is plain—the devil and his servants, the false prophet and beast from the sea, will be in the lake of fire eternally. One can surmise that the devil’s other servants, the demons, will face the same fate. Revelation 20:9-10.
10. We May Have A Blind Spot:
a. Paul G. Hiebert was raised in India but trained in the West as an anthropologist and missiologist. He came to realize that his western training had made him become unaware of the world of spirits both good and evil, which the majority world has never lost sight of.
b. He called this blind spot “the flaw of the excluded middle.” He thought that many western Christians may have an espoused theology affirming angels and demons, but in practice have an operational theology that lives as though God and ourselves were the only intelligence.
C. The blind spot will show itself in our prayers if we never pray that the risen Christ might continue to bind the strongman, as it were, and spoil his goods through the victory of the cross.
Prayer Point:- I command everywhere demons are gathered in my life, Holy Ghost fire, consume them now, in the name of Jesus Christ.
Happy Last Day Of The Year!
