- [Narrator] Welcome to a Grace Digital presentation.
What do rebel angels do?
Being the agents of Satan,
their principal job, from our view,
is to oppose the saints of God, the father.
Ephesians 6:13-17,
wherefore take onto you the whole armor of God
that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day
and having done all to stand.
Stand, therefore, having your loins girt about with truth
and having on the breastplate of righteousness
and your feet shod with the preparation
of the gospel of peace above all,
taking the shield of faith, where with ye shall be able
to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked
and take the helmet of salvation
and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God.
We need to read that passage frequently
and obey its commands.
It is no surprise that the above verse
sounds such a powerful call for us
to arm ourselves with God's whole armor
so that we may stand against the wiles of the devil.
These evil agents want us to return
to the old life with all its sins.
They tempt us to go back to the things
from which we were set free at the time of our conversion.
It is unfortunate that in many examples,
they apparently succeed.
How many people do you know, previously strong Christians
who have slid back from what they once were in Christ?
First, Timothy 4:1-2, Now the spirit speaketh expressly
that in the later times, some shall depart
from the faith giving heed to seducing spirits
and doctrines of devils, speaking lies and hypocrisy,
having their conscience seared with a hot iron.
Inside the Old Testament, we frequently read
how evil agents from Satan
turned the people of God to idolatry.
For example, we see those
who offer their sacrifices onto devils,
after whom they have gone a whoring.
This shall be a statute forever onto them
throughout their generations, Leviticus 17:7.
Do you see the hands of evil angels at work
in the false religions of the world?
Think of the hundreds of millions of souls
who hold with such zeal to their false doctrine
and are marching unknowingly on the road to hell.
We need to underline in our Bibles and in our thinking,
the words of John, beloved believe not every spirit,
but try the spirits, whether they are of God,
because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
Hereby know ye the spirits of God,
every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ
is come in the flesh is of God.
And every spirit that confesses not
that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God.
And this is the spirit of antichrist
whereof ye have heard that it should come,
and even now, already, is it in the world?
First John 4:1-3,
Afflicting the body, how frequently we see that
during the earthly ministry of our Lord.
One example from Matthew 12:22,
then was brought onto him one possessed with a devil,
blind and dumb, and he healed him insomuch
that the blind and dumb, both spake and saw.
In the case of the boy in Mark 9:17-27
And one of the multitude answered and said, master,
I have brought onto thee, my son, which hath a dumb spirit
and wheresoever he take him, he teareth him
and he foameth and gnasheth with his teeth and pineth away.
And I spake to thy disciples that they shed cast him out
and they could not.
He answereth him and seth, oh, faithfuless generation,
how long shall I be with you?
How long shall I suffer you? Bring him onto me.
And they brought him onto him.
And when he saw him, straightway the spirit tear him
and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming.
And he asked his father, how long is it ago
since this came onto him?
And he said of a child and ofttimes it half cast him
into the fire and into the waters to destroy him.
But if thou canst do anything,
have compassion on us and help us.
Jesus said onto him, if thou canst, believe,
all things are possible to him that believeth.
And straightway, the father of the child cried out
and said with tears, Lord,
I believe help thou mine unbelief.
When Jesus saw that the people came running together,
he rebuked the foul spirit saying onto him,
thou dumb and deaf spirit,
I charged the come out of him and enter no more into him.
And the spirit cried and rent him sore and came out of him.
And he was as one dead insomuch that many said he is dead.
But Jesus took him by the hand
and lifted him up, and he arose.
Doctor Luke wrote the incident of the man
who roamed among the tombs naked and unruly.
The demons announced their true identity
at the command of Jesus.
For there were so many of them so numerous
that they could be called legion.
It's an account given in Luke 8:26-40.
They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes,
which is across the lake from Galilee.
When Jesus stepped ashore,
he was met by a demon possessed man from the town.
For a long time, this man had not worn clothes
or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs.
When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet,
shouting at the top of his voice,
what do you want with me Jesus, son of the most high God?
I beg you don't torture me!
For Jesus had commanded the impure spirit
to come out of the man.
Many times it had seized him.
And though he was chained hand and foot
and kept under guard, he had broken his chains
and had been driven by the demon into solitary places.
Jesus asked him, what is your name?
Legion, he replied.
because many demons had gone into him
and they begged Jesus repeatedly
not to order them to go into the abyss.
A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside.
The demons bagged Jesus to let them go into the pigs.
And he gave them permission.
When the demons came out of the man,
they went into the pigs and the herd
rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.
When those tending the pigs saw what had happened,
they ran off and reported this in the town and countryside.
And the people went out to see what had happened.
When they came to Jesus, they found the man
from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus' feet
dressed and in his right mind.
And they were afraid.
Those who had seen it, told the people
how the demon-possessed man had been cured.
Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes
asked Jesus to leave them
because they were overcome with fear.
So he got into the boat and left.
The man from with whom the demons had gone out
begged to go with him.
But Jesus sent him away saying,
return home and tell how much God has done for you.
So the man went away and told all over town,
how much Jesus had done for him.
Now, when Jesus returned a crowd welcomed him
for they were all expecting him.
Demons can enter and take possession of people.
You have the power to pray for those ensnared
and see the demons cast out.
When you believe that, and trust God for it,
you may see it happen if God so chooses to use you.
Remember that before his rebellion,
Lucifer was one of the most magnificent
and powerful of God's angels.
Remember also that the Bible portrays him as a roaring lion,
walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.
First Peter 5:8, he is not an enemy
to be lightly regarded by anyone.
You may wonder what the fate of those rebel angels is.
The word of God is decidedly open on that issue.
We have many statements that indicate
God has already decided the matter
through the victorious life and death of the Lord Jesus.
For example, for this purpose,
the son of God was manifested that he might destroy
the works of the devil, First John 3:8.
And now it is our part to wait for the judgment
against the evil one and his angels
to be carried out completely.
Part of the devil's band may already have been apprehended.
Note the words of Second Peter 2:4,
for if God spared not the angels that sinned,
but cast them down to hell and delivered them
into chains of darkness to be reserved onto judgment.
Jude six has something comparable to say,
and the angels, which kept not their first estate,
but left their own habitation, he hath reserved
in everlasting chains under darkness
onto the judgment of the great day.
So a portion of the evil angels,
how many we do not know, may already be under lock and key
prevented from ravaging, the world and the saints.
What about those that are loose and still active?
Their time is limited and their doom is equally certain.
But before that day comes, we are going to see Satan,
especially at work concerning the person of the antichrist.
And then shall that wicked be revealed
whom the Lord shall consume with the spirits of his mouth
and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.
Even him whose coming is after the working of Satan
with all power and signs and lying wonders.
Second Thessalonians 2:8 and 9.
The final defeat.
The scene will then be set for the return of the Lord Jesus.
And that event is marvelously described for us
in Revelation 19.
And I saw heaven opened and behold a white horse.
And he that sat upon him was called faithful and true.
And in righteousness, he doth judge and make war.
His eyes were as a flame of fire,
and on his head were many crowns.
And he had a name written
that no man knew, but he himself.
And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood.
And his name is called the word of God.
And the armies, which were in heaven
followed him upon white horses,
clothed in fine linen, white and clean,
Revelation 19:11-14.
What a brilliant picture of our sovereign Lord and his own.
John went on to give us a description of Satan's future.
And I saw an angel come down from heaven,
having the key of the bottomless pit
and a great chain in his hand.
And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent,
which is the devil and Satan,
and bound him a thousand years, Revelation 20:1-2
At the end of that temporary sentence,
the Satan will be loosed for a little while
to resume his old activity of deceiving the nations.
But then the end will come, and the devil that deceived them
was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone
where the beast and the false prophet are
and shall be tormented day and night, forever and ever,
Revelation 20:10.
I find that comforting and reassuring.
Today, Satan and his evil forces wreak their destruction
on individuals, on homes, on nations,
but the day is coming, when it shall all be over.
Our Lord is going to win, and we are going to win in him.
Meanwhile, let us be fully informed
and draw closer to the one who gives us the victory.
We pray that you get a deeper understanding.
Help me to recognize your presence in all circumstances.
Help me to turn you and find you,
for you never leave me nor abandon me.
You care even more about me and my problems than I do.
You are working a plan for my benefit
to make good come from everything that happens to me.
Help me to discover your presence
in every moment of my life.
Oh, Holy spirit, by the cross of Jesus, we are healed.
By his resurrection,
we live in the new life of total complete love.
Help me to share that healing love with all those around me.
Jesus commanded, go into all the world
and preach the good news to all creation.
Please help me to declare with power,
the good news of Jesus Christ.
Send me where you can see my abilities
and gifts to make a difference.
Holy spirit, help me to say yes to whatever it is
you are calling me to do.
I want to serve the father and make Jesus' love
more evident in the environment around me.
Holy spirit, I have my expectations
about what I should and should not do.
I now yield to you, my ideas, my limitations,
my preferences, and my goals.
Shift my heart, if I am obstinate,
allow me to embrace your powerful power
and let your will be done in Jesus's Holy name, I pray.
Amen. Click here to watch our video on the spiritual realm.