Satan’s Greatest Fear: How Jesus Equipped You to Overthrow Demons!

The kingdom of darkness is subject to Jesus, the name of Jesus, and if you are a born-again believer, it is subject to you.

The power of God will never yield to the kingdom of darkness and as a born-again believer, the Holy Spirit of God lives in you and you have been given authority by Jesus himself over all the power of the enemy. You have nothing to fear. The kingdom of light always overpowers the kingdom of darkness.

The world, through novels, theater, and movies, portrays the kingdom of darkness as all powerful. The entertainment media often portrays the people of God as being overpowered by demonic spirits, confused, and wondering why the holy water and the Bible can’t stop the demonic attack. A Christian should have a clear understanding of the difference between theatrical entertainment and the truth contained in the Word of God. The truth is contained in Jesus’ statement where He said, “I give you all authority over the power of the enemy and nothing shall by any means hurt you” (Luke 10:19).

Does the enemy have power? Yes, of course he does, because Jesus said so. But the good news is as a believer, you have been given authority over anything the enemy has in his arsenal of weapons. Your words of faith can cast out any demonic spirit and your shield of faith will protect you from any attack that comes against you.

The Attempt to Destroy God’s Plan

And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven” (Luke 10:18).

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)

When Satan was cast to the earth and his angels with him, we see that he immediately tried to destroy God’s prophetic plan for man by tempting and bringing to pass the sin of Adam in the Garden of Eden. Although Satan may have thought he had stopped God’s plan from coming to pass, he underestimated the grace and mercy of the Lord God. God did not give up on His creation. His plan for the redemption of man had been established before the foundation of the earth.

Sin of the Fallen Angels

In the years that followed Adam’s removal from the garden, murder entered into the hearts of men and great evil came upon the face of the earth. From the institution of sun worship through Nimrod and the depravity of man, the fallen angels attempted to pollute the bloodline of man. God caused a great flood to come upon the earth that destroyed all living flesh except for Noah, his wife, his three sons and their wives.

When human beings began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. Then the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years” (Genesis 6:1-3 NIV).

Since the angels who were involved in this sinful act were spirit beings rather than flesh and since flood waters will not destroy the spirit, they received a different punishment. The fallen angels who were involved in this sin were cast down to hell and placed in chains of darkness where they will remain until their ultimate judgment at the end of the Millennium.

...God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly (2 Peter 2:4,5).

The Power of God Is Greater

You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! (James 2:19)

When Jesus sailed to the land of the Gadarenes, as He stepped out of the boat onto the land, there was a man who had been demon possessed for a long time waiting for Him. He was naked and lived in the tombs nearby. This man was so violent that he was kept under constant guard and was literally shackled and chained so that he would not break free. The superhuman strength he was given by the demons allowed him to break free from the chains and the demons drove him into the wilderness.

When Jesus commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man, the demon said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me” (Luke 8:28). Then Jesus asked the demon, “What is your name?” (Luke 8:30). His response was that his name was Legion because he was possessed by many demons. The Roman legion varied greatly over time, but typically was composed of as many as 6,000 soldiers.

The demons begged Jesus that He would not command them to go out into the abyss. There was a herd of swine feeding close by on a mountain and the demons begged Him to allow them to enter the swine. Jesus gave them permission. The Bible says that when the demons went out of the man and entered the swine, the swine ran violently into the lake and they were drowned.

It’s interesting that Jesus said in Matthew 12:43-45 that when an unclean spirit goes out of a person, it passes through dry places trying to find rest but can’t find any. The herd of pigs may have appeared to be a dry place to the demons, but much to their surprise they ended up in the water. It has been humorously said by some, “Be careful what you ask for.” The demons, seeking a dry place, ended up in the abyss after all.

When all of this occurred, it was not a private event. There were people who saw what happened and they went into the nearby city and told this story. And a crowd came out to see what had happened. They came to Jesus and found the man that had been terrorizing their city sitting at the feet of Jesus. He was fully clothed and in his right mind. You would have thought they would have been very thankful for what Jesus had done, but instead they became fearful and people from the entire region asked Him to leave. The Bible says they were seized with great fear.

So Jesus got into the boat and He left. The man who had been demon possessed actually wanted to leave with Jesus, but Jesus instructed him to return home and to tell about the great things that God had done for him. And that’s exactly what he did.

We see a great truth in this passage. Regardless of the number of demons coming against a single believer, the power of God is greater than a legion of demons.