Mark 3:27

In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house.

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Jesus came to earth to destroy the works of satan (1John 3:8), to establish God's kingdom and to free us from, all of humankind, from satan's power (Luke 4:18; 13:16; Act 26:18). One of the main themes in mark's Gospel is Jesus' constant aim to defeat satan and his demonic powers. In Mark 3:27, Jesus put into action the principle behind this spiritual conflict with satan and and his powers in His use of phrases like "tying up the strong man" (i.e., satan) and "robbing his house" (i.e., setting free those who are slaves to satan or "possessed" by demonic powers and reclaiming their lives for God's kingdom). Jesus overcomes the enemy by driving out the demons or evil spirits. "Driving out" or "casting out" means that Jesus is exercising His authority to force demonic powers to give up control of people whose lives and bodies have been in satan's control.

Satan And Demons

Satan (Hebrew, meaning "accuser" or "adversary") was once a great angel created perfect and good. He was appointed to serve directly around God's throne in heaven. Yet before the world began, he became filled with pride and rebelled against God. As a result, he became God's primary enemy and an enemy to all humanity as well (Ezekiel 28: 12-15). We must, however, keep in mind that satan is not equal with God; he is a created being and his power must yield to the superior power of God. God is omnipresent (everywhere at the same time), omnipotent (all-powerful) and omniscient (all-knowing). But satan has none of these characteristics; therefore, most of his activity is assigned to demons (Mark 8:28; Revelation 16:13-14). In his rebellion against God, satan mislead a multitude of lesser angels (Revelation 12:4,7) who, after their "fall" from heaven, could likely be identified as demons or evil spirits. satan and many of these lesser angels were exiled to the earth and the atmosphere around it. This is where they do their evil works, as God allows. because of this constant presence of evil ad its influence, all of humankind must choose whether to follow God or to follow evil.

Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” - Matthew 4:10

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Demons

(1) As a result of humanity's sin and rebellion against God, the new testament describes the world as estranged 9i.e., alienated, separated) from God and seized by satan, who now exercises a great deal of authority on the earth (John 12:31; 2Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 6:10-12)

(2) Demons are spirit being that have personality and intelligence. As members of satan's kingdom (Matthew 12:26), they are part of the highly organized empire of evil that has authority over the "kingdom of the air" (Ephesians 2:2). As agents carrying out satan's purposes, demons are enemies of God and humans (Matthew 12:43-45). Demon spirits are totally evil, filled with hate and under satan's authority. In order to overcome the schemes and temptations of satan and his demonic forces, Christians must wage continual spiritual warfare against them (Ephesians 6:12).

(3) The many accounts in the Bible make it clear that it is common for demons to dwell in the bodies of some people who do not have a personal relationship with God (Mark 5:15; Luke 4:41; 8:27-28; Acts 16:18). The evil spirit makes slaves of the individuals they "possess". They use the possessed individuals' voices to speak and can influence them toward evil, immorality and destruction.

(4) Demons can cause physical diseases and illness in the human body (Matthew 9:32-33; 12:22; 17:14-18; Mark 9:20-22; Luke 13:11, 16). This does not mean, however, that all sickness and disease are the result of evil spirits (Luke 5:12-13)

News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them. - Matthew 4:24.

(5) Demons are the real power behind the "gods" and "idols" of false religions. This means that worshiping false gods is basically the same as worshiping demons.

(6) Those involved in spiritism (i.e., the attempt to communicate with the dead) and sorcery (i.e., the suppose use of magic) are dealing with evil spirits. Such activity can easily lead to a person coming under demonic control (Act 13:8-10; Galatians 5:20; Revelation 9:20).

(7) Evil spirits will be especially active in the end times, leading people to take part in the occult (i.e., witchcraft and satanism), sexual immorality, violence, cruelty and mass deception. they will attack and attempt to discredit God's Word, steering people away from correct teaching and truth (Matthew 24:24; 2Corinthians 11:14-15; 1Timothy 4:1). The fullest display of demonic activity will be through the antichrist and his followers (Revelations 16:13-14)

The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, - 2 Thessalonians 2:9.

Revelation 13:2-8

2 The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. 3 One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast. 4 People worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “Who is like the beast? Who can wage war against it?”

5 The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. 6 It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. 7 It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. 8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.

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Jesus and Demons

(1) The new testaments frequently describes individuals who are suffering from satan's oppression and influence due to evil spirits that take up residence in their bodies and gain control of their lives. throughout the Gospels (the narrative accounts of the "good news" and the true story of Jesus Christ), Jesus shows His power and authority to free people from this spiritual slavery. The Gospel of mark, for example, describes many times in which Jesus comes in contact with and stand against demons with the power of God.

(2) In His miracles, Jesus often attacks the power of satan and demonic forces. Jesus states clearly that one of His purposes in coming to earth was to destroy the works of satan and to set free those the devil holds as slaves (Matthew 12:29; Mark 1:27; Luke 4:18).

(3) One way Jesus binds and destroy satan's power is by driving out demons. But the total defeat of satan and evil came through Jesus' death and resurrection (John 12:31), by which he paid the penalty for our sin. This victory shattered the power of satan's kingdom and restored the power of God's kingdom in people's lives. Jesus' work and personal sacrifice made satan's defeat certain and gained God's victory over him (Hebrew 2:14).

(4) Hell, the place of eternal punishment, torment and separation from God, has been prepared by God for the devil and his demons

“What do you want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?” - Matthew 8:29

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. - Matthew 25:41

Believers and Demons

(1) God's Word teaches that because God's Holy Spirit lives within each true followers of Christ, a Christian cannot be demon-possessed. God's Spirit and demons can never live in the same body. Demons may , however, influence the thoughts, emotions and actions of Christians who fail to follow and respond to the leading of the Spirit (Matthew 16:23; 2Corinthians 11:3, 14).

(2) Jesus promised His followers that they would have authority over the power of satan and demons. As we confront them,we must rely on Jesus and use His authority to break the power that demonic forces want to force upon us and others. This means we must wage intense spiritual warfare through the power of the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:14-19). The power of God is the only source that frees us from the power and influence of the devil's darkness and brings us into God's spiritual light with victory.

(3) According to the parable (i.e., a brief word picture in story form that teaches a spiritual lesson) in Mark 3:27, spiritual conflicts against satan and his demonic forces involves three stages of spiritual battles: (a) Declare war against satan according to God's purpose (Luke 4: 14-19). (b) Enter satan's territory (any area of life where he has a "stronghold" or has strongly forced his evil control), the attack and overpower him through prayer and God's Word. By doing this, God will destroy the devil's weapons of deception and temptation (Luke 11:20-22). (c) Take what the devil possess. This means helping to liberate those who have been enslaved by satan's power and helping to restore them to God so that they may receive forgiveness and new life through faith in Christ (Luke 11:22; Act 26:18).

(4) As we boldly embrace the authority and power of God, we should take the following steps in our spiritual battle: (a) Recognize that we are not in a conflict against flesh and blood (i.e., human persons, powers and purposes). rather we are fighting against spiritual forces and powers of evil (Ephesians 6:12). (b) Remain deeply committed to God's truth and to living by the standards of His Word (Roman 12:1-2; Ephesians 6:14). (c) Have faith that satan's power can be broken in any specific area where he might have control (Acts 26:18; Ephesians 6:16). We must also realize that God has given Christ's followers powerful spiritual weapons for the destruction of satan's strongholds (2Corinthians 10: 4-5). (d) Boldly proclaim the message of Christ and His kingdom through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 4:23; Luke 1:15-17). (e) Challenge satan and his power directly by relying completely on Jesus and taken authority in his name, using God's word, praying in the spirit, fasting and driving out demons. (f) Pray particularly that the Holy Spirit would work in the consciences of people who ate spiritually lost. Only the Holy Spirit can truly convince them of their sin, the truth of God's Word and the fact that they will be judge by God's standards (John 16:7-11).
(g) Desire, pray for and expect the Holy Spirit to be active in your life, your ministry and your church through His spiritual gifts (Acts 4:29-33; 10:38; 1Corinthians 12:7-11).

In conclusion, it cannot be emphasized enough that we must be in a right relationship with God and fully equipped to do spiritual battle by spending time in prayer and God's word. We must have a deep understanding of God and His word, and we must be actively growing in all spiritual areas of our Christian life. Doing this is important because we are no match for satan's powers on our own (see Acts 19:13-16 for an example of individuals who were unprepared for a conflict with a demon). Christ's followers must pray constantly and remain spiritually alert, relying on God's strength and resources to recognize and conquer satan's evil schemes and to maintain a strong faith (Ephesians 6:10-18; 1Peter 5:8-9). They must also rely on God so that when they do come face to face with demonic powers, they will be able to fearlessly exercise Jesus' authority over them.

Thanks for reading.
God Bless You
Shalom.

[NIV Study Edition Bible]

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