Fallen Angels

Okay, tonight we're on lesson number eight, which is fallen angels. Last week we looked at what we call holy angels, those angels who are obedient to the Lord and they are ministers of His special providence. Well, so too are fallen angels. You may think, well, fallen angels, I thought they were rebellious and how can they be messengers of God's special providence? Well, we're going to be looking at that tonight. Let's begin with number one.

Fallen angels, like holy angels, are servants — that's our first blank — servants of God's providence. They negatively serve God's purpose by giving examples to us of defeated and punished rebellion. That's the second blank, rebellion.

And by illustrating God's distinguishing grace and the gift of our salvation, that's the third blank. So the first blank is servants, second blank is rebellion, the last blank is salvation.

Fallen angels serve as examples of defeated foes, of those who oppose God and the end that they receive. They also serve as a juxtaposition against the faithful angels and also the obedient of Christ, those who have put their trust in Christ, who have heeded the gospel call, because there's a distinction in our destinies.

Let's look at Revelation 20:10. "The devil who deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophets are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever." In popular culture, perhaps in cartoons, you may see the devil with his little red tights and his pointed tail and his pitchfork, and the little devil is ruling hell as if they're the ones who are in charge of hell. That could not be farther from the biblical record. The biblical record actually consigns the devil to hell, to the place of torment. He is not in charge there, but he will be tormented there forever and ever to the glory of God, because he is a defeated foe. He is the embodiment of evil. He is an example of where the rebellious end up. Flip over on the back.

First John 3:8, the apostle writes, "He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning." From the very beginning, the devil has been identified with sin. It says, "For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested, or was made known, that He might destroy the works of what? The devil. Christ came into this world to destroy the works of the devil, to translate those who are held captive by the devil out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of light." That's what Christ did on the cross. He destroyed the works of the devil.

Let's look at Colossians 2:13 through 15. It speaks of this victory of our Savior. "And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He, Christ, has made alive together with Him, having forgiven all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of the requirements that was against us." He canceled the law and its curses, because Christ perfectly fulfilled the law, perfectly obeyed God, so He bore the curse. He became a curse for us on the cross so we could have peace with God. It says, "Which was contrary to us." This handwriting, the curse, was contrary to us. "He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross, having disarmed principalities and powers." Principalities and powers is another name for angels, okay? Both for faithful angels and fallen angels. And here he's referencing fallen angels. They've been disarmed. Because what is their power but to accuse, right?

To say, "This one's a sinner. He deserves his place in the lake of fire with me."

But if that curse is canceled by Christ, if He's paid my price, what accusation does the evil one have? None, right? So having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a spectacle of them, meaning He made an example of them. He triumphed over them, triumphing over them in it, that He might destroy the works of the devil. The devil's primary work is to accuse — it's to slander God to men and men to God.

And on the cross, Christ defeated Satan, and in doing so, He took away all his ammunition. He can no longer accuse men rightly, because men can be justified. Men can be declared righteous, not by their own actions, but by the work of Christ, graciously imputed to all who believe in Him, right? So the work of Christ was to destroy the work of the devil. The devil is a defeated foe, okay? That took place on the cross. There is a now where he's defeated, and there's also a not yet where eventually he will be put into the lake of fire, which we just read about in Revelation 20, right?

The application is this. Remember that you are saved — that's the first blank — by God's grace. That's the second blank. We talked about last week how elect angels have never fallen, but one thing that's different, or one of the many things that's different between men and angels, is that Christ came to save men. He did not come to redeem angels, right? We've been saved by grace, not by our own goodness, not by our own works, but by the perfect work of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Bible point number two: as with miracles — that's the first blank — the appearance of fallen angels are occasional and exceptional. We talked about that last week with angels. We don't see angels going around all the time. Their appearances are rare. They're occasional. The same with fallen angels.

Chiefly centered in the earthly ministry — that's the second blank — of Jesus Christ. You don't see a whole lot of demonic activity in the Old Testament. You see it here and there. You see it chiefly around the time of the Gospels and also the Acts of the Apostles. You don't even see it later on very much in the epistles at all. It seems to almost disappear. You see it centered around the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.

They appear as adjuncts and amplifiers of revelation. In other words, Christ came to be the perfect revelation of God. That's why we see a spike in demonic activity in the ministry of Christ, because the angels, the evil angels, are not only resisting Christ, but God allowed them to have their little moment of resistance, so they can be shown for what they are — defeated nothings, right? That Christ would dominate them. That Christ would be the victor. That Christ would overrule them. That Christ would destroy the works of the devil.

They highlight the — and this is the fifth, sixth point — the absolute authority of Jesus Christ. Let me reread that. "As with miracles, the appearance of fallen angels are occasional and exceptional, chiefly centered in the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ. They appear as adjuncts and amplifiers of revelation. They highlight the absolute authority of Jesus Christ." One of the many miracles that Christ performs consistently throughout the Gospels is the casting out of demons. People are amazed by it. Do you remember when His disciples could not cast out demons? And people come to Him and say, "Your disciples can't cast out demons." And He says, you know, sometimes it has to come out by fasting and prayer, but with Christ it's nothing. It's easy. It comes right out.

Let's look at Luke 11:20.

Jesus says, "If I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you."

Some translations say the Spirit of God. The finger of God is the locus of God's power, right? This was the same phrase that is being alluded to in the ministry of Moses where he, with mighty signs and wonders, is able to lead Israel out of bondage out of Egypt, and he tells Pharaoh it's by the finger of God. It's by the power of God. And Christ says, "If I cast out demons by the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you." He's saying, "It's breaking out. I am the Messiah. I am the King of kings and the Lord of lords, and my works prove it. Which of you can do what I have done?" is what Jesus is saying here. Flip over on the back.

Hebrews 2:14 says this: "Inasmuch as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He, Christ, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is the devil."

When Christ took on flesh and blood to live a perfect life for us, He also died for us in our place. And defeating death, we have defeated death, right? The wages of sin is what? Death. And Christ paid those wages on the cross, right? We have been translated from being dead in our sins to alive in Christ Jesus, okay? So His victory not only includes destroying the works of the devil, but destroying the penalty that the devil is associated with, and that is death.

Acts 10:36 through 43 is crucial to understand the relation of the gospel and its power to repel and to expel darkness, okay? The context here is Peter is speaking to the Gentile believers who have come to him with the servant Cornelius. And this is what Peter says: "The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ — He is Lord of all — that word, you know, which was proclaimed through all Judea and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good, healing all who were" — what? — "oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him."

He could overcome the devil because He was God, right? He was doing this in the power of the Holy Spirit. He was God's chosen servant, God's anointed, right? "And we are witnesses of these things, which He did both in the land of the Jews in Jerusalem, whom they killed by hanging on a tree. Him God raised up the third day and showed Him openly, not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by God, even to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. And He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be judge of the living and the dead. To Him all the prophets witness that through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins." This is a long passage, but what he's saying is that everything that the prophets had proclaimed, everything that they said in the Old Testament, was about who? It's about Jesus. And by His works, He showed that He was Lord of all, making even the demons believe and tremble, right?

Let's look back on the front page. The application for number two is "Exalt Christ." That's the first blank. "Exalt Christ who is Lord over all things." The second blank is "Lord." Third blank is "all." "Exalt Christ who is Lord over all things." Christ has been raised from the dead and seated at the right hand of God Almighty. And there He is high above all principalities and powers and thrones and dominions. He's seated at the throne of the universe, the very right hand of God.

Bible point number three: fallen angels, like holy angels — so the first blank is "holy" — and the rest of this should be very familiar because it's almost exact, but it's point number three from last week. "Fallen angels, like holy angels, were created."

That's the second blank. "By God and thus have a dependent existence." The third blank is "dependent existence." Angels, both holy and also fallen, are created beings. They're finite beings. Thus they derive their very existence from God. They are dependent on God for their very being. They do not exist opposite of Him. So many times in Christian circles we almost have a dualistic view of God and Satan, as if Satan's the opposite of God and he exists apart from God's power and they're continually warring. Not so at all. Satan is a creature. He is a created being. He's totally dependent on God for his existence, right?

They are incorporeal, personal, and finite. We talked about that last week. Incorporeal means they have no bodies, right? They are spiritual beings, spiritual entities. They are personal in the sense that they are not just a poetic way of expressing and discussing evil in the world. They are real beings. Satan is a real being. His demons are real personalities. And they're finite beings. When we say they're finite beings, it means they are subject to all limitations of the creature. They are not omniscient. Satan can't read your mind, okay? They're not omnipresent. Can't be everywhere at once. Only God is omnipresent, right? Nor are they omnipotent. They act only as God empowers them to act. Their authority is only a delegated authority. They are mighty compared to men. We talked last week — one of the things that marks an angel is their strength — but compared to God, they are impotent instead of being omnipotent, right?

Proverbs 16:4 says, "The Lord has made all for Himself, yes, even the wicked for the day of doom."

Wicked men and wicked angels all serve God's purpose. Part of that is to be an example of punished rebellion, to be an example of God's judgment on unholiness, okay?

The application is this. Be assured that Christ rules — that's the first blank — all His creation — that's the second blank. Christ rules all His creation. The devil can't come near you apart from the will of Christ. The devil can't go anywhere apart from the will and the permissive will of our Lord and Savior.

Bible point number four. I'm sorry, Bible point number five. No, number four, you're right, I'm sorry. I'm skipping ahead here. All angels were created holy. That's the first blank.

All angels were created holy. God made all things good, right? As when we study anthropology very soon, we'll see that God made man upright, which is what Ecclesiastes tells us. Everything God made in His creation was good, including angels.

Some angels fell through rebellion and left their first estate.

These evil angels oppose God and strive to defeat Him. These evil — that's the second blank — angels oppose God — that's the third blank — and strive to defeat Him — that's the fourth blank.

Now the Bible doesn't actually tell us when angels fell. We really don't know. We talked last week — we don't even know when they were created, right? We know it was sometime between the first day and the sixth day of creation. We don't know how long it was that Adam and Eve were in the garden before they fell. We do know that angels fell before Adam and Eve, because we see Satan in the garden lying and being the father of lies, okay? But we do know that they fell. We can piece together some clues when you read the epistle to Timothy. Paul warns Timothy about pride and intimates that pride was the fall of the devil, right? So we know a little bit, but not all the detail we would like to know.

We try to fill in the blanks. Some would go to passages like Isaiah 14 that speak of the fall of the king of Babylon, who is sometimes referred to as Lucifer — which actually means "morning star" — and say that that is a description of the fall of Satan. I'm dubious on that, to be honest with you. When you understand Mesopotamian literature, they often reference the kings as deities, actually. Some would refer to Ezekiel 28 in the same way, of the fall of the king of Tyre as being an allegorical expression of the fall of Satan. I believe if you're studying it linguistically and historically, you have to believe that those are real kings, because that's what's being discussed both before and after those events. Some would point to Revelation 12, which discusses a fall of Satan. In Revelation 12, that's difficult to interpret though. Is that speaking of something future, or is that speaking of something that's already taken place in the past? What I'm getting at is that it's very difficult, and we have to learn not to be dogmatic, right? We may find a particular verse we think is right, but study it humbly, because you may find that after all you change your opinion on it later on. But we do know that Satan has fallen.

Look at 2 Peter 2:4, which talks about this. "For if 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."

Saying angels fell and they've been cast down, they have been chained. Some theologians joke, well, they may have a long chain, but they are chained and they are in bondage under the thumb of our Lord Jesus Christ. The application is this: can anyone defeat our Almighty God?

Can anyone defeat our Almighty God? Can fallen angels defeat our Almighty God? Can Satan, their chief, defeat our Almighty God? No, they are examples of defeated and punished unholy creatures.

Bible point number five: fallen angels are great in number, and like holy angels, they are described as principalities, powers, dominions, authorities, and thrones. All those figures describe holy angels, and they also can describe fallen angels too, describing their power, their delegated authority.

Unlike holy angels, fallen angels are described as evil — that's the first blank — and unclean spirits, demons — that's the second blank — rulers of the darkness — darkness is the third blank — of this age, and spiritual wickedness in high places. Because not only do they have power, and not only do they have delegated authority, but they have a perverted sense of that power and a perverted sense of that authority. They are evil, they are demons, they are rulers of darkness of this age.

Psalm 106:37 says, "They even sacrifice their sons and their daughters to demons." Just talking about those who would sacrifice their children to Molech. Now, Molech is an idol. When you read the New Testament, Paul says, "You don't have to be concerned about idols — they're just stone and wood." But on the flip side, he also says — the same author, Paul — in the New Testament, "Can you have fellowship with both Christ and also the table of demons?" Because what happens is when you serve or worship idols, behind those idols are demons who are opposed to Christ. We know idolatry is a sin, and engaging in any activity that's in opposition to Christ is antichrist. It's putting ourselves in the service of demons.

So those who sacrificed their children in the Old Testament to Molech — which you've seen, I'm sure, the illustrations — they were a giant brass statue, kind of like a modern furnace where you put wood inside of them. They would fire this brass idol up, and it had outstretched hands that would get molten hot. They'd put their babies there, and they would beat the drums to cover the squeals of the babies as they shrieked in agony, and they did it so they could have better crops. They did it for prosperity, right?

There are lots of parallels you can make to that in today's world, right? But that is demonic, right?

Yes, it's an empty idol. That idol can't move — it has to be propped up — but behind it are very real spiritual forces, right?

Bible point number six. Oh, I'm sorry — the application for number five. Flee idolatry — that's the first blank — and worship God alone. Flee idolatry, have nothing to do with it, and worship God alone.

Bible point number six. Satan — that's the first blank — is named as the leader of fallen angels. Satan means adversary. Adversary is another word for opponent, right? Primarily to God and secondarily to men. He's an adversary to God — he's opposed to God — primarily against God, but also secondarily to men. Why would he be opposed to men? We worship God, and whose image are we made?

In God's image, right? And even fallen men still bear that image, right? So Satan hates that image in man. Adam is even referred to as the son of God. When you look at the — what do you call it? The names of the — yes, genealogy is exactly right. He's referred to as the son of God, because he is from God, he was created by God. God breathed spirit into Adam.

So Satan is — that's the first blank. Likewise, devil — that's the second blank — signifies slanderer of God to men, and men to God. That's what he does. He's a slanderer. A slanderer is someone who speaks falsely about, who defames their character. And he defames the character of men to God, and of God to men.

Satan is also referred to as Apollyon, which means destroyer, because that's part of his modus operandi — to destroy, right? What does Jesus say in John 10:10, that the thief comes to kill, and to steal, and to destroy, right?

And Beelzebub — we see that as another proper name for Satan, which means Lord of the Flies. Beelzebub has kind of an interesting history in Hebrew.

Baal was a common Canaanite deity, and you see that all throughout the Old Testament. Remember when Moses goes up to receive the Ten Commandments and he comes down, they're in the middle of Baal worship, right? And the Baals are a whole pantheon of Baals, if you will — little gods that the Canaanites worshiped. And we see the big showdown on Mount Carmel with Elijah, right? And the prophets of Baal, where he says, "Hey, God is going to come, and He's going to consume the altar and sacrifice, but you try first." Remember what happens? Nothing. You know, they scream and they cut themselves and dance in a frenzy all day long, and no answer. And Elijah mocks them even. You know, "Is your God in a bathroom? Is he busy? Is he going away?"

Well, along that same vein of mockery, the Jews mocked the devil in the same way. There was a Canaanite deity named Beel-Zebul instead of Zebub — difference is one letter. And so as a word play, they substituted Zebub for Zebul.

Zebub means "dung."

They say, "Yours is the Lord of dung." Zebul means "the Lord of princes," or you could say, "the Lord of kings." In no way is he the king of kings and Lord of lords. Zebul could also be referred to as the king of Israel, because Israel is the prince of God. So is Zebul being the Lord of princes? So they changed it to the Lord of dung. And what does dung attract?

Flies. I'm from Texas. I know all about that, okay. I used to service some pull-outs on a lot of ranches — at every couple of yards you'd see a giant cow patty and the flies. You could see them before you got there. And so that was a way that they got a little dig in and mocked the devil as having a kingdom of poo. You know, that's basically what they were saying.

First Peter 5:8, "Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." Meaning, be on guard. Don't be cringing in fear. Don't have an inflated view of fallen angels as if they are greater than God or out of His control. But instead, be sober.

Be vigilant, because your adversary, the opponent, the devil, walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. He is a real individual. We can run to the extreme of thinking too much of Satan, and we can run the opposite way of thinking too little of Satan. So the answer is to be sober. Be vigilant. Always be on guard, right? Keep your hands up. I enjoy boxing, and every now and then you'll come across a boxer who's a little bit too cocky and a little bit too confident because he seems to beat all his opponents. And he'll start putting his hands down rather than up. And that usually spells their doom, right? Because all it takes is one punch, unguarded, and it's a knockout, right?

The application is this. The slanderer is no match for the advocate. The slanderer is no match for the advocate. Christ says in His Olivet Discourse — you find this in John 14, all the way through 17 — He says that, "I must go to heaven, but I'm not going to leave you unattended. I'm going to send you another advocate, another Paraclete, another helper." Christ is the first helper. "I'm going to send you another one." That's the who — the Holy Spirit, right? And think about the contrast between the Holy Spirit and Satan. Satan is evil, right? The Holy Spirit is holy, right?

The devil is a created finite being.

The Holy Spirit is pre-existent. He has life in and of Himself.

Think about the devil. He steals, he kills, he destroys. What does the Spirit do? He brings life, right? He's the one who blows upon the dry bones and says, "Live." He's the one who regenerates the heart, takes the heart of stone and turns it into a heart of flesh, right? The devil tries to destroy.

But what does the Holy Spirit do? Does He not seal us for the day of redemption?

Can you unseal what the Holy Spirit has sealed?

I could maybe nail the door there to the children's room shut pretty good, but I would bet that any one of you guys could probably run right through that door if you had a big enough intention to do it and break that seal, right? Can you break the seal of the Holy Spirit? No, you're sealed to the day of redemption.

Don't worry about the slander. Focus on the advocate. The slanderer speaks lies to you and to God. What does the Holy Spirit do? In our hearts, He bears witness with us that we are indeed the children of God, right? And Christ is our advocate before the throne of God in heaven, is He not? Interceding for us, continuing on His high priestly ministry, interceding for His bride, right?

Flip over on the back.

Satan misrepresents — this is number six. I have a few bullet points here. Satan misrepresents God to man. Remember in the garden, Genesis 3:1, he says, "Indeed, has God said?" right? That's what Satan does. He is a slanderer. He misrepresents God to man. He lies to us, right? "God doesn't want you to taste that fruit. He's keeping it from you because He knows in that moment you will be like God," right?

He misrepresents man to himself, telling him, "You will not surely die."

He's saying, "You can't die. You're immortal. Even that apple's not going to harm you a bit." He misrepresents man to God.

Remember when he comes to God, speaking of Job, and he says, "Does Job fear God for nothing?" He says, "You take away his abundance. You take away his health. You take away his family, and he'll curse You," right?

And that was a man that God said was one in a million, basically. He said, "I know of no one like Job." Job was a righteous man, one of the most righteous men who ever lived. But Satan misrepresents man to God. He misrepresents God to Himself. Think about the temptation of Christ. "If You are the Son of God, if You're the Son of God" — as if Christ wasn't — "cast Yourself off." Or, "If You're the Son of God, turn these stones into bread, right? If You're the Son of God." He misrepresents himself to man.

2 Corinthians 11:14 says that Satan transforms into an angel of what? An angel of light, right? He tries to disguise himself, make himself seem appealing, tries to hide those chains and the stench of sulfur.

He misrepresents himself to himself. It says, "For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath" — that's the passage in Revelation where he's kicked out of heaven, and he's come down with great wrath — as if he could defeat God, or as if he could defeat the bride of Christ, right? So that's who Satan is. He's the one who misrepresents. He's a slanderer. He is a deceiver.

Bible point number seven: fallen angels attempt to harm men, chiefly by the following. These are some of the main areas in which he attempts to harm men. Bold point number one is promoting lies and deceit. We see that in the garden, right? That's his tradecraft — lies and deceit. We often think of his teachings as being somewhat esoteric. For example, when you read through Timothy — we just finished First Timothy, we're now starting Second Timothy in our men's class — and Paul warns Timothy to stay away from false teachers, for they teach the doctrine of demons. Now when you hear that, the first thing that goes to your mind is probably some really cruddy Hollywood movie, you know? You think, okay, what is the doctrine of demons? That must be someone who tries to dabble in witchcraft so he can control the spirit realm. Or maybe it's someone who plays with the occult to try to speak to spirits. Or perhaps it's something where, as you see in a movie, someone sells their soul to the devil to gain power or something like that. That's not what Paul says is the doctrine of demons. You read that in context. The doctrine of demons is those who forbid others to get married and those who teach that they should abstain from certain foods. He's talking about substituting works for salvation by faith, about trying to gain favor with God through self-denial and asceticism, rather than simply receiving the free gift of God's mercy. See, anything that's opposed to the gospel is a doctrine of demons, okay? So we're looking over there for these esoteric, spooky things like you see in a movie as being Satan's demonic deceptions, but often they're right in front of us. Things like the prosperity gospel, right? "It's God's will for you to be wealthy, healthy, and happy." You know, such rubbish that you don't find in Scripture, but it becomes a substitute for the gospel, right? So promoting lies and deceit.

Presenting temptations. We believe and know that he's referred to as the "tempter," right?

1 Chronicles 21:1 is where Satan tempts David to take a census that God has not ordered, right? And we all know about the temptations of Christ at the very beginning of His ministry. We know three of those temptations, but Luke says "after He had finished all these temptations," meaning there may have been more that just aren't recorded in Luke chapter 4. That's what the devil does. Temptation can indeed come from within, but it can also come from without. And in the case of Christ, it never came from within. It only came from without, because Christ was holy, holy. He did not have a sin nature, right?

Bold point number three: he possesses the unregenerate, or the unsaved. That's the third blank, the unsaved. We see, particularly in the New Testament, examples of demonic possession. I want to read to you one that has always stood out in my mind. It's from Mark chapter 5. I'm going to read to you verses 1 through 20. Listen closely.

"Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes. And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit." That's another name for a demon, right? A fallen angel.

"Who had his dwelling among the tombs, and whom no one could bind, not even with chains." This was a wild man, basically, living among the tombs, drawn to death and isolation. Verse 4: "Because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces, neither could anyone tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones." This is a man who was possessed by a demon. Demons hate humanity, because again, we're made in the image of God. So they try to destroy man however they can. Instead of having man being the pinnacle of creation, being the one who is ruling over creation, here's a man who is subject to this world, and he's a madman, cutting and destroying himself.

Verse 6: "When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him."

Even though he was possessed by a demon, this man still had enough of himself remaining that he falls down and worships Christ. And he cried out with a loud voice, "What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me."

The devil knows who holds the keys to the bottomless pit, and it's the Lord Jesus Christ, right? He's begging Him, "Do not torment me." They know their destiny. They know that they are only bound for the pit of hell.

Verse 8: "For He said to him, 'Come out of the man, unclean spirit!' Then He asked him, 'What is your name?' And he answered, saying, 'My name is Legion, for we are many.'" Evidently this man had multiple evil spirits within him. Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country.

Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains.

So all the demons begged Him, saying, "Send us to the swine, that we may enter them." And at once Jesus gave them permission. Notice the permissive will of Christ. Satan's demons must be accountable to Christ at all times. They cannot go anywhere apart from Christ. They live by His permission. Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine. There were about 2,000 swine, which could indicate that there were 2,000 demons in this man.

And the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea and drowned in the sea.

Does that tell you about their very nature? It's destruction, hatred for God's creation.

So those who fed the swine fled. And they told it in the city and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that had happened. Verse 15: "And they came to Jesus and saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the Legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid." Here was a man who was made whole. He's clothed now. He's no longer a wild man. He's in his right mind. You can talk with him and have a conversation. This man is at peace. He's no longer ruled by these demons.

"And those who saw it told them how it happened to him who had been demon-possessed, and about the swine." Verse 17: "And they began to plead with Him" — they were afraid of Christ. This was a power they had never come across before. They had just lost a great monetary investment in 2,000 swine. And when He got to the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him. When he'd been set free by our Lord Jesus Christ, he wanted to be in His company, right?

However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, "Go to your friends and tell them the great things that the Lord has done for you and how He has had compassion on you." And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him, and all marveled. This man, who had been a wild man,

now became a brilliant witness for our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ can transform, right?

Christ can deliver you from the domain of darkness and into the domain of life, okay?

The devil also attempts to harm men chiefly by preventing faith.

Mark 4:15 and Matthew 13:38 through 39 — one of these talks about it positively and the other one negatively — where Satan takes the seed that was planted and whisks it away, right, so it can't take root. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. He wants to separate you from God's word. And negatively, you see in the other passage it speaks about Satan sowing tares among the wheat, sowing false seeds, right? He wants you to stay away from the gospel of Jesus Christ. He wants you instead to follow a false gospel, okay? So he tries to prevent faith by denying access to the word of God and substituting a false gospel.

He also attempts to harm men chiefly by physical and spiritual buffeting. 1 Samuel 16:14 speaks of King Saul. And Saul, if you remember, he disobeyed God. He was supposed to wipe out the enemy, wipe out the king, and not take their spoils, but he did the opposite. He kept the king alive and took the spoils. "I was going to sacrifice to You, God," right? Meanwhile, he's lining his pockets, you know? And Samuel the prophet comes to Saul, saying, "Because you disobeyed God, the kingdom has been taken from you."

So God took His anointing Spirit from Saul and sent him a messenger to torment him, to buffet him, to punish him, right?

That's what the devil wants to do. And sometimes God allows them to do it, to punish the ungodly, right? Even sometimes to chasten the righteous. Think about the New Testament. Remember, Paul was given this vision of heaven,

and he couldn't even speak about it. It was so glorious and great. And lest he be puffed up in pride, he says that God sent him a thorn in the flesh, who was also called a messenger of who? Of Satan, to buffet him, right? And he prayed for the Lord three times to remove this thorn in his flesh.

God didn't choose to do it, but He says, "My grace is sufficient for you. My strength is made perfect in weakness." Sometimes God allows demonic activity to buffet you, physically or spiritually,

even as we saw with Job, who had his health taken away, right? And sometimes it's for a purpose we don't understand, right? But we know that God works all things for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose, okay? We can trust that His designs are perfect, that His knowledge is perfect, and He will not let Satan go beyond what He has commanded Satan to do, okay? So He can actually use — just as Caleb talked a few weeks ago when we discussed providence — God has a permissive will. Remember, Joseph's brethren, when he confronted them in Egypt after all those years after they had sold him into slavery, he says, "You did evil and rebellion, but God can overrule that and use it for good purposes, that many might be saved," just like how He allowed Joseph's brothers to sell him into slavery so that God may be exalted and the people of Israel saved.

Acts 13:10 describes a man who is a sorcerer, and he's marked by the same characteristics of the demons he serves. He says, "O full of deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord?" That sums up what fallen angels try to do. They try to pervert the straight ways of the Lord, but they can't, right? And God uses them as unwilling participants in His providence.

The application is this. How do you keep from this harm? How do you stay away from the devil? The application is this. Keep in step with the Spirit. First blank is "keep."

"In step" is the second blank. Third is "Spirit." Galatians 5:25 says, "If you live in the Spirit, walk in the Spirit." That's literally in the Greek, "keep in step with the Spirit."

Walk in His Word.

Yield your will always to our Savior. Always be following closely in His ways. Then you won't believe the lies of the devil. Then you won't give in to the temptations of the devil.

The devil can't possess you if you're in the Spirit, if you are a saved one who's sealed by the Spirit of God. He can't pry that open. He can work in the unregenerate. He can work in the unsaved, but not in the saved. He cannot prevent you from faith or from hearing the word of God if you're keeping in step with the Spirit, right? Always speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, making melody in your heart to the Lord.

Bible point number eight: the power of fallen angels over the hearts of men. Actually, flip over on the back. I'm sorry, I forgot to give the Bible reference for number seven.

This is very important here. Jesus is speaking to those who are opposing Him, the religious leaders. He says, "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it."

That's what the devil does. He lies. He's a murderer. He seeks harm, right? And apart from Christ, he'd be your father, right? We are born bound in our sins, okay?

Bible point number eight. The power of fallen angels over the hearts of men is not — that's the first blank — not independent of the human will. That's the second blank.

The power of fallen angels over the hearts of men is not independent of the human will. Even the unregenerate cannot be possessed by the devil apart from their permission, okay?

Their powers can't be exercised — the evil angels' powers can't be exercised — without the consent of the human will, and may be resisted and repelled through prayer and faith in God. The power of fallen angels over the hearts of men is not independent of the human will. That's true of Christians too. Can the devil deceive you apart from you yielding to his deceit? Part of you listening to him? That was part of the problem with Adam. He let Satan into the garden. He let Satan talk to his wife Eve, right? He's culpable as Eve was, by failing to protect his wife and failing to do his duty in the garden to keep the garden.

Same with our human will.

We as Christians must never yield to things of the occult or to things of Satan or his devices.

He can't enter us in any way. He can never possess a Christian, and he can't tempt us or influence us apart from our will. It's when we let our guards down.

And we're like David, you know? He's not going out to battle. He's on the rooftop, not doing what he should be doing. He spies a beautiful lady and he lusts in his heart after her. And what does that lead to? Adultery and murder, havoc and pain and all kinds of consequences in his life, right?

We must not yield to Satan that way. And Satan can't touch us unless we yield to him, right?

Their powers can't be exercised without the consent of the human will, and may be resisted and repelled through prayer and faith in God. If you feel like you are under satanic attack or oppression, how do you repel that? You resist and repel it through prayer and faith in God, right? Look at James 4:7. I know Heidi and the kids are going through James. I just went over this too.

Girls, do you want to read for us James 4:7 together?

"Therefore, submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you." Amen. Therefore, submit to God. Don't submit your will to the devil. Don't turn your mind and heart and desires over to him. But submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Who are you going to yield to, right? Satan has no power over you except for what you yield to him. So submit yourself to God, resist the devil, and he'll be repelled. He will flee from you. That's how you overcome demonic influence or demonic oppression — submit yourself to God, resist the devil, and he must flee. Okay?

Look over on the back. Number eight, Ephesians 4:26 and 27 says, "Be angry and do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil." We can give place to the devil by holding on to bitterness, right? By holding on to wrath, you leave a little foot in the door. Where you refuse to forgive somebody, Satan will destroy you with bitterness. It will rot your bones and it will rot your soul.

Ephesians 6:11, "Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." And I know you've studied the armor of God — shield of faith, your helmet of salvation, your breastplate of righteousness, the sword of the Spirit, your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.

Then the devil can't touch you, right? Suit up, get your armor on.

2 Timothy 2:24 through 26. That's what Paul is writing to Timothy.

"And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel, but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance so that they may know the truth, that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will."

Those who've been taken captive by the devil to do his will can be released by the truth, right? That's why it's our responsibility as parents to teach our kids truth.

It's our responsibility as husbands to lead our wives and children in truth. It's why we must speak truth to our neighbor and never be ashamed of the gospel of Christ, because the truth is what sets men free from the powers of the devil, right?

Let's also look at 1 John 4:4.

"You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." We have the Lord Jesus Christ, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit living in us, and He who is in us is greater than he who is in this world.

The application for number eight is put on the whole armor of God every day. Whole armor of God every day.

I'll move quickly through these last two. The power of fallen angels is limited in time and extent. First blank is "time." The second blank is "extent." By the permissive — third blank — will of God.

Their power is delegated — that's the fourth blank — and lasts but for a season. Their ultimate judgment and punishment will vindicate God's permission of their evil agency.

Everything about fallen angels is limited. Their power is limited. Their course is limited. Their duration is limited. They know that judgment day is coming. That's why they believe and tremble, right? They resist God though, all the way to the grave, all the way to hell. Job 1:12 says, "And the Lord said to Satan, 'Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.'"

Satan was limited by God in the affliction of Job. And all of his minions are limited by God. They have a very limited agency. And their day is coming — their day of reckoning. Flip over on the back.

Jude 1:6 says, "And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, their proper place, their proper estate, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day."

They have a date with destiny.

And it's going to be a horrible date that never ends.

It's going to be the holy wrath of God proceeding from the very throne of God.

In outer darkness, away from the gracious presence of God, bearing the full wrath and fury of God forever and ever.

Number ten — or the application for nine — is trust in God's providence at all times. Trust in God's providence — that's the first blank — at all times. Sometimes God is said to hide behind a frowning providence, and it seems like the devil is running rampant or has the upper hand at the moment in your life or in your culture or in the world. But know that Satan's days are numbered, right? He will be judged.

Number ten, our last point. In spite of themselves, fallen angels execute God's plan of punishing the ungodly — that's the first blank — chastening the good — that's the second blank — and illustrating the nature — that's the third blank — and fate — the fourth blank — of evil. In spite of themselves, fallen angels execute God's plan of punishing the ungodly, chastening the good, and illustrating the nature and fate of evil. Fallen angels want nothing to do with serving the Lord, but unwittingly they must.

They were created as all things were for the glory of God, right? And God uses them for punishing the ungodly, for chastening the just, and as representatives of evil and as examples of punished wickedness. Psalm 24:1 says, "The earth is the Lord's and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein."

Do evil spirits dwell in this world? Yes. So the earth is the Lord's and all its fullness. Does that include the devil and the evil spirits? Yes. They're all the Lord's — the world and those who dwell therein. He's got the whole world in His hands, right? Even Satan and his minions. We don't need to fear them. We fear God, right? The application is this: "Be glad, rejoice, and give Him glory." That's from Revelation 19:7, when Babylon, the great harlot, has been judged. "They shall be glad, rejoice, and give Him glory." Now it's time for the wedding supper of the Lamb, right?

One day, the reign of Satan will be forgotten in our minds, but in the glory of God, he will be eternally punished, and we will be with Christ forever in heaven. What a glorious day that will be. So let's be glad, rejoice, and give Him glory, because God is the God of all angels.