The Empire Strikes Back

by Calvin Burrell

"But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you" (Matthew 12:28).

The middle verses of Matthew 12 give the account of one man's deliverance through the power of Jesus Christ. He was a broken man before he met Jesus, able neither to see nor speak. And the wholeness he lacked was more than physical, reports the text; it was mental and spiritual as well, pictured by the description of him as "one possessed with a devil." A close reading of verse 22(a) lets us conclude that this man did not merely possess a demon, but was himself Satan's property - diseased in body, mind, and spirit.

Then Jesus healed him. As Christ proved Himself to be a stronger sovereign than Satan, the man received wholeness for which God had created him.

Divided Opinion

Because of this miracle, many recognized Jesus as the fulfillment of the Hebrew prophecy of a Messiah. A few others, however, saw in it the hand of the Devil himself. They accused Jesus of exorcising this demon by the authority of Beelzebub, the prince of the devils.

Jesus responded by showing the inconsistency of this position. No house or city or kingdom divided against itself can long stand, Jesus reasoned. The Devil is not so dumb as to destroy his own kingdom.

Rather, it was Jesus, the heir of God's throne, who came invading Satan's territory, casting him out here and there by overthrowing his power and influence in people's lives. This wholeness, this deliverance, this restoration is from the Spirit of God, not from Satan. Therefore, Jesus emphasizes in verse 28, the kingdom of God has come unto (or upon) you!

Satan's Kingdom

The language of the Gospels here and elsewhere impels us to conclude that the kingdom of God has been established among mankind in the person and work of Christ. By His doing and dying on earth nearly 2,000 years ago, the kingdom of Satan has in some sense been defeated.

The previous sentence acknowledges that Satan, too, has a kingdom (realm or domain). And how did he obtain this authority? He stole it! When he tempted Adam and Eve in the garden, the human family (God's by right) passed over to Satan's control by hook and by crook.

After that, our archenemy wasted little time in consolidating his gains and defending his borders. We may read it in the account of Cain, who murdered his brother. We may see it in the violence and corruption that filled the earth prior to the Flood. We may witness its revival after the deluge in the sins of Noah's sons and at Babel.

Even some of God's chosen people were not exempt from the tyranny of King Satan. Abraham lied about his wife, and Isaac did the same. Jacob deceived those closest to him and lived to see his failures multiplied in the lives of his 12 sons. From the time God brought them out of Egypt until He sent them to Babylon, the Israelites seemed more intent on doing Satan's will than God's. And this is not to mention the depraved, repulsive conduct of most other nations on earth.

Striking Back

By the time the year came that separates B.C. from A.D., it could be said by both secular historians and biblical writers that "the whole world is under the control of the evil one" (1 John 5:19, NIV). The rule and reign of the Enemy seemed universal. Satan's kingdom prevailed - until the day the empire of heaven struck back!

Jesus Christ came, attacking sin and casting out Satan. In the life, death, and resurrection of the Son of God, the powers of the world to come invaded this present world, achieving a victory over the kingdom of Satan. The kingdom of God has come in the sense that the royal authority of God himself has actually entered the scene of human history in the person of Jesus.

In one sense, it is true that the kingdom of God, in which God's will is to be perfectly done through the whole earth, continues to be future. Yet in another sense, the kingdom - the active, saving power of God - already has come into the world in the person and activity of Christ to redeem men and women from the kingdom of Satan.*

The empire has struck back: The kingdom of God has come upon us! Jesus Christ has come to deliver us from the power of darkness and to translate us into the kingdom of God's dear Son (Colossians 1:13).

Conclusion

To some, this good news (gospel) of the kingdom having struck back is reality. They have found that the presence of Christ in their lives binds Satan, so that he no longer freely acts on their lives as he previously did. God has acted instead to deliver them from the bondage of Satan. They are experiencing the reality of God's rule and reign; His will is being done in their lives. They are no longer possessed by the Devil.

To others, however, the empire striking back is only a piece of science - or religious - fiction. In their thoughts and words and habits, they exist in the kingdom of darkness. Their spiritual brokenness may be manifested physically or mentally. They belong to Satan's sphere; they are his possession.

But all that can be changed by Jesus!

* Some of the phraseology has been borrowed from George E. Ladd's excellent book Crucial Questions about the Kingdom of God.

A version of this article appeared in a past issue of the Bible Advocate magazine. For a free subscription, contact us at bibleadvocate@cog7.or. Calvin Burrell is editor of the Bible Advocate magazine. Scripture quotations were taken from the New King James Version.

The Bible Advocate Press grants the user permission only to download and print this article. If the user wishes to make multiple copies, permission must be granted by the Bible Advocate Press.