“And He said to them, ‘Go!’ And they came out and went into the swine, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and perished in the waters” ( Matthew 8:32 32 And he said unto them, Go. And they came out, and went into the swine: and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep into the sea, and perished in the waters. ).

Our Lord Jesus will always have the upper hand over demonic forces. But we should never forget that demons, as fallen angels, still possess tremendous power and strength (cf. Dan. 10:21; Rev. 12:4). For example, when God sent an angel with a message for Daniel, a demon named “the prince of the kingdom of Persia” delayed the angel for three weeks, and God had to send Michael the archangel to help the other divine messenger (Dan. 10:13).

Wicked angels are superior to humans in many ways: intelligence (Ezek. 28:3–4), strength ( Mark 5:4 4 because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been rent asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: and no man had strength to tame him. ; Acts 19:16 16 And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and mastered both of them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. ), powers to do “signs and false wonders” (2 Thess. 2:9), and in experience (having existed much longer than mankind). As spirit beings, they are not bound by time, space, or form. Thus only Christ has sufficient power to bruise Satan’s head and cast him and his forces into the lake of fire and brimstone forever (Rev. 20:3, 10). It required tremendous supernatural power to expel so many demons from the two men and into the pigs, yet He accomplished the feat in an instant.

Knowing all this, we as God’s children must remember that only with His armor, especially the shield of faith, can we withstand attacks from demons (Eph. 6:16) and be victorious over their schemes.

Ask Yourself

How have you been taught to deal with the forces of darkness and evil? By taking them on in direct spiritual confrontation? By ignoring them or acting as if they don’t exist? Let Jesus be your total confidence in all such matters of warfare.

From Daily Readings from the Life of Christ, Vol. 1, John MacArthur. Copyright © 2008. Used by permission of Moody Publishers, Chicago, IL 60610, www.moodypublishers.com.

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