Satan is not lurking around every corner and has no inherent power. His only power is that which we give him. Our true issue is the carnal nature inside us and that is where the battle rages. The contemporary Christian singer Carman had a hit song called “The Champion”. This song represents the current religious view that the devil has nearly the same power and authority as Jesus Christ and only after a fight to the end does Jesus prevail… barely. This view has been supported by countless sermons describing the book of Revelation as an external drama played out as various location of earth. Could those locusts be fast attack helicopters? The carnal man wants to externalize any major revelation that could result in his demise. The external is a result of the internal. When Love permeates men’s hearts, peace will break out. We do not need another thousand laws to bring forth peace on earth for those laws only deal with the symptoms of the problems found within the hearts of men.
Revelation 12:7 And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought,
8 but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer.
9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
The devil and his messengers were cast out of Heaven. Jesus did not have to put on boxing gloves and enter the ring to duke it out with the devil. The devil’s only power is that of deception and he has done a great job of deceiving men concerning the intent of the last book of the Bible for centuries. We only have to look as far as the first verse of this book to know its intent- “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants”. Its simplicity has been a mystery to the highly intelligent. Just as the Pharisees did not recognize Jesus as He stood before them, the mysteries contained in this last book have been kept from the masses who walk according to the flesh. These mysteries have been reserved for His servants who are represented by the manchild. It was critical for this message to be hidden until now so that this group called “the remnant”, “the elect”, and “the overcomers” would be able to grow into maturity just as Jesus was allowed to grow in anonymity until such a time as this.
When you exalt the devil and his perceived power, you are actually worshipping him, you are a devil worshipper. Ugggh! Nobody wants to hear that but in the strictest sense, it is the truth. Jesus overcame the deception of the devil at the end of the forty days in the wilderness. At the weakest point of the flesh, He overcame the devil and his attempts to use the Word of GOD as a basis of the deceit. This is given for our instruction in order that we are not deceived by the subtleness of the devil in whatever form he may take. If the devil had all the power assigned to him, none of us would be sharing FATHER’S Love but instead we all would be roasting in hell forever. This battle was in the spirit realm, not the physical realm with a red suited figure wielding a pitchfork. This battle occurred in His mind just as it has been occurring in yours and mine. The devil isn’t omnipresent as many would have you believe. He is your carnal nature warring in your members. This allows you to appreciate what Paul said in Romans chapter 7:
23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
25 I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.
The name Michael means “Who is like GOD”. When you take on FATHER’S attributes and HIS message, you are able to cast satan out of your midst. He is no longer welcome in the spirit of your mind. He is no longer exalted or accepted in determining your course of action and is cast out of your “heaven” and his deceptive thoughts and intents are no longer entertained. When this finally takes place and this carnal man no longer prevails in your life, then and only then- “but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer.” The carnal nature and his messengers (aka messages: counterfeit revelations) are removed from your midst and you can no longer be deceived by your own flesh or the doctrines, philosophies, creeds, interpretations, and religious views of others. You will now be led only by HIS SPIRIT.
With this understanding we can see that only after the manchild is caught up to the third Heaven and in THE SPIRIT does this war brake out. As long as you are “in the sea” of humanity” or “in the earth”, you are right where your carnal man wants you and he will be fed at this lower level by the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. This is exactly why the devil started out as a serpent and ended up as a monstrous dragon. This occurs as we feed him and allow him to devour us through lusts and pride. It is by this worldly path is he exalted in our lives. The outward man simply reflects the inward spiritual state. This carnal man deceives the whole world but one man at a time. He then uses men to further his agenda by creating scarcity and competition by way of war and greed. When the devil and his message are cast out of Heaven, you will walk in complete peace just as Jesus was describing in His own life in John 14:
27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
28 You have heard Me say to you, ‘I am going away and coming back to you.’ If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, ‘I am going to the Father,’ for My Father is greater than I.
29 “And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe.
30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.
31 But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do. Arise, let us go from here.
The devil showed up when Jesus had reached full maturity as a Son. This process had been sealed by FATHER when HE spoke these words:
Matthew 3:17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
There is no record of this during the 30 year maturing process which was broken up into two distinct periods: 12 years + 18 years with those two periods being marked by Jesus proclaiming that He had to be about HIS FATHER’S business. Don’t you think that if the devil conjured up by men really had all the power attributed to him that he would have killed Jesus when He was in His youth? Only after Jesus was exalted to Sonship by FATHER was the battle waged by the devil and it was within the Heavenly place of Sonship. Jesus was fully led by the SPIRIT. The devil had no power over Jesus in this highest Spiritual realm though he tempted Jesus in all facets. Jesus was not deceived by the prince of the world and the result was:
Matthew 4:11 Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.
After the devil was cast down, the power and authority from Heaven began operating in full measure. This is true for the Sons as well. This war in Heaven is described by Paul in Ephesians chapter 6:
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
We must cast down every high thing that exalts itself contrary to Christ in us and this opposition is the adversary called the devil. This adversary must not take its place on the throne reserved for Christ but must be cast out of our own highest Spiritual place. Paul spoke of this in 2 Corinthians chapter 5:
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,
5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,
As the devil is cast out, we then have the Mind of Christ and are led by THE SPIRIT and the devil has no place in us. “As HE is, so are we!”