I Saw Satan Fall Like Lightning…

"The seventy-two returned with joy and said, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name." He replied, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven . I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven." Luke 10:17-20

You know how you can hear something over and over again and nothing really pops out at you? And then one day, BAM! You read it or hear it in a way you never had before? That is how this scripture hit me… It has been a year or two since this happened but I have been chewing on this for a long time... Not quite sure what to do with it. I usually like to share my revelations right away but this one was so big and complex, I haven’t quite known how to approach it! And honestly, I still don’t really know how this will unfold but I am feeling like it is time to share so I am trusting the Lord to guide me.

Satan has fallen!

The first part of the Luke scripture that hit me was "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” There are a few times that Jesus says things to the disciples that seem random and out of context and this was one of those scriptures for me. The disciples are so excited and reporting back to Jesus all the amazing things that happened and the first thing He says is "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven”!? I am thinking, Okay…?? But then, after repeating it to myself over and over again, it HIT me, hard! Some of you are probably thinking, “Yeah, and? What is the big deal?" But that is just it! It IS a big deal!! Satan has FALLEN… like lightning!  Which, if you have seen lightning hit, it is pretty damn hard!! So, to put it in a nutshell, Satan is defeated. Caput. Zippo. NO LONGER IN POWER! Here is the scripture that supports Jesus’s words:

"And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down--that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: "Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down." Revelation 12:7-10  

While I bolded and underlined the part about Satan’s fall, which was my point, I don’t want THE most important part of this scripture to get buried, and it is this part: "Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ”. To put it simply, Satan is out, NO LONGER IN AUTHORITY, and NOW all the authority belongs to Jesus!! He took the authority back and Jesus is now LORD OF LORDS, and KING OF KINGS! And Satan is thrown down and DEFEATED.

Where is our focus?

So, if Satan has fallen, and Jesus is in complete authority, why are we giving Satan so much credit, attention and focus for things that happen to us and others? We rebuke him, and blame him, we stand against him, bind and loose him and cast him out? Where is our focus when we are doing all of that rebuking, blaming and casting out? Isn’t it on Satan? Who has been defeated? And NOT on Jesus who is the victor? Where is my focus, on God or on Satan?

Speaking of where my focus is, we can also get caught up in focusing on the “miracles” aspect of things. When Jesus says “However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven." He is saying again, where is your focus? Do not focus on the miracles, or that the demons flee from you, BUT FOCUS ON ME, My relationship with you and the salvation that I have purchased for you! Here are a couple excerpts from Oswald that speak about this as well:

October 27th Oswald:  "... When the disciples returned from their first mission, they were filled with joy because even the demons were subject to them. But Jesus said, in effect, "Don't rejoice in successful service --- the great secret of joy is that you have the right relationship with Me" (Luk_10:17-20). 

January 7th Oswald: "...Before Pentecost the disciples knew Jesus as the One who gave them power to conquer demons and to bring about a revival (Luke_10:18-20). It was a wonderful intimacy, but there was a much closer intimacy to come: ". . . I have called you friends . . ." (John 15:15). True friendship is rare on earth. It means identifying with someone in thought, heart, and spirit. The whole experience of life is designed to enable us to enter into this closest relationship with Jesus Christ. We receive His blessings and know His Word, but do we really know Him?”

Another one of my favorite Oswaldisms is “Are we looking for the blessings of God, or are we looking for GOD who has the blessings?” The first time I heard this, it was a huge forehead slap for me! Of course I tend to focus mostly on the BLESSINGS of God and not on Him! Major conviction! But in these excerpts Oswald hits the importance of a “right relationship” with God, the intimacy of being called “friends” and pursuing HIM and not His blessings... and not on the miracles or other "shiny" things that grab our attention.

Pride…

There is something very alluring and inviting about the power and ability to cast out demons and doing many wonderful miracles isn’t there? It seems so much more powerful, impactful and important than just hanging out with Jesus and pursuing intimacy with Him… like Mary sitting at his feet. That just seems so… boring. But, miracles and healings and seeing demons flee is intoxicating and amazing! When these gifts are being passed out, we all want to get in the front of the line and say, YES! Pick me, pick me!! I want to be able to do all those things!! But again, Jesus said, However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

Talk about “counter intuitive”!! Our flesh and humanness is all about the BIG, the BOLD, the EXCITING and “look at ME God, didn’t I do good?!” While I would love to be used by God to do all these amazing miracles, I also know that my pride would be very quick to step in and, while it may not happen at first, it will gradually take over and eventually, it would be ALL about ME! These thoughts are not always in the forefront of my mind but I often find them lurking very subtlety yet pervasively, sneaky and persistent in my own heart and mind.

So after I got this revelation on this scripture I started to hear other interesting scriptures that popped out at me that related to what Jesus said, regarding not focusing on the miracles, but on HIM. Here is one of them:

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles? Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'  Matthew 7:21-23

Have you ever wondered about this scripture? How can we do miracles and drive out demons in HIS name and then have Him say “Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!” This is a VERY strong statement! He is NOT a happy camper here… This isn’t a “loving rebuke” but instead He would call us “EVILDOERS” (or ‘workers of iniquity’ in another translation)!! Yikes! So, let’s look at what He begins with “….but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” [will enter the Kingdom of heaven]. But… isn’t it the will of the Father that we should do these things?? Hmmmm…. Let’s look at this scripture again. It says “did we not prophesy in your name…?” Again, where is our focus?? They didn’t say “Did YOU not prophesy through us…” it said did "WE"... And here again is pride! What was Satan’s biggest sin? PRIDE. “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven” Pride is what caused Satan to “fall like lightning”… and the same will happen to US, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!”, if our focus is NOT on HIM and rejoicing that our names are written in heaven! 

Let’s look at this scripture again:

"The seventy-two returned with joy and said, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name." He replied, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven." Luke 10:17-20

Do you see this any differently now?? I do! This was not a random, out of context comment, it is a warning to us! Telling us to keep our focus on HIM, working on our intimacy with Him, and all that HE has done for us and NOT to make the same mistake Satan made… Not to allow our pride to cast us down.

Remember at the beginning I mentioned that there was so much to this scripture and I didn’t know how to approach it? Well, Satan’s fall, our focus and our pride were just a few of the things I got out of this, and I am thankful that He did guide me in this blog thus far, but I have gone too long and will need to do a “part two” to finish up.

Father, wow. Thank you for showing me your heart and desire for us. I know I struggle everyday with pride and I hate it… I don’t like seeing it in me and I know it doesn’t please you either. Help me Lord to throw this down every day!! Reveal to me where it lurks, hiding in the recesses of my heart and mind. And help me to be more like Mary, sitting at your feet and embracing intimacy with you more than anything else! In your mighty and precious name, Amen!