SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/6/2022 8:16 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
“The Accusation Was Absurd”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matt.
12:25b-26
Message of the verses: “"Any kingdom
divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against
itself shall not stand. 26 “And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against
himself; how then shall his kingdom stand?’”
Now the first thing that Jesus did was to show His
accusers that their charge was absurd.
It is goes without saying that a kingdom divided against itself would
soon be laid waste by self destruction.
This cliché also applies to any city or any house. If one or the other becomes divided against
itself, it obviously shall not stand.
MacArthur
writes: “Applied to the spirit world,
the principle is just as clear: if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against
himself; how then shall his kingdom stand?’
Outside of the Trinity, Satan is the most intelligent being in existence,
and he certainly does not assign his forces to fight against each other and
internally destroy his own program.”
Now
we surely know that it is true, of course, that evil is destructive by nature,
and also that destruction often includes self-destruction. We know that Satan is the father of hatred
and lies, and where such things rule there is confusion and also there is
inconsistency. There can be no true
harmony within or among evil beings.
Just as God is the Lord of order and harmony; Satan is the lord of
disorder and chaos, whether he chooses to be or not, that is just what is in his
nature.
This
is also true that although Satan is brilliant, powerful, and able to move from
place to place with seemingly immediate speed, he is nevertheless not
omniscient, especially in thinking he can overpower God and then usurp His
kingdom, that will never happen because he was defeated at the cross.
We
know that it is true that there are times when he disguises himself as an angel
of light as seen in 2 Cor. 11:14, but in that role he may pretend to cast out a
demon by restricting its power over the possessed person in order to give the
impression of a cleansing. However that
sort of supposed exorcism has been common throughout the history of the church
and is practiced even today by various cults, false healers, and exorcists.
MacArthur
concludes: “Even Satan’s demons may on
occasion act inconsistently and in conflict with him and each other. But despite the disorder of his kingdom, his
creaturely limits, his false exorcisms, and demon confusion, Satan does not
cast out Satan, and he is not divided against himself. There is no harmony, trust, or loyalty in his
kingdom, but he tolerates no disobedience or division. It was therefore preposterous to accuse Jesus
of casting out demons by the power of the ruler of demons.”
2/6/2022 8:37 AM
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