As Satan Was Falling

June/Training for Mission

3 June 2010

From the summit of the kingdom of heaven, of the habitation of angels, puffed up by the brilliance of his [own] splendour, by the beauty of his [own] appearance, Lucifer had fallen...

- Columcille, Altus Prosator (Irish, 6th century)

And he said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven."

- Luke 10.18

The Greek of Jesus' words could be translated, "I was watching Satan fall like lightning from heaven." The disciples had come back from their mission amazed that "even the demons" were subject to them. How could that be? Jesus' answer said it all: He was there when Satan was cast out. He had power over the devil, and He extended that power to His disciples.

Beyond that, Jesus demonstrated His power over the devil during the temptation in the wilderness (Matt. 4.1-11). Here was Jesus, at His weakest, and Satan in all his strength. Yet Jesus dispatched him with ease: "one little word shall fell him!" Later, Jesus explained that He had bound the devil and was plundering his holdings, taking back souls, cultures, and whole societies, and reconciling all things back to God.

Columcille wanted his students to know that God's power was with them; Satan could not harm or impede them when they went in the power of Jesus, obedient to His Word. And go they did - by the hundreds and thousands. Fearless witnesses for Christ from all over Ireland, they re-evangelized almost all of Europe, and the devil could do nothing to stop them.

Where are such witnesses in our day? Where are the pastors who are training their people to go boldly in the Name of Jesus, unafraid of the devil, much less mere men, to proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom and liberate lost souls into the Kingdom of light? Why don't our pastors teach, train, and send us for this any more? Do they lack the vision of Columcille?

Or do they lack the confidence in Him Who was watching, as Satan was cast down to earth and, later, bound?

Today in ReVision: Engulfed - We need to pray for the Gulf, and for the President.

This Week's Download: Faithfulness in Ministry - Pastors, check yourself out with this little tool.

Pray for us as we finish up our ministry plan for the coming year. More on that later. For now, check out our book store when you can.

And if you want to follow the downfall of Satan, check out each week's installment of Every Thought Captive at the website, where we're charting his defeat in his own words. Current installment: Portent.

T. M. Moore, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.