Beloved congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ. . .many years ago my wife and I attended a creation conference in Seattle. During one of the question and answer sessions, I think it was following a lecture by Nancy Pearcy, someone asked whether the New Age movement was a conspiracy. This was during the time of conspiracy theories. The communist conspiracy, the Tri-Lateral Commission conspiracy, Council on Foreign Relations conspiracy, the Bilderberger conspiracy, the Jewish conspiracy, the Roman Catholic conspiracy, and perhaps half a dozen more. The questioner wanted to know whether all these conspiracies were organized and directed by one person. The answer was no, but a qualified no. there is no one holding all these conspiracies together. Yet, there was a person, and that person was Satan, the moving, directing force, the great adversary of all that is good and holy.

And yet. . .yet, if you remember the fear that gripped so many conspiracy theorists, they were needlessly alarmed. For the good new of the gospel proclaimed by St. John is this: That Jesus Christ came into the world to destroy the works of the devil. Jesus Christ, as we see in our passage, bound the strong man. The good new of the gospel proclaimed by St. Paul is this: that Jesus Christ through death destroyed him who had the power of death, that is the devil, and released those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

My theme is: The Demolition of the Devil’s Domain, the Devil’s dominion. In Luke 11:21 Jesus compares the dominion, the kingdom of Satan to the palace of a strong man. Whatever that strong man has captured, whatever he owns is safe, kept under his control. Whomever the strong man has captured, cannot escape, for he is fully armed, his sword, spear, bow and arrows, sling, shield, all his armaments are at hand, there to defend him against all who would attack him, against all who sought to escape him.

But, in our Lord’s illustration, He talks about someone stronger than the strong man. First, the stronger man attacks the strong man, overcomes him, strips him of all his armor, and divides the spoils. That means that he takes all the goods that the strong man was guarding.

First then, I want to talk some about this strong man, this demon, Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons. That’s Satan, of course, the great opposer, the great adversary, the great red dragon of Revelation 12, the serpent of Genesis 3.

Second, to see that Jesus is talking about Himself, for He said in verse 20, “But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.”

Third, to see what happens to people, and then to nations, when a demon leaves, but is not replaced by the presence of Jesus Christ, by the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

The strong man, the serpent, the dragon. You know, I would suppose that you are not that much different than I, in that you seldom think about the devil, about Satan, or about evil spirits and wicked dragons. They’re kind of out there somewhere in ancient history, or in fairy tales and among mythological beasts and characters. But in our day-to-day existence, whether old or young, we don’t think much about Satan and his demon-soldiers. In raising our children, in going boating or swimming, running to the mall, working out problems in the office, driving or walking, talking to our family and friends, to our co-workers or the JC Penney clerk, Satan isn’t really a factor in our minds.

Well, I’m not going to say that Satan should very often be in the front of our minds. There is certainly a danger in giving him too much attention, for we just might grow to admire him, as so many have today. Perhaps, as we begin this study of Beelzebub, of Satan, we should listen to a couple of New Testament exhortations. The first is from St. Peter. He had suffered by following the lure Satan feathered with pride. Remember what Jesus said to Peter before Jesus’ trial? “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat.” (Lk 22:31 NKJV) Later, as he wrote to Christians Peter said, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Peter 5:8 NKJV)

The apostle Paul speaks of the devices of Satan, that is, those tricks and traps he uses to get a hold on us. Paul says, “lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.” (2 Cor 2:11 NKJV) What is the implication? That we should be aware of the arsenal of tricks and traps, the lies and subtleties Satan uses to tangle up the unwary. So how do we become familiar with the tricks and lies of the devil? Let’s listen to God. He introduces us to Satan in the first pages of the Bible, Genesis 3.

The first thing the serpent said to Eve was, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?’ “ What was Satan doing? Satan was trying to bring doubt into Eve’s mind. And that is the first and great weapon of Satan. He wants to plant the seed of uncertainty into our minds. He wants people to doubt the words of God. He begins by attacking the truth of God’s Word.

Never forget that. Doubt is the enemy of faith. Doubt is the thin edge of the wedge. When Satan gets you to think that perhaps the words of God, the promises of God, either for yourself or for your children, are really not as sure as you thought they were, then there is a thin crack in your faith. Satan can work with that. That’s all the beginning he needs. With that little doubt in your mind he will reach for his next weapon, his next tool, and continue his work to destroy you.

“Has God indeed said?” So when Satan had got that far, Eve said, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, “you shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.” Satan responded, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Into that small opening of doubt, Satan hammers in his next weapon, the lie. God said to Eve, “You shall surely die.” Satan said to Eve, “You shall not die.” And then went on to build on that lie. “God is really protecting himself, he’s afraid that you will know as much as he does. If you eat you will be like God, you will know, you will determine for yourselves, what is good and what is evil.” Here we see another of Satan’s armor, the weapon of pride. Of course, for that is what precipitated Satan’s fall from heaven itself.

Satan is a fallen angel, a creature of God’s creation. In Revelation 12 we read of war between Michael and his angels and the devil and his angels. And lest you doubt the identity of this serpent in Genesis 3, turn to Revelation 12:19: “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.” (Rev 12:9 NKJV)

Sometimes Satan is called Lucifer. That name is really quite beautiful, for it describes Satan’s position before his fall. Lucifer means “morning star.” Turn to Isaiah 14. In that chapter Isaiah is describing Nebuchadnezzar. However, many Bible students throughout history have found this description to fit Satan. Isaiah 14:12-15: “”How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’ Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit.” (Isa 14:12-15 NKJV) Satan had the beautiful name of “Son of the morning.” But, not satisfied with the place God had given him, he wanted to take the throne of God himself.

The armor of Satan: the weapon of doubt, the deathblow of lies, and the final battle-axe of accusations. In Revelation 12:10 Satan is called the “accuser of the brethren, who accuses them day and night before our God.” There was a time—although we see from Revelation 12 that that time is past—there was a time when Satan took his final weapon and swung it, not on earth, but in heaven. He came before God one time and accused Job of serving God because it paid. He asked God for permission to take everything away, for then, said Satan, “He will curse you.”

If only Satan could induce Job to sin, then Satan could seal Job’s condemnation. Then God himself would have the evidence to condemn Job. The sins of God’s people, that is the great arsenal of weaponry Satan so carefully hoarded. Sins that defile, sins that pollute, sins that disqualify anyone from appearing before God and survive that appearance. After Israel’s return from exile, the prophet Zechariah one time saw a vision, and in that vision Joshua the high priest standing before the throne of God clothed in filthy clothes, and there was Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. Yes, there was the representative of God’s people, and he carried with him all the ammunition Satan needed to shoot him down, and remove him from the presence of God.

Let me return for a minute to Genesis 3. Satan seemed to win here, for Adam and Eve ate of the tree, and were condemned to die. But God intervened and made the promise of Genesis 3:15, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

For the salvation of mankind God drew a line between the serpent and the woman, between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman. Here began the two great kingdoms on earth, the kingdom of the seed of the woman, and the kingdom of the seed of the serpent. Those who believed the promises of God, and those who disbelieved. Those who were friends of God, and those who were friends of Satan. This began the great conflict that determines the rest of the course of the history of this world.

As the great battle continued, the people of God began to look for a champion, one who would contend directly with that old serpent, with Satan. Would it be Noah? In a time when it seemed that the seed of the serpent would overwhelm the seed of the woman, Noah stood alone with his family against those hordes of Satan. God intervened with the flood, but as a champion Noah failed. And Noah died. So it was with all the champions, with all the great men God raised up for his people. Abraham failed, Moses failed, the judges failed, David failed, his sons as kings of Judah failed. They all sinned, they all provided Satan opportunity for the fatal blow, the accusation before God. Finally Isaiah cried out in anguish, “Oh, God, that you would tear open the heavens and come down.” The help of man was vain. There was no one who could stand in the breach, no one who could contend with and overcome this great demon, Satan.

In that setting of conflict, in that setting of the failure of man, the failure of Israel’s great men, and in the setting of Isaiah’s cry, that God sent his Son into the world. That forms the background, the setting of the scene of our passage. “The kingdom of God has come,” said Christ to the Jews.

Jesus cast out a demon from a man, who because of that demon, was mute. He could not talk. When the demon had gone out, the man spoke, and the multitudes marveled. But, says our text, some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.”

“The ruler of the demons.” So there is no doubt that this is the name the Jews applied to Satan, he was Beelzebub. This is an old name, and you will find it mentioned during the time of Elijah. 2 Kings 1. Ahaziah, the son of Ahab had fallen down and was severely injured. He sent messengers and told them, “Go, inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I will recover from this injury.” Elijah told Ahaziah, “Thus says the Lord, because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of His word? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.”

Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, and during the time of Jesus, the name given to Satan, as ruler of the demons. The meaning of that name is not certain. Baal means lord, or master, and Zebub means what? Some say that Beelzebub means the lord who flies, and others say it means the lord of the flies, or even the lord of the manure pile. Well, manure and flies go together, and they both bring the image of filth, the filthiness of sins.

Some of you may remember that a book quite popular in college English courses some years ago was called just that, “The Lord of the Flies,” by William Golding. It is a horrible story, and illustrates, basically without hope at all, the depravity of man.

But getting back to these Jews, they too, by their statement about Jesus, give evidence that they had totally abandoned their faith in God. The only power they seemed to think was effective in ridding a person of a demon was the king of demons himself.

What a sad state of affairs. When the leadership of Israel under Ahaziah rejected God, they had recourse to the devil. When the leadership of Israel in Jesus time rejected God, they began to believe only the devil had ultimate power. As our society today rejects the Triune God, they too will, and have begun today to place confidence in the power of the evil one.

Jesus responded by pointing out the obvious, and yet those who are blinded by the deceit of Satan so often miss the obvious. “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falls. If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? Because you say I cast out demons by Beelzebub. And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.”

Your sons. There were those, praise God, among the Jews who believed. There were those who followed Jesus. In Luke 10 we read that Jesus sent 70 of His disciples out to preach the gospel of the kingdom, the good news that the kingdom of God had come. That meant that God Himself had come into the world for the salvation of His people. That meant that God was setting His king on His holy hill of Zion, who would declare the decree, “You are My Son, this day have I begotten you.”

So we read in Luke 10:17, “Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.”

“If I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.” “But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.” Then Jesus went on to say, “When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace. But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides the spoils.”

For those who heard, the meaning is obvious. Beelzebub is the strong man, Satan, who is fully armed, guarding his own palace, his kingdom, his armor. Jesus is the stronger man who overcomes Satan, takes his armor from him, and plunders his house. “Divides the spoils,” says our text. “Spoils” is a word that is used after the battle is finished, and the victors go to the slain, strip all their armor, and take all their treasures from their tents and houses.

Jesus is announcing the climax of the coming of the kingdom of God. For the coming of the kingdom of God meant the coming of the great King God had promised, the great King who would be called, Wonderful, counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, the prince of peace. Jesus is announcing that the war of worlds, the stupendous collision of two kingdoms, the kingdom of Satan and the kingdom of God, was happening. Jesus was announcing that the great invasion of the kingdom of God into the kingdom of Satan was happening.

“I cast out demons,” said Jesus, “with the finger of God.” The finger of God. We see this image before in a great conflict between two kingdoms, the kingdom of Israel led by Moses, and the kingdom of Egypt, led by Pharaoh. When God brought the third plague upon Egypt, Pharaoh’s magicians said to him with quivering voices, “Pharaoh, this is the finger of God.” To free His people from their slavery to Pharaoh God brought judgment upon Egypt and upon their gods. To free His people from their slavery to Satan God brought judgment upon Satan, He brought His only begotten Son into the world to destroy the works and power of Satan.

“When a stronger than the strong man comes upon him, and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted.” Jesus stripped Satan of all his armory, all his weapons. Remember what they were?

Doubt. Jesus declared the certainty of the Word and promises of God. Jesus was the certainty Himself, for He was the Word made flesh. In Jesus Christ, all the promises of God became Yes, and Amen. Jesus declared that not one jot or one tittle of the Word would be erased until all was fulfilled. Jesus came to bring the Words of God into reality in this world.

Jesus stripped him of his weapon of the lie. Jesus said, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. Satan is the father of lies, when he speaks, he speaks the lie, for he is a liar from the beginning.” Jesus stripped him of his lies, for Jesus said, “I am the truth.”

Jesus stripped him of his ultimate weapon, the sins of God’s people. The sins that made God’s people a complete anomaly, people who were called saints, holy ones, and yet people who were defiled with sins. People who were called the children of God, and yet because of their sins bore more resemblance to Satan than to God. People to whom Satan could so easily lie and say, “You think you are the people of God, the children of God? You church people really think that you belong to God? What a joke. You belong to me, for I am the father of sin and lies, and that is your life, isn’t it?”

Jesus stripped him of all those accusations. Jesus took all those accusations upon Himself, took upon Himself all the punishment pronounced against all of God’s people, and so erased the handwriting that was in evidence against us. All those accusations that Satan so carefully stored up, all those secret sins that Satan so carefully hoarded to present to God as prosecution, Jesus plundered them, Jesus bound this strong man, and took them all out of His house, paid the penalty for all of them, and presented the full payment before the throne of God. So that God then pronounced His people fully justified, innocent of any and all transgressions.

This is why Paul could say, “Who shall bring anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifies. Who is he that condemns?” “But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils.”

“Divides his spoils.” What are spoils? We know what it means in physical combat. But what does it mean in spiritual combat, what did it mean that Christ divides the spoils, the property, the treasures of Satan? It means that the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our God and of His Christ. It means that the many in Israel who were in bondage to sin and slaves of Satan now belonged to Christ. It means what you and I confess in the first Lord’s Day of the Heidelberg, “I am not my own but belong to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ, who with His precious blood has fully satisfied for all my sins and delivered me from all the power of the devil…” You see the cause and effect here, don’t you? Satisfied for my sins by His blood, and as a consequence, as a result, delivered me from all the power of the devil.

It means that the word of Christ’s victory over sin would be preached throughout the world, and thousands and millions of Gentiles, those who had been held captive by Satan, would be freed, and now belong to Jesus Christ. Those are the spoils. Jesus spoiled kingdom of Satan, and He continues to spoil him today.

Does Satan still labor today? Yes, indeed, and one of his great lies is that Jesus hasn’t really won, that Satan hasn’t really been conquered, that his armor is still with him. But these are all lies. Here is the truth of the matter: “Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. “Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”” (Re 12:10-12 NKJV)

“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.” The church today, although faced with the great wrath of the devil, is not to quietly endure his assaults, but to lay siege to hell itself. The church must take the battering ram of the gospel, for it will shatter the gates and walls of Satan’s realm. You know what a battering ram is, don’t know? This is a heavy pole with a head of brass or iron. It takes many people working together to lift it and swing it against the foundation stones of castle walls. One blow won’t do it, but with continuous blows, blows in regular cadence, a vibration rhythm sets up in the walls, until suddenly the whole structure collapses. And that is the work of the church, your work, together, shoulder to shoulder, swinging the battering ram of the gospel, blow after blow, until the kingdom of Satan is shattered.

“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.” They—that’s the church—overcame, just like Christ overcame. “By the blood of the Lamb,” that’s the blood you drink every Lord’s Day. “by the word of their testimony.” That’s the Word of the Gospel you receive each Lord’s Day. Go!

Finally, we need to see that this last paragraph is important in this context. What is Jesus saying here? He is saying that a man may be freed from demons, and yet if he remains empty, the demon will return with seven demons more wicked than himself and the last end of the man will be worse than the first.

Jesus implies here that demons may be removed from the lives of people, from our own lives as well, and if our lives, our bodies, our persons, are not occupied, are not lived in by God Himself in the person of the Spirit of His Son, we are open for worse demons than those that left us, or those we got rid of. This applies to persons, to families, and to societies.

Let’s look at demons in the sense of the demons of sin. The demons of drugs and drunkenness, the demons of sexual sins, adultery, fornication, lust, homosexuality, lesbianism, pornography, the demons of greed, covetousness, the demons of anger and murder, the demons of envy and hatred, the demons of depression and fear.

What are some ways one can be rid of these? Well, one great idol today is education. Sex education. Teach them about the dangers of drugs. Psychiatry, counseling, various programs to deal with these problems, as they are called. And of course, the great cure for all ills, pass a law, and budget 15 billion dollars, and surely the problem will be solved. And there is some measure of success to some of these means. I won’t argue that. You shouldn’t argue that either. That’s not the point.

What other means are there? Your own pride may cause you to rid yourself of these things. On a personal level, in families, in society, on the international scene, how are the problems of sin addressed? With many of these programs there is some measure of success. Yet, when they are finished the house is sill empty. What then?

For you, my brother and sister, for your families, for this church, for society, for the nation, any success in dealing with the problem of sin, in getting rid of it, without Jesus Christ is doomed to a worse state than at the beginning. “Take unto you Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts.” Take unto you Jesus Christ. Receive him. It is Christ alone who will protect us, who knows all the devices and tricks of the devil to instill doubt, to make us vulnerable to Satan’s lies. For it is Christ alone who has overcome the strong man, stripped him of his armor, and plundered his house. So, beloved, take Him. He comes to you in Word and Sacrament. Believe. Receive. And let the Word and Spirit of Christ dwell in you richly, fully, completely. Amen.