And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. And the dragon and his angels waged war, and they were not strong enough (let’s get that point established firmly in our mind: they were not strong enough), and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. This is another phrase that bears repeating often so that we don’t forget it: they no longer had a place—thank God for that! Poor little homeless devils—where shall we send them? And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them before our God day and night.
“And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even to death. For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea; because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.” Revelation 12:7–12.
He has only a short time! Praise the Lord for that! It’s always good to reduce your enemy down to Scriptural proportions, because he is continually trying to present himself as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. He comes raging because he has only a short time. If you had a short time, you’d rage too. But eternity is ours. Everything is ours. As for the victory that Christ won over Satan, it is the will of God the Father that we are the ones who shall execute it.
We could go into a great deal of expository teaching on this passage from Revelation, but instead, let me ask you several questions. Do you notice that until Satan was thrown down, he had access to the Father, so that he might accuse us day and night. Satan has a certain intelligence and though he is a lie and the father of it, he understands God’s world. For many thousands of years, he has been able to bluff and to bluster. Why didn’t the Father just banish him? Why didn’t He send Satan to hell and forget it? Why did Christ the Creator come into a world that had fallen under sin and under Satan’s snare, to die in order to get dominion over Satan? Why was it all done in that manner? You have to understand what God was trying to do all this time. I don’t blame God for not doing anything about Satan. I honor Him for it.
Romans 16:20 tells us, And the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. That is the reason God didn’t do anything about Satan. He never intended to have an encounter with Satan. Christ never intended to do more than just defeat him, as far as all requirements were concerned.
John 16:8–11 says: “Now is the judgment of this world; now shall the prince of this world be cast down. The Holy Spirit comes to convict the world concerning sin, and judgment; for judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.” From this it is very evident that the Holy Spirit is accomplishing this too—but through the Church. Christ is accomplishing it—but through His many-membered Body. The Father intended that the agency of Satan’s defeat would not be His sovereign moving, but His moving through a many-membered Body. It was the divine intention that the victory of Jesus Christ would be manifested through you. We war not against flesh and blood. Principalities and powers are the enemies we war against, but we do not approach them as though the victory were not won. The victory has already been won. Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. I Corinthians 15:57.
We are administrators of the estate. We are the executioners. Already the sentence has been passed. We take the name of Jesus and we cast out devils and send them into the abyss, not because we are so wonderful, but because that is God’s plan. It is God’s divine order that this is the way it’s going to be done, through you and through me. And if you are concerned that this Walk involves a lot of battle and spiritual warfare, thank God for it. It’s the greatest thing that ever happened. We’re at that point in the history of man where God has ordained that the heavens will be cleared, and though Satan will rage on the earth for a while, there is to be no place for him. No place for him! After the seventy had gone out to minister, they came back rejoicing that even the demons were subject to them. Then Jesus said, “I saw Satan fall from heaven.” He saw him fall (Luke 10:17, 18).
Do you know what is taking place in this Walk? More and more we are magnifying the Lordship of Jesus Christ, but we are doing so because that Lordship and that victory which Christ has won is being executed through us. We’re the ones! I feel that once we understand what is really ours, what is our destiny, and the fact that it is our place to do this, then we can proceed with the next phase of operation. We can stand and begin to go after the thing God raised us up to do. I think it is twofold: first, the judgment of the prince of this world and seeing him cast out; and second, loosing creation from its futility and entering into the things that belong to our victory.
In Iowa we saw tremendous things happen back in 1974. Some of the people went down the rows of corn, rebuking the deadly weed that has been sweeping across the country for three years. They went to the cattle and rebuked the face flies that cluster on the faces of the animals and come at their eyes, causing them to go blind. They cleared those flies off of the animals, and they didn’t come back. We know the power we have to bless, but I don’t think we really understand what we can do in bringing down the forces of evil. We need to enter in with an audacious faith.
People have been conditioned too long into accepting something less than what God wants them to have now. It’s time for us to again approach things that we’ve tried to do, but have not been able to do. I don’t know whether you understand how far we have progressed into the period of the greater works. There must be a continual awakening of the people, “Look, you’re moving on with the Lord. You’re more submissive. God has dealt deeply in your life. The things that frustrated and hindered His moving are being removed.” We’re going on and on to a deeper and deeper depth. I believe we could enter into the spiritual warfare and into claiming blessings from the Lord, on a level that we do not yet realize we have attained. We’ve gone further than we know.
For several months, I’ve been increasingly aware that we’re deeper into the Parousia and the Kingdom age than we know. We don’t realize it because it’s such a secret thing. The Kingdom is not coming with observation, that people say, “Lo here it is; there it is.” Even the saints of God are not aware that the Kingdom is coming forth within them. You don’t realize how far God has moved to bring authority to you, to bring you to that place He wants you to fill.
You may say, “I’m afraid there are still things in my life that shouldn’t be there.” I don’t doubt it. That is probably true of all of us, but God is moving very rapidly to accomplish the one thing that has to be done. The arrogance of the human mind and its great unbelief coexist simultaneously as the greatest enemies of what God wants. When we come into the humility, we will have the key of inheriting the earth. When we come into being poor in our spirit, then ours is the Kingdom from that moment on. We must come to the place where we determine that what God says is the truth, no matter what the world has seen or what has existed upon the world for centuries; that has nothing to do with it. There must be the first people to believe that it can be done. There must be the first people to walk up to a mountain and cast it into the sea. There has to be the first person to tackle something even greater than the works Christ did in His ministry. This is something we must feel in our spirit.
There are principalities and spirits that have reigned over certain areas in this country since the days when only the Indians lived here.
These principalities are going to be broken. I can see that God has a company of humble people who are going to walk confidently through the land and loose it from these elemental spirits that have fastened themselves to certain areas. People are going to be loosed into believing in divine health, into taking dominion over everything that comes against them, as they stand and war in the spirit against the principalities and powers.
Why didn’t God put an end to Satan? Why did He have to countenance Satan being there, constantly accusing all of us? Because it was the will of God that we were to be the instruments of executing the judgment of Christ, Ephesians 3:10 and 11 tells us that this was God’s plan: to manifest through the Church His wisdom to the principalities and powers. They may be smarter than you and I, but they are not smarter than God. And as His wisdom comes upon us, we’ll know how, within our generation, to see not only the heavens freed of them, but the earth also.
Now they are raging against us. Why did they accuse us? Because Satan and these demon powers knew that we are the instruments of their downfall. So there was nothing else for them to do but to constantly accuse us of our unworthiness. But we stand before God and we prevail on another basis. We overcome Satan by the blood of the Lamb, for this was the price of his defeat, and by the word of our testimony, because the Word of God in our mouth is the agency of the execution of his defeat, and because we do not love our lives, even to death.
Human beings are controlled by the human instinct of self-preservation, feeling they have to defend themselves, and loving their life so much that they will go through all kinds of suffering rather than to give it up. But here is a bold people who will walk right in the face of principalities and powers, who love not their lives, even unto death. When God has refined out of us the old carnal instincts of the human nature, we’re going to walk as the regenerated children of God, and by the blood of Jesus Christ and the word we speak, we’re going to see Satan completely brought to an end.
Do you feel the blessedness of this in your own spirit? You know what God is going to do, don’t you? Where Satan once stood in the presence of the Father, accusing you continually, now he will find no place there—no place! He may still be accusing you here, and that is why we come under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Because of the precious blood and because he’s been cast out of heaven, Satan can’t accuse us before God any longer, but he still brings self-condemnation to us. He can war against us to prevent us from accepting God’s verdict. Although God has accepted us, we often will not accept ourselves. Satan accuses us and brings that self-condemnation to us, and we wallow in it. But it’s time for us to arise and overcome him by the blood of Jesus Christ that brings us into a worthiness in the midst of our unworthiness, and by a word of testimony as we speak that word, positively declaring it in the name of the Lord.
We’re not afraid to die. Christ delivers those who were all their lifetime subject to bondage through the fear of death. It’s gone. This is what Hebrews 2:14, 15 tells us, Since then the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil; and might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. He delivers us from that instinct of self-preservation, from all fear, and brings us to the place where we walk confidently into the precious victory that the Lord Jesus Christ has for us.
Now, what’s the next step? With all my heart, I believe the next step is the manifestation of the sons of God, that we take that doctrine which seems to be something so far in the future and yank it into the present. If you think it’s waiting for some superrace before it comes, you’re mistaken. For it is God’s pleasure that by His grace, through the blood and the word of testimony, the people who have lost all fear of death in their complete dedication to the Lord are the ones who will overcome him. We’re going to overcome him!
Let it be said now of all our churches as it was said there in that mighty battle in Revelation 12: The demons were not strong enough. They were not strong enough! There’s no place found for them. No place!
We have battled and battled, but God deliver us from the last vestiges of self-condemnation. Bring us to the place that by the blood we overcome, by the blood we stand righteous in His sight, and by the precious blood we move right into that victory over Satan. If anything stands in the way, get it out of the way now!
For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will, but because of Him who subjected it… Creation followed man into the state of vanity or futility. After man had fallen, God did not ordain that creation should remain perfect as He had created it, so He put creation in a state of futility also, … in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. Romans 8:19–21. When we come into this liberty as children of God, creation has to follow us.
When the Israelites were delivered out of Egypt, it was because Moses had the faith to refuse every compromise proposed by Pharoah. He said, “Not one hoof will be left behind. When we go out, our wives and our children go too, our cattle go out, the chickens go, the dogs go, everything goes. Not one hoof will be left behind.” We’ve applied this to our salvation, that when you believe God for salvation, why not believe for yourself and also for your household to be saved? But as we’re dealing with God’s great redemptive work, let’s pursue this a little further. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit (we know we have the first fruits of the Spirit), even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. Romans 8:23. That is why Satan is doing everything he can to fight all of us in our bodies. The physical is the battleground, because that is the last phase of redemption. The Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead … will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you. Romans 8:11. We’re in a battle and if you follow your senses and try to reason it out, it doesn’t make sense at all. The carnal mind with its reasoning is not going to accept what God is doing.
From the minute we get into this Walk with God, we start learning spiritual warfare. You say, “It’s terrible. I never was in such battle before.” This is what you’re cutting your teeth on. You are learning how to come against powers, because this is your destiny. There’s no place for them up there. And they’re raging down here because their time is short. There will not be any place for them here either. Soon there will be only one place for them, and that in due course, when we’ve established this victory that is ours.
Now we wait for this glorious redemption. What do we do about it? We’ll not preach it as an ethereal doctrine of the future. Begin to believe for God to cleanse you, to make you holy, to let you walk before Him by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, aware of this victory. Walk into the battle, walk into the testing, walk into the things that come against you physically. Don’t draw back. This is what you were called for. All creation is waiting for us. Even the little tulips seem to be nodding their heads and saying, “Hi there. We’re waiting for you to liberate us.” Everything is waiting—eagerly waiting.
Travail is upon it. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. Romans 8:22. Even with the futility that is upon nature, if you listen on a quiet day, you can hear all of nature groaning in childbirth, just as anxious for the Kingdom as can be. Things are ready to change. “Oh,” you say, “I just can’t wait until the Lord changes them.” No, you mean you can’t wait until you change them. You change them. First you change, and then you change the conditions. This is your destiny. This is your prerogative. Satan’s destiny is to be bruised under your feet shortly. Get ready. Practice your stomping. Get accustomed to it. Just keep thinking in your mind, “I am going to be more than a conqueror through Christ who loved me. Satan was not strong enough. No place for him. His time is very short.” We have to get accustomed to the application of this victory.
Some of you know in your heart that there isn’t anything you want more than to break out of those last traces of self-condemnation, to dump that last vestige of the old flesh nature. Can it be done? It can be done! It’s the time for it now. Once when Christ was winning great victories, the demons screamed out: “Art Thou come to torment us before the time?” Every demon knows that it’s just a short time. They rushed into the pigs and the pigs ran over the precipice into the sea (Matthew 8:28–32). The demons would plead with Jesus, “Don’t send us out of the country. Let us have some place to go.” Now they come, saying the same thing. Sniveling little devils, they are whining, “They said there was no place there for us. We weren’t strong enough. Our time was so short. Are you come to torment us before the time?” And we answer, “Oh, it is the time. This is the time now! This is it. It’s the time!”
Think of everything the enemy has brought against you. He rages against you. He wants to condition you with that spirit of futility that is on all creation, until you automatically accept a level that Christ does not intend for you to accept, you accept limitations that Christ does not intend for you to accept, you accept a place far inferior to what God shows.
It’s the time. It’s time for you to move into your place as a child of God. It’s time for the ministers to move into the authority that belongs to them in the name of the Lord. It’s the time for me to move into the authority that God wants me to move in. It’s the time for the young people to accept absolute total perfect victory over the flesh and the devil and the world. You’re born of God and you’re to overcome the world. It’s the time. It’s the time!
With the aggressiveness of our faith, we look about us and the cry rings out again, “There remaineth much land yet to be possessed.” We’re going to have it. We do violence to the restrictions in our thinking. We determine to walk in this word, in the name of the Lord. We determine that every obnoxious thing that we see in our nature, we will bring to the cross and reckon it dead. We determine that every glorious victory we have seen wrought by Christ and confirmed in the Word, we will claim as ours in the name of the Lord. We’ve had enough of these spirits battling us. We will see an end of them shortly—under our feet.
Take a practical step. Never let the Word of God come only to give you a distant goal. This has been the frustration of Christianity. They’re always talking about something so far out in the future. Let’s take a step now. Get your eye on the promise, but do everything you can to bring it into the present. Start walking in it. If you think of yourself as an instrument in the hand of God, you’ll bypass self-condemnation and the sense of inadequacy, and you will believe in your destiny. You will believe in the Christ who enables us, who makes us able ministers of His new covenant. You will believe in the sufficiency that comes from God. You’ll never believe in your own self as being sufficient or worthy, but you’ll start rebuking, you’ll start moving with an audaciousness of faith. You’ll say to the Lord, “Lord, let me walk on water, too. Bid me to come. Speak to me that I move out.” It’s time to do it. It’s the time. It’s the time!