Jesus said he saw Satan thrown out of heaven like a bolt of lightning in Luke 10:17. When was Satan cast out of heaven?
111.6Let’s begin by reading Luke 10:1, “After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.” Now let’s skip down and read Luke 10:17-18, “And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.” The Lord appointed and sent out these seventy disciples into certain cities to go before Him. They returned with reports of great success, so much so that even the devils, or demons, had obeyed them through the power of the Lord’s name.
The Lord is commenting on the success of the disciples’ missionary trip. He had been watching over them and saw how the demons were stripped of their power at the mention of His name. How could Christ have watched these men if He was not physically with them? He is God. He sees and knows everything!
Let’s look at an exchange between the Lord Jesus and Nathanael in John 1:47-51, “Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel. Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these. And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.” Nathanael marveled that the Lord has seen him, although the Lord had not been physically with him.
The Lord’s words in Luke 10:18 were spoken in a prophetic sense of how Satan would eventually be defeated and fall from Heaven, and that would also be through the power of the name of the Lord Jesus. Let’s read of that yet future event in Revelation 12:7-9, “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” This will happen during the seven year Tribulation Period, after the church has been raptured to Heaven by Christ Himself.
The day is rapidly drawing nearer. The Lord could very well come today to take His people to be with Himself in Glory. Are you ready, my friend? If the Lord should come today for His redeemed people, would you go with Him? Have you accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your savior? If not, I urge you to consider your need of a savior. Consider how God loves you so much that He sent His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to die for your sins so that you might be forgiven. We read in Romans 5:8, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” God loves you. He wants you to receive the free gift of salvation that comes through accepting the Lord Jesus as your savior. Romans 10:9 tells us, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” (111.6)