Before we receive Christ as Lord & Savior, we are the property of Satan; we were “…DEAD in trespasses & sins. (Eph. 2:1) We walked (lived) according to the course (Gk. aion/aeom) of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons (& daughters) of disobedience.” (Eph. 2:2). We basically were captives of Satan, “& were by nature children of wrath…” (v.3).
Paul is writing to those saved believers at the Ephesian Church, reminding them of their LOST condition before accepting Christ as Lord & Savior. He tells them they were “saved through faith, & that not of yourselves” (v.8). He tells them that they “are no longer strangers & foreigners, but fellow citizens with the (other) saints & members of the household of God.” (v.19). Basically, by repenting of their sins & receiving Christ in their hearts (3:17), they changed residence: no longer were they children of wrath living with Satan’s LOST household, but now were members of God’s holy family.
With this background, I want to explore what is written in Matt. 12:44-45: “And when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, & garnished. Then goeth he, & taketh with himself 7 other spirits more WICKED than himself, & they enter in & dwell there: & the last state of that man is worse than the first.” – KJV
“Then he says, I will go back to my house from which I came out. And when he arrives he finds the place unoccupied, swept, put in order & decorated. Then he goes & brings with him 7 other spirits more wicked than himself, & they go in & make their home there. And the last condition of that man becomes worse than the first…” – Amp. Bible.
Jesus put forth this saying. He was speaking of an unclean spirit, that when cast out “he goes thru dry places, seeking rest, & finds none.” (v.43).
What is the point Jesus is making? Jesus was refuting the Pharisees lie that Jesus cast out demons in the name of *Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons (12:24). He is calling the “religious” an “evil & adulterous generation” (12:39). The background is that of “demonization.”
*[note: practically all Greek MSS, is “Beelzebul.” This is the Aramaic form of ba’alzebhûl, which in the first century may have been understood as “lord of the high house” or “of the temple.” It is a very ancient diving name. The Ras Shamra texts (1400 B.C.) describes the Canaanite god Aleyan Baal as “Zebul, baal of the earth,” & here zebhûl means “exalted one.” The god of Ekron (see 2 Kgs. 1:2) Must have been called Baal-zebul, but the Biblical writers call him Baalzebub, i.e. “lord of flies” to show their contempt for him.]
The genre is a tribute to Christ’s healing power (12:22,23), “…for a person was brought to Jesus possessed (demonized) with a devil, blind, & dumb.” This physical affliction was caused by a demon. Jesus HEALED him by “casting out” the demon (as the Pharisees stated in vs.24: “This fellow doth not CAST OUT devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.”
The generation of Jesus believed in demons (the “religious” did but did not believe in Jesus as the “Son of God!” They believed demons lived in the middle air (spirit world). In that era of time, going back into the pre-Christ era, both pagan & Jewish believed in the supernatural – good & evil. It has been said & written that Christ learned His “tricks” from an Egyptian juggler, a charge that Celsus adopted & embellished. He pictured an orthodox Jew addressing Christ scornfully: “You cured diseases…; you restored dead bodies to life; you fed multitudes with a few loaves. These are the common TRICKS of the Egyptian wizards…” (see James A. Froude’s Short Studies on Great Subjects, 1883, pp.254-57).
Q. Does Satan do good things? Jesus says that he came to steal, kill, & destroy (Jn. 10:10). Jesus came to give LIFE!
Jesus continues with his discourse with the “religious” Jews when He says, “…how can one enter into a strong man’s house, & SPOIL his goods, except he first BIND the strong man?…” (Mt. 12:29).
The strong man is Satan (using demons). The one who enters into the “house” may be God, acting thru His Son, Jesus; the strong man is Satan, & his “goods” are the “humans” whom he holds captive. It is TRUE, Jesus came to SET THE CAPTIVES FREE! (see Isa. 61:1 & Luke 4:18) Jesus came to rescue/deliver the captives (Gk.) aichmalotos.
You see, Beelzebul is “lord of the house.” Parallels are found in Enoch 10:4,5; 21:1,2.
Mark 9:38-40 deals with casting out demons. Jesus calls this “deed of power in My name.” Mk. 9:38-41 is speaking of an unknown exorcist. We see the same “spirit of jealousy” in Num. 11:26-29 between Eldad, Medad & Joshua.
Ok, back to our target texts (Mt. 12:43-45) Tobit (Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical) 8:1-3 mentions a demon that fled because of the odor of a fish. Egypt was the traditional home of magic & witchcraft (see Ex. 7:11). But in Isa. 13:21; 34:14 evil spirits dwell in deserted places, & the saying (Mt. 12:43) may refer merely to the homelessness & restlessness of the demons. I know, when we worked in Africa (several countries over the years), we would hear stories of mermaid “spirits” in the women, when confronted with the name of Jesus they would (the women) act like a fish out of water). Many women had these demons. This saying of Jesus has caused much confusion. Just what is His point? Here is just one interpretation by a Bible scholar/historian,” “verse 44, the house may be swept, & put in order, but it is nevertheless empty & therefore ready for the demon. If the demon is not to return, the empty space must be filled – with a right spirit, prayer, good deeds, the love of God.” I’m not sure if most will agree with this.
We do, however, acknowledge that human beings are houses for either evil spirits or the Holy Spirit. (1 Cor 3:16; 2 Cor. 6:16). Others say this word picture is a picture of relapse. It refers primally to insanity & other illness but applies very well to moral backsliding (which I’m more inclined to agree with). The thought continues in debate.
Jesus finishes His saying with, “Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation,” -which now being healed, is in danger of falling into the clutches of demonic powers.
How ever one interprets this, devils are persistent in filling the house! The unrepentant sinner is a home of sin & demons. Devils love company (v.45). I’ve seen some get devils cast out of them (swept, put in order), retain their deliverance for some time only to open the door & let the same demon in… with others! I saw this with a certain homosexual (in Sacto., Calif.). We worked many sessions on him before he was finally set free of a huge, nasty demon. We witnessed all kinds of colored foam (not vomit) coming out as we called out many demons associated with this SIN/ABOMINATION. On our final session he puked out a black substance (not food), it stunk terribly. The whole room stunk!!
This young man came from a Christian home, his father was a minister, his mother a very good Christian lady. But, as time had it, he began to fellowship his old (sodomite) friends, got demonized & lost his deliverance. The last time I saw him he was running with male/female “gays” & using drugs. This has been repeated over & over thru the years.
It is foolishness to think a believer cannot get re-infected (with spirits) after they’ve become a believer. We must RESIST the devil or devils. We must not open the door for them, for they WILL come in & set up camp. Some may even become apostate; some may repent & get back into God’s grace & protection. Why do we see & hear of so many sinful things happening in today’s churches? If Christians can’t sin (as some believe & teach), what do we call all this demonic stuff operating in churches… in “Christians’” lives?
If there had been no truth in demoniacal possession, Jesus would have scarcely appealed to a case of this kind here in Mt. 12:43-45. Was He pin-pointing Israel’s true condition or was He merely making a universal statement of demon activity? We do know that prophecy (in ref. to His statement, “Even so shall it be (future) also unto this wicked generation,” vs.45.
[note: prophecy can be divided into 3 categories:
1- fulfilled immediately,
2- intermediate fulfillment,
3- end-time.
We find many prophecies & their fulfillment in Scripture; others are yet to be fulfilled.
There are Messianic prophecies, two types: 1- intermediate. & 2- end-time = culminations of history.]
Back to Mt. 12:43-45:
“He walketh through dry places,” vs.43. One Bible scholar said that there seems to be a reference here to the Orphic demonology, in which evil spirits were divided into various classes, according to the different regions of their abode, or places in which they delighted. He goes on to mention 5 classes:
1- Celestial demons, 2- aerial, 3- aquatic, 4- terrestrial, & 5- subterranean demons. (one can find these mentioned in The Platonists (Orph. ad Mus. ap. Schott).
These demons, as they go thru the “dry places” seek rest (vs.43), or refreshment. Do demons walk? Do demons seek rest? I take this to mean that evil spirits find NO rest UNTIL they enter a corrupt heart!
Verse 44 tells us that a demon had been expelled from his home/house, “I will return into my house from whence I came out.” Demons clutter up a house, hence, Jesus was saying that a “Strong man” must cast out, clean out demons of the “strong man’s” house (Satan’s). Jesus was/is the Strong Man that can & will bind the strong man, Satan, and them DRIVE out the evil occupants (Mt. 12:29).
Sinful humanity is the “house” of Satan. When demons are cast out, the Holy Spirit can enter, i.e. “fill the house.” Not only the Holy Spirit, but also the Father & the Son -see Jn. 15:3 where the word “clean” is used; v.4 says Jesus will abide in the believer; take note of vs.6, “If anyone does not abide (live) in Me, he is CAST OUT.” Was not Judas clean in the beginning? What caused a believer, having Jesus in his heart, to depart from the safety of his home – in Christ? Please take note of how many times Jesus uses the word “abide”: vs.4 = 3; vs. 5 =1; vs.6 = 1; vs.7 = 2; vs.9 = 1; vs.10 = 1; vs.14 = 1; vs.18 = 1; vs.19 = 1; vs.20 = 2; vs.22 = 1; vs.24 = 1 (see my articles on the “If” / “Then” clause).
Mt. 12:44 says the demon that was expelled, came back, & “found it empty;” empty, unoccupied. Many believe that this shows that the demon had been cast out, but the person had not invited the Holy Spirit in to occupy, “be filled with the Spirit” (A.A. Allen hits on this).
Q. Can a believer -saved by repenting & having his/her sins forgiven, i.e. removed from his/her house (soul), be demonized later in life? If Jesus is putting forth this truth, yes! One can have his/her sins forgiven & have a demon or demons expelled by the working of the Holy Spirit & Christ, and still, by not keeping their houses clean, be invaded once again. One can play with sin/sins & LOSE their salvation, hence, be removed from the vine.
Here, Jesus refers to the person’s state as well as the person themself. Pursuing ungodliness rather than godliness, will open the door for evil to come in, eventually causing that person to become reprobate (see Rom. 1:28; 2 Tim. 3:8; Tit. 1:16 where “reprobate” is found: (Greek, adokimos) means “unapproved, rejected, worthless, castaway, apostate.” (see my articles, “Can a Saved Man Be Lost?”) I know the popular teaching is NO! but the Bible clearly teaches that a saved person CAN LOSE his/her salvation if they fail to keep their house clean. Why did Jesus use the word “abide” so many times as well as “if”? [Abide (Greek, menō) = “to stay (in a given place, state, relation), stand, continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain.”
Paul writes: (2 Cor. 13:5) “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? – unless indeed you are disqualified.”
“Examine,” Gk. “peirazō,” means “to test,” scrutinize, discipline, prove.” Most believers think there is no need to examine their walk with God, for they have been taught or have come to believe they CANNOT lose their salvation no matter how in the Hell they live!
Did you know “the last state of that man is WORSE than the first!” (vs.45). In short, when one falls away (apostatize) they are worse off for they have trampled the blood of Jesus. Heb. 6:6 needs to be read & believed. The original says, “haven fallen away,” not “if they fall away.” “Once one has fallen away, they crucify again for themselves the Son of God & put Him to an open shame.” (NKJV).
One Bible teacher has said, in ref. to Mt. 12:45, “His soul, before influenced by the Spirit of God, dilated & expanded under its heavenly influences, becomes more capable of refinement in iniquity, as its powers are more capacious than formerly. Evil habits are formed & strengthened by relapses; & relapses are multiplied, & become more incurable, through new habits.”
Scripture can have a double meaning. If Jesus were speaking of Israel, their rejection of their Messiah – after He had done so many miracles & taught so many truths, they still insisted on murdering Him. Their last state would be WORSE than their former.
What a horrid state of apostasy is contained in these verses (Mt. 12:43-45). What a horrid state of affairs is today’s church – full of filth, & fecal matter (i.e. religious BS!). Time to REPENT or be totally REjected!!!
P.S. Check out our other articles on demons on the front page of AggressiveChristianity.net