THE DEVIL IN DUCT TAPE
Christians gather souls into the everlasting family of the one
true God. Jesus said: “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye
therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them; teaching them to observe all
things whatsoever I have commanded you: and low, I am with you always” (Matt. 28:18-20).
The devil is also working to gather souls. But until the final takedown of his
kingdom, we have been given power in Christ to bind Satan and his minions so
that the message of Christ gets to the people.
Notice that Jesus spoke to Satan directly. We are supposed to do
that too. Jesus “turned, and said unto Peter,
‘Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me:
for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men’”
(Matt. 16:23). Jesus wasn’t saying that Peter was the embodiment of Satan, but
rather that Satan was present and was spiritually influencing Peter’s mind with
a lie. Peter believed the lie and passed it on. He told Jesus he didn’t have to
die. Not true! Jesus had to experience death. He paid the price for our sins so
we could live forever with him.
When Jesus spoke to Satan, he showed us that we
are not in a flesh war, but a spiritual one. “For we wrestle not against flesh
and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of
the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Eph. 6:12).
The strongest entity in the devil’s kingdom is Satan himself
(named by some as Lucifer or the devil). If we are to win souls to God, we
often need to take them back from the devil’s possession. In Revelation 18, we
are told that the devil considers people as mere merchandise.
“And the
merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her [Babylon]; for no man
buyeth their merchandise any more: the merchandise of gold, and silver,
and precious stones, . . . and cinnamon, and ointments, and frankincense, and
wine . . . , and horses, and chariots, and slaves [bodies], and souls of men”
(Rev. 18: 11-13).
Jesus says we must enter the strong man’s house to take back
captured souls. Then he asks the question: “How
can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first
bind the strong man? And then he will spoil his house” (Matt.
12:29).
“Spoil” is translated from the Greek for “plunder or seize.” And
“goods” is translated from the Greek words meaning “men of quality, chosen
instruments.” So when we read Matthew 12:29, we know that we can bind the ruling
demons and then take back the hearts and souls of God’s chosen.
So how do we do this? Jesus said: “And I will
give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou
shalt bind on
earth shall be bound in heaven” (Matt. 16:19a).
And “Behold, I give unto you power to
tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the
enemy” (Luke 10:19).
The strong man in every evil situation will be the
devil or one of his minions. So, if we are to bind a demon, I like first to
bind Satan himself. I get a mental picture of Satan wrapped tightly in duct
tape: arms bound to his sides, feet bound together, mouth covered—you get the vision.
The Lord may give you a different picture that works for you.
When I bind Satan, he has no effect, no mobility;
he is captured entirely in duct tape. So then, in the same way, I bind the
ruling demon groups mentioned in Ephesians 6:12: principalities, powers, rulers
of the darkness of this world, and spiritual wickedness in high places.
Then I do the same with any other specific demon
names that the Lord drops into my spirit. Lately, it’s been a lot of spirits of
blindness, which includes the lack of spiritual perception (connected to those “rulers
of darkness of this world”). Looking up the use of the word “darkness” in a
Bible Concordance is a revealing, informative, and fascinating study.
Lastly, I ask for angels to go out to do whatever
it takes to get to the hearts of whoever I am praying for. With this
mental/spiritual duct tape picture, I can see and believe for an opening to the
victim’s heart and soul.
Binding the devil himself is top-level stuff. But
with our Lord Jesus Christ, we are top level! Colossians 1:27 says: “To whom
God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the
Gentiles; which is Christ in you.” And one of my favorites: “For it
is God which worketh in you both to will and to
do of his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13).
You and I are way more powerful than we think
when it comes to power over any enemy. With eyes on the Lord and duct tape in
hand, “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper” (Isa.
54:17). We make a big difference in the world now and into the world to come.
Love, Carolyn
You can find my publications on Amazon and I’m
now working on a new book as well. 😊
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