THE POWER OF THE SON OF GOD

The Gospels give us many statements concerning demons, and they clearly state that christ defeated the reign of Satan with his cross and established the reign of God.  The demons who possessed the Gerasene man exclaimed, What is there between us, Son of God? Have you come to torment us before our time?  This an obvious reference to the fact that the power of Satan's power, therefore, still exists and will continue to exist until our salvation will be completed, because the accuser of our brethren will be cast out (Rv 12:10).....

If we see everything in the light of the centrality of Christ, we can see God's plan, who created everything "for him and in expectation of him." And we can see the actions of Satan, the enemy, the tempter, the accuser.  By means of his temptation, evil, pain, sin, and death entered the world.  It is in this context that we are able to see the restoration of God's plan, which Christ accomplished at the cost of his blood.

In this context, we are made aware of the power of the devil.  Jesus calls him the prince of this world. John affirms that the whole world is in the power of the evil one (1 Jn 5:19); by the world John means everything that is opposed to God.  Satan was the brightest of the angels; he became the most evil of the devils and their chief.  The demons remain bound to the same strict hierarchy that was given them when they were angels: principalities, thrones, dominions, and so on (Col 1:16).  However, while the angels, whose chief is Michael, are bound by a hierarchy of love, the demons live under a rule of slavery.

We are also made aware of the action of Christ, who shattered the reign of Satan and established the Kingdom of God.  This is why the instances where Jesus freed those possessed by demons become particularly important.  When Peter teaches Cornelius about Christ, he does not mention any miracle besides the fact that he cured all those who had fallen under the power of the devil (Acts 10:38).  We understand, then, why the first authority that Jesus gave his apostles was the power to expel demons.  We can make the same statement for all believers: These are the signs that will be associated with believers: in my name they will cast out devils (Mk 16:17).  Thus Jesus heals and reestablishes the divine plan that had been ruined by the rebellion of some of the angels and by our forefathers.

Father Gabriele Amorth, Former Chief Exorcist of Rome and Author

Magnificat https://us.magnificat.net/ July 2020 Vol 22, No. 5 page 26.