Dethroning Ancient Demons: Retake Satan’s Stolen Territory for God’s Kingdom
Excerpted from The Spirit of Elijah.
You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; you were on the holy mountain of God; you walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones (Ezekiel 28:14).
Ezekiel 28:14 refers to Lucifer and his original location—the mountain of God.
It also refers to the fact that Lucifer’s rule was on the earth itself. This point is reinforced by recognizing that in every other place in the Bible where the words to describe this mountain are used, “Har Elohim” always refers to a literal, earthly mountain.
As referenced in Exodus 3:1, it refers to Horeb, where Moses saw the burning bush. Exodus 4:27 is where Moses and Aaron meet. Moses camped there in Exodus 18:5, and he climbed it to meet God in Exodus 24:13. It was where Elijah sought the Lord in 1 Kings 19:8. In every instance, it is used about a literal, earthly mountain.
My point is this: upon Lucifer losing his physical location and seat of authority on earth, he sought to gain it back by deceiving Adam. Lucifer’s plan was successful regarding Adam until he ran into the last Adam—Jesus, the Son of the Living God.
Satan wanted to show Jesus that he, the devil, had again gained a vantage point from a mountain—a position Satan acquired from Adam when the man listened to the deceiver’s voice over the Voice of God. In the following scriptures, we see that Satan wanted to enforce his dark reign on earth by tempting Jesus with quick access to ruling the nations—only under the devil’s authority.
Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is writ- ten: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’” 7 Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’” 8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me” (Matthew 4:5-9).
Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. 7 Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours” (Luke 4:5-7).
Jesus Seized The Devil’s Territory
Notice in Luke 4:5-7 how the devil had a new mountain and the ability to take Jesus to the top of the pinnacle of the temple. At this time, the people of God had zero authority over the territory and power of the devil.
Something that must be realized is that the devil is territorial! He wants territory and wishes to pervert the ways of God by reigning over all the territory he can dominate and have slaves do his bidding within his wicked domain. Opposite is the kingdom of God, which Jesus came to deliver those who believe in His name, creating a territory for His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Sons and daughters are the ones who do the will of God by preaching the gospel of the kingdom.
“Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. 32 And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.” 33 This He said, signifying by what death He would die (John 12:31-33).
Jesus was saying that He was taking back the territory, and the cur- rent ruler of this world was about to be cast out. How? By being lifted on the Cross and paying the ultimate sacrifice. Upon paying the price required to win the ability to bring those who receive Him back to the Father, Jesus additionally gained back all authority in heaven and on earth.
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18).
Jesus had completely thrown the devil out of his own party! As His Body, we are to preach the gospel and influence every corner of the physical world.
How is The Devil Still Here If Jesus Won?
If Jesus kicked the devil out, why is it that we are dealing with so much darkness in the world? The devil is still around and very active. However, he no longer has the same territory he once did. The part that the body of Christ often does not realize is that just because the devil is defeated and cast out doesn’t mean that he cannot steal, kill, and destroy through influencing unbelievers and the ungodly of this world.
Yes, Jesus won and seized the territory. A better way of saying it is that Jesus broke the devil’s absolute control over the earth and its territories, now making it possible for us to drive out demons and dominate any territory through preaching the gospel and the influence of God’s kingdom. Types and shadows of this are all over the Old Testament, especially in the Exodus, the conquest of Joshua, and when the people of God were given the promised land but had to go in, possess it, and then occupy it.
The same can be said regarding our lives in this world. Jesus gave us the authority to go in, occupy, and possess the land. However, today, it is done through influence and winning the hearts and minds of humanity over to the Lordship of Jesus. Wherever we do not bring influence and the gospel, the devil will, by default, take control by influencing unbelievers to enforce his evil kingdom. Where we don’t go and execute the Great Commission (going into the world and winning the lost to Jesus) is where darkness will set up shop. This includes all the vile demonic spirits that have worked through evil characters from the ancient days, which is why you can see a pattern of the same types of demons working through willing individuals in each generation until they run into the kingdom of God, which mature believers are enforcing.
Ancient Demons Must Be Driven Out!
Until the end of the age, we will be facing demonic strongholds over territories through human puppets of the devil. Although he has no authority over God’s people and no longer owns territory—what he does have is highly effective! The devil has the seductive power of persuasion over the unbelieving; through them, he can still exercise his desires upon humanity. He is cast out but can still greatly impact society through free moral agents who do not know Jesus or, worse, are in rebellion against the things of God.
Of all the things we as believers must begin to realize is just how crucial it is that we:
Preach the gospel.
Influence every part of society because God cannot simply do it without His Body. As 1 John 4:17 says, “…as He is, so are we in this world.”
This leads us to recognize what we are dealing with. It is not demons whisking through the unseen in front of us or around us, causing havoc. Rather, it is the battle to stop the weaponization of the hearts and minds of free moral agents before they become workers of the devil in this territory we all live in.
We are in an all-out war against the powers of darkness. Not head-on against these unseen wispy forces floating around in the invisible realm. Instead, we contend with them through their avatars. Those who are submitted to the will of hell. Those of corrupt minds operate by near remote control of these malevolent forces. That is the daily battle, the crux, the war we face. Loving our enemies, bringing the gospel to a demonized world, and influencing hearts and actions pave the way for many to see and hear the goodness of God in the land of the living.
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12).
Our fight is not with flesh and blood. It is not the people we are fighting but the forces driving them. This is why you, doing your part and taking your place in the body of Christ, is so important. You, the believer, must embrace boldness in the days of adversity before us. Why? For you, believers are the natural obstacle to darkness flooding the land. You standing in your God-given authority can drive a stake in the middle of evil plans and push them out of your orbit.
Prayer, intercession, and simply doing your calling are very potent forces when taking territory in a war. Agents act as soldiers on opposing sides. One side is hostile to God and at war with Him, while the other side is enforcing, through influence, God’s kingdom’s desire to take place on earth. Amazingly, God loves all those who are at war with Him. He is so loving and kind and unwilling that anyone should perish, but to see His will accomplished, we must act with the Word of God in our hearts and mouths, making an influential impact every- where our feet tread.
