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Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy
Welcome to Day 986 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.
I am Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom
Satan Falls Like Lightning - Wisdom Wednesday


Thank you for joining us for our five days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. Today is Day 986 of our trek, and it is Wisdom Wednesday  Creating a Biblical worldview is important to have a proper perspective on today’s current events.

To establish a Biblical worldview, it is required that you also have a proper understanding of God’s word. Especially in our western cultures, we do not fully understand the scriptures from the mindset and culture of the authors. In order to help us all have a better understanding of some of the more obscure passages in God’s word, we are investing Wisdom Wednesday reviewing a series of essays from one of today’s most prominent Hebrew Scholars Dr. Micheal S. Heiser. He has compiled these essays into a book titled I Dare You Not to Bore Me with the Bible.

Lightning can be beautiful to watch, and yet it is quite destructive and dangerous. In the New Testament, there is another entity that falls like lightning, which may seem beautiful but desires to destroy us.

Today’s essay will explore…
Satan Falls Like Lightning
In one of the more mysterious verses in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus tells His disciples in Luke 10:18, “'Yes,' he told them, 'I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning!'"

The question isn't about the “what” of Jesus' statement. It's clear that Satan is under judgment. Rather, the confusion is over the “when” of the statement. It might sound like a reference to when Satan became Satan, before the Garden of Eden, abandoning his status among God s heavenly host, but that conclusion would be too hasty.

We basically have three options when it comes to figuring out the timing of Satan’s fall: before, during, or after Jesus own time. Many people have offered opinions. Perhaps the most common interpretation is that Jesus is seeing or remembering the original fall of Satan. This option makes little sense in context. Prior to the statement, Jesus had sent out the disciples to heal and preach that the kingdom of God had drawn near to them (Luke 10:1-9). They return amazed and excited by the fact that demons were subject to them in the name of Jesus. Luke 10:17 says, "When the seventy-two disciples returned, they joyfully reported to him, 'Lord, even the demons obey us when we use your name!'”  Jesus replied to their proclamation, “'Yes,' he told them, 'I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning!'"



There is a connection between the kingdom, the defeat of demons, and Satan. But if Satan’s fall in Luke 10:18 speaks of an event in the remote past, why wasn’t the kingdom established then? Why was Satan still powerful when Jesus showed up on the scene? Even with the kingdom of Israel under David and the presence of God in the temple, the power and influence of Satan is evident on nearly every page of Old Testament history.

The view that Jesus was referring to Satan’s fall during his own ministry is better, but it is not without problem. We don't read anywhere in the Bible of anyone casting out demons prior to Jesus ministry. That display of power, as well as the announcements of the kingdom and the ruling authority of God on earth, is unmistakable. This is consistent with what Luke writes in the next chapter.

This is where Luke identifies Jesus as the one who handles the ''strong man.” It is Jesus who binds Satan. With Jesus having bound the strong man (Satan), He and His disciples can plunder Satan's realm. This seems to tie in with what Jesus says after His statement about Satan where He grants the disciples power over the forces of evil...