Why are we so intent on ‘binding’ Satan? It is not uncommon in the Charismatic and Pentecostal circles to hear quite frequently someone blurting out how they are ‘binding Satan in Jesus’ name.’ “A person will pray that Satan will be bound from blinding a person to whom they are presenting the gospel, in the belief that this will improve the likelihood of that person trusting Christ as his savior. On other occasions, people attempt to bind Satan and his demons from certain geographical locations, such as a new house the person will be moving into, a new church building, or a particular location in a city or neighborhood. Doing this, it is believed, could affect the power and moving of God in the lives of believers as well as unbelievers.”
There is coming a day when the strong man will be bound, along with his demonic host. Revelation 20:1-3 says that Satan will be bound for 1,000 years shortly after Christ's Second Coming. Following the Millennium, Satan will be deposited into the lake of fire for all eternity. The antidote for the believer is not to bind him (if Satan and the demons are being bound, who keeps letting them loose anyway?), but as 1 Peter 5:8 instructs, to "resist him, firm in your faith." Jesus himself will bind the strong man, Satan, on behalf of his Bride at a future time. He does not use believers to act in his behalf in this area. God will not be using believers to round up Satan and put him out of commission by binding. Instead, the means God will use is stated clearly in Revelation 20:1, where it says that "an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand," will do the honors. Therefore, the idea that believers have removed Satan and his demon armies from spheres of influence because they have prayed for Satan's binding is not found in the Bible and is, thereby, unbiblical.
(Parts taken from J. Beard, www.rapidnet.com)
No comments:
Post a Comment