Mark 3:23-25 says, "And calling them to Himself, He said to them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan? And if a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom is not able to stand; and if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand." 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he is not able to stand but has come to an end. 27 But no one can enter into the house of the strong man and thoroughly plunder his goods unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will thoroughly plunder his house.
[Part 1 of 2]The Lord's word here indicates that Satan has not only a house but also a kingdom. His house is a house of sin (1 John 3:8, 10), and his kingdom is a kingdom of darkness (Col. 1:13). Sinners belong both to Satan's house and to his kingdom. The demons belong to his kingdom and possess people for his kingdom. Satan is the ruler of this world (John 12:31) and the ruler of the power of the air (Eph. 2:2). He has his authority (Acts 26:18) and his angels (Matt. 25:41), who are his subordinates as principalities, powers, and rulers of the darkness of this world (Eph. 6:12). Hence, Satan has his kingdom, the authority of darkness (Col. 1:13). We have seen that Satan has both a house and a kingdom. Satan's kingdom is against God's kingdom, and Satan's house is against God's house. The "goods" here [in v. 27] are sinners kept in Satan's house for his kingdom. The Slave-Savior bound Satan, the strong one, and entered into his house to plunder his goods so that the sinners might be brought into the house of God (Eph. 2:19) through regeneration for the kingdom of God (John 3:5). While the Slave-Savior was doing the gospel service, He was binding the strong one, Satan. The gospel service is a warfare to destroy Satan and his kingdom of darkness. (c) Living Stream Ministry.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of Mark, pp. 110-111. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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