The Strongmen

Before we pray for deliverance with the intention of casting out demons from a person it is important to identify the strongman and other demons of lower authority in that person. This calls for the gift of discerment of the spirits.

What is a strongman? Jesus described it perfectly in Matthew 12. The Pharisees were accusing Jesus for casting out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.

Jesus said, "If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? ... But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can one enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house" (Matt. 12:26, 28, 29, NKJV, emphasis added).

Here are some statements of truth:

1. The reign of Satan over people and the reign of God are in opposition. If God expels Satan from his dominion over people then His reign has come. So when we are casting out demons the Kingdom of God is upon us. We are then battling in that Kingdom and under the power of God's Kingdom against Satan's kingdom.

2. Satan would often put a strongman in a person to control that person. He is the chief demon and under him there are other demons with descending order of authority. When you begin to pray for people you will find demons will come out, but the strongman might be hiding at the bottom of the heap. He will push out other demons one or many at a time instead of coming out himself. Therefore until you get to the strongman the person is not delivered.

Prominent Strongmen over cities and Churches

It is beyond the scope of this message to deal with all known strongmen in the Bible. There are three prominent Strongmen that can be easily identified - these are Jezebel, anti-Christ and Death and Hade (come in a pair).

1. Jezebel

Jezebel is the name of two women in the Bible. One is the wife of Ahab, king of Israel (1 Kings 16:31) and the other is a self-claimed prophetess of Thyatira (Rev. 2:20). The description of both of these women, which is quite similar, gives us a picture of the Strongman Jezebel. She represents idolatry and withchcraft. The pagan world referred her as the queen of heaven and they worshipped her since time immemorial.

Jezebel, the Strongman over a city

Jezebel was the Strongman over Babylon. She was the evil power behind Babylon. God's people were put captive in Babylon for 70 years (Jeremiah 25:11) under the hands of Jezebel because of their disobedience.

Isaiah spoke to her, "Therefor hear this now, you who are given to pleasure, who dwell securely, who say in your heart, 'I am, and there is no one else besides me; I shall not sit as a widow, nor shall I know the loss of children'; but these two things shall come to you in a moment, in one day; the loss of children, and widowhood. They shall come upon you in their fullness because of the multitide of your sorceries, for the great abundance of your enchantments" (Isaiah 47:8, 9, emphasis added).

Here are some statements of truth:

1. Jezebel was proud and arrogant. She said, "I am, and there is no one else besides me" and therefore claimed herself to be God.

2. Jezebel was the queen behind all sorceries, witchcraft, domination, idolatry, adultery, fornication, astrology, fortune telling, soothe-saying and stargazing and the like.

3. Jezebel's days were numbered and she would receive judgment from God.

Jezebel, the Strongman over the Church

Jesus commanded an angel to write to the Church in Thyatira:

"Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent. Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds. I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and heart. and I will give to each one of you according to your works" (Rev. 20 - 23, NKJV, emphasis added).

Here are some statements of truth:

1. Jezebel will dwell in the Church if we allow her.

2. Jezebel is a false prophetess and she will seduce Church leaders and causes them to commit sexual immorality (both physical and spiritual). And God hates all forms of sexual immorality.

3. Believers who commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols are children of Jezebel.

4. God gives time for Jezebel and her children to repent.

5. God searches the minds and hearts of Churchgoers and if they are children of Jezebel with the spirit of Jezebel He will pronounce judgment on them. They will be judged together with the Strongman Jezebel unless they repent.

Jezebel, the mother of harlot and abomination

Many Bible teachers, the moment they read about the harlot spirit of Babylon as described in Rev. 17, they will tell you that is the spirit in the Catholic Church. In my opinion it refers to any Church that opens its door to the Jezebel spirit similar to the Church in Thyatira.

Revelation 18 describes the judgment of Jezebel and God's people are urged to come out of her:

"Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues, for her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities" (Rev. 18:4, 5).

2. The Anti-Christ

The term "Anti-Christ" in Scripture does not mean someone who is against Christ but means someone who takes the place of Christ. He is a false Christ.

Paul said, "Let no one deceive you by any means; for the Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God. ... And now you know what is restraining, that he may revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. ..." (2 Thess. 2:3 - 7, emphasis added).

Here are some statements of truth:

1. The anti-Christ is the man of sin or the son of perdition.

2. The anti-Christ opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God.

3. The Holy Spirit is restraining the anti-Christ and his appearance. He will only be revealed after the true Church, together with the Holy Spirit, is taken away by God.

4. But the spirit of the anti-Christ, which is the spirit of lawlessness, is already at work in the world as well as in some Churches. When you see any form of lawlessness anywhere, you can be sure that anti-Christ, the Strongman, is at work.

The spirit of Lawlessness

You cand find the Strongman (evil spirit) of lawlessness and his children of lawlessness almost everywhere. The Strongman is at work in political scenes, in terrorism, in suicide bombing, in senseless killing, in gang rape, in mass murder, in break-in of properties, in rock concert and you name it. Children of lawlessness are at work in any form of blasphemy, in suicide, in corrupt communication, in outburst of wrath, in curses, all forms of rebellion, in wickedness, in rejection, in selfish ambition, in corruptive practices, in strive, and the list goes on.

An example of spirit of lawlessness at work in the Church is when you see a Pastor committing suicide. In my opinion committing suicide, which is same as the killing of self, is the most serious sin. Repentance is not available for the person who commits suicide simply because a dead person cannot repent!

3. Death and Hades

The common way is to look at death as a state or condition. It is the cessation of life, the experience which results in the separation of the spirit from the body. Since the Fall everyone experiences spiritual death as well as physical death.

The New Testament Scripture reveals that Death and Hades are actually persons:

John saw a vision of the forth horseman, "And I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him" (Rev. 6:8).

It is obvious from this account that both Death and Hades are persons. Only a person could sit on a horse, and only another person could follow along with the first one.

I believe both Death and Hades are Strongmen or dark angels, but they have different "ministries". Death claims the spirit of every unrighteous person that is separated from his body when he dies. Hades receives him from Death and conduct him to the realm of the departed spirit from which he receives his name - that is Hades.

Just like the other two strongmen, Death and Hades also have children of lower ranks. Among the children of Death and Hades that cause harm to Christians and non-Christians are seen in curses, frequent accidents, succession of deaths in the family, a tendency to miscarry or related female problems, incurable diseases like AIDS and certain types of cancer, repeated or chronic sicknesses, drug addiction, plaques and the list goes on.

The destiny of Death and Hades is depicted by John as he gave us a picture of the final resurrection of the dead:

"The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each on according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:13, 14).

It is interseting to realize that Jesus Himself says we can avoid seeing Death:

"Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death" (John 8:51, JKJV, emphasis added).

In other words, the condition for not seeing death is to obey and be doer of His Word and to follow all the commands in the Bible. In my opinion anyone who compromises the truth of God's Word in order to please men is excluded.

Notice that Jesus does not say here that the believer will not experience physical death. He says that the believer will not "see death" - "death" as a Strongman.

Jesus maens that the spirit of the true believer (who keeps His Word), on departing from the body, will never come under the dominion of these two Strongmen, Death and Hades. Rather, like Lazarus the beggar (Luke 16:19 - 31) whose departed spirit was met by God's angels and by them escorted to Paradise. In fact, the destiny of the spirit of the true born again believer is into the presence of Jesus and God immidiately in his physical death.