Luk 10:19 | KingComments | STEP | Immediately after the sending of the seventy, Luke mentions their return. They have carried out their task. Excited, they come to the Lord to tell Him how wonderful it was to exercise their authority over demons. They do not speak a word about their preaching and the result of it. The authority exercised has made a great impression on them. That is what they did, didn’t they? After all, every victory over satan is one. The Lord tempers their enthusiasm. They don’t have to be so excited about their authority over demons. They do not have that authority of themselves. He tells them that in the spirit He saw satan fall from heaven like lightning ( ). To Him it is important that satan loses his place in heaven. He says He has seen much further than what they have done. They are impressed by the here and now, while He has seen the future and final defeat of satan. Every ‘partial victory’ over satan is advance on what awaits him. As for their authority, the Lord has given it to them. If they can stand in victory over all the power of the enemy, it is because He protects them. The fact that the spirits are subject to them is not something to make a great fuss about. What should really make them, and us, to rejoice, is that their, and our, names are recorded in heaven. On earth our names are recorded in the place where we live. Here the Lord Jesus says that our names are recorded in heaven , which means that there is our home. We have a heavenly citizenship ( ). We can rejoice about that, more than about the exercise of authority on earth. Our names are removed from earthly registers when we die. Our names are never removed from the heavenly register. Heaven is our eternal home. This joy can only be our part if we have certainty of faith. If we doubt our salvation, that joy is not there, but tormenting uncertainty. This is not the work of the Holy Spirit, but of unbelief.

‏ Luke 10:19

Return of the Seventy

Immediately after the sending of the seventy, Luke mentions their return. They have carried out their task. Excited, they come to the Lord to tell Him how wonderful it was to exercise their authority over demons. They do not speak a word about their preaching and the result of it. The authority exercised has made a great impression on them. That is what they did, didn’t they? After all, every victory over satan is one.

The Lord tempers their enthusiasm. They don’t have to be so excited about their authority over demons. They do not have that authority of themselves. He tells them that in the spirit He saw satan fall from heaven like lightning (Rev 12:9). To Him it is important that satan loses his place in heaven. He says He has seen much further than what they have done. They are impressed by the here and now, while He has seen the future and final defeat of satan. Every ‘partial victory’ over satan is advance on what awaits him.

As for their authority, the Lord has given it to them. If they can stand in victory over all the power of the enemy, it is because He protects them. The fact that the spirits are subject to them is not something to make a great fuss about.

What should really make them, and us, to rejoice, is that their, and our, names are recorded in heaven. On earth our names are recorded in the place where we live. Here the Lord Jesus says that our names are recorded in heaven, which means that there is our home. We have a heavenly citizenship (Phil 3:20). We can rejoice about that, more than about the exercise of authority on earth. Our names are removed from earthly registers when we die. Our names are never removed from the heavenly register. Heaven is our eternal home.

This joy can only be our part if we have certainty of faith. If we doubt our salvation, that joy is not there, but tormenting uncertainty. This is not the work of the Holy Spirit, but of unbelief.