In Luke 10, the Lord sends seventy men out to announce that He is the Christ and is offering the kingdom of God to that generation of Jews. To prove that their message was true, the Lord said they would be able to heal the sick (10:9).
When the seventy returned from their preaching tour, they told the Lord that not only were they able to heal the sick, but they were also able to cast out demons (10:17). In Christ’s name and power, demons had no choice but to obey them.
Jesus responded by saying, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” I have often heard that this refers to the fall of Satan. When Satan sinned, he and a third of the angels were cast out of heaven. Those who take this position maintain that the Lord had Isa 14:12 in mind: “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!” Many feel that Isaiah was describing the original sin and fall of Satan.
Not all agree that Isa 14:12 is talking about Satan. Some think Isaiah was talking about the king of Babylon. Whether or not Isaiah was referring to Satan, I feel confident that in Luke 10:18 the Lord was not speaking about the original fall of Satan.
The Lord told the seventy that He had given them authority to “trample on serpents and scorpions,” and that the “power of the enemy” would not be able to harm them (10:19). The seventy didn’t literally trample on scorpions. Serpents and scorpions are illustrations of the deadly results of the actions of Satan and his forces. The enemies of Christ will not be able to stop the coming of His kingdom. The things that the seventy were able to do showed the power of Christ, His ability to bring in His kingdom, and the defeat of Satan.
Christ’s statement about seeing Satan fall like lightning from heaven spoke to Satan’s weakness. Yet despite Satan’s powerlessness to overcome the Lord’s power and authority, that generation of Jews did not see the coming of Christ’s kingdom because it rejected the offer and the King.
But another generation of Jews will see the coming of the kingdom. I find it interesting that Rev 9:1–6—which describes events that will happen immediately before Christ’s kingdom is established—shares many similarities with Luke 10.
John sees a “star fallen from heaven” (Rev 9:1). This star seems to be an evil ally of Satan. He releases creatures from the bottomless pit. These creatures seem to be demonic in nature. They can torment people the way a scorpion causes pain when it strikes (Rev 9:5).
In Rev 9:1–6, the forces of Satan are causing pain. But as the rest of Revelation shows, these forces cannot stop the coming of Christ’s kingdom. He will return and defeat all His enemies (Rev 19:11–21).
Whether we are talking about Luke 10 or Revelation 9, the point is that Satan and his allies are powerless against the Lord. The believer who serves the Lord is working for the winning team. This would include the seventy, believers during the Tribulation, and believers today. Evil forces, which can temporarily bring destruction like a scorpion, are really like a shooting star falling from the sky. Their power will be short-lived. They can do nothing against the power of the Lord.
Luke 10:18 does not say that Satan was cast out of heaven when he sinned. It says that Christ’s eternal and righteous kingdom is coming.
