I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven

 

 Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name."  And He said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.  Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.  Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven."

In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes.  Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.  All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."  Then He turned to His disciples and said privately, "Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see; for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it."

 

- Luke 10:17-24 

 

Yesterday we read that, after He began the journey to Jerusalem, encountering many who sought to become disciples, the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go.  Then He said to them, "The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.  Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves.  Carry neither money bag, knapsack, nor sandals; and greet no one along the road.  But whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this house.'  And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it; if not, it will return to you.  And remain in the same house, eating and drinking such things as they give, for the laborer is worthy of his wages.  Do not go from house to house.  Whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you.  And heal the sick there, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.'  But whatever city you enter, and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, 'The very dust of your city which clings to us we wipe off against you.  Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near you.'  But I say to you that it will be more tolerable in that Day for Sodom than for that city.  Woe to you, Chorazin!  Woe to you, Bethsaida!  For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.  But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you.  And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades.  He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me."

 

Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name."  And He said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.  Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.  Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven."  These Seventy are those whom He appointed as new apostles, being sent out, as were the Twelve before.  My study Bible comments here that Jesus' words,  "I saw Satan fall" describes an event that took place before the creation of the world.  Five times Satan set his will against God (Isaiah 14:12-15; see also Revelation 12:7-12).  Serpents and scorpions are images of demons and devils; the enemy is Satan (Luke 4:1-13). 

In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes.  Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.  All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."  Then He turned to His disciples and said privately, "Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see; for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it."  My study Bible says that those whom Jesus refers to as babes are people of simple faith and open hearts (see Luke 18:15-17).  

Jesus says, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven."  As my study Bible describes it, Scripture tells us this was an event that happened even before the creation of the world, when there was rebellion in heaven by Satan.  But this is also one of those places where we're meant to understand that the nature of time is something that is not fixed simply to our experience of time in a worldly sense.  Historically, the Church has understood Scripture to have given us what are called "types."  That is, events in the Old Testament that prefigure fulfillment in the New; there are echoes (if you will) that make themselves understood and punctuate time.  One example of this is Jacob's Ladder that appeared to him in a dream, of angels ascending and descending (see Genesis 28:10-19).  Genesis 28:12 reads, "Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it."  In the Christian patristic tradition (the early centuries of the Church), Jacob's Ladder came to be understood as prefiguring Christ, an image fulfilled in Christ Himself, who is the Ladder that connects heaven and earth for us, upon whom angels ascend and descend.  This is just one example of what is a "type."  Another example is the burning bush beheld by Moses; that is, the bush that burned with flame but was not consumed (Exodus 3).  Out of that fire, God spoke to Moses.  But this "type" of the burning bush is also seen in the New Testament, as prefiguring and fulfilled in some sense in the Virgin Mary, for she conceived the Child Christ by the Holy Spirit, a divine fire which did not consume but gave life.  Therefore, one image for Mary is the Burning Bush, and she is portrayed as such in particular icons.  Therefore, these images serve us to understand God's work in the world as "punctuating" time; manifesting in a harmony with all other appearances of God and teaching us and fulfilling things already given.  When Christ says these words, "I saw Satan fall like lightning" upon the return of the Seventy, He is referring to an event that happened even before the creation of the world as we understand it.  But before the creation of the world, there was not time as we understand it either, for the sense of time in heaven is nothing like what we understand as moments passing one by one.  Therefore, the fall of Satan may also be fulfilled as Christ's power and mission is at work in our world.  When the Seventy return speaking of even the demons being subject to them in Christ's name, He says, "Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.  Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven."  The same power and authority that defeated Satan long ago and cast Satan from heaven is now shared and distributed through the Incarnation of Christ, manifest even in these newly-appointed apostles in their first mission.  These words are addressed to the Seventy, but they are also addressed to us, in that they are a declaration about the Church and the ongoing ministry of the Church which Christ established in the world.  Just as there are those in each generation who may carry on the work of the apostles, just as each generation must carry the faith and the Kingdom in the world, so this power and authority, and the fall of Satan, is also manifest and entered into through Christ's work and the power of God at work in us and through the Church and the faithful.  What is called spiritual warfare means far more than exorcisms or encounters with demons, but also guarding our own hearts in simple faith, and casting out what does not belong there or conflicts with our faith.  In that understanding, let's take Christ's words seriously:  "Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven."  We should never forget that this is the real goal of the Christian life, it is the salvation that is made possible through grace, what St. Paul calls "the knowledge of Christ," and "the righteousness which is from God by faith."  These are attained, St. Paul says, because we may "know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, [we] may attain to the resurrection from the dead" (see Philippians 3:7-10).  For all of this is a part of that spiritual warfare, made possible for us through Christ and His Incarnation, and the grace and working of the Holy Spirit, the Kingdom of God within us and among us.  In this expanding, growing, ever-evolving mission Christ has brought to the world, we may view the work and marvel of the Seventy, the casting out of Satan, the blessings and grace of God who shares even His power and authority with human beings, even to those of us who are "babes."  Let us pay attention to the things He teaches us to seek, the glory which He teaches us is true glory.