MORE Wicked?!

Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon left, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowd was amazed. But some of them said, “By Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he is driving out demons.” Others tested him by asking for a sign from heaven.
Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: “Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? I say this because you claim that I drive out demons by Beelzebul. Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your followers drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
“When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe. But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up his plunder.
“Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first.” Luke 11:14-26

More demons. Everywhere Jesus went, demon-possessed people were desperate for His help. And He helped. The unbelievers, since they couldn't deny the reality of what they saw, attributed the healings to Beelzebul (Lord of the Flies; Satan). This was blasphemy of the worst kind (unforgivable sin: Mark 3:28-29). Some, however, were curious enough to ask Jesus for a sign (!). Huh?

Actually, demons can cast out lesser demons and sometimes do, adding to the confusion of the ignorant and unbelieving. They simply remain enslaved to Satan's hordes, while frantically seeking help from any source except the source of all life, God the Son. This would include occult practices, spell-casting, false religions, mysticism, New Age holistic nonsense, etc.

This incident prompted the famous quote most often attributed to Abraham Lincoln: "A house divided against itself cannot stand." Jesus Himself said that, in response to the blasphemers. If Satan casts out devils, then his kingdom is doomed to failure. Satan's kingdom is in constant turmoil, from eternity past. That's why evil is so utterly senseless. You can't find logic in irrationality. When Jesus casts out devils, it is THE SIGN that the Kingdom of God has come. These people knew Whom they were insulting. Just as blasphemous unbelievers of our day know exactly Whom they insult when they ridicule the Word of God. They've seen the sign. They rejected it.

There were others exorcising demons, but not in the Name of Jesus, and not for the purpose of promoting His Kingdom. They had ulterior motives, usually involving money and power. They were working against Him and "scattering abroad." He illustrated with the example of an aimless, wandering demon who has been cast out of a man. Demons don't like to be bodiless, so he decides to go back to the house he's been evicted from. There is nothing there. No good has replaced the former evil. No Holy Spirit has set up housekeeping in the vacancy. Aha! I'll go gather up my homeless friends and we'll party down. The poor, demented creature who sought help from the wrong source is more miserable than ever before. The issue is not just to clear out the demons. The issue is to receive Jesus Christ. Then, no demons can reoccupy. Godliness has no fellowship with evil.