When the Lord was ministering on the earth, He appointed seventy disciples and sent them out two by two into every city and place to spread His ministry. “The seventy returned with joy, saying, Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name. And He said to them, I was watching Satan fall like lightning out of heaven” (Luke 10:17-18). Not only so, the Lord also said, “Behold, I have given you the authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you” (v. 19). Although the enemy has power, the Lord gave the disciples authority to subdue the power of the enemy. Serpents may signify Satan and his angels (Eph. 2:2; 6:11-12), and scorpions may signify demons (Luke 10:17, 20). Through the authority given by the Lord, the disciples were able to subdue the evil power of Satan and execute the sentence God pronounced on him.
Christ partook of blood and flesh and, through death, destroyed him who has the might of death, that is, the devil (Heb. 2:14). To destroy is to bring to nought, to make of none effect, to do away with, to abolish, to annul, to discard. After the devil, the serpent, seduced man into the fall, God promised that the seed of the woman would come to bruise the head of the serpent (Gen. 3:15). In the fullness of the time, the Son of God came to become flesh (John 1:14; Rom. 8:3) by being born of a virgin (Gal. 4:4) so that He might destroy the devil in man’s flesh through His death in the flesh on the cross.
Satan as the old serpent (Rev. 12:9; 20:2), the ruler of this world, injected himself into man’s flesh. Therefore, Christ came in the likeness of the flesh of sin, yet He was without sin (Rom. 8:3; 2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15). Even though He was without sin in His flesh, He was still crucified in the flesh (Col. 1:22; 1 Pet. 3:18). Thus, on the cross He judged Satan, who is related to the flesh, and the world, which hangs on him (John 12:31; 16:11), thereby destroying Satan (Heb. 2:14). At the same time, through Christ’s crucifixion in the flesh, God condemned sin, which was brought by Satan into man’s flesh (Rom. 8:3).
Romans 16:20 says, “The God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly.” In this verse God promises that He will crush Satan under the feet of those who live the church life, showing that the crushing of Satan is related to the church life. Dealing with Satan is not an individual matter; rather, it is a Body matter. Once there is a proper local church manifested as the practical expression of the Body, God is able to crush Satan under the feet of those in that local church, and they are able to experience the God of peace and enjoy the abundant grace of the Lord (v. 20).
At the end of this age the judgment of Christ will come upon Antichrist, the false prophet, Satan, and their followers (Rev. 19:11—20:3, 7-10). Antichrist is the man of lawlessness (2 Thes. 2:3) and the little horn (Dan. 7:8); the false prophet is the one who works with Antichrist. Antichrist, the false prophet, and Satan form a counterfeit trinity. Antichrist will be so enticing and attractive that he will have a great following, but all his followers will be destroyed along with him, the false prophet, and Satan. Christ will judge Antichrist and the false prophet by means of supernatural calamities: the earth will open, and they will fall directly into the lake of fire. They will not die, be buried, and then resurrect to face the judgment at the great white throne. They will be cast alive into the lake of fire. Satan, however, will be defeated, bound, and cast into the abyss.
In Revelation 12 John saw “a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems” (v. 3). This great red dragon is “called the Devil and Satan, he who deceives the whole inhabited earth” (v. 9). Before the great tribulation of three and a half years, the man-child, who is composed of the overcomers among God’s people throughout the ages, will be resurrected and caught up to heaven (v. 5). Because of the rapture of the man-child, Michael and his angels will begin to war against Satan in heaven. The dragon and his angels will not be able to prevail, and thus, their place will no longer be found in heaven (vv. 7-8). Hence, Satan will be cast to the earth, and his angels will be cast down with him (v. 9). This will take place at the beginning of the fifth trumpet (9:1). When the fifth angel trumpets, a star out of heaven, which is Satan, will fall to the earth. At this point, a loud voice in heaven will say, “Now has come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ, for the accuser of our brothers has been cast down, who accuses them before our God day and night” (12:10). When Satan is cast to the earth, the kingdom of God will come and so will our full enjoyment of God’s salvation.