As the Lord Jesus confronts demons, their fear is palpable. They are literally terrified of Him. All of their mocking and hubris ends as the Lord enters any scene where they are. They fully know and realize their doom at His hands. It was spelled out to them more than 5,000 years ago.
28 And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. 29And behold, they cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?”
This story is repeated in both Mark 5 and Luke 8. In all cases, these unclean spirits (former embodied Nephilim) are in utter obeisance and genuflection to the Lord. They are cowering. They are not flaunting, or mocking, or otherwise thinking of themselves as having any power over Him. The demons in these two men are hoping that the Lord doesn't have any notion of their destruction before the time.
Christ in us—the hope of glory!
Jesus stated flatly that He would build His church on the Rock—Mount Hermon. It was and had been their fortress of dominion among humanity on the earth for thousands of years—all the way back to the original 200 fallen angels who made a pact between them to rebel against God, taking up their lusts among vulnerable human women. Now, here stood the Lord God incarnate at the very gates of their fortress proclaiming, "Upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell will not survive it!"
Not more than about sixty days later was that very church born on the day of Pentecost—formed, rooted, sprouted, and ready for the assault. The game had changed. Demons in the unseen realm had been chained and drug before the Ancient of Days (Daniel 7; Psalm 68; Ephesians 4:8) and then stripped of power given to them in Genesis 11. All power and authority was given over to the Son of Man—Jesus (Matthew 28:18), the Messiah and rescuer of humanity. But—the promise did not end there (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5). No, not in the least!
The Ancient of Days had made a promise—to put His Spirit, the Spirit of His Son—into the very hearts of His people.
22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. 23 And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. 24 I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. 28 You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. 29 And I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. And I will summon the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine upon you. 30 I will make the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field abundant, that you may never again suffer the disgrace of famine among the nations. 31 Then you will remember your evil ways, and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves for your iniquities and your abominations. 32 It is not for your sake that I will act, declares the Lord GOD; let that be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel.
The known world was rife with paganism and the power structures of dark forces, territorial rulers, principalities, gods, goddesses, and a host of demon hordes in the unseen realms (Ephesians 6:12). God had now stripped them of power, painted a target on their backs, and sent His people filled with His very Spirit in His imagers out to attack and reclaim and rescue the people of the nations out of their chains.
Lo and Behold!
Just as Jesus had proclaimed at Mount Hermon, the story of the book of Acts if of Him building His church out of those He rescued by His those He sent! They were attacking everywhere and exposing pagan gods and demons as the enemy. No temple was safe and no idol was out of bounds—not even those to the unknown god (Acts 17:22-31). Why is this important to know?
For thousands of years, pagan gods, goddesses, and demons had presented themselves as the "good guys"—the "white hats". They had painted and portrayed themselves as saviors of humanity and in turn demonized the God of heaven, claiming themselves to be God. They had tricked, fooled, and otherwise cloaked themselves in a web and robe of lies and half-truths. And now those who knew the truth and came armed with the Spirit indwelling them—these were they who were confronting the lies of gods and demons—telling the truth to the very captives they held, and many—MANY—were believing, turning, and embracing loyalty to the One True God of Heaven and earth!
The impact was devastating. The kingdoms and principalities of darkness were literally bleeding out and dying. So severe was the attack and strong was the presence of the Spirit of God in them that gods, goddesses, and demons were being choked off—unable to act or even speak in many cases (see quotation below).
This passage comes from The Life of Apollonius of Tyana by Philostratus, a third-century Greek writer who wrote a biography of Apollonius, a first-century philosopher and miracle-worker. The passage is from Book 8, Chapter 7, where Philostratus describes how Apollonius visited the oracle of Delphi and found out that the Pythian priestess had lost her prophetic power. He then explains the reason for this loss, which he attributes to the presence of righteous men on earth who hindered the god Apollo from speaking the truth through the oracle. Here is the full passage from the Loeb Classical Library edition, translated by F.C. Conybeare 1:
And he came to Delphi and found that Pythoness no longer prophesied as she used to do; for she was now grown old and had lost her gift of prophecy; and he said that this was due to the fact that the righteous men on earth were a bar to his speaking the truth, and accordingly that the oracles from the tripod were fallacious. Hence it was that he suffered his tresses to droop in token of grief, and mourned the evils which the loss of the oracular spirit would entail on mankind.
Chapter 50.
The tip of the spear was the story of the sins of the Watchers and the truth of the sins of their offspring—Nephilim, Anakim, and Rephaim giants, who became disembodied demons when they died, but not before unspeakable sin, abuses, and terror that they wreaked across humanity and the world itself. Even the very ground beneath our feat cried out to the Ancient of Days for relief and vengeance!
This story along with the story of Jesus, the Cross, the resurrection, hope, life, and love—this story of the Watchers and demons exposed them for who they were and who they are. Men responded in droves—changing their loyalties in a moments time, even if they faced persecution and death as a result. The power of God working in the stories to expose demons and bring the light of Christ was like an unleashing of heavenly nuclear bombs in the strongholds of the former gods of men.
So—what do demons fear?
As it was in the first three centuries of the Church of Christ, so it is now. Demons and gods and goddesses of old still fear being exposed and vulnerable. They fear the Spirit of God in His own—His redeemed, His children, His imagers, and His friends. They feared it so much that they tried—successfully—to eliminate the very source of their exposure: The Enochian story of the sins of the Watchers and their bastard kids.
It is this story that was stripped from the church starting in the second century AD among the Jews (Akiba et al) and culminating under Augustine in the fourth century AD. Since that time, Satan, gods, goddesses, and demons have enjoyed living in the safety of obscurity, lurking in the shadows, even as they have pretended "Christianity" in weak-minded men devoid of the truth of their enemy.
As the gods return ...
So now—the gods are returning. Demonism and paganism rise once more. As men have pushed out God, they have subsequently succumbed to the lies and those lies present themselves as men who once more follow in the footsteps of the sins of the Watchers and their bastard Nephilim (giants) children. As sexual deviancy and lusts were the core driver of their sin—so too do men likewise follow after in their own lusts—trading the God who loves them for the pleasures of the gods who only pretend and secretly scoff as men blindly follow them into the judgment that is coming.
Yet—there is hope! The Enochian story that exposes demons for who and what they were and are is returning! As pagan hordes in the unseen realm flood into humanity, so too the Spirit of God unleashes the nukes of exposure once more. The call of God is for you to know His truth that sets men free. It is His call and His will that you know the truth of these hideous creatures and drag them into the light where they can be seen in the fulness of their now but not yet judgment.
The bottom line is this: Will you understand the sins of the Watchers and trade your loyalties in sin to them for being loyal in Christ to the God of Heaven? To whom and in whom will you trust? Just where do you think the real power resides? Demons cower at His feet and at His coming. They know their judgment is just around the corner. Will you follow in loyalty after them or will you wake up and realize the power of God and His offer in love to you in Christ—placing your loyalty where it results in life eternal and not eternal death.
Choose you this day whom you shall serve!