In Matthew 12:29, Jesus said people were seeing Him "bind the strong man," referring to Satan. This showed Jesus is stronger than Satan, and able to deliver people from his kingdom. Learn how Satan obtained a kingdom (Hebrews 2:5-9).

Table of contentsThe Book of Hebrews Is About Jesus Being BetterJesus Became Better than the Angels?God Gave Man AuthorityMan Forfeited His Authority to Satan at the FallSatan Offered Jesus His AuthorityThe Antichrist Accepts Satan's OfferSatan Is not Ruling and Reigning in HellSatan is the Ruler Over this WorldHow the World's Kingdoms Look to Man Versus GodWe See Jesus Bind the Strong Man When His Kingdom Destroys the World's KingdomsThe Gospels Record the Kingdom of God "Crashing" into Satan’s KingdomJesus Our Kinsman RedeemerJesus Binds the Strong ManJesus Could Bind the Strong Man Because He Is StrongerJesus Binds the Strong Man to Deliver People into His Kingdom

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Jesus Will Bind the Strong Man (Hebrews 2:5-9 and Matthew 12:29)

The Bible could be thought of as The Tale of Two Kingdoms: the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan. We see Jesus "bind the strong man" (Satan) throughout His earthly ministry when His Kingdom defeated Satan's kingdom.

An obvious question might be, how did Satan get a kingdom? It was not when he was kicked out of heaven with one third of the angels. If he received a kingdom at that time, it would seem like he was rewarded for his rebellion. Instead, another event took place that gave Satan a kingdom, and I think the clearest passage helping us understand it is found in Hebrews 2. Because we are jumping into Hebrews, let me briefly explain this wonderful book.

The Book of Hebrews Is About Jesus Being Better

If we put ourselves in the place of Jewish Christians, consider how difficult it was for them to let go of all they knew to embrace Christianity: all the temple worship, sacrifices, and holy days. Christianity wasn’t an improved Judaism. It replaced Judaism. Think of the parable of the new and old wineskins:

Luke 5:36 No one tears a piece from a new garment (referring to the New Covenant) and puts it on an old garment (referring to the Old Covenant). If he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. 37 And no one puts new wine (referring to the New Covenant) into old wineskins (referring to the Old Covenant – you don’t force the New Covenant into the Old Covenant). If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed.

The Old and New Covenants can’t be combined or they’ll both be ruined. But this is exactly what Jewish Christians were trying to do!

Luke 5:38 New wine (referring to the New Covenant) must be put into fresh wineskins. 39 And no one after drinking old wine (referring to the Old Covenant). desires new, for he says, ‘The old is [better].’”

This captures the situation with the Jews: they thought the Old Covenant was better because they drank the old wine of the Old Covenant. Hebrews is written to show them how much better Jesus is than everything in the Old Covenant. So, it’s not that the Old Covenant is bad, it’s just that Jesus is better. For example:

The Old Testament sacrifices were good, but Jesus’s sacrifice is better.

The Sabbath was good, but the rest found in Christ is better.

The Levitical priesthood was good, but the Melchizedekian priesthood, which Jesus is part of, is better.

Moses was the mediator of the Old Covenant, and he was a good mediator, but Jesus is a better Mediator.

Jesus Became Better than the Angels?

In the first few verses of Hebrews 1 the author describes how much better Jesus is than the prophets. Then the author describes how much better Jesus is than the angels:

(NASB) Hebrews 1:4 having become so much better than the angels, to the extent that He has inherited a more excellent name than they.

Saying Jesus became better than the angels makes it seem like He was not BETTER before, which is true:

Hebrews 2:7 You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor,

Man was made lower than the angels, so when Jesus became a man, he became lower than the angels too. Interestingly, in Hebrews 1 Jesus is better than the angels, but in Hebrews 2 He is lower than the angels. This seems like the opposite of what we would expect from an author who is supposed to be showing how much better Jesus is. Isn’t it almost a liability to argue that Jesus would be a man lower than the angels? What kind of Messiah isn’t even better than the angels? The author didn’t introduce this liability. He knew this dilemma was already in his readers’ minds, so he brings it up to address it.

This is one of the most fascinating passages in the entire New Testament, because it reveals why Jesus became lower than the angels. By understanding this we will see how Satan obtained a kingdom of his own, and why Jesus had to bring the kingdom of God from heaven to earth.

God Gave Man Authority

Hebrews 2:5 For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking.

This means authority in the coming age is not given to angels, but to man. Think back to the creation account, and God giving man authority:

Genesis 1:26 God said, “Let…man…have dominion OVER the fish of the sea and OVER the birds of the heavens and OVER the livestock and OVER all the earth and OVER every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”…28 God said, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion OVER the fish of the sea and OVER the birds of the heavens and OVER every living thing that moves on the earth.”.”

You can’t miss the repetition of the word "over" describing man’s authority over all of creation.241

At this point we might wonder something like, “Who is man that God would give him so much authority? What is so special about man that God would put him over all creation?” The author of Hebrews anticipated his readers thinking this:

Hebrews 2:6 It has been testified somewhere, “What is man, that you are mindful of him, or the son of man, that you care for him?

This is a quote from Psalm 8:4-6. The author says, "It has been testified somewhere," instead of quoting the chapter and verse, because the chapter divisions didn’t come until 1227 and the verses until 1551.

Man Forfeited His Authority to Satan at the Fall

Instead of getting an answer to the questions in verse 6 we get a description of the situation:

Hebrews 2:7 You made him for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned him with glory and honor, 8 putting everything in subjection under his feet.” Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him.

We have been made lower than the angels, which we talked about earlier. We were put over everything, but that’s the case now, or "at present." When Adam and Eve submitted to the devil in the garden, they represented all mankind and gave Satan the authority that had been given to them. Whatever we submit ourselves to becomes our master and we become its slaves:

Romans 6:16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?

When Adam and Eve chose to obey Satan, they became his slaves and forfeited the authority God gave them.

2 Peter 2:19 Whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved.

Adam and Eve were overcome by Satan and enslaved by him.

John 8:34 Everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.

We became slaves to sin, and we gave up the authority given to us.

Satan Offered Jesus His Authority

In Satan’s second temptation in the wilderness, he offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world, because they belonged to him:

Luke 4:5 And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, 6 and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for IT HAS BEEN DELIVERED TO ME, and I give it to whom I will. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.”

Satan said "it," referring to "all this authority," had been delivered to him, and it was delivered to him at the fall. Jesus didn’t dispute Satan’s claim to have this authority, because it’s true.

Satan wants to give his authority to someone who will worship and serve him: “I give it to whom I will” (Luke 4:6). Jesus rejected the offer, but Satan will find someone to give the authority to, and that’s the antichrist.

The Antichrist Accepts Satan's Offer

Revelation 13 is the antichrist chapter and look at the repetition of the words give, gave, or granted referring to Satan giving his authority to the antichrist:

Revelation 13:2 The dragon (referring to Satan) GAVE [the beast] (referring to the antichrist) his power, his throne, and great authority…4 So they worshiped the dragon who GAVE authority to the beast…5 [The beast] was GIVEN a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was GIVEN authority…7 It was GRANTED to [the beast] to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was GIVEN him…14 he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was GRANTED to do in the sight of the beast…15 [The beast] was GRANTED power to give breath to the image of the beast.

One of the reasons we see wicked people – such as Nero, Hitler, and Stalin – with authority is because Satan can give people authority.

1 John 2:18 Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now MANY ANTICHRISTS HAVE COME.

There have been many lowercase antichrists throughout history – such as Nero, Hitler, and Stalin – who accepted the authority Satan gave them,