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Who is the Strong Man?
Understanding who we are binding.

Luqa [Luke] 11:14-26

In modern Christianity it is commonly and generally taught that the strong man referred to in this portion of Scripture is Satan.  It is a frequent occurrence that those who teach and believe this also go about binding the strong man.  However, as we will see when examining this portion of Scripture in context and with other verses in support of the ideas and concepts related in this passage, we will see that the strong man is not Satan.  Rather we will see that the strong man is Mashiach Yeshua Himself.

This will seem rather shocking to some at first, but we just need to allow Scripture to say what it says and allow the Ruach Qodesh to teach us His truth in this matter.  When it comes down to it, all of us desire the same thing, to serve our Master in truth and in purity.  At the end of this teaching we will have some practical suggestions concerning the strong man.

Luqa (Luke) 11:14-16
14 And He was casting out a demon that was dumb.  And it came to pass, when the demon was gone out, the dumb man spoke; and the multitudes marveled.
15 But some of them said, “By Ba’al Z’vuv the head of the demons he casts out demons.”
16 And others, testing Him, sought of Him a sign from heaven.

There arose an occasion in which a man had a demon which  caused the man to be unable to speak.  Yeshua cast this demon out of the man.  The man was then able to speak.  Many marveled at this feat, while others were skeptical and expressed doubt at this obvious execution of power, as to the source of that power.

Notice that there were those present when Yeshua cast out this particular demon, who accused Him of being able to do this by Ba’al Z’vuv, or as he is called in many English Bibles, “Beelzubub” or “Beelzubul.”  He is referred to as the “head” or “prince” of the demons.

Luqa (Luke) 11:17-18 
17 But He, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falls.
18 And if Satan also is divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand?  Because you say that I cast out demons by Ba’al Z’vuv.”

A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand.  Now many have not seen what Yeshua has actually said in these two verses.  Remember, Yeshua is accused of casting out demons by Ba’al Z’vuv.  Then Yeshua makes a very clear statement in which Satan is divided with Ba’al Z’vuv on the other side.  Many have wrongly believed that Satan and Ba’al Z’vuv are two names for the same being.  But this is simply not in accordance with what Yeshua is saying.  Yeshua uses these two names as referencing two different beings.

It is interesting to note that in the Apocryphal writing of the Gospel of Nicodemus, Ba’al Z’vuv goes against the wishes of Satan and gives permission for Mashiach to release the captives (not that Mashiach needed permission anyway!).  But the point is that Ba’al Z’vuv and Satan are not the same person.  Furthermore, what this particular piece of literature shows to us is that Satan’s kingdom was in fact divided and as a result, fell (or will in the near future).

Luqa (Luke) 11:19-20
19 “And if I by Ba’al Z’vuv cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out?  Therefore they shall be your judges.
20 But if I by the finger of Elohim cast out demons, then the kingdom of the Elohim has come upon you.”

The point that Yeshua is making here is that it is foolhardy to think that demons are being cast out by other demons.  What would be the point?  Furthermore, Yeshua is asking a very pointed question.  If He, being the Son of Elohim, is casting out demons and being accused of doing it by the power of the head of the demons, Ba’al Z’vuv, then in whose name and in whose power are their sons casting out demons?  Surely it is by the name of and power of YHWH!

Then to drive home His point Yeshua tells them that the kingdom of Elohim has arrived.  I wonder if we are really listening to this point?  His kingdom is not some distant future event, it is right now!

Luqa (Luke) 11:21-22
21 “When the strong man fully armed guards his own court, his goods are in peace;
22 but when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he takes from him his whole armor wherein he trusted, and divides his spoils.”

In verse 21 above the phrase “the strong man” is one word in the Hebrew Peshitta, הַגִּבּוֹר – “haggibor,” which means the strong man or the strong one.  This same word is used several times in the Tanak in reference to YHWH.  We show two such verses below with the words in English underlined that are translated from הַגִּבּוֹר . 

Devarim (Deuteronomy) 10:17 
“For YHWH your Elohim, He is Elohei of the elohim, and Adonei of the adonim, the great El, the mighty, and the terrible, who regards not persons, nor takes reward.”

Yirmeyah (Jeremiah) 32:18
“who shows lovingkindness to thousands, and recompenses the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them; the great, the mighty El, YHWH Tzava’ot is His name;”

In both verses above we find the term הַגִּבּוֹר as a reference to and a description of YHWH.  In the passage from Yirmeyah we find this a particular reference to YHWH Tzava’ot, which is a particular name applied to Mashiach in the Tanak.

So, when we see that Yeshua uses this word here we have to strongly suspect that He is referring to Himself and no one else.  Furthermore, when Yeshua speaks of one stronger coming and binding הַגִּבּוֹר the strong man, He uses a different word.  He uses the word שֶׁחָזָק “shechazaq,” in which the root word is חזק “chazaq,” which means “strength.”

Let us prayerfully consider that perhaps what Yeshua was referring to in this passage was His own binding and being bound to a cross to die.  Now this was a completely voluntary act on His part and had He wanted to, He could have ended it at any moment, for being the Creator of all that we know, no one and nothing is stronger than He is.  However, for the sake of our salvation He allowed Satan to be stronger than He is for just a short season.

Next, we need to consider the actions of the one doing the binding being described here as one of a thief and a robber.  Please note this next passage.

Yochanan (John) 10:1 
“Amein, amein, I say to you, he that enters not by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.”

Now I ask you, is Mashiach Yeshua a thief and a robber?  No!  In fact, if He ever did this then He would be breaking Torah and thus disqualifying Himself from being Mashiach.  No, the thief and the robber is Satan.  And once again, let us see this truth in another passage.

Yochanan (John) 10:10 
“The thief comes not, but that he may steal, and kill, and destroy; I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.”

Yeshua did not come to steal anything.  He doesn’t need to because He is already the Owner of everything since He is also the Creator.  The Creator cannot steal what He already owns!

Yochanan (John) 8:44 
“You are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father it is your will to do.  He was a murderer from the beginning, and stands not in the truth, because there is no truth in him.  When he speaks the lie, he speaks of his own; for he is a liar, and the father thereof.”

Yeshua is neither a liar nor a thief.  Satan is a liar and a thief, and he was from the very beginning.  He has not changed.  Mashiach Yeshua is the same yesterday, today and forever. 

One more point about the strong man being Mashiach rather than Satan.  When a person studies the Besorah (“Good News”) in the stars, called in Hebrew “the Mazzarot,” there are several strong men depicted in the constellations.  Each one of these have a different name, but in each case the strong man is clearly depicting Mashiach.  For example:  There is Ophiuchus who is wrestling with a great serpent.  While he is wrestling with this great serpent one of his feet is on the head of the scorpion.  His other foot is being pierced by the stinger of the scorpion.  This brings to mind the following passage.

B’reshit (Genesis) 3:15 
“and I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”

Elohim in speaking to Satan says that he will bruise the heel of Mashiach, but Mashiach will bruise his head.  We see this perfectly depicted in this constellation of the strong man Ophiuchus.

In another depiction of the strong man we find Bootes, the One who is to come.
Then in another we find Hercules who is fighting with the hydra, a many-headed serpent.
Then there is Aquarius the water bearer who is pouring his water upon the earth from heaven.  This brings to mind what Yeshua said in that streams of living water would come forth from within us.
Then there is Cepheus the crowned king seated upon his throne.
Then there is Perseus who has cut off the head of Medusa, the woman with the many snakes for hair.
Then there is Orion the glorious one who has slain the roaring lion (Satan).
Then there is Auriga the shepherd who is protecting his flock with his life.

This should be sufficient to show that in each case the strong man depicted in the stars is a picture of Mashiach showing us a particular truth concerning Him.  When we put all those pieces together then we have a fairly complete picture of who Mashiach is and what He was to do.

Yeshua also taught us that we were not to lay up treasures for ourselves on earth, where thieves are able to break in and steal.

Matithyah (Matthew) 6:19-20 
19 “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal;
20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth consume, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.”

Satan is a thief.  We are to lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven that he cannot get to.  Yeshua is the Guardian or Strong Man of those treasures.  What is in His hand no one can take.  Satan was only stronger than Mashiach Yeshua for a season, so that Yeshua could purchase our salvation and redemption.  While Satan had Yeshua bound to a cross and put to death, death could not hold Him and He has broken the bounds of death and has risen in victory.

Luqa (Luke) 11:23 
“He that is not with Me is against Me; and he that gathers not with Me scatters.”

We are either for or against Yeshua as Mashiach.  It is not so much our words, but rather the actions of our lives that show what is true and what is not true.

Luqa (Luke) 11:24-26
24 “The unclean spirit when he is gone out of the man, passes through waterless places, seeking rest, and finding none, he says, ‘I will turn back to my house where I came out.’
25 And when he has come, he finds it swept and put in order.
26 Then goes he, and takes with him seven other spirits more evil than himself; and they enter in and dwell there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first.”

It is simply not good enough to cast a demon out of a person!  What good does it do the person if that is all we do for them?  The end result will be that the demon will return to see if the person is filled or empty.  If the person is empty, then that demon will go and get more demons to go and dwell in that person.  Then the state of that man will be worse off than before the demon was cast out in the first place.

The point of what Yeshua is teaching here at this point is that once a person has been freed from a demon, then that person needs to be filled with something.  What he should be filled with is the Spirit of YHWH.  If he is filled with the Spirit of YHWH, then when the demon returns he will not be able to enter the person.

Now, if you are one of those people who has practiced binding the strong man and believed that you were binding Satan and you are still not convinced, then please consider this.  Instead of binding the strong man using the title “strong man”, please be specific and bind Satan.  Then there will be no confusion in the spiritual realm and Satan cannot come into your life and cause havoc.  You see, if a person binds the strong man and only uses this title, then such a person has limited Mashiach from helping him and has freed Satan to do whatever he desires.  This of course is not the desire or intent of the person.  However, Satan is a legalist.  This means that if he can legally take your spoken words and use them against you, he will. 

Many times we do things in ignorance, not understanding what we are doing.  We need to be as innocent as doves, but at the same time as wise as a serpent.  This means that we need to know and understand what is going on in this realm as well as the spiritual realm.  We need to have an open mind and heart to what it is that YHWH desires to teach us through His Spirit.

May YHWH teach us about Himself and His ways and specifically may He teach us the truth in this matter of who the strong man is.

ABBA YHWH, open our eyes to Your truth that we may walk in it; in the name of Yeshua our Mashiach.

Amein and amein.

Zerubbabel ben Emunah
www.onetorahforall.com
zerubbabel@onetorahforall.com

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