It is apparent from this verse that demons are knowledgeable. They are not omniscient, but they are incredibly knowledgeable. They did not need Jesus to introduce Himself; they knew who He was. Sometimes, Pentecostals take their attitude to a ridiculous dimension by calling Satan a fool. I shudder at such display of illiteracy of Bible truth. Currently, Satan runs the lives of multiple millions across the world. With such huge empire, how can anyone reasonably call him a fool? If we think Satan is a fool we are playing the greater fool. He is actually wise; but his wisdom is corrupt and inferior to the one we can avail ourselves of in God. In this passage they spotted Jesus as the Son of God! This is interesting, because it is not until eight chapters later that the first of Jesus’ disciples caught the same revelation. The forces of darkness can tell the difference between those who are serious with God and those who are just playing church.
“Devils will normally seek for a legal doorway into people’s lives… If you do not give right of way to the devil, you can use your own legal right in Christ to checkmate him.”
It is equally apparent that devils are conscious of time. They know they have a limited time. It is this sense of limited time that makes the devil work literally overtime. Never mind, the struggle will soon be over. Finally, devils are conscious of their rights. They were literally challenging Jesus here not to torment them “before the time”. They were willing to contest every bit of their legal time. How can we apply this? Devils will normally seek for a legal doorway into people’s lives. This is usually by way of sin, fear, and disobedience to God. If you do not give right of way to the devil, you can use your own legal right in Christ to checkmate him.
