On the Offensive
Plundering the Strong Man's House
Many picture Christianity as a defensive faith—holding the line, surviving in a hostile world, and simply waiting for Christ’s return. But the ministry of Jesus paints a much more powerful picture. The Son of God entered enemy territory, confronted the powers of darkness, reclaimed what belonged to God, and established a Kingdom that continues to advance today.
From Genesis to Revelation, the story is not one of retreat, but of victory.
The Nations Given Over
After mankind rebelled at Babel, God scattered the peoples and divided the nations. Moses reminds Israel:
“When the Most High divided their inheritance to the nations,
When He separated the sons of Adam,
He set the boundaries of the peoples
According to the number of the children of Israel.
For the LORD’s portion is His people;
Jacob is the place of His inheritance.”
(Deuteronomy 32:8-9, NKJV)
Throughout the Old Testament, the nations outside of Israel repeatedly fall into idolatry and demonic worship. Moses warned Israel:
“They sacrificed to demons, not to God,
To gods they did not know,
To new gods, new arrivals
That your fathers did not fear.”
(Deuteronomy 32:17, NKJV)
The apostle Paul later echoes this truth:
“Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons.”
(1 Corinthians 10:20, NKJV)
The world lay in darkness. The nations were enslaved to false gods, idols, and spiritual powers. But then Jesus came.
The King Invades Enemy Territory
Jesus did not remain comfortably within Israel’s borders. He repeatedly crossed into Gentile regions, territories saturated with paganism and demonic influence.
He entered Samaria.
He traveled through Decapolis.
He walked into lands where the powers of darkness had long established their strongholds.
And everywhere He went, demons fled, sinners repented, and the Kingdom advanced.
Jesus described His mission this way:
“But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace. But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils.”
(Luke 11:20-22, NKJV)
Christ is the stronger Man.
Satan may have held the nations in bondage, but Jesus came to plunder his house.
Legion: The Kingdom Advances
Perhaps no event illustrates this better than Jesus’ encounter with Legion.
Crossing the Sea of Galilee, Jesus entered the country of the Gadarenes—a Gentile region filled with unclean practices, even raising swine. There He encountered a man possessed by many demons.
“Then Jesus asked him, saying, ‘What is your name?’
And he said, ‘Legion,’ because many demons had entered him.”
(Luke 8:30, NKJV)
A legion represented thousands of Roman soldiers. The image is striking: an entire occupying force of darkness residing within one broken man.
Yet with a word, Jesus conquered them.
The demons begged.
The demons obeyed.
The demons fled.
And the man was restored.
But what happened next is equally important.
“Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying,
‘Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you.’
And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.”
(Luke 8:38-39, NKJV)
Jesus did not bring him back across the sea.
He left him there.
The enemy had lost territory, and Christ established a witness in its place.
The plundered goods remained behind as an ambassador of the Kingdom.
One redeemed life became an evangelist to the entire Decapolis.
The Kingdom had gained ground.
The Gates of Hades Will Not Prevail
Later, near Caesarea Philippi—a region filled with pagan worship and associated with the underworld—Jesus made one of His most famous declarations:
“And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”
(Matthew 16:18, NKJV)
Gates are defensive structures.
They do not attack.
They withstand attacks.
Jesus was not describing His church as hiding behind walls while hell advances. He was declaring that even the strongest fortifications of death and darkness cannot withstand the advancing Kingdom of God.
The church is on the offensive.
Christ builds.
The gospel advances.
The enemy loses ground.
Every Conversion Is a Victory
The church belongs to Christ.
We are His people, His inheritance, His possession.
“Who has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.”
(Colossians 1:13, NKJV)
Every time a sinner repents, territory changes hands.
Every baptism marks a rescue mission accomplished.
Every soul brought into Christ represents victory over the kingdom of darkness.
Peter describes Christians this way:
“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people...”
(1 Peter 2:9, NKJV)
We are no longer under the dominion of the enemy. We belong to the King.
And like the formerly possessed man in Decapolis, we are left here for a purpose—to proclaim what great things God has done.
The Mission Continues
Jesus began the invasion.
The apostles carried it forward.
The church continues it today.
Our weapons are not worldly. Our King conquers through truth, repentance, sacrifice, and the gospel.
Yet the mission remains the same: to seek and save the lost, to plunder the strong man’s house, and to expand the Kingdom of God one soul at a time.
The gates of Hades will not prevail.
Christ has already won the decisive victory.
And every faithful Christian is living proof that the enemy’s territory is shrinking and the Kingdom of our Lord is advancing.
Credit to Drew DeGrado at BibleMoments for the lesson that inspired this post. Check out his Substack and subscribe!