Luke 11:26

“Then goeth he and taketh to him seven other spirits, etc.] Or “demons”, as the Ethiopic version, whom he took to him as his consorts and companions, as the same version calls them. More wicked than himself; for it seems there are degrees of wickedness among the devils, as well as among men: and they enter and dwell there; the unclean spirit, and the other seven: so seven devils were in Mary Magdalene, and a legion in another man; and indeed the evil heart of man is an habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit: here it may chiefly design the place and power which the devil had among the Jews before their destruction: and the last state of that man is worse than the first; the…”

“See the notes at Matthew 12:43-45. return to 'Top of Page'”

“The last state of that man becometh worse than the first - Whoever reads the sad account Josephus gives of the temple and conduct of the Jews, after the ascension of Christ and before their final destruction by the Romans, must acknowledge that no emblem could have been more proper to describe them. Their characters were the vilest that can be conceived, and they pressed on to their own ruin, as if they had been possessed by legions of devils, and wrought up to the last degree of madness. But this also is fulfilled in all who totally and finally apostatize from true faith. Luke 11:27”

“11:26 seven other spirits: Seven may indicate completeness, meaning that the man was completely under their power, or it could simply indicate an overwhelming force.”

“more: Mat 23:15 and the: Zep 1:6; Mat 12:45; Joh 5:14; Heb 6:4-8, Heb 10:26-31; Pe2 2:20-22; Jo1 5:16; Jde 1:12, Jde 1:13 Luke 11:27”