for a heavenly sign.
But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them, “Every nation divided by civil war is on
the road to ruin, and will fall. If Satan also is divided, his empire is coming to an end. How
can you say that I drive out demons by calling upon Beelzebul? But if I drive out demons
by the finger of God; would not this mean that the kingdom of God has come upon you? As
long as a man, strong and well armed, guards his house, his goods are safe. But when a
stronger man attacks and overcomes him, the challenger takes away all the weapons he relied
on, and disposes of his spoils. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not
gather with me, scatters. When the evil spirit goes out of a person, it wanders through dry
lands, looking for a resting place; and finding none, it says, ‘I will return to my house from
which I came.’ When it comes, it finds the house swept and everything in order. Then it goes
to fetch seven other spirits, even worse than itself. They move in and settle there, so that the
last state of that person is worse than the first.“
Reflect
It would be futile to deny the reality of evil. A glance at the newspaper or a few minutes of
watching the news is enough to convince us that evil continues to hold sway in the world.
Only God is capable of defeating evil entirely. Through his death and Resurrection, Jesus
broke the power of death and evil, once and for all, though vestiges remain as long as sin
exists. As followers of Christ, we are called to join him in removing these last vestiges of
evil from our world.
Joel calls us to prepare for the day of the Lord when evil will disappear and God will reign
supreme forever. We can prepare for this day and help to remove evil from our mist by
living a life of virtue, following God’s commands and doing penance for our own sins
and the sins of the world. Evil’s days are numbered. Christ Jesus, Victor!
© Copyright Bible Diary 2023