http://www.goingtojesus.com/text/books/fatherandson.pdf
Hello Pastor John,
Just have a question. If nobody in Heaven or on the Earth knew that Jesus was the Son of God, before the Son of God cast Satan and his demons down to earth at Pentecost, how did the demons who were in the lunatic in the cemetary know? I am talking about the man which had the legion of demons in him. How did they know that the Son of God was in Jesus, and ask him if he was there to torment them before the time?
Thanks for your time.
Thomas.
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Hi Thomas.
I address this issue in some depth in my forthcoming book, God Had a Son Before Mary Did. I would be happy to send you the chapters I have completed so that you can see in detail how that question is dealt with. To be brief, I believe that even if angels and demons knew that there was in heaven a creature called the Son, they did not know what being God’s Son meant. They certainly did not understand that the Son created them or that he was actually ruling over all things from the beginning. No one knew that was the case because God had been keeping that a secret from the foundation of the world. The most obvious answer to your question is that not only the OT prophets, and Peter (Mt. 16), but also the demons who cried out concerning “the holy One of Israel”, were all speaking because they were being overcome by the power and presence of the holy Ghost, not because they had any personal knowledge of the Son.
Now, we know this is the case with the OT prophets, and with Peter in Matthew 16. It does appear that they knew what they were saying when they spoke of the Son, but the Bible makes it clear that they absolutely did not. So, my point, as it relates to your question, is that it was the same with demons, whenever Jesus approached them and they felt the power of “the holy One of Israel”. And, don’t let the fact that the demons were evil cause you any theological problems. The holy Spirit sometimes came upon evil people in the OT and compelled them to prophesy truth and speak of things that they themselves did not know. Two examples of this are the foolish prophet Balaam and the backslidden king Saul.
Hope that helps.
Pastor John