The context of the verses talking about the "strong man" are Jesus talking to the religious leaders after being accused of casting out demons (Satan) by the power of Satan.

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The ancient Greek word"ἰσχυρός" ≈ "strong, mighty".

We see a similar verse in Mark. A "house" can refer to an empire or state.


Here we concentrate on the "strong man", "spoil" and "goods" in the next two verses. What are the "goods" that, apparently, belong to the "strong man"?

A "vessel", from the Greek, is something that is "made" or "fashioned". There are many variations of the word differing in a prefix that modifies the meaning in same way.

Paul is a chosen "vessel".

The "vessel" refers to the person.

The "possess" can be that of "acquire".

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Going against the Creator or God is to remove the difference between "male" and "female". This can be done superficially but the underlying DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid) is not changed.

In the beginning, God made them male and female. From this verse we can infer that God can view a person as a "vessel". We see this idea in 1 Peter 3:7.


If women are the weaker "vessel" then men would be the stronger "vessel". We are not interested here in what weaker or stronger mean. The important point here is a person can be referred to as a "vessel".

The "Day of Preparation" is the day before the Sabbath or High Sabbath.

• The ancient Greek word "παρά" ≈ "beyond".
• The ancient Greek word "σκευή" ≈ "vessel" as something that is made.

The modern Greek word "Παρασκευή" (Pa-ra-skev-EE) ≈ "Friday", which is, literally, the day of "Preparation".

More: Going beyond the prefix para

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What does the "spoil" mean in this context of the "strong man" and the "goods"?

There are many words related to "spoil" with similar meanings. Most differ in the prefix which modifies the meaning in some way. All have to do with "snatching up" is some way.

The Latin word "diripioa" ≈ "tear apart, lay waste" from the Latin prefix "dis" ≈ "separation" and the Latin word "rapio" ≈ "grab, seize".

The Latin word "diripioa" ≈ "tear apart, lay waste" from the Latin prefix "dis" ≈ "separation" and the Latin word "rapio" ≈ "grab, seize".

This verse is a favorite verse of church sermons that want to get the congregation to give more. I have been at some churches where there is a "money-back guarantee" that if you give to the church, and you do not get back more in blessings than you gave, they will give you back your money.
I am not sure that this is the intended meaning of the verse.

Details are left as a future topic.

It is interesting that the word for "spoil" is essentially the same word as "rapture" and the same word as "ravenous" (as in wolves).

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Who is the "strong man"? The Greek indicates the "strong one" with the implication that this might be a "man" in the literal analogy. There may be more than one meaning (where all make sense).

Analogies can be to Moses (as a type of Jesus) going into Egypt (the world) to bind the Pharaoh (strong man of the world) to bring (snatch or rapture) his people (vessels) out of bondage (to sin).

If one tries to reverse the roles of Satan and Jesus, the words in the verse do not fit very well. Does Satan go into the house of Jesus? Where is the house of Jesus?

Jesus has no house or place to lay his head in this world.

Details are left as a future topic.

Satan did try to bind Jesus on the cross, in this world, but that attempt failed.

I once heard a sermon in a big church with regular local TV broadcasts, where the minister decided what he wanted to say and then cherry-picked verses to fit what he wanted to say. This is a not uncommon approach many pastors use to develop sermons.

The gist of this sermon was that Jesus was the strong man and one wanted Jesus in your house to protect against Satan coming into the house and taking you children. To help with this protection, the pastor did not have doors on the children's rooms so they would not have the privacy of a closed door.

Here is a comparison summary of several verse passages (mentioned above).

• In the "strong man" verses, it is snatching up the "goods" or "vessels".
• In the "wolf" verses, it is snatching up the "sheep" (flock).
• In the "rapture" verses, it is snatching up the "believers".

Is there any connection here?

Details are left as a future topic.

In Luke 8:29, Jesus ordered some unclean spirits that had "enraptured" or "fascinated" a man to come out.

One might say that the man was "fascinated" or "enraptured" or "caught up" with those unclean spirits.

The "rapture" part is that of ensnaring or trapping someone. This can be physical as in apprehending someone or mental as in fascination.

In Acts 6:12 and Acts 19:29, the same word for "fascinate" or "enrapture" or "caught up" is used. The meaning appears to be a literal "seizure" or "rapture".

In Acts 27:15, a ship is "caught up" or "enraptured" by the wind. This can happen to people who become fascinated with wind bags, so to speak.

Some words have both physical and abstract meanings. What are some meanings of the following?

• Physical: passenger-side airbag.
• Abstract: passenger-side airbag.

We see this word in Proverbs in the LXX (Septuagint) which has a meaning closer to "fascination" or "enrapture".

The ancient Greek word "δήση" ≈ "bind" as a rarely used inflection of the ancient Greek word "δέω" ≈ "bind".

The ancient Greek word "δύσις" ≈ "setting of sun, west, hiding place" and comes from the ancient Greek word "δύω" ≈ "cause to sink, plunge".