Gone for good...

Matthew 12:43-45 “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.” The Pharisees had done nothing but criticize and question Jesus' dealings with demons, even suggesting that He Himself was empowered by them. He then suggested that if what they said was true, their own exorcists must also be demon-driven. He now contrasts the one big difference between His ministry and their activity: when He drove demons away, He would then fill with the Holy Spirit, filling the emptiness that existed, and His powerful Holy Spirit would not allow any demons to return. They were gone for good. Those who try to be holy on their own, without Christ, will find themselves totally unable to do so. They will fail and fall miserably, and sadly give up for good.