There was a very powerful verse that Jesus spoke to Peter in Matthew 16:19. Some would argue that this was given only to pertain to Peter, but yet all Jesus gave to the apostles was to belong to the Church, including the believers of this day. “And I will give unto thee the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” It starts off “I will give”… It wasn’t actually given until the day of Pentecost. What are the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven? The Holy Spirit. Now, the authority to bind and loose was given to the whole Church after the resurrection of Jesus at the outpouring on the day of Pentecost. Until then, only Jesus had that power. Then after His Spirit was given to His disciples, they also wielded that power. And what, exactly, do we have authority to bind and loose? We can bind things God said in His word that are offensive to Him, namely the works of the devil. How can you spoil the strongman and take his goods unless you bind him first? Otherwise, he will withstand you and turn you away defeated. Now, we have no ability on our own to oppose and overpower the devil. But Jesus defeated him and stripped him of all his authority! And, as representatives of Jesus and His kingdom authority on this earth, we have been delegated kingdom power against the devil.

 By giving this power to the believers, and the Church, the devil is held in check to a large extent, else the world would already be destroyed by him. The keys of the Kingdom of Heaven are the words of God. Each key unlocks a lock. Each scripture is able to accomplish the will of God in the area it was spoken to. No word of God returns unto Him void, that is, failing to do that whereunto God sent it. When we bind a particular work of the devil on earth, he is bound where he operates, that is in the heavens.
  Now, I’m not referring to the throne of God, but in the earth’s atmosphere, where multitudes of devils, personalities without bodies, operate. And then we can cast him out of that person he is operating through. Then the house is swept clean, spiritually. We loose that person who is oppressed from their oppression. And then we lay hands on them to fill them with the Holy Spirit, as when the devil is cast out, it always wants to go back to where it lived before, and will find it swept and garnished. Then it will go and take seven more spirits more evil than itself and try to get back in, and if it does, that person’s last state is worse that the first. That is why it is so necessary for the person who has been loosed, to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Then, James 4:7 comes into effect. “Submit yourself therefore unto God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” As we proclaim the gospel of the Kingdom of God, He confirms His word with signs and wonders. We will not wonder where the God of Elijah, Isaac and Jacob is, He will be with us as we do His work.