In Isaiah 14:13 we are told that not only did God assign the archangel Lucifer the position of earth’s ruler, He gave him a throne from which to govern the angels assigned to him. Elsewhere in Scripture we are told that the magnificent structure was located in Eden. This, however, was not good enough for Lucifer, who led his angels in attacking the heavens where God and the Word have their thrones. Following the universe-wide rebellion, the Lord cast him and them back down to earth. Though defeated by the Lord and His angels, the one now called Satan (adversary/enemy) still maintained his authority–he was still earth’s ruler. Nothing has changed since. He still has his throne. He still administers his government. The decision to allow Satan to retain rulership over the earth falls under the heading of “The Lord’s ways are above our ways.” This is one of those aspects of the holy mind that totally befuddles me. It also explains why He is the all-important God and I am His totally unimportant servant. God does what He does because He is the omniscient (all-knowing), omnipresent (all-present), omnipotent (all-powerful) God. Truly, His ways are far above man’s ways and are “above finding out” by man. As a man, not even Jesus could penetrate this incredible mind that knows the end from the beginning. Proof of this lies in the fact that Jesus wondered when the end of the world would come, wondered if there was a way to offer salvation to man other than crucifixion, and wondered why His Father had abandoned Him as He hung on the cross. As His brethren, we are also left to wonder why God does some of the things He does. In my case, His using man to regain ownership of the world is my number one puzzlement.

When the Lord cast Satan back down to earth, this marked the time in history when the earth changed ownership–it no longer belonged to God. This has not changed. The earth and the world/social systems that inhabit it do, however, have a god. His name is Satan, as 2 Corinthians 4:4, Matthew 4:8,9 and John 12:31 tell us. However, the governance of the earth is soon to change. And the Lord will use human beings to bring about the change. This is number two on my puzzlement list. Why He is using puny, insignificant man to do His work is a total mystery to me. Which, again, explains why He is God and I am not.

The Lord began preparing for a human-run world and universe in the Garden of Eden where He taught Adam and Eve His ways and gave them the opportunity to defeat Satan and thereby make the world God’s world once again. As He had with Lucifer and the angels assigned to him, He would offer the first humans the choice of believing and obeying Him or believing and obeying Satan–the Serpent of Eden. The two choices came in the form of two trees (Gen. 2:8,9). His instructions to our original parents were simple and direct. They could choose to rely on Him for knowledge and power, restore His rulership over the earth and live forever, or they could rely on Satan for knowledge and power, retain his rulership over the earth and eventually die.

If Adam and Eve, and all men springing from them, had chosen to believe and obey the Lord, they would have received His Holy Spirit. This would enable them to develop His character and nature, thereby qualifying them for salvation. This was the Lord’s purpose for creating man from the beginning. As Genesis 3:1-6 tells us, our first parents chose to believe and obey Satan. Since that time the vast majority of their descendants have followed in their spiritual footsteps. Only a tiny minority–the Lord’s Very Elect–have bucked the tide of Satan worship. Many, beginning with Abel, have paid with their lives. Those who were not martyred were, are and will continue to be rejected, hated and persecuted by the religious world just as the Lord warned. See Persecution.

For the past 6,000 years since the creation of man Satan has held sway over Adam and Eve’s descendants. As Jesus prophesied in Matthew 7:13,14, only a minutely few have chosen to follow Him. The masses of God seekers have been lured into following the devil into his Counterfeit Church System known as Catholicism/Protestantism, aka “the church.” Because each generation learns its religious “truths” from the previous generation, Satan’s grip on the hearts of men has grown ever more powerful. Today, what is called Christianity blatantly and proudly proclaims Satan as her god by obeying his heathen doctrines while openly rejecting God’s Holy Way. Incredibly, the Counterfeit Church believes that by doing so she is serving the Biblical God.

As a result of Satan’s ownership of the world, including the church world, God is about to bring the entire sordid mess to and end. All Biblical signs reveal that we are living in the last of the last days of this world. Following the return of Jesus Christ to earth He will bring the Satan-saturated world system to and end and will establish the Kingdom of God on earth. There, from His headquarters in New Jerusalem, He and His saints will rule, first the earth, then, after 1000 years, the entire universe. His Very Elect, like their Leader, will rule in righteousness. One cannot rule in righteousness unless one is righteous. Training for universe rulership is going on now among those who “walk as He (Jesus) walked” (1 Jn. 2:6), who “purify themselves even as He is pure” (1 Jn. 3:3) and who “… overcome even as I (Jesus) overcame ….” By defeating Satan on his own turf, the Lord’s remnant army will one day sit on His throne with Him exercising His power over all of creation. Now is the time to become part of that very small, very exclusive group. L.J.