Though it is hard to believe, especially by religious people, GOD IS NOT IN CONTROL OF THE WORLD–Satan is. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself described him as “the prince of this world” in John 12:31 and 14:30. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit the Apostle Paul called him “the god of this world”(2 Cor. 4:4). Let there be no doubt that Satan is just as powerful and influential today as he was while Jesus Christ walked this earth. Spirits do not change. Satan and his demons are spirits.

Relative to Satan’s power and control of the earth, the best illustration is found in a conversation Jesus had with him following His 40 day fast at the beginning of His ministry as recorded in Luke 4:5,6: “And the devil, taking Him up into a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them. And the devil said to Him, ‘ALL THIS POWER WILL I GIVE TO YOU, AND THE GLORY OF IT, FOR THAT IS DELIVERED UNTO ME, AND FOR WHOMSOEVER I WILL I GIVE IT.'” SATAN SAID THAT HE WAS IN POSSESSION OF THE WORLD AND COULD GIVE IT TO WHOMEVER HE WANTED TO HAVE IT. Note that JESUS DID NOT CORRECT HIM. Here Satan was offering the Son of God all of the kingdoms of the world, all of their glory and all of the power he (Satan) had over them. He could offer it because he had it to offer. How does Satan exercise such power over mankind?

Satan exercises power over the nations by ENTICING (not forcing) man to follow his way of self-centeredness, pride, competition, greed, vanity, warfare, envy, jealously, resentment, etc. As “the prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2) he deceives the masses into following his way and rejecting God’s Way.

When I said that Satan controls man and the affairs of man I did not mean that man is helpless–that he MUST OBEY SATAN. Man always has a choice as to whom he will obey. Even in olden days man had a choice. Joshua, when preparing to lead the Children of Israel into the Promised Land, said to them: “Choose you this day whom you will serve. If God, then serve Him; if Satan, then serve him. But as for me and my house, we will (we choose to) serve the Lord.” The belief that man has no recourse but to obey the devil is one of the tools he uses to manipulate nearly the whole of mankind. This belief comes from the “Original Sin” theory which is Biblically refuted in the postings titled Human Nature. The well-worn mantra Satan uses to continually reinforce this fallacy is “the fall of man.” Let it be known: MANKIND DID NOT FALL–ADAM FELL. And just as did Adam, we have all CHOSEN TO FALL by choosing to obey Satan and disobey God. MAN ALWAYS HAS A CHOICE AS TO WHOM HE WILL OBEY. But without the Spirit of God, man will inevitably take the easy, self-pleasing, pride-dominated way of Satan. Only God’s power–his Holy Spirit–can enable man to resist Satan and obey God. The Lord gives His Holy Spirit only to those who believe and obey His Word (Acts 5:32) as did Jesus when he walked this earth. With rare exception, man refuses to follow His example. This weakness on man’s part was addressed when God commanded Israel to come to the Temple once each year to offer a blood sacrifice for the sins they had accumulated throughout the previous 12 months. With rare exception, the Children of Israel did not have God’s Spirit/power, which made them spiritual puddy in the hands of the devil. God’s true church has received His Holy Spirit and can “resist the devil” with the assurance that he will “flee from you” (Jam. 4:7). MAN CAN OVERCOME SATAN’S POWER  ONLY BY USING GOD’S POWER. Jesus said that in order to join Him in paradise (the Kingdom of God on earth) one had to “… overcome (Satan) even as I overcame him.” This enables Him to sit next to His Father in His kingdom which is now in heaven (Rev. 3:21). Notice in this passage that JESUS HAD TO OVERCOME SATAN JUST AS WE DO. He did so using the power of the Holy Spirit, as will those who will one day sit with Him on His throne in the Kingdom of God. To be continued. L.J.