Satan Rules
The World—Some
John
Ephesians 6:11, 12.
(http://www.searchgodsword.org/
- NewAmericanBible 2001 Translation- Nazarene 2000-
Satan
Rules The World
Many people would answer the above
question with a single word—God. But significantly, nowhere does the Bible say
that either Jesus Christ or his Father are the real
rulers of this world. On the contrary, Jesus said: “The ruler of this world
will be cast out.” And he added: “The ruler of the world is coming. And he has
no hold on me.”—John 12:31;
So the ruler of this world is in
opposition to Jesus. Who could this be?
A
Clue From World
Conditions
Despite the efforts of well-meaning
humans, the world has suffered terribly throughout history. This causes
thinking persons to wonder, as did the late editorial writer David Lawrence:
“‘Peace on earth’—nearly everybody wants it. ‘Good will toward men’—almost all
the peoples of the world feel it toward one another. Then what’s wrong? Why is
war threatened despite the innate desires of peoples?”
It seems a paradox, doesn’t it? When the
natural desire of people is to live at peace, they commonly hate and kill one
another—and with such viciousness. Consider the cold-blooded excesses in
monstrous cruelty. Humans have used gas chambers, concentration camps,
flamethrowers, napalm bombs, and other heinous methods to torture and slaughter
one another mercilessly.
Do you believe that humans, who long for
peace and happiness, are capable, in themselves, of such gross wickedness
against others? What forces drive men to such loathsome deeds or maneuver them
into situations where they feel compelled to commit atrocities? Have you ever
wondered whether some wicked, invisible power is influencing people to commit
such acts of violence?
The
Rulers of the World Identified
There is no need to guess at the matter,
for the Bible clearly shows that an intelligent, unseen person has been
controlling both men and nations. It says: “The whole world is lying in the
power of the wicked one.” And the Bible identifies him, saying: “The one called
Devil and Satan . . . is misleading the
entire inhabited earth.”—1 John 5:19; Revelation 12:9.
On an occasion when Jesus was “tempted
by the Devil,” Jesus did not question Satan’s role as the ruler of this world.
The Bible explains what happened: “The Devil took him along to an unusually
high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory,
and he said to him: ‘All these things I will give you if you fall down and do
an act of worship to me.’ Then Jesus said to him: ‘Go away, Satan!’”—Matthew
4:1, 8-10.
Think about this. Satan tempted
Jesus by offering him “all the kingdoms of the
world.” Yet, would Satan’s offer have been a real temptation if
Satan was not actually the ruler of these kingdoms? No, it would not. And note,
Jesus did not deny that all these worldly governments were Satan’s, which he
would have done if Satan did not have power over them. So, then, Satan the
Devil really is the unseen ruler of the world! The Bible, in fact, calls him
“the god of this system of things.” (2 Corinthians 4:4) Yet, how did such
a wicked person ever come into this powerful position?
The one who became Satan had been an angel
created by God, but he became envious of God’s position. He challenged God’s
rightful rulership. To this end he used a serpent as a mouthpiece to deceive
the first woman, Eve, and was thus able to get her and her husband, Adam, to do
his bidding rather than obey God. (Genesis 3:1-6; 2 Corinthians 11:3) He
also claimed he could turn all of Adam and Eve’s yet unborn offspring away from
God. So God allowed time for Satan to try to prove his claim, but Satan has not
succeeded.—Job 1:6-12; 2:1-10.
Significantly, Satan is not alone in his
rulership of the world. He was successful in persuading some of the other
angels to join him in rebellion against God. These became demons, his spirit
accomplices. The Bible speaks of them when it urges Christians: “Stand firm
against the machinations of the Devil; because we have a wrestling, not against
blood and flesh, but . . . against the world
rulers of this darkness, against the wicked spirit forces
in the heavenly places.”—Ephesians 6:11, 12.
Resist
Wicked Spirits
These unseen, wicked world rulers are
determined to mislead all mankind, turning them away from the worship of God.
One way wicked spirits do this is by promoting the idea of survival after
death, even though God’s Word clearly shows that the dead are not conscious.
(Genesis 2:17;
So if you ever hear such a “voice,” do not
be deceived. Reject whatever it says, and echo Jesus’ words: “Go away, Satan!”
(Matthew 4:10; James 4:7) Do not allow curiosity about the spirit realm to
cause you to become involved with wicked spirits. Such involvement is called
spiritism, and God warns his worshipers against it in all its forms. The Bible
condemns “anyone who employs divination . . .
or anyone who consults a spirit medium or a professional foreteller of events
or anyone who inquires of the dead.”—Deuteronomy 18:10-12; Galatians 5:19-21;
Revelation 21:8.
Since spiritism brings a person under the
influence of the demons, resist all its practices regardless of how much fun,
or how exciting, they may seem to be. These practices include crystal-ball
gazing, use of Ouija boards,
In addition, wicked spirits capitalize on
the sinful bent of humans by promoting literature, movies, and television
programs that feature immoral and unnatural sexual behavior. The demons know
that wrong thoughts if not expelled from the mind will cause indelible
impressions and lead humans to behave immorally—like the demons
themselves.—Genesis 6:1, 2; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8; Jude 6.
True, many may scoff at the idea that this
world is ruled by wicked spirits. But their disbelief is not surprising, since
the Bible says: “Satan himself keeps transforming himself into an angel of
light.” (2 Corinthians 11:14) His most clever deception has been in
blinding many to the fact that he and his demons really exist. But do not be
deceived! The Devil and his demons are real, and you need to resist them
continually.—1 Peter 5:8, 9.
Happily, the time is now near when Satan
and his cohorts will be no more! “The world [including its demon rulers] is
passing away,” the Bible assures, “but he that does the will of God remains
forever.” (1 John 2:17) What a relief it will be to have that evil
influence removed! May we, therefore, be among those who do God’s will and
enjoy life forever in God’s righteous new world.—Psalm 37:9-11, 29;
2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:3, 4.
Unless otherwise indicated, all Bible
quotations are from the New World Translation of the
Holy Scriptures.
[Picture
on page
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Could
Satan have offered Jesus all these world governments if they were not his?