This is a significantly revised version of a post with the same title from December 2021
The Bible has many descriptive names for the one referred to in Revelation 12:9, as the “great dragon”, “the serpent of old”, “the Devil and Satan”. These and a number of other names/titles for him found in scripture represent aspects of his devious, prideful, rebellious, insidious, malevolent and covetous nature and the powerful/destructive, widespread influence and impact he has on what the Bible refers to as this present evil world/age (Galatians 1:1-4), a world that increasingly opposes God’s person and purposes, as well as His order and design for human flourishing and our individual happiness in Him (2 Timothy 3:1-7).
The most disconcerting or troubling “title” given to this malevolent being is found in 2 Corinthians 4:4, where he is referred to by the Apostle Paul as the “god of this world/age”, who blinds the hearts of men and women to the glory of God, to the infinite perfections of God’s being that make Him worthy of being known, trusted, obeyed and worshiped as the object of our deepest love and the source of our greatest joy, which He must be if we are to go to Heaven (Luke 10:25-28) (1 Corinthians 8:3).
Now the title, god of this world, does not mean he has ultimate authority and control over all that occurs in this world or in our lives as does the one true God who created him (Daniel 4:34-35) (Colossians 1:16-17). He was initially created to serve God and man as the leader of God’s angelic host (Psalm 103:20-21) (Ezekiel 28:14). However, we are told in Ezekiel 28:15-16 and Isaiah 14:12-15, that being lifted up in pride, he rebelled against God and was cast out of His immediate presence to the earth, where he still serves God’s purposes, though unwittingly and to his ultimate demise (See Job Chapters 1-2, 2 Corinthians 12:7-12, Luke 22:31-32, 1 John 3:8).
In John 14:30, Jesus assigns this diabolical being the title of the “prince or ruler of this world” which points to the significant influence God allows him to assert during this present age, which spans from the time of man’s sin and exile from the Garden of Eden through Jesus’ second coming, when He put an end to the devil’s reign and will consummate a new age of righteousness, peace and joy, free from the effects of Satan’s schemes and deceptions (Revelation 20:1-10) (Romans 14:17).
However, during this age, the devil’s evil influence on fallen mankind has been and is substantial and deadly. In John 8:44, Jesus describes him as a murderer from the beginning, the embodiment and originator of lies, namely lies regarding God and how man is to relate to God, which mankind in believing and acting on those lies has come under God’s judgement of death (Genesis 3:1-3) (Ezekiel 18:4). In Revelation 12:9, we are told that his deception did not end with Adam, but that from that moment on he has been allowed by God to deceive the whole world.
The term world here and in these passages above refers not just to the whole of mankind who populate the planet, but primarily to the organized system of beliefs, institutions and human relationships that form, order and govern human society in which we pursue the fulfillment of our God given needs and desires and our ultimate happiness and well-being.
In the beginning, God created, ordered and designed a world that was to be God centered; governed by the love of God, through the law of God, for the glory of God and for the eternal and ever-increasing joy, delight, pleasure and happiness of beings He would create in His image and likeness to know, love and be loved by Him and one another, under His gracious rule (Genesis 1:26-31) (Isaiah 43:7).
It should be obvious that the world we live in today is not such a world, as sin, our rejection of God’s purpose for and rule over our lives, has separated us – cut us off from the glorious life with God for which we were created (Isaiah 59:2-3), The world we live in today has been not only corrupted by our sin, but by God’s curse on the Earth, His temporal judgement of our sin, such that nothing is as God ordered and designed it to be in the beginning, particularly mankind (Genesis 3:17-19) (Hebrews 2:6-8)).
This world is essentially a man centered, pride driven, satanically influenced system of beliefs, institutions and relationships that are governed by the lusts of men – disordered desires for power, pleasure, and possessions, in the vain pursuit of our happiness and wellbeing independent of God and in opposition to God.
Christian theologian and author John Piper helps us see how well and how thoroughly Satan, as the god of this world, has blinded us to the glory of God in this world, and why this world can truly be called evil. He notes that it is a world where the glory of God is not proclaimed, the greatness of God is not praised and admired; a world where the love of God is not treasured, the goodness of God is not acknowledged with heartfelt gratitude, and the beauty of God not enjoyed.
It is a world where the word and wisdom of God are not esteemed, the law of God is not obeyed, and the promises of God are not believed. It is a world where the grace and mercy of God are not cherished (despite being on display in our lives every day), because the justice of God is not honored and the wrath and judgement of God are not feared. Thus, it is a world in which the presence of God is not welcomed, and the glorious person of God is not loved and adored above all else.
Instead, the most glorious, most desirable, most excellent, most essential, most awesome, most powerful, most valuable, most joyful being in all of the universe, the creator and sovereign ruler of that universe, who is the source of all that is good in it, (James 1:17), is despised and disdained, dishonored and disregarded, disbelieved and disobeyed by everyone to varying degrees (Romans 3:23). Thus, it is a world that is perishing under God’s judgement, wherein our believing and acting on the lies of the devil, have made ourselves the objects of His wrath, subject to the same eternal judgement as the devil and the angels that joined him in his rebellion against God’s judgement (1 John 2:15-17) (Romans 1:18-25) (Matthew 25:41).
Yet, at the same time, it is a world of people that God created to be objects of His infinite love (Jeremiah 31:3), to know and rejoice in His greatness, His goodness and the glory of His grace, such that even in the midst of our rebellion, He is good and does good to us while in this world (Isaiah 30:18) (Psalm 119:68) (Psalm 145:8-9).
Thus God, whom we are told in Ephesians 2:4-5 is rich in mercy and who delights in displaying that mercy (Micah 7:18-19), planned from the foundation of the world to send His only begotten Son into the world so that those who will believe in Him, as well as believe Him, will not perish (in Hell), but receive the gift of eternal life, the glorious life with God for which we were created in the beginning, residing with Him in a new heavens/universe and new earth, free from Satan, sin and the effects of sin, forever (John 3:16) (1 Peter 1:18-21) (2 Peter 3:13).
Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! (Psalm 107:8)
Grace and Peace ×
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