Matthew 4:8-10 "8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written,“‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”(ESV)
What do you think those verses teach? What was Satan offering Jesus, and did Satan have a right to offer it?
Two people showed up at the door a month or so ago, and they asked me who I thought ruled the world. They used the above verses to say that Satan ruled earth. I disagree; I think Jesus is in charge, and the rest of this blog entry will set out to show why. It will not address the question of why there is evil in the world if God is in charge. I simply do not have room in this entry to discuss both issues. I will answer that question in a future entry.
To answer the question about who is in charge, we need to look at the characters involved. What does the Bible say about Jesus? What does the Bible say about Satan?
John 8:44 "You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies."
Revelation 12:9 "And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him."(ESV)
So, here in these verses, we have Satan referred to as "liar," "Father of lies" and "deceiver." These are not exactly terms used to refer to someone of good character. If Satan lies, how do we know that he had control of those kingdoms he was offering to Jesus? We only have his word for it, and he lies and deceives.
How does the Bible refer to Jesus?
Revelation 19:11-16 "Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. 13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords."
Now, it is important to notice here that Jesus is referred to as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords
before the final battle with gog and magog in Revelation 20. Before Satan is bound and thrown into the bottomless pit, Jesus is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Satan at the most is referred to as the prince of the power of the air (see Eph 2:2) If Jesus is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords before He defeats Satan, what does that say about Satan?
If God can put into motion a plan that has Jesus slain from the foundation of the world -- a plan that involves dozens of prophecies documenting birth location and everything, and they all happen exactly as foretold including birth by a virgin -- how can there be anyone remotely in charge of the Earth except for the one who can do all that?
If Satan is in charge of the Earth, how can God lay out a plan covering thousands of years -- a plan that documents genealogy, birth location, death, rejection, betrayal and a pregnant virgin -- and have them all happen, exactly as foretold, and it all happen under the nose of the person that would be defeated by such a plan?
Satan never stood a chance; he was defeated from the very dawn of time and had no power except that which was given to him by God, particularly seen in the story of Job, where Satan had to follow exact rules set out by God. The war is over -- all we have to do is go out and tell others who won and reconcile those in the enemy camp back to God. We have been given a ministry of reconciliation and need to do it (2 Corinthians 5:18-22)
So the next time you think Satan is in charge, remind yourself that we serve a risen King.
What do you think? Who do you think rules over the Earth?
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Comments (9)
I like this. :)
Of course the Creator is the master of his creation. But human beings are free to do as they please. And therein lies a sticky wicket of a theological problem.
The elite! A loose confederation of like interests who control all the finance. That's who rules the earth.
Was this prompted by a previous conversation?
Here's my take on it: if you are speaking of the saving of souls, then yes, I believe this is the reign of Yahshua on earth. With His sacrifice, we are freed from our burden of sin. I also believe that's why YHWH allowed the Temple to be destroyed, it wasn't needed for the sacrificing of animals for our sins any longer. But if you are speaking of the reign on earth from Revelations: our period of dwelling with Him before the second judgement, then no, I'd say we're not to that point yet.
As for who rules the Earth, I'd have to agree with lovegrove. But for those who can see past the material, that's merely an inconvenience.
@greene_lily@xanga - In Revelation 20, we have the binding of Satan, and the bottomless pit, we have the battle with Gog and Magog, and we have the 1,000 year of reign of Christ. BEFORE, all that takes place, while Satan is still free and running around, we have Jesus being refred to as the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords, in Revelation 19.
So, at what time, do you say Jesus becomes the King of all Kings and the Lord of all Lords? it can't be at the 1,000 year reign, because He is referred as the King of Kings before that.So when is it?
when the sun shines who is in control when it is dark whois in control when it rains snows the wind blows the grass grows new life is born or not you live or die you grow old or you dont god causes the rain to fall on the just and the unjust he chooses some for evil and some for rightousness he meaning GOD made it all he controls it all read the bible its all in there!!!!!!!!!
@ProudToBeAChristianFruitcake@xanga - Obviously you are trying to prove a point. You don't have to agree with what I say, you don't have to agree with ANYTHING that I say, because obviously there is only one thing that you and I agree on: Yahshua is the Messiah. As I said before: I do believe this is the spiritual reign of Christ on earth. I do NOT believe this is the physical reign of Christ on earth, if it was we wouldn't have sorrow, murder, evil, and we'd be able to look Him in the face every single moment of every single day. Right now, if someone came up to me claiming to be the Messiah, I'd probably punch him in the face. When is the physical reign of Christ on earth? After we are finished with the Tribulation (yes, I believe we're in the midst of that) and are raptured out of here. Then comes the apocalypse, those left behind are judged, the earth is renewed, and we dwell with him forevermore. But as I also said: we only agree on ONE thing. Why is it when we're trying to have a conversation, you always come across on the defensive? You challenge EVERY single thing I've EVER said, on public forums and on my own site. If you truly were interested in what other people believe, you'd be more open minded, more open to an actual conversation. It seems to me that you are here to try to prove that other people are wrong in what they believe and that only YOUR beliefs are right and YOUR way of doing things is right. Yahweh is in control of everything, who the "boss" of earth is, is moot. It doesn't matter. We can argue legalism, basic theological beliefs, and interpretation of scripture until we're all dead. All that matters is that we are accepting of Yahshua's sacrifice for us, that we are willing to give ourselves over to Him, and that we're following in His footsteps.
This is one of those very rare moments when I have completely responded in frustration and irritation. Usually I try to take the time to think my responses through, to be sure that there isn't some point that I've missed or haven't taken into account, something that I should learn from what's being said. At this point, I'm turning away from that, and responding based on how I feel in this particular moment. I'm NOT going to come back here and apologize for what I've said. I don't know if anyone else feels the same way that I do about this or not. Be truthful: are you on here posting things so you can learn from other people, to take what they say into consideration, or are you on here posting things just so you can have someone to argue with, because you take pleasure in that? Be very careful that you aren't doing that, it's very easy to push people away, especially those who are not as familiar with scripture as you and I. There's a huge difference in being righteous and being self-righteous. As one believer to another, I think that you have the potential to do great things, to lead people down a righteous path and heaven knows that in this horrible world, we need all the support we can give one another, to bring more people to Him.
So now that I've had my say, as rude and horrible as it is, you can feel free to bitch me out and go back to your original conversation with those who will always agree with you.
@ProudToBeAChristianFruitcake@xanga - As much as it hurts me to do so, humble pie isn't very tasty, my friend gave me this verse today:
"...We urge you brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure no one pays back wrong with wrong, but try to be kind to each other and to everyone else. Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances... do not put out the Spirit's fire, do not treat prophecy with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil". - 1 Thessalonians 5:14-22
It says right there: "....be patient with everyone. Make sure no one pays back wrong with wrong, but try to be kind to each other and to everyone else....."
I have not been very patient with you today nor very kind with my words. I will apologize for that because I'm sure I could have been more constructive and kind in my criticism. But I still FEEL the same way, as though you feel that you are the only one with answers and that your way is the only way. It's extremely frustrating. I have had many discussions with people of other faiths, some with no faith, and we have been able to respect those differences and learn from one another. You and I don't agree on much. I sincerely wish that we could have a sharing of our differing beliefs without the argumentative undertones. We probably will never agree, what we believe is too conflicting. But I will try to be more kind in my responses, since scripture advises me to do so.
Ephesians 4:17 - So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.
Ephesians 2:2 - in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.
John 12:31 - Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out.
1 Corinthians 6:11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
^ ^ ^ Add up the above and it means Satan is the ruler of this world but Christ has enabled those purified in his blood to walk within the world and not loose their ticket to salvation that he paid for on your behalf.