Bible Discussion Thread

How exactly was Satan able to say to Jesus that the world had been given to him?

Hi Alex. In Matthew 4:8-10, we read, "Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve."

In this specific test that Satan placed before Jesus, we note that Jesus didn't oppose Satan on the point of "All these things will I give thee", but on the point of 'falling down & worshipping him (Satan)'. Even though God is the Creator & Sustainer of the World & will always have full authority over all His Creation, the advent of sin into mankind which also affects the rest of creation, Satan is now in the seat of control over the hearts & minds of men ( 2 Timothy 2:26; 1 John 5:19). He has captivated our hearts by the deceitfulness of sin, men given over wholly to him, and only by the presentation of the Life-giving Gospel can those same sinners have a spark of Holy Light enter in that can upset Satan's plans & strong grip.

So, presently the World is under Satan's control & deception, as he blinds hearts & minds to the Truth of the Gospel, but God still has the final say & of course the ultimate victory when Satan will one day be bound & destined to that eternal flame and the new heavens & earth arrive, without the stain of corruption ( Revelation 20:10-15; Revelation 21:1-3).

Chris Amen ..Well said Gbu....Love your post...ty

Hi Alex. In Genesis 2 when God created Adam, Adam had control of all of God's

Creation. But when Satan tricked Adam and Eve that authority was handed over

To Satan and that's why He is called God of this world which is why this world is

In the condition it's in. But thank God that through Jesus Christ us who believe

Walk in the God given ability to conqueror the enemy when we believe.

Hi Henry,

I agree that Satan is the god of this world, but I do not recall a Scripture that says that man or God gave dominion of the earth over to him. Can you cite the Scripture passage(s) that say this?

While mankind was given dominion over animals, I don't think that God gave mankind total dominion over all the earth. God has always been the sovereign over creation, not man, not Satan. Can you cite any Scripture that says that man had total dominion over the created world?

I do think that the entrance of sin into mankind resulted in the loss of many things and the corruption of all of creation. By disobeying God, Adam and Eve became separated from God like Satan is separated from Him. Rather than becoming more like God in eating the from the tree of Knowledge of good and evil, Adam and Eve, (and all of humanity) became more like Satan. This is why we call it a "fall". Instead of moving upward, closer to God, sin caused Adam and Eve to fall downward, or away from God. Thankfully, God was gracious to Adam and Eve after they sinned, just as He is gracious to all humanity. God planned all along, even before the creation of the world and the spiritual realm to redeem humanity, but not Satan and the evil angels.

How thankful we all should be to Him for His saving grace. He did not leave mankind without a hope to be restored. Satan and his evil angels do not have such a hope. I think keeping this in mind can help us understand why Satan and his evil angels are so intent on destroying mankind. He does not want us to receive what he cannot every have. He does not want mankind to be recipients of God's grace and mercy when he is not such a recipient. He also wants to bring worship to himself, drawing mankind away from worshipping God who made them and himself. He will forever continue to grow more and more wicked even as in the end of history he will be thrown in the lake of fire to be punished for all eternity.

Thankfully, we do not have such an end.

Gigi In the gospel of Luke 4:6 the devil also known as Satan or before he fell

Lucifer said to Jesus Christ He would give him the power and glory of this world

For that was delivered to him and that occurred in Genesis when by deception

It was taken from Adam and stolen by Satan. That is why in 2 Corinthians 4:4

He is called God of this world and also known as prince of the power of the air.

But understand the difference the true God owns the world the adversary rules

It and manipulates to deceive even the very elect. Who do you think runs the

Governments and kingdoms and will set up the one world government and is

Causing all the severe weather. Man worshipping other God's is opening the

Floodgates for the enemy to work,it's the same thing in the old testament.

John 8:42-44, Ephesians 4:14, Revelation 12:9, Revelation 18:23, Revelation 20:3, he is deceiver, liar,

Psalms 24:1, 1Corinthians 10:26, The Earth's the LORD's & fullness thereof

Hopefully these are helpful