Is Satan The God of This World?

Good article by Gary DeMar of americanvision.org
http://americanvision.org/6612/is-satan-the-god-of-this-world/

And though this world, with devils filled, Should threaten to undo us, we will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us.

The prince of darkness grim we tremble not for him; his rage we can endure, for lo! his doom is sure, one little word shall fell him. [1]

Christians will use all types of excuses to keep themselves out of today’s religious-moral-cultural battles. One of the most diabolical excuses is to claim that Satan is the rightful god of this world. This translates into believing that this world is demonic. Let’s see what the Bible actually says about this.

Satan is a creature. Like all creatures, he has certain limitations. Even under the Old Covenant, Satan had to be granted permission by God before he could act (Job 1:6-12; 2:1-7). Satan’s limitations have been multiplied since the crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus.

The Bible shows us that if we “resist the devil he will flee from” us (James 4:7). The only power that Satan has over the Christian is the power we give him and the power granted to him by God (2 Cor. 12:7-12). Scripture tells us that Satan is defeated, disarmed, and spoiled (Col. 2:15; Rev. 12:7; Mark 3:27). He has “fallen” (Luke 10:18) and was “thrown down” (Rev. 12:9). He was “crushed” under the feet of the early Christians, and by implication, under the feet of all Christians throughout the ages (Rom. 16:20). He has lost “authority” over Christians (Col. 1:13). He has been “judged” (John 16:11). He cannot “touch” a Christian (1 John 5:18). His works have been destroyed (1 John 3:8). He has “nothing” (John 14:30). He must “flee” when “resisted” (James 4:7). He is “bound” (Mark 3:27; Luke 11:20). Finally, the gates of hell “shall not overpower” the advancing church of the Lord Jesus Christ (Matt. 16:18).[2] Surely Satan is alive, but he is not well on planet earth.

So then, what does Paul mean when he describes Satan as “the god of this world,” actually, “of this age”? (2 Cor. 4:4). To hear some people tell it, this verse teaches that Satan has all power and authority in this dispensation and in the locale of planet earth. Where God is the God of heaven and of the age to come, Satan is the god of this world and this present evil age. This dualistic view of the universe may be part of Greek philosophy, but it has no place in biblical theology.

While it’s true that the devil is said to be the god of this age,[3] we know that God is “the King of the ages” (1 Tim. 1:17). Paul is simply stating that Satan is the chosen god of those who deny Jesus as God’s rightful heir of all things (Matt. 22:1-14). These are the true antichrists (2 John 2:7; 1 John 2:18). Jesus is in possession of “all authority,” in both heaven and earth (Matt. 28:18-20). In addition, we know that Satan’s power has not increased since Job’s day. He is still a permission-seeking creature. This is especially true under the new and better covenant inaugurated by Jesus Christ. As the above verses make clear, Satan is a second-class creature who has been cast out and judged: “The ruler of this world shall be cast out” (John 12:31); “the ruler of this world has been judged” (16:11).

What, then, does the apostle mean when he describes Satan as “the god of this age”? First, we must never allow one passage to finalize our understanding of a particular doctrine. Scripture must be compared with Scripture. There are no contradictions. Therefore, we can’t have the Bible saying of the one true God, “I am the LORD, and there is no other; besides Me there is no God” (Isa. 45:5) and then making Satan a rival god. Paul must have something else in mind. We can’t say that Satan has been judged and cast out, something that does not happen to gods, and still maintain that he is the god of this world similar to the way Jehovah is God of this world. Paul is making a theological point. For example, Jesus tells the Pharisees that the devil is their father (John 8:44). We know that Satan is not their biological father. Rather, he is their spiritual father in that they rejected their true Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.

Physically these Jews, to be sure, are children of Abraham; but spiritually and morally–and that was the issue–they are the children of the devil.[4]

Jesus is describing the devil as one who gives birth to a worldview, a worldview that includes lying and murder. In this sense, Satan is their spiritual father. In the same way, Satan is a god to those who cling to the fading glory of Moses, “the ministry of death” (2 Cor. 3:7). This is the age over which he is a god, an age that “has no glory on account of the glory that surpasses it” (v. 10).

Second, the devil is chosen as a god by “those who are perishing,” and he must blind them before they will follow him: “The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Cor. 4:4). This passage teaches that unbelievers are fooled into believing that “the old covenant” where the “veil remains unlifted” is the way to life (v. 14). Satan is the god of the “ministry of death.” The “god of this age” keeps them in bondage, “but whenever a man turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away” (v. 16). Liberty from the ministry of death only comes where the Spirit of Lord is: “Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (v. 17). But Satan has blinded the eyes of the unbelieving so they cannot see the lifted veil. They are still trusting in the shadows of the Old Covenant.

Third, like idols in general, the devil is “by nature” not a god (Gal. 4:8; cf. Deut. 32:17; Ps. 96:5; Isa. 44:9-20; 1 Cor. 8:4; 10:20). This includes the devil. In Philippians 3:19, Paul tells us that those who are “enemies of the cross of Christ” worship “their appetite”: “For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is there appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things.” The appetite is not a god, but it can be chosen as a god.

Fourth, the only way Satan can pass himself off as a god is to first blind his victims. Keep in mind that Jesus described the devil as “a liar, and the father of lies” (John 8:44). Though Satan masquerades as a god, this does make him a god.

Satan wishes, albeit vainly, to set himself up as God, and sinners, in rebelling against the true God, subject themselves to him who is the author of their rebellion. The unregenerate serve Satan as though he were their God. They do not thereby, however, escape from the dominion of the one true God. On the contrary, they bring themselves under His righteous judgment; for Satan is a creature and not a God to be served (cf. Rom. 1:18, 25). Just as there is one in the world and every pretended alternative to it is a false no-gospel, so there is only one God of the universe and every other “deity” whom men worship and serve is a false no-god.[5]

When all the evidence is in we learn that Satan is the god of an age that was passing away. “This age” and “this world” are used “in an ethical sense,” denoting “the immoral realm of disobedience rather than the all-inclusive, extensive scope of creation,” representing “the life of man apart from God and bound to sinful impulses, a world “ethically separated from God.”[6] Calling Satan the “god of this age” is more a reflection on the condition of “this age” than the real status of the devil. Chrysostom comments that “Scripture frequently uses the term god, not in regard of the dignity that is so designated, but of the weakness of those in subjection to it; as when he calls mammon lord and belly god: but the belly is neither therefore God nor mammon Lord, save only of those who bow themselves to them.”[7]

When the church makes Satan the “god of this age,” it has fallen for one of the devil’s schemes–giving him a lot more credit and power than he deserves. He is quite satisfied in having anyone believe one of his lies.

Self Governement

Do you think that when a nation rejects God and his commandments and the people lack self governance that God then judges that nation by placing the yoke of wicked civil government on that nation?

I was searching for sermons about self government and the consequences of not practicing it.
I came across an article in answersingenesis.org written by Doug Phillips back in 2008.
It seems rather timely to read given the circumstances that our country is in.

One Nation Over God by Doug Phillips Feb. 6, 2008  

Mention the word government to a typical twenty-first century American and he is most likely to think of Washington, D. C. But if that same American were to travel back in time to 1828 and open a copy of Webster’s newly released dictionary, he would discover that the first definition of government describes “self-government.” Other forms of government, including family (1 Corinthians 11:3, 8–9) and civil government (Deuteronomy 16:18–20, 25:1; Romans 13:1–5), are secondary.

This definition points us back to the Bible, the only source to properly understand our need for government and its real nature. We learn from the Bible that man is to give his heart to God (1 Peter 1:14–16) and to exercise self-control over his mind (2 Corinthians 10:4–6), his members (1 Corinthians 9:26–27), and his actions, so that he can fully honor his Creator (John 14:15; 1 John 2:3–5, 5:2–3).

Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language reflected this distinctively biblical worldview in its definitions of government and sample usages:

“Direction; regulation. ‘These precepts will serve for the government of our conduct.’”

“Control; restraint. ‘Men are apt to neglect the government of their temper and passions.’”

In this modern age of lawlessness, where morality is believed to evolve based on changing culture rather than eternally fixed principles for self-rule, it is not surprising that the only “government” modern man recognizes is an all-powerful state. The biblical doctrine of government, on the other hand, emphasizes a multiplicity—family, church, and state—each grounded in self-control under God. The tension between these two views of government finds its root in the Genesis record, from the Garden of Eden to the Tower of Babel.

Creation and Self-Government

In the beginning, God created man and gave him the first law: to keep the Garden but not eat of the forbidden fruit (Genesis 2:15–17). The law was meant to be a blessing to man, but it came with sanctions should man break it. Both the law and its sanctions communicated truths of vast significance about the Creator, including His righteousness, His love, His authority, and His justice.

At first, there was no civil government to enforce the law. Man was to be self-governing under God. He was to delight in the law of the Lord and keep His commandments. But man proved he would not be self-governing. He broke the law and lost fellowship with His Creator (Genesis 3:23–24). He also fell under the condemnation of the law and brought disorder and confusion into mankind’s relationships.

Family government was introduced at the moment of Eve’s creation. Adam was to be the jurisdictional head of the family, and Eve was to be a helper suitable for him (Genesis 2:18). But Adam failed to honor his governmental duties. He should have refused to eat the forbidden fruit that Eve offered him. At that moment tension entered their relationship. God would then declare to Eve: “Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you” (Genesis 3:16).

In the years that followed, three distinct units of government emerged, each with privileges and duties. Today, they are known as family, civil, and church governments. Each government carries a God-ordained instrument of punishment to enforce the moral law of God: The family is given the rod (Proverbs 23:13–14); the state, the sword (Romans 13:4); and the church, the keys (Matthew 16:19). But self-government under God remains the defining obligation of every individual.

The Origins of Civil Government

There is no biblical evidence of a sword-bearing, civil government in the pre-Flood world. The two most notable killers in the world before the Flood—Cain (Genesis 4:8–18) and Lamech—feared retribution from their brothers, but neither of them suffered at the hands of a civil magistrate.

God apparently instituted civil government after the Genesis Flood when He introduced capital punishment for murder (Genesis 9:5). Here we discover that the very first principle of godly civil government is the protection of innocent life. The Lord declared to Noah that “whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed.” God instituted this law because of the creation doctrine of the imago dei (“for in the image of God made he man”).

Nimrod and the Tower of Babel

After the Genesis Flood, God restated His mandate, originally given in the Garden of Eden, for mankind to multiply and fill the earth (Genesis 1:26–28; 9:1). But in the generations that followed, man expressly rejected that mandate. Rather than dispersing and demonstrating self-governance under God, the people gathered at the tower in the city of Babel (Genesis 11:1–9). Their mission: an empire of rebellion—a one-world, centralized government under man. Many commentators believe that the tyrant Nimrod, a “mighty man” of violence described in Genesis 10:9–11, led this enterprise.

The mandate to disperse around the world implied decentralization and self-government (Genesis 1:28, 9:1). The express purpose of the tower, in contrast, was for humans to “make a name” for themselves and to avoid being “scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.”

The new Babel state was distinctively religious in nature. It appeared to have a messianic vision of salvation by government and glory to man, symbolized by the erection of a tower to the heavens. Under this centralized religious state the people were one. The Lord Himself revealed the dangers of this Satanic unity: “Now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do” (Genesis 11:6). In the end, God judged man’s self-seeking attempt to centralize power at Babel by sending confusion and dispersing men by language groups.

It is likely that the city of Babel served as the model for most of the state-sponsored pagan mystery religions of the ancient world. Many early cities adopted major architectural projects, like the ziggurats of Babylon, which perpetuated ideals similar to those of the centralized human government at Babel.

Since the Garden of Eden, mankind has yearned to restore the sense of order and justice that was lost at the Fall. But the question has always been—will man be self-governing under the authority of a multiplicity of God-ordained governments, each with defined and limited powers, or will he seek a Babel-like solution?

Recall that the Hebrew nation insisted on a king with vast powers like their pagan counterparts, while Samuel pleaded for them to remain self-governing under God (1 Samuel 8:5, 10:19). The totalitarian Roman Empire arose in large part as a response to the perceived inefficiencies and weakness of the more decentralized Republic.

More recently the German people of the 1930s looked to a strongman with absolute authority to bring order after the devastation of World War I. This desire for unity under a modern-day Nimrod-like leader—in this case, Adolf Hitler—brought unprecedented horror, not only to the people of the world but to the very Germans who demanded the new regime.

Salvation by Government

Just six thousand years ago, the Serpent asked Eve the question, “Has God said?” (Genesis 3:1). Modern man is asking the same question. He hates the moral law of God and refuses to be governed by it (Habakkuk 1:4). Instead of seeking the favor of the Lord through obedience to His law, modern humans seek deliverance through endless legislation and the promises of an all-powerful “nanny state.”

God intends civil law to be a restraint against evil, not a source of spiritual deliverance (Romans 13:4). Ironically, those who believe in evolving morality are the ones who most vocally argue for salvation by legislation. Because they believe man’s problems arise from outward circumstances rather than sins of the heart, they hope to solve man’s problems through government programs and better education. In such a world, the State, not Jesus Christ, is honored as the true redeemer.

The spirit of Babel is alive and well. Men still crave “government” solutions to spiritual problems. At the heart of this crisis is a misdiagnosis of the basic problem. Man’s problem is not his environment; it is sin (Romans 6:23). The solution begins with spiritual redemption, not social reform or state-imposed order. Because nations are comprised of individuals, the solution requires a change in heart, which only God can do.

The disposition of the individual influences what kind of people rule over him. Because civil governments are ultimately ruled by individuals, the state of their hearts impacts the prosperity of the whole nation. The bottom line is this: Freedom requires self-government; self-government requires righteousness. This explains why, “when the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; but when a wicked man rules, the people groan” (Proverbs 29:2).

As God makes clear from Genesis, proper government begins with self-government and then extends to the family, church, and state, as each jurisdiction honors their God-ordained duties and boundaries.

QUOTES AND RAMBLINGS

"The individual is handicapped by coming face-to-face with a conspiracy so monstrous he cannot believe it exists."

- J. Edgar Hoover


“If you love wealth more than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, depart from us in peace. We ask not your counsel nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you. May your chains rest lightly upon you and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen.”

- Samuel Adams

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Some would like to think that the Constitution is a living document (which it's not), i.e., the meaning of the Constitution can change according to the whims of society.

Just think what would happen if they said that about the Bible!

You would have moral relativism, doing what's right in our own eyes, moral decay, no absolutes, the church would be apostate, the church would not be teaching sound doctrine.

OH WAIT!

Come to think of it, people do say that about the Bible.

Proverbs 14:12

There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.