1 John 5:19 “We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.”
When Adam rebelled against God by listening to the devil, he in effect changed allegiance and submitted himself to Satan as his new god, and so at that time Satan became the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4). When Satan tempted our Lord in the wilderness he stated that he had authority over all the kingdoms of the world. He then tempted our Lord by offering Him all that authority if Jesus would worship him. The temptation was real, for our Lord never disputed Satan’s claim, but rather rejected his temptation (Luke 4:5-6). And so, as the god of this world Satan has dominion over all unbelievers on the earth, and Satan exercises his dominion over mankind by influencing them to do his will. The above quoted passage of scripture confirms the truth to us that the whole world lies under the sway of the devil. In other words Satan is able to exert his influence, to a greater or lesser degree, on the wills of men in the world so that they do his will.
Job 1:12-15 “And the Lord said to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person." So, Satan went out from the presence of the Lord. (13) Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house; (14) and a messenger came to Job and said, "The oxen were ploughing and the donkeys feeding beside them, (15) when the Sabeans raided them and took them away--indeed they have killed the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
All authority comes from God (Romans 13:1), and so God decides what the limits of that authority will be. In the same manner God places limitations on Satan’s authority in the earth, because of which Satan can only operate within the parameters that God allows. Nevertheless Satan does have relatively wide latitude of authority over the unbelievers in the earth. And so it is because Satan is able to influence the wills of men that there is so much wickedness in the world. It is for this reason that it is possible for seemingly normal people to be capable of doing extremely wicked things. In the above quoted passage of scripture we see that it was Satan that influenced the Sabeans to kill Job’s servants and take his livestock. I’m not saying that these Sabeans were not already wicked men, but this passage demonstrates to us that it is Satan who influences men to kill and to steal.
Isaiah 14:5-7 “The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked, the sceptre of the rulers; (6) He who struck the people in wrath with a continual stroke, He who ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted and no one hinders. (7) The whole earth is at rest and quiet; they break forth into singing.”
The above quoted passage of scripture demonstrates to us the wicked influence that Satan has over the unbelievers in the earth, for this passage reveals that the whole world will be at rest and quiet when Satan is taken out of the world. When our Lord Jesus returns to the earth for His millennial reign, the scriptures teach us that Satan and his angles will be removed from the earth during that time (Revelation 20:1-3). And so during that time mankind will no longer commit any wickedness, even though they will still be spiritually dead people. The reason that wickedness will cease in the earth is because Satan will not be around to exert his influence on the wills of men any more.
Michael E.B. Maher
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