If you study the book of Genesis, you will find that God the Creator has authority over all things. He created man in His divine image. He created man to have authority on the earth. Man was given authority over all the affairs of earth. Man exercised that authority under God before the fall, but even then, the Creator retained ownership of the earth.
Gen 1:27-28...So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth
The word "dominion" shows they were to rule the affairs of this life. This beautiful picture of dominion shows the ability of the creature that God created. God gave man the power to name every creature and every animal on earth. Adam even named Eve.
The record of the Bible proves that God turned earth over to man's dominion. Man had authority but it was delegated authority under God. This is exactly what is taught in Genesis:
Gen 1:26...and let them have dominion
This authority was lost when man sinned. The Scripture does not imply that man "surrendered" his authority to the Devil. Let's examine this often-misunderstood subject closely. *
*Does Satan have authority? How much authority does Satan have? What is Satan doing in the book of Genesis? What is he doing in the Garden of Eden? This mystery has not been fully revealed, but we do learn from the Holy Scriptures that Satan went up before the throne of God with the sons of God. This proves that Satan still had access to heaven and to the very presence of God.
Job 1:6...Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.
We learn from the language of the Bible that Christ is our Advocate; that is our defender, or an attorney to plead our cause. Isaiah the Prophet and; the writer of the Hebrew letter both teach that Christ makes intercession for the sinner and saint.
Isa 53:12...because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
Heb 7:25...Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
According to both records Christ ever lives to make intercession for humanity. In other words, the Devil is the prosecuting attorney, Jesus is my lawyer, and God the father is the judge. I have a good lawyer - He has never lost a case!
Satan's present-day position is one in which he is making accusations against us in the Throne Room just as he did in the day of Job. However, in the Revelation, which God gave to John, we read:
Rev 12:9-10...And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
This passage indicates that Satan's future position is to be cast out of Heaven to earth by God's Divine Judgment. During that Great tribulation period Satan no longer remains the accuser of the brethren. Take note that during that time Satan's authority on earth is still limited as the child of God overcomes him by faith in Christ and the word of their testimony:
Rev 12:11...And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
There are people today that contend that Satan is called, "the god of this world".
2 Cor 4:3-4...But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
The Greek translation of "world" in this passage is: AION, an age. The Greek language implies an age or period of time characterized by certain moral and spiritual characteristics.
Another frequently misunderstood passage is:
1 John 5:19...And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.
The Greek language for world in the above passage is: KOSMOS, an evil world system. Unless the Greek is consulted, verses such as these may give another impression. The word world or kosmos is not physical earth... but an evil or corrupt system within the world we live in.
For those that advocate that Satan controls visible earth and that the earth is now under Satan's dominion since Adam surrendered it by the transgression in the Garden, this is a grave error! It has overtaken some and even perverted the faith of many!
Although this age or dispensation is subject to the influence of Satan and suffers from the curse of the fall: Scriptures clearly reveal the earth has never, and will never belong to Satan.
In the transgression, Adam rebelled against God. This brought spiritual death and loss of the divine nature. As a result, Adam lost authority and power to rule creation. God's power and authority was not diminished in the least bit. Nor, is there any scriptural evidence to support the idea that Satan assumed Adam's dominion. After all, the earth never belonged to Adam. Even though the earth was created for man, God retains ownership.
Ps 24:1...The earth is the LORD's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.
When we search the Scriptures, we find that time and time again, the earth has been under the direct control of the Lord. God used the laws of nature to bring judgment upon godless men and women. Since the fall, earth has been the scene of tornadoes, floods, earthquakes, and volcanoes. Without divine intervention, man cannot be delivered from the effects of the fall. The fact that God has continued to intervene in the affairs of men and the earth prove He has not relinquished ownership or lost any power. For example look at the;
1. The flood
2. His Covenants with the Patriarchs
3. The plagues which fell on Egypt
4. Israel's deliverance by the Red Sea
5. The giving of Law
6. The word given to the Prophets
7. The redemptive work of Christ
All these only prove that the Almighty God is still on the throne. Amen! Glory!
Satan only controls the wicked and unholy spiritual influences of the world that we live in. The corrupt world system is under his control, not physical or visible earth.
1 John 5:19...And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.
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