And the devil said to him, “I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.” Luke 4:6
This verse literally sent chills up my back! To think that any part of God’s creation would be handed over to such a one as Satan is tragic. I think of world leaders like Hitler, Saddam Hussein, and Stalin and I see what they did during their rule. When they held such power in their hands they took life instead of giving it. They devastated their own people instead of blessing them. Their rule was based on greed and self promotion. Those under their “care” were used, abused, and discarded. So horrible were their crimes against humanity that any footage shown is hard to watch. But they simply reflected the one who gave them their kingdoms to rule. They served him well and pleased him immensely.
I cringe when I realize what Satan gives away was at one time handed over to him. There is no recorded place in Scripture where this transaction took place so we can only surmise. I am assuming the kingdoms of this world were delivered to him when Adam and Eve chose to sin in the Garden of Eden. At some point, he became the possessor of something that was not originally intended for him. The Bible says all things were created by and for God.
There is no doubt he is the prince of the power of the air as well as the ruler of darkness. From the moment he rebelled against God as one of God’s most beautiful creations, his intent has been to destroy anything he can get his hands on. And his prime target is that which was created in the image of God…men and women.
But today we must realize the very things that Satan himself already knows. His rule is limited and temporary. Limited in the fact that he can only be in one place at a time and that he still must seek God’s permission for certain acts (as in the case of Job). Temporary in the fact that one day his influence on God’s creation will come to an end. He knows he has so little time left in comparison to eternity. But he also knows that because of Calvary we have been given authority to come against him in what is called spiritual warfare. May we take that authority seriously.
Father, all is not lost. Help us to see the truth about Your enemy and ours. Greater is the One in us than the one that is in the world. Amen.
