Who is the god of this world, Satan or God?

The answer to this question lies in Jesus' temptation in the desert. The devil, who is Satan, tempted Jesus three times. One one occasion, the Book of Matthew says:

Mat 4:8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.

Mat 4:9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”

Jesus, of course, rebuked him, and Satan left. But Satan made a claim that all the kingdoms of the world belonged to him. How do we know that Satan was not merely bluffing? Because it was a claim that Jesus never refuted, and he acknowledged in Matthew 12:26 that Satan has a kingdom. Moreover, Satan couldn't tempt Jesus with something he didn't have. Luke 4:1 goes into a little more detail. Satan says the kingdoms had been handed over to him. The question is, who handed the kingdoms of the world over to him?

This goes all the way back to Adam. God gave Adam, and all humanity by birthright, dominion over planet earth. To use a political analogy, we act as governors over earth while God is the president. He is the one ultimately in control, but He has given us authority to act in his stead. So, when Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden at the behest of Satan, or one of his emissaries, we gave him "some" ownership and control of earth. To use another analogy, Adam gave Satan permission to be a squatter on earth. That is why 2Co 4:4 calls Satan the god (lowercase "g") of this world.

To affirm this, John the Apostle said the whole world is under the control of the evil one (1Jo 5:19). And in Ephesians 2:2, Satan is called the prince of the power of the air. Satan may be the de facto god of this world, but it is only temporary. When Jesus came to earth, was crucified, and was resurrected, it was the first step in reclaiming the earth from Satan. It will be fully reclaimed at the Second Coming of Christ.

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