The Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke all record Satan tempting Christ in the wilderness. This was near the beginning of Christ’s public ministry and the outcome is no surprise. Christ used the Word of God effectively to combat Satan’s temptations and remained sinless. In one of the recorded temptations, Satan claimed he had authority over the whole earth and neither Christ nor any of the Apostles’ writings refute that assertion.
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ‘All this I will give you,’ he said, ‘if you will bow down and worship me’.
Matthew 4:8-9
The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, ‘I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours’.
Luke 4:5-7
The word world as used in these contexts refers to a system headed by Satan that operates apart from God and in fact opposes God. Satan controls this system through his network of demons and also through the manipulation of world leaders and unbelievers of any social status. Believers also are in the world controlled by Satan but not of it (John 15:19; 1 John 2:15-17). We have been redeemed from it and our mission is to proclaim the Gospel to those in the world. This is all according to the preordained will of God and we must remember that even though Satan is the ruler of the world, he is merely a created being and could be limited or stopped at any time by God. It is noteworthy that Christ responded to Satan’s temptations by focusing on the Word of God and staying on mission. He continued on unrestrained from the influence or manipulation of Satan. What a great example for us to follow!
Satan proceeded to do all within his power and influence to bring about the death of Christ. Ironically, the death of Christ is exactly the mission that was necessary to provide forgiveness of sin for all people in Satan’s domain. The resurrection from the dead by Christ stripped Satan of all his perceived gains.
When considering the battle between Satan and God we must remember that there is no real contest. God is the creator, and is omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent. Satan is none of those things. Satan and the demons shudder (James 2:19) and submit to the will and instructions of God. In fact, in one recorded event where Christ was dealing a demon-possessed man, the demons came out and demonstrated knowledge of their fate, but also plead that it wasn’t the proper time. It would appear that the demons know and understand the prophecies contained in the Word of God.
“They [Jesus and his disciples] sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, which is across the lake from Galilee. When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, ‘What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torture me!’ For Jesus had commanded the impure spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places.
Jesus asked him, ‘What is your name?’
‘Legion,’ he replied, because many demons had gone into him. And they begged Jesus repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss.
A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and he gave them permission. When the demons came out of the man, they went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.
Luke 8:26-33
That is a confirmation that even the demons know their fate is sealed and they are powerless against the will of God. However, they continue to influence and manipulate world events under the leadership of Satan.
Next Section: Satan and Job
Table of Contents: The Fate of Satan
Text for this post has been borrowed from my Kindle eBook The Fate of Satan (Book 3 of the Grace and Knowledge Series) by Brother Woody Brohm. Copyright 2016.
All Scripture quoted from:
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.