Satan was never the "Ruler of the World"

The phrase "ruler of the world" is used a handful of times in the New Testament, but there is not one verse that explicitly identifies Satan as the holder of that title. You may, however, have heard it said that Luke 4:6 and 2 Cor 4:4 prove that Satan is the "ruler of the world." Here is a quote from someone who has interpreted Satan as the "ruler of the world."

By sinning, Adam forfeited his authority to Satan (Gen 3: Luke 4:6). Jesus came to win back the dominion given to humans. Jesus, as the last Adam, won the rights to the dominion of the earth." Mike Bickle,

"Jesus is Worthy: We Trust His Leadership (Rev. 5)" notes for the August 10, 2008 10:30 a.m. FCF service.

No one is immune to this assumption. So, please consider:

Satan is a Liar

2 Corinthians 4:4 is used to justify the claim that Satan makes about himself in Luke 4:6. However, Luke 4:6 is a quote which was originally spoken by someone about whom Jesus testified was a liar. If Satan really was the "ruler of the world," that authority would have had to have been given to Satan by God NOT by MAN. Human words are no more trustworthy than Satan's words, Psalms 40:4, 118:8, 146:3, Proverbs 20:6. 

 

 

Prevailing Against God

Man cannot prevail against God's laws, 2 Chronicles 14:11. Even though man may give away what he already owns, 29:11-14, man is still unable to prevail against God's will forever, 2 Peter 3:8-10. Non even man's faithlessness to keep God's words voids God's faithfulness to His own words, Numbers 23:19, Romans 3:3, 2 Timothy 2:13. 

 

God gave mankind the authority to rule the world, Genesis 1:26, 28. God's words will not pass away, Luke 21:33, until they have been accomplished, Matthew 5:18. 

 

How Authority Works

Luke 4:8, just two verses away from Luke 4:6, reads: 

Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD AND SERVE HIM ONLY.' " Luke 4:8 (NASB95)

 

In the context of Luke 4:8, had Satan actually been the ruller of the world, Jesus would have been bound by the words of God to worship Satan as ruler of the world. In the same way, Jesus was bound by the words of God which said Jesus was to go to the cross. Authority does not work haphazardly like this or Jesus would not have prevailed over death and the grave to rise again.

 

Thus, Jesus' own response in Luke 4:8 would have been a violation of His Father's words had God's words really proclaimed Satan as the ruler of the world. Nowhere, in the Holy Bible is Satan proclaimed as "ruler of the world" so Jesus did not sin against God when Jesus disobeyed Satan in Luke 4:8.

 

Signs & Wonders

Had Satan been proclaimed "ruler of the world" by God, Jesus would not have had the authority to do signs and wonders prior to taking that authority away from Satan via the cross and resurrection. There is no way Satan, as the ruler of the world, would have ever let Jesus heal the sick or raise the dead prior to going to the cross. It was on the cross where Satan was defeated and his head crushed.

 

Don't forget Satan fell from heaven BEFORE the Fall and that humans were given authority over demons prior to the cross, Luke 10:18. Why? Because that kind of authority comes from our heavenly Father and not from Satan. Satan is not the ruler of the world because he cannot prevent signs and wonders that come down from heaven. Only mankind can do that, Luke 11:29 and Mark 6:5, because that is the kind of authority that God gave to Adam from the start.

Good for Evil

Mankind would not have the power and authority to return good for evil or accomplish any other "beatitudes" if Satan was the ruler of the world. Satan's head still had not yet been crushed when Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount. One such instruction in this sermon was to be perfect as our Father is perfect. If God does not give us more than we can handle, why would Jesus give us impossible commands prior to the cross? Did He just want to frustrate His brothers, mothers, and sisters? No, of course not. He gave those commands because all things are possible in Christ.

 

Again, if Satan was the ruler of the world, Satan would never give us the power to defeat him by doing good and accomplishing the "beatitudes." God gives us the ability to do these things and more even for those who do not know Jesus or those who do not have God's law, Romans 2:14-15.

 

The Source of Authority

Jesus' own testimony was that all things had been given to Him by His Father, Job 41:11, Matthew 11:27, John 3:35, Rev 2:27. This was done prior to the cross also, Matthew 10:1, Mark 6:7, Luke 9:1. God gave Adam the power and authority to rule the earth prior to any sin. God gave Jesus the same power in the exact same way God gave it to Adam. God breathed on Jesus God's Holy Spirit, the very same breath that was breathed into Adam when Adam became a living being.

 

Ambiguous 3rd Person Titles

It was the Father who crucified Jesus by the word commanded of Jesus, John 10:15-18. Satan did not crucify Jesus as assumed because of John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11. These verses refer to the secrets of the kingdom of earth. Those secrets are why Jesus used the title "Ruler of the World" to refer to Himself. Instead of using the phrase "the Father" or the phrase "the son of man" like so many times, Jesus simply used another ambiguous title so that we humans would not get offended by the implications of what Jesus said. 

 

The secrets of the kingdom of heaven are so offensive that even the remaining 12 disciples would have taken offense to Jesus if they had known what Jesus meant prior to their own baptisms by the Holy Spirit. So Jesus puts off telling the disciples these secrets out of the kindness of His heart, John 16:13. Even Paul understood the Father/Jesus was to be judged, Romans 3:3-4. 

World Verse Age

Knowing Luke 4:6 as a lie ONLY nearly voids the claim that 2 Cor 4:4 defines Satan as the ruler of the world. Many translations translate this Greek word as "world" instead of "age." "World and "Age" are two completely different things. "World" refers to or implies all that is visible to the human eye this side of the boundary line between light and dark. While "age" refers to a specific period of time according to Strong's Concordance. One word implies firmness while the other implies nor more than a vapor. Semantics? Take a look at the context of 2 Cor 4:1-3. 

"Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we received mercy, we do not lose heart," 2 Corinthians 4:1 (NASB95) 

Paul defined this ministry as the proclamation of good news in Romans 10:15-16.

"but we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God, but by the manifestation of truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God." 2 Corinthians 4:2 (NASB95)

Here Paul refers to the conversation in Gen 3:1-5 and the command in Deuteronomy 4:1-5 which defines the cause of the fall in Gen 3. Remember God never said "do not touch it." Remember also Jesus rebukes those who are seated in Moses' seat for nullifying the words of God for the sake of their traditions, Matthew 15:6, Mark 7:13, Romans 3:31. Did you notice how communications in the air (1 Cor 14:9) are confirmed in the firmness (Romans 4:17) ....."manifestation of truth..." (John 3:21; Hebrews 2:3-4; 3 John 1:3)

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 2 Corinthians 4:3 (NASB95)

How is the gospel veiled to those who are perishing? Check out John 6:45 combined with Luke 6:49 and Deuteronomy 5:26-27. 

What comes first A) the veil of blindness or B) willful unbelief? Check it out in Hebrews 3:15-19 and John 12:37-40. Man's choice to disbelieve the words of God comes before the veil of blindness and actually results in that blindness. Thus, Satan, if he were the ruler of the world, would also rule over our choice to believe or not to believe .....("That is the question." Hamlet he he he he. Pun intended.)  ....Because of this one simple fact, Satan is the prince of the power of the air ONLY and does not rule over flesh.

 

By the time we read 2 Corinthians 4:4 which speaks of the "ruler of this age," we see the context is entirely within verbal communications and the belief or lack of it. Paul is not speaking of anything firm. If Paul was addressing Satan as the ruler of firmness, Paul would be speaking contradictory to John 17:2 which identifies the ruler of all flesh or firmness as the Father. 

 

 

In the Power of 

Here's a reference that is often overlooked as to the relevance of who the ruler of the world is, 1 John 5:18-19. It reads: 

We know that no one who is born of God sins; but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him. We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. 1 John 5:18-20 (NASB95)

 
Let's start with the phrase "in the power of the evil one." According to the Interlinear Bible, the words "the power of" are not in the original Greek text. Here are a few reasons why it was wrong for translators to insert this phrase into to the Bible.

1. These translators did not live during the times of the first century apostles but many hundreds of years later and therefore the insertion of this phrase is an interpretation of the original apostolic intent given by individuals who were inferior in understanding to the apostles. Therefore, the interpretation is inferior to that original intent by the first century apostles. When the Bible is used to interpret the Bible, the resulting interpretation is given by the apostles' own testimonies and thus the interpretation is consistent with the superior understanding of the first century apostles.
2. The added phrase "in the power of" implies that it is possible for man to be completely dominated by demons to the point of entirely loosing their God given free will to act upon their own choices. The examples of free will exercised by believers in Christ found in Philemon 1:14, and 1 Corinthians 9:17 are proof that free-will can still be exercised in spite of Satan's authority in the air. These next verses exampling free-will which were exercised by God both before and after the fall of man prove the same thing: Genesis 1-2, 9:1-7; Romans 8:20.
   

There's a lot of examples of free-will exercised by man independent of faith in Christ both before and after the fall from God's grace:

• Genesis 2:16-17 combined with Genesis 3
• Genesis 2:19
• 2 Kings 18:4, 23:19; 2 Chronicles 14:3-5, 15:17, 17:6, 20:33.Saul choosing to take David's life verses David singing praises to God by the Spirit edifying Saul who then chooses to change his mind and repent of attempting to kill David. Faith in the truth comes from hearing the truth. Faith produces obedience. Thus, Saul exercised free will to refrain from taking David's life because Saul did not have to choose to receive truth just as Cain chose to be masted by evil, Genesis 4:7.

Such a plethora of examples of free will both before and after the fall of man proves that man having been made in the image of God retains his free will just as God retained His free will in spite of the fall. Thus, demons cannot dominate a person's free will. That means SATAN IS NOT AND NEVER HAS BEEN THE RULER OF THE WORLD.

Examples of Demons Subject to Fallen, Sinful Man

Matthew 17:15-16 and Luke 9:38-40 are two accounts of the same situation related to Jesus by the father of a demonized son. Notice the father did not have the faith to cast out the demon any more than the disciples, yet, the father's blame placed upon the demon is given greater credence than Jesus' own testimony as to the cause of the father's and disciples failure to drive the demon out. Contrast the father's blame with Jesus' rebuke in both accounts in Matthew 17:17-21 and Luke 9:41. Notice that Jesus testifies the failure of both the father and the disciples is attributed to their little faith which Jesus equates to prayer and fasting. This proves man still has authority over demons even after the fall and before the cross. Man rules over demons and Satan through the words of man's mouth when those words are in agreement with God's words, Matthew 15:27-28.

"In" Christ Verse "in" Satan

Jesus defines being "in" Him in John 12:46, 15:7-10. Jesus defines being "in" Satan in John 8:34-58.

Thus, we see that being "in" someone is determined by the words that are received and acted upon as a demonstration of faith. Those "in" Christ receive Christ's words and obeys them. Those "in" Satan reject Christ's words and do the deeds of the devil. Therefore, the definition of abiding "in" is based upon the free will to chose to believe something and then to act upon it. 

 

This definition existed even before Jesus walked the earth in that the Israelites had a fading glory in the Mosaic Law. So, when 1 John 5:19 reads: "...the whole world lies in the evil one." This is a testimony by the Apostle John that the whole world has chosen to do the deeds of the devil not that Satan is the "ruler of the world." Thus, there is no power exerted by Satan over humans to force humans into submission. Rather, humans have voluntarily chosen to reject God as their king in favor of Satan.

1 John 5:18-20 does not establish Satan as the "ruler of the world" because that authority did not come from God but rather from man's rejection of God which is NOT authoritative for God's words will never pass away, Matthew 5:18, 24:35; Mark 13:31; Luke 16:17, 21:33. This significance of the identity of the "Ruler of the World" rests in this: As long as Christians believe Satan is the ruler of the world there is little to no reason to even try to overcome him by doing good. It would be impossible. If, however, man unified with God's Spirit has always been the "Ruler of the World" and man is simply ignorant of this fact because our sin separates us from the knowledge of Truth, then there is little faith needed to move mountains. Faith then becomes a matter of who has the authority as demonstrated by Matthew 8:5-13. 

 

There are way too many reasons why Satan is not and never has been the ruler of the world, but man still gives him that title because it is easier than facing the true about man's own authority.