DEALING WITH THE god OF THIS WORLD
By W. G. Guy
2 Corinthians 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.
Obviously the god of this world refers to the devil, called Satan, the “accuser” who opposes we who are the children of God through belief and following Jesus Christ and keepers of His Word. The god of this world promotes the things of this world which draw on the vulnerabilities of human lusts, the desires of the selfish carnal nature, the flesh.
1 John 2:15-17 – Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
Satan knows all too well how these lusts work because these are what caused him to rebel against the only true God, our Heavenly Father. These lusts caused him to seek to lift himself to be above God and take matters into his own hands.
Isaiah 14:12-15 – How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
The prophet Ezekiel describes the workings of the devil when he was placed in charge of planet earth eons ago, before there was any history recorded. He was called “the anointed cherub that covereth”. (Note that cherubs were a special class of angel that was assigned to protect what God placed in their hands. This is like when God placed the cherubs with the flaming swords to protect the Tree of Life in Eden after man was cast out due to sin – Genesis 3:24).
The prophet Ezekiel describes this fallen angel whose name was Lucifer.
Ezekiel 28:13-18 – Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub,from the midst of the stones of fire. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground,
I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.
When God originally created the earth he put Lucifer, the anointed cherub in charge of it. This was far beyond the six day re-making the earth when God placed man in charge, replacing Lucifer as being in control of the world. Obviously he was jealous and plotted to gain control again from and over mankind.
We need to recognize from scripture that God did not create the world “without form and void”, which is a mis-interpretation of Genesis 1:2.
Isaiah 45:18 – For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited:I am the Lord; and there is none else.
Genesis 1:2 – And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
The word was as used in this verse comes from the Hebrew word hayah and actually means BECAME as it is used 67 times elsewhere in the Old Testament. The translaters did not understand this fact and used was, the wrong tense of the word. For proof of this fact read what Jeremiah wrote about how it changed after Lucifer’s rebellion. God had to destroy everything with the first flood that lasted for erons of time while He pondered on its recreation, which took six days to complete.
The prophet Jeremiah tells about the first destruction of earth following Lucifer’s rebellion when he corrupted everything under his control. This was not Noah’s flood but one that left the earth without form and void.
Jeremiah 4:23-27 – I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by his fierce anger. For thus hath the Lord said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end.
God still had a plan and a purpose for the earth which he developed as His pondered over the earth.
Genesis 1:1b – And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
Having devised His plan for the future of the earth He set about re-making things the way He wanted. Then He mad man, after His own image and likeness and gave him dominion. This made Lucifer jealous an plotted to regain his dominion as stated previously.
When the devil tempted Eve in the Garden he was speaking of himself as a god, enticing her to be like him. Yes, Satan elevated himself in his own eyes to the level of god. However, his character and nature became the complete opposite of God’s due to his selfish lusts. The first thing he did was to challenge Eve about what God commanded.
Genesis 3:1-5 – Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
Eve failed to realize the she was already like GOD, the one who formed Adam and her in His own image and likeness, as well as give them absolute dominion over the planet and all life forms on it.
Genesis 1:26-28 – And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 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 devil even challenged her rulership over the earth claiming he was a god. Since Satan is responsible for bringing sin into this world and into the lives of mankind. He is the evil influence that affects all mankind until they come to the knowledge of God through Jesus Christ. Satan continues to rule and influence mankind, dominating as the god of this world. The devil even testified of this to Jesus when he was tempting Jesus in the wilderness in the same way he tempted Eve in the garden.
Luke 4:5-7 – And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.
After falling prey to Satan’s ploy, Adam and Even, and all of mankind have since fallen under the devil’s influence as he now rules all the kingdoms of the world. Satan continues this same strategy on us today, and every day, which requires us to stand firm in faith, holding to Jesus, the Word and promises of God, which deliver us from the efforts of Satan to steal, kill and destroy.
John 10:10 – The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
Jesus is our life-line because He came to destroy the works of the devil.
1 John 3:8-10 – He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
Jesus not only destroys the works of the devil but has established the parameters of righteousness, which is LOVE; the primary Fruit of the Spirit, which is also the character and nature of God – for God is LOVE.
Satan, the god of this world, only loves himself. This is called “selfishness”. Selfishness takes, and is the opposite of love, because love GIVES. Selfishness is the human vulnerability to Satan’s temptations. As sited in 1 John 2:15-16, all that is in the world is 1) “lust of the flesh” or I will; 2) “lust of th eye”, or I want; and 3) ”pride of life”, or I am, (my position in life). Note that the devil used all three of these to tempt Even in the garden, He also used all three to tempt Jesus in the wilderness. He is most likely using these three on you and everyone else; specifically those of us who have accepted Jesus as Savior and LORD.
This god is trying to prevent his judgment and destruction because he knows he has but little time left before he is condemned for all eternity. So we need to be alert to his trials and temptings, and hold fast to the Word and Promises of God and Christ. This small god is going to “pull out all stops” to fight and cause trouble as his time comes to an end.
Revelation 12:12 – Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.
The god of this world shall be judged and punished; bound up for a thousand years. Then after that time he is set free to see whom he can deceive after we righteous ones have taught people how to live in Christ during the thousand year, or seventh mellenium since God formed Adam.
Revelation 20:1-3 – And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
Then the devil, and those who are deceived by him, are punished permanently!
Revelation 20:7-10 – And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
Good bye, god of this world! PRAISE BE TO GOD OF CREATION AND HIS CHRIST, OUR LORD – FOREVER! AMEN!
DEALING WITH THE god OF THIS WORLD
By W. G. Guy
2 Corinthians 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.
Obviously the god of this world refers to the devil, called Satan, the “accuser” who opposes we who are the children of God through belief and following Jesus Christ and keepers of His Word. The god of this world promotes the things of this world which draw on the vulnerabilities of human lusts, the desires of the selfish carnal nature, the flesh.
1 John 2:15-17 – Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
Satan knows all too well how these lusts work because these are what caused him to rebel against the only true God, our Heavenly Father. These lusts caused him to seek to lift himself to be above God and take matters into his own hands.
Isaiah 14:12-15 – How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
The prophet Ezekiel describes the workings of the devil when he was placed in charge of planet earth eons ago, before there was any history recorded. He was called “the anointed cherub that covereth”. (Note that cherubs were a special class of angel that was assigned to protect what God placed in their hands. This is like when God placed the cherubs with the flaming swords to protect the Tree of Life in Eden after man was cast out due to sin – Genesis 3:24).
The prophet Ezekiel describes this fallen angel whose name was Lucifer.
Ezekiel 28:13-18 – Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub,from the midst of the stones of fire. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground,
I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.
When God originally created the earth he put Lucifer, the anointed cherub in charge of it. This was far beyond the six day re-making the earth when God placed man in charge, replacing Lucifer as being in control of the world. Obviously he was jealous and plotted to gain control again from and over mankind.
We need to recognize from scripture that God did not create the world “without form and void”, which is a mis-interpretation of Genesis 1:2.
Isaiah 45:18 – For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited:I am the Lord; and there is none else.
Genesis 1:2 – And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
The word was as used in this verse comes from the Hebrew word hayah and actually means BECAME as it is used 67 times elsewhere in the Old Testament. The translaters did not understand this fact and used was, the wrong tense of the word. For proof of this fact read what Jeremiah wrote about how it changed after Lucifer’s rebellion. God had to destroy everything with the first flood that lasted for erons of time while He pondered on its recreation, which took six days to complete.
The prophet Jeremiah tells about the first destruction of earth following Lucifer’s rebellion when he corrupted everything under his control. This was not Noah’s flood but one that left the earth without form and void.
Jeremiah 4:23-27 – I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by his fierce anger. For thus hath the Lord said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end.
God still had a plan and a purpose for the earth which he developed as His pondered over the earth.
Genesis 1:1b – And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
Having devised His plan for the future of the earth He set about re-making things the way He wanted. Then He mad man, after His own image and likeness and gave him dominion. This made Lucifer jealous an plotted to regain his dominion as stated previously.
When the devil tempted Eve in the Garden he was speaking of himself as a god, enticing her to be like him. Yes, Satan elevated himself in his own eyes to the level of god. However, his character and nature became the complete opposite of God’s due to his selfish lusts. The first thing he did was to challenge Eve about what God commanded.
Genesis 3:1-5 – Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
Eve failed to realize the she was already like GOD, the one who formed Adam and her in His own image and likeness, as well as give them absolute dominion over the planet and all life forms on it.
Genesis 1:26-28 – And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 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 devil even challenged her rulership over the earth claiming he was a god. Since Satan is responsible for bringing sin into this world and into the lives of mankind. He is the evil influence that affects all mankind until they come to the knowledge of God through Jesus Christ. Satan continues to rule and influence mankind, dominating as the god of this world. The devil even testified of this to Jesus when he was tempting Jesus in the wilderness in the same way he tempted Eve in the garden.
Luke 4:5-7 – And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.
After falling prey to Satan’s ploy, Adam and Even, and all of mankind have since fallen under the devil’s influence as he now rules all the kingdoms of the world. Satan continues this same strategy on us today, and every day, which requires us to stand firm in faith, holding to Jesus, the Word and promises of God, which deliver us from the efforts of Satan to steal, kill and destroy.
John 10:10 – The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
Jesus is our life-line because He came to destroy the works of the devil.
1 John 3:8-10 – He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
Jesus not only destroys the works of the devil but has established the parameters of righteousness, which is LOVE; the primary Fruit of the Spirit, which is also the character and nature of God – for God is LOVE.
Satan, the god of this world, only loves himself. This is called “selfishness”. Selfishness takes, and is the opposite of love, because love GIVES. Selfishness is the human vulnerability to Satan’s temptations. As sited in 1 John 2:15-16, all that is in the world is 1) “lust of the flesh” or I will; 2) “lust of th eye”, or I want; and 3) ”pride of life”, or I am, (my position in life). Note that the devil used all three of these to tempt Even in the garden, He also used all three to tempt Jesus in the wilderness. He is most likely using these three on you and everyone else; specifically those of us who have accepted Jesus as Savior and LORD.
This god is trying to prevent his judgment and destruction because he knows he has but little time left before he is condemned for all eternity. So we need to be alert to his trials and temptings, and hold fast to the Word and Promises of God and Christ. This small god is going to “pull out all stops” to fight and cause trouble as his time comes to an end.
Revelation 12:12 – Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.
The god of this world shall be judged and punished; bound up for a thousand years. Then after that time he is set free to see whom he can deceive after we righteous ones have taught people how to live in Christ during the thousand year, or seventh mellenium since God formed Adam.
Revelation 20:1-3 – And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
Then the devil, and those who are deceived by him, are punished permanently!
Revelation 20:7-10 – And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
Good bye, god of this world! PRAISE BE TO GOD OF CREATION AND HIS CHRIST, OUR LORD – FOREVER! AMEN!
