Many people blame God for the suffering of this world. They believe that an all powerful God who made all things certainly has the ability to stop the suffering of this present world, if He wanted to. What often is not understood is that God’s ability or desire to stop the suffering of this world is not the issue, but the principle of rulership that has existed since the Earth was created.

Fall of Lucifer, 1866

God is described by the Bible as the Creator of the Universe. He made all that exists by simply speaking it into existence (Ps 33:6). When He made the earth He gave dominion over this planet to Lucifer (Ez 28:13-14). This was a Being of the highest order of creation who was perfect in every way. In his lust for power and a desire to be greater than God, Lucifer rebelled against God and took with Him, one-third of all the angels of heaven.

Lucifer became satan, described by Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28. At his rebellion satan lost his former dominion of the earth. When God created Adam He gave dominion of the earth to him. From the beginning of Adam’s creation we see satan opposing his rulership of the earth. In the garden we see satan’s tactic of deception which caused Adam to lose dominion of the earth to satan.

From the fall of Adam, satan has remained the “god of this world,” the ruler over its kingdoms. We see evidence of this true fact in the New Testament. Paul refers to satan as the god of this world in 2 Corinthians 4:4:

satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.

When Jesus began His public ministry He went into the wilderness of Judea and fasted for forty days and nights. During this time satan came to Him and stated that Jesus didn’t have to suffer in order to save the world, satan said that all of these kingdoms had been given to him and he would give Jesus the right to rule over the world if He would only fall down and worship satan (Jn 12:31; 14:30; Rev. 13:2, 7).

(Jesus Speaking:)Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. ~John 12:31 (NKJV)

Jesus does not dispute satan’s right to rule over the earth, only that God alone should be worshipped. Jesus refuses to take the path that satan described. He suffers through the forty days, suffers death on the cross, and rises from the dead on the third day. When Jesus rose the New Testament states that He took the right to rule the earth from satan and now Jess alone has been given this right of rulership that will last for all of eternity. Jesus delayed taking rulership during the present time of God’s Grace while He gives every person the right to choose Jesus or to reject Him. Those who choose to submit their lives to Jesus will also rule with Him during His endless kingdom.

Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.” And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ” ~Luke 4:5-7

And they (the church) sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.” ~Revelation 5:8-10

It is because satan has ruled over the earth as the god of this world, since Adam lost his dominion, that evil, sin, sickness, suffering and death have existed on earth. When God first created the earth and placed Adam in the garden, none of these things existed. It was because Adam chose sin and not God that sin entered the human race. It was because Lucifer chose sin instead of God that sin entered the world. God did not create sin, the devil and man chose sin over the perfect earth God intended.

It is God’s will that earth and mankind be returned to its perfection. It was for this reason that the Father sent His Son to earth to pay for our sins and defeat the devil, so that dominion of the earth could be returned to Christ and those who love Him.

It is the principles of dominion and the right to rule over the earth which God established at the creation of the universe that has been guiding all of these events. Critics of God don’t understand or accept this fact and they accuse God of not being loving or caring about human beings. The evidence that God does love us is understood by the sending of His Son to suffer for us and die for our sins so that everyone of us could be saved if they desired. If God did not love us He never would have allowed His Son to die such a horrendous death to save us.

Unless Jesus came to earth and became one of us, living a perfect and sinless life, then offering His perfect and endless life as God, we could not be saved. This is the very epitome of what Love is.

For the time, God has appointed a period of Grace when any person can turn from their sins and receive the pardon for their sins that Jesus died to make possible. While this period of Grace in in place, satan remains the god of this world as its ruler, and this is why evil, suffering, and death continue.

When Jess returns again it will be to take dominion of the earth and rule over it in righteousness. The reign of terror brought by the devil will end. There will be no more sin, evil, sickness, suffering or death on earth. For eternity these plagues of human life will never again be present on earth. Jesus will give authority to those who committed their lives to Him now, in this period of grace, and while satan rules. In these most difficult of times when faith and obedience are difficult, the reward for continued faith and obedience to Jesus will result in eternal life for all who believe, but also the authority to rule with Christ over the earth forever.

Categories: Alleged Contradictions, Forgiveness of Sin, How Salvation Occurs, Jesus conquered death and Hell, Jesus destroyed the work of the devil, Reasons For Unbelief, Robert Clifton Robinson, Salvation, Sickness and Suffering, Suffering and Trials, The fall of Lucifer, True Repentance, Understanding Suffering, We must repent, Why Jesus had to die

Tags: satan is the ruler of this world, sickness, The god of this world, The Purpose of Suffering, Why God allows evil