ambassadors for the risen Christ ministries

by Shawn Brasseaux

“[Our Lord Jesus Christ] Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:” (Galatians 1:4 KJV).

A few months ago, I saw a television program titled “Hell: The Devil’s Domain.” Currently the devil is not in hell. Satan is alive and well, and carrying out his work on earth! As of right now, earth—not hell—is the devil’s domain. God has allowed Satan to have free roam on earth to do almost anything he wants. The activity of Satan is called “the policy of evil.”

The Book of Job is one of the most obvious portions of Scripture to confirm that Earth is the devil’s domain. In Job 1:6,7 (and Job 2:1,2), an angelic host comes before the Lord, and Satan is among them. When God questions Satan as to where he was, Satan responds: “going to and fro in the earth.” Satan never mentioned hell because Satan was roaming free here on earth! By walking around on earth, Satan is indicating that he, not God, is exercising power on earth. This is why John 12:31 and John 14:30 call Satan “the prince of this world.” And this is why Ephesians 6:12 speaks of “the rulers of the darkness of this world.”

Even the Creator God was subject to the devil’s temptations when He became flesh and came to earth! Jesus Christ was fully God and fully man, but Satan even tempted Jesus. Obviously, Jesus was never on the verge of sinning and giving in to the devil, but Satan tried his hardest to negotiate with God the Son. According to Matthew 4:8,9 (and Luke 4:5-7), Satan promised to give the Lord Jesus all the kingdoms of the world if Jesus would simply bow and worship Satan! Matthew 4:8,9 KJV say:

“8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.”

And Luke 4:5-7 KJV says:

“5 And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
6 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.
7 If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.”

Why was Satan willing to give Jesus the world’s kingdoms? Satan had possession of them all! Little did Satan know that during the Millennial Reign of Christ, the Lord would possess all those kingdoms anyway (Revelation 11:15)!

The Bible says in 1 John 5:19 KJV: “And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.” Why? The devil is the “god of this world” who uses works-religion to hide the Gospel of the Grace of God from lost people, so they go to hell (2 Corinthians 4:3,4). Satan is hindering as much of the Lord’s work as he can (1 Thessalonians 2:18). After the creation of Adam and Eve, God gave them dominion over the earth (Genesis 1:26-28). Satan gained control of the world once man fell into sin (Romans 5:12; 2 Corinthians 4:3,4), and has been ruling the world—with God’s permission, of course—for nearly 6,000 years!

The Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:15,16 that Christians should “walk circumspectly [diligently, carefully], not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” Our world is full of iniquity, which is basically what the Apostle Paul told the Thessalonica believers in 2 Thessalonians 2:7: “the mystery of iniquity doth already work.”

If the devil were not powerful in this world today, why does God’s Word warning us of the spiritual warfare between good and evil in Ephesians 6:11-20? In order to have a peaceful 1000 years during the earthly reign of Jesus Christ, Satan will have to be bound for 1000 years in the bottomless pit (Revelation 20:1-3). After being loosed for a short time, the devil will be consigned to the eternal lake of fire to suffer for all the misery, confusion, and rebellion he has caused on earth (Revelation 20:7-10).

Until the millennial reign of Jesus Christ, the earth will remain, the devil’s domain….