God's Work with Planet Earth

“Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.” Genesis 3:22-24

God had already told Adam and Eve that they would die if they ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Genesis 2:16-17). But He did allow them to live a few hundred years and have children and grandchildren.

Dominion Transferred?

There’s a belief that when Adam sinned, the “dominion” God gave him over the earth (in Genesis 1:26) was transferred to Satan. I don’t think it’s quite that simple.

First of all, the Bible does not say that specifically. Satan usurped control through deception and trickery, rather than God approving and making such a transfer of authority. Here’s what scripture says about ownership and the true right to rule:

“Indeed heaven and the highest heavens belong to the Lord your God, also the earth with all that is in it.” Deuteronomy 10:14

“The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein.” Psalm 24:1

“Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him.” Colossians 1:15-16, NLT

So God being sovereign over all things, delegated control over Earth to Adam. But Satan wrested control away by deception, and he doesn’t offer freedom the way God does. Jesus Himself referred to Satan as “the prince of this world” in John 12:31 and John 14:30. Not the king, but only a prince, because Christ is the true King. (Revelation 19:16, Daniel 7:13-14)

When Adam obeyed Satan’s lie and rejected God’s command, there was a transfer of allegiance. And Satan has been trying to get humans to do the same thing for nearly 6 millennia, because the more people he can influence, the more control he has in the world.

Sons of God

In the first chapter of Job, the “sons of God” come to present themselves before God. One might assume this was in Heaven, but the Bible does not say that. It could have been anywhere in the universe. Note that Adam is called a “son of God” in Luke 3:38.

At this meeting, Satan shows up claiming to be from Earth.

“And the Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?”

So Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.” Job 1:7

Walking over land in the Old Testament represented ownership. Example: In 1 Kings 21, the evil queen Jezebel had Naboth framed and killed so King Ahab could have his vineyard, and the first thing Ahab did was to go walk in the vineyard.

So if Adam was a “son of God” and “the sons of God” gathered at this meeting, then he should have been there, representing Earth. But Satan showed up instead and boasted ownership of Earth in a symbolic way.

What God said to Satan next is REALLY interesting!

“Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?” Job 1:8

Jumping back to Ahab and Jezebel, when Elijah fled into the wilderness because Jezebel put a hit out on him, he complained to God that these wicked rulers had killed all of the other faithful people and he was the only one left. And God told him:

“Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.” 1 Kings 19:18

Here’s the point: It might seem like Satan runs this world, because there is so much chaos, death, evil, and destruction going on. But God always has His faithful people who have not surrendered to the usurper of our world.

“We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him. We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.” 1 John 5:18-19

Wow! The whole world might be under Satan’s influence, but if we belong to God, he can’t touch us without God’s permission. Looking back to the story in the Book of Job confirms that.

God deals with people and saves people as individuals, and He doesn’t abandon our world because the majority have rejected Him. He’s still sticking it out with humans to save the ones who will listen, because He genuinely loves and cares about each one of us.

God is still sovereign over all, and Satan’s stolen power is temporary. In Revelation 12:12, Satan is very angry because he knows he only has a short time before his destruction.

We don’t know Satan’s true form or appearance, but 1 Corinthians 11:14 says he can transform himself “into an angel of light”, and presumably a serpent, or anything else. That’s why we need God’s guidance and protection.

How does Satan get control?

Jesus called him a liar and the father of lies in John 8:44. Anyone who believes those lies falls under his control, and Peter said you are a slave of whatever controls you (2 Peter 2:19, NLT). Unfortunately, there’s a lot of people in this world who believe his lies. Here are some of the worst ones, crafted to put barriers between us and our Creator:

• You’ve done too many bad things, messed up too many times, and God can’t accept you or forgive you now.
• God is really more like a Greek god, apathetic, distant, vengeful, petty, and He doesn’t care about you
• God is a cosmic egomaniac who just wants to enslave humanity, and you can gain freedom by NOT following His rules

But we don’t have to believe those lies, and instead we should call on the mercy and love of God in prayer. We might see some crazy, scary, disheartening things in this world, but the end of those things (and the one who causes them) is coming soon.

So Satan gets control by people buying into his lies and his ways. A lot of people do, and so the world appears to be in his grip right now. But God has always had His people who have faith in Him, so Satan doesn’t have complete control, and he only has access to those who have given him permission. He can tempt, but not control, God’s people.

Why doesn’t God destroy the Devil?

The Bible predicts the destruction of the Devil in multiple places, and according to Revelation 20, that event is still in the future. Back in heaven, Lucifer was telling lies about God, before he ever came to Earth.

“His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth.” Revelation 12:3

“The prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail.” Isaiah 9:15

“So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” Revelation 12:9

So why didn’t God just zap these rebels out of existence? Let’s say you work in a company where anyone who disagrees with the CEO just disappears and no one ever hears from them again. Would you feel free to question the CEO or raise objections? Would you trust the CEO?

Lucifer’s lies were very subtle, reasonable, and convincing, and some of the holy angels who didn’t follow him might still have questions. The one way for the whole universe to see God’s true character and understand the danger of sin was to let it play out in a quarantined part of the universe, for a relatively short period of time.

Over and over for the last 6,000 years, Satan has inspired humans with his ways, and over and over it has led to self-destruction and death. This isn’t just about earth and humans, it’s about the whole universe. God is handling this rebellion in such a way that “affliction will not rise up a second time.” Nahum 1:9

Incorruptible

When Jesus comes again, God’s people will be made “incorruptible”. (1 Corinthians 15:52) In the physical sense, they will have glorified bodies which will no longer be susceptible to disease and aging. (2 Corinthians 5:1-5)

Here’s the spiritual side: You are living in a world of suffering, heartache, pain, fighting, and let’s say you know that sin causes those things. Then God rescues you out of this world into a paradise where none of those things exist and there’s only joy and peace. Having experienced and lived in those two extremes, would you ever want to embrace sin? Would it have any appeal to you after you know where it leads? This is how we will be spiritually incorruptible.

This is how God gets “a great multitude which no one could number” (Revelation 7:9) who have their free will completely intact, but they won’t sin. This way God doesn’t have to program us as robots incapable of sin, we just want nothing to do with it because of our personal experience.

This is another reason God doesn’t immediately put an end to sin and sinners. All through history people have lived and died, and some of them have died loving God. All those people will be saved when when Jesus comes. And they will be incorruptible, both physically and spiritually. This is part of God’s long-term strategy to deal with sin without wiping out all those who have loved Him throughout history.

Jesus came the first time as “the Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29), but He will come the second time as “King of Kings, and Lord of Lords” (Revelation 19:16). At this time He will reclaim and retake the “dominion” over this world.

“Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.” 1 Corinthians 15:24-26