Who Really Rules the World? (Eden, lordship, Revelation, Deuteronomy)
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As you answer, please give Scriptural proof of your thoughts, as this is in fact for me a vital question that deserves accurate insight from the Bible.
As you answer, please give Scriptural proof of your thoughts, as this is in fact for me a vital question that deserves accurate insight from the Bible.
You assume there is accurate insight from the bible.
What about other “holy” books?
As you answer, please give Scriptural proof of your thoughts, as this is in fact for me a vital question that deserves accurate insight from the Bible.
I am a follower of Islam and the scripture I follow is the Qur'an. The Qur'an does tell us God(swt') is the ruler of all the worlds in Surah One
"Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds,"
Lord means Ruler
Quote:
a person who has authority, control, or power over others; a master, chief, or ruler.
You assume there is accurate insight from the bible.
What about other “holy” books?
For me the Bible IS the definitive accurate knowledge. You may disagree with this, but I was only interested in insight from those who, like myself, believe the bible is the inspired word of God Almighty.
I looked at some scriptures that stated the following:
(John 14:30) . . .. 30 I shall not speak much with YOU anymore, for the ruler of the world is coming. And he has no hold on me,
(1 John 5:19) 19 We know we originate with God, but the whole world is lying in the [power of the] wicked one. . .
(Revelation 12:9) 9 So down the great dragon was hurled, the original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, who is misleading the entire inhabited earth; he was hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him. . .
(2 Corinthians 4:4) 4 among whom the god of this system of things has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, that the illumination of the glorious good news about the Christ, who is the image of God, might not shine through. . .
Your thoughts, and please keep them on spot. Thanks.
Ultimately... Psalm 24:1
The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;
yet that does not exclude the fact that evil still operates in this world and calls it it's arena of domain. But it is only exists and operates within parameters God allows.
So in this limited way, the ruler of this sinful world is Satan and those who follow him.
Last edited by twin.spin; 08-17-2012 at 12:17 PM..
Here is a brief summary of the battle for the rulership of earth.
God created a perfect universe. He also created a super angelic being name Lucifer. Lucifer was one of cherubs that covered the very throne of God. Putting the scriptures together from Isaiah and Ezekiel we get a glimpse of just how beautiful and how awesome this being was:
"Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty."
"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..."
Lucifer was in all probability the greatest being next to God that has ever existed at any time. He was perfect in his ways from the day he was created until iniquity was found in him. Apparently, his good looks and perfect ways went to his head and his heart was lifted up with vanity and as a result he corrupted his mind which led to rebellion against God.
Here's what happened after his mind took the wrong turn as we read in Isaiah. He decided that he wanted to replace God and become like the most high:
"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."
Apparently, this super brilliant cherub had convinced about a third of God's angels to follow him in an apparent coup to knock God Almighty off his throne in heaven. In the book of Revelation we see a reference to a third part of the angels that were cast back down to the earth with him.
"And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth..."
Stars can symbolize angels in the scriptures. So apparently, Lucifer was ruling on this earth and he convinced a third part of the angelic hosts to follow him in an attempt to knock God off His Throne in Heaven and God and His angelic hosts won the battle and cast Lucifer and his angels back down to the earth.
He was no longer Lucifer the light bringer but was now Satan the Devil, the Adversary.
This occurred before Adam was created.
When Adam and Eve were created they were allowed to be tried by this Satan the Devil, the former Lucifer, who in the form of a serpent convinced Eve to eat the forbidden fruit that God had commanded them not to eat and she gave it to Adam and he also ate of it and thus Satan lied his way back to still keep ruling over the earth. Had Adam and Eve obeyed God and overcame Satan's deception our world would be totally different today. Satan still sits on the throne of this earth and until one were to come along and replace him he still is the god of this world.
At this point, the Word of God who would become Jesus Christ now enters this battle for the rulership of the earth. When Satan overcame Adam and caused him to sin and thus Adam and all his offspring are under the sway of this evil being, at that moment we read in the scriptures in Revelation that it was determined that Jesus Christ , the Lamb of God would have to come down and live a perfect life and not sin and overcome Satan the Devil.
"...the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."
So, the battle for the throne of this earth came down to a showdown between Jesus Christ and Satan the Devil. The history of the universe was at stake. If Christ sinned, He failed and the whole plan of Salvation would be ended and the God Being, the Word, that had lived with God the Father from eternity would die and Satan and His demons would be still left ruling over this earth and God Almighty would be left alone to battle this evil being that had turned in rebellion against Him.
After Christ had fasted forty days and forty nights -- 960 hours without food or water -- He was ready to take on and battle Satan the Devil:
Satan tried three temptations to get Christ to obey him. Christ shot back three times quoting scripture out of a book in the Old Testament -- Deuteronomy. Three times Satan failed to overcome Christ.
Christ had won the battle. God's plan of Salvation for the world and all mankind was intact. Then Christ snapped a command at Satan and he had to slink away in utter defeat. Christ was in command.
Christ went on to give His life as sacrifice as the Passover Lamb and Saviour to the world and died for all of our sins. He never once sinned.
As for Satan, he is still deceiving and trying to destroy mankind and knows that time is getting short before Christ is going to come down from Heaven and setup forever the Kingdom of God on this earth.
So, God has left Satan as ruler of this earth to try and test all those who are called to rule with Christ.
They have to overcome all his temptations and deceptions to be able to rule with Christ at His return. Satan is a lame duck ruler out to do all the evil he can before he and his angels are bound for a thousand years. That is why we see all the evils in this world about us. We see the god of this present evil world who is deceiving almost every single human being in this world to disobey God. Satan is soon to be thrown out of office forever and he is full of hate, murder and revenge who cares little for anything else but himself and wants to destroy all of mankind if he could before Christ comes down and takes over and removes him from his office.
So, God did create a perfect world and a perfect being named Lucifer. But Lucifer rebelled and Adam and Eve failed to overcome him and Satan and his demons have deceived mankind into disobeying God ever since. It finally took the God being who became Jesus Christ to come down and live a perfect life in the flesh to beat this wily Satan and who will finally bring soon the utopian environment this world has been longing for so long now that the whole creation is longing for and hopes will be here very, very soon.
In summary, Satan is a lame-duck ruler of this earth and soon to replaced by Jesus Christ, King of kings and Lord of lords.
For me the Bible IS the definitive accurate knowledge. You may disagree with this, but I was only interested in insight from those who, like myself, believe the bible is the inspired word of God Almighty.
I looked at some scriptures that stated the following:
(John 14:30) . . .. 30 I shall not speak much with YOU anymore, for the ruler of the world is coming. And he has no hold on me,
(1 John 5:19) 19 We know we originate with God, but the whole world is lying in the [power of the] wicked one. . .
(Revelation 12:9) 9 So down the great dragon was hurled, the original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, who is misleading the entire inhabited earth; he was hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him. . .
(2 Corinthians 4:4) 4 among whom the god of this system of things has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, that the illumination of the glorious good news about the Christ, who is the image of God, might not shine through. . .
Your thoughts, and please keep them on spot. Thanks.
Good insight - We know from ancient days that Satan has had a role in this world ('roaming to and fro in the earth seeking whom he may devour'), but, that his authority and power are limited to that of a deceiver and a liar. The book of Job provides considerable insight into his limitations as does James 4:7 and similar passages. Further, when Jesus was tempted in the world and Satan offered Him all the 'kingdoms of the world', Christ did not dispute Satan's authority to do so. Nevertheless, Satan is a created being, with no authority or power over God. However, within established limitations, Satan is the enemy of mankind ... particularly Christians (although he is a defeated enemy) ... and actively operates in the world.
All authority and power in both heaven and earth, of course, belong to God and, therefore, the question of 'rule' is never in dispute. However, the question of 'Lordship' ('Rule over one's life'), is not one of sovereignty, but, of 'free will.' In this respect, just as some choose to submit to the 'lordship/rule' of Christ, those who do not ... "are of their father, the devil". Of the latter, they are certainly captive to their own lustful desires, but, also, indirectly 'ruled' by Satan, their enemy.
In conclusion, the world is somewhat of a neutral battleground where 'eternal rule' over the hearts, minds and souls of mankind is determined. God 'rules' over those submitted to Him (but, is the absolute, ultimate sovereign over everything). Satan 'rules' (temporarily) over the hearts and minds of those whose allegiance is not fully submitted to God. His (Satan's) rule/authority is therefore, established by mankind... yet, regulated by God.
Ultimately... Psalm 24:1
The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;
yet that does not exclude the fact that evil still operates in this world and calls it it's arena of domain. But it is only exists and operates within parameters God allows.
So in this limited way, the ruler of this sinful world is Satan and those who follow him.
He only exists and operates within parameters God allows?
I take issue with that statement.
First,by believing that,that means God allows evil?
That would mean evil could be attributed to God,but God is love.
I asked a similiar question in my thread.
From the JW,I learned it was Satan.
If God is the ruler of this world,well it can't be he is the ruler,because evil and good cannot co exist.
The Son of God Lord Jesus Christ has authority over all the heaven and the earth through the Judgment of the Cross of Christ , where all blessing will come , ...Where Jesus turns to His followers and answers prayers for His authority to be given , and if His followers become lax and pray with no power , then Jesus authority will subside , and if His followers pray in earnest then Jesus bless for the earth will develop..... So Jesus followers will be judged by what they did or not do will their award be in Heaven ...... Then if people do not turn to Jesus to be His followers then the hand of God will be removed and dryness of God blessing will be on the earth and cycles of death will follow ... Just as if most people turn to Lord Jesus and are blessed then God will cleans the world and can remove all injustice, and even close jails and hospitals and strife and confusion and hate and illness , and discord can be removed from the earth , but the followers must let Jesus do that and stop trying to play God .....
“Adam or if you prefer mankind rules this world, but the lush gardens of humanity have been covered by dirt for centuries."
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