Study Focus: Job 1:1–12, Job 2:1–7, Daniel 10, Luke 4:6, John 12:31.
Introduction: Satan is limited by God in his rulership. He is an illegitimate ruler, especially from the standpoint of his character.
Lesson Themes: This week’s lesson underlines three main notions:
Satan is an illegitimate and temporary “ruler.” God granted Satan limited and temporary rulership after sin entered this world, but this rulership is not a legitimate authority. Although God has limited His own activity to eliminate evil in this world, Jesus has overcome the devil. Christ’s victory over temptation in the wilderness and the defeat of Satan on the cross indicate that Satan’s rulership is illegitimate and temporary.
Satan slanders and makes captives under his “rulership.” Despite the fact that Satan is an illegitimate and temporary ruler, human beings can become lawful captives of his rulership. Our human will is inclined to follow Satan’s suggestions, unless Christ dwells in us, guiding our desires and lives.
Satan is limited in his “rulership.” Satan has room and time to “rule,” but he is limited by God in this “rulership.” In the unfolding of human history, transcendent powers of goodness oppose evil, and the prayers of believers are an effective resource against them.
Life Application: Satan is limited in his temporary rulership. On the basis of Jesus’ victory, we are not under the bondage of the fear of death. But we still need to be vigilant and depend on the power of God. How can your prayer life help you to successfully resist Satan’s illegitimate rulership?
Part II: Commentary
1. Satan Is an Illegitimate and Temporary “Ruler.”
In the synoptic Gospels, the focus of the antagonism between Satan and Jesus is the temptation in the wilderness (Matt. 4:1–11; Mark 1:12, 13; Luke 4:1–13). Among the three synoptics, Luke gives additional details in the third temptation about Satan’s alleged authority. Showing to Jesus “all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time” (Luke 4:5, NKJV), the devil offered to Him “ ‘all this authority . . . and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish’ ” (Luke 4:6, NKJV).
It is debatable whether Satan really had the authority he claimed to have and, if so, how he had acquired it. To be sure, after sin entered the world, “God grants Satan considerable freedom to exercise his baneful influence throughout the world.”—Sydney H. T. Page, Powers of Evil: A Biblical Study of Satan and Demons (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1995), p. 98. However, this freedom is different from saying that Satan has legitimate authority in the world. In fact, by rejecting Satan’s offering, Jesus does not recognize the legitimacy of such authority.
In the Gospel of John, the antagonism between Satan and Jesus is particularly highlighted in the references to “the ruler [prince] of this world” (John 12:31, NKJV; John 14:30, NKJV; John 16:11, NKJV). In John 12:31–33, Jesus emphasizes the judgment of the world and the casting out of its ruler/prince, with particular reference to His death. In John 14:30, Jesus points out in the context of His farewell discourse to the disciples that “ ‘the ruler [prince] of this world is coming’ ” (NKJV). Jesus, underscoring the antagonism of this statement, adds, “And he has nothing in Me” (NKJV). The statement probably has in view the coming of Judas Iscariot, who is the agent by which “the devil himself precipitates Jesus’ death.” However, the Cross is not the triumph of the devil, but surprisingly his overthrow (see D. A. Carson, The Gospel According to John, The Pillar New Testament Commentary [Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1991], p. 508). Then, as Jesus teaches the disciples regarding the promised Parakletos, the Holy Spirit, He emphasizes again, now in John 16:11, that “ ‘the ruler [prince] of this world is judged’ ” (NKJV), which seems to echo the casting out of the devil in John 12:31.
Therefore, whereas the synoptics underline the victory of Christ over Satan in the temptation in the wilderness at the beginning of His public ministry, the Gospel of John stresses the defeat of Satan, the ruler/prince of this world, at the cross (see also Powers of Evil: A Biblical Study of Satan and Demons, p. 129); that is, at the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry. In both cases, we learn that Satan is an illegitimate and temporary ruler of a sinful world, a world that is paradoxically loved by God but also judged for rejecting Jesus (John 1:10, 29; John 3:16, 17, 19; John 9:39; John 12:31, 47; John 14:17; John 15:18, 19; John 16:8; John 17:9, 14, 16, 21). As Robert Recker indicates, Satan “is a deposed prince, or one in process of deposition.”—“Satan: In Power or Dethroned?” Calvin Theological Journal 6, no. 2 (1971), p. 147.
2. Satan Slanders and Makes Captives Under His “Rulership.”
Despite being illegitimate as a ruler, because of sin human beings became lawful captives of Satan’s rulership. Ellen G. White underlines that “fallen man is Satan’s lawful captive. . . . Man is naturally inclined to follow Satan’s suggestions, and he cannot successfully resist so terrible a foe unless Christ, the mighty Conqueror, dwells in him, guiding his desires, and giving him strength.”—Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, p. 341. It is not God who “has made Satan ‘the prince of this world,’ but . . . human beings have made him such through their sin.”—Powers of Evil: A Biblical Study of Satan and Demons, p. 129.
Even though Satan is, from the perspective of human sin, a lawful ruler of corrupted human beings, he is still an illegitimate ruler from the standpoint of his character and actions. Jesus emphatically describes him as a liar and a murderer. In His words, Satan “ ‘was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it’ ” (John 8:44, NKJV). Basically, lies/slander and mortal captivity are the essence of his “rulership,” which needs to be overthrown by Jesus.
The Gospel of John seems to underscore that “the ruler [prince] of this world” is defeated and cast out by Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, His resurrection, and ascension to the Father (John 12:31–33, John 16:11). However, Jesus’ intercessory prayer on behalf of His disciples, in John 17, assumes that the influence of Satan over humanity does not end with the cross. “To the contrary, John indicates that the opposition incited by Satan against Jesus will also be directed against the followers of Jesus.”—Powers of Evil: A Biblical Study of Satan and Demons, p. 130. In John 17:15, Jesus prays that the Father keep “ ‘them from the evil one,’ ” because they are in the world but do not belong to it (John 17:15, 16, NKJV). In 1 John 5:19, the distinction is made between believers of God and unbelievers (those of the world), contrasting the people of God with those who are under the power of the devil: “We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one” (NKJV).
Hebrews 2:14, 15 spells out the power that the devil has over sinful human beings, subjecting them to bondage, in terms of “the power of death.” This passage also teaches that Jesus destroys this power by means of His death. Thus, on the basis of Jesus’ victory, we are not under the bondage of the fear of death. But we still need to be vigilant and depend on the power of God. The history of salvation is not over yet, and “the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Pet. 5:8, NKJV). Furthermore, before his final destruction (Rev. 20:10), Satan continues to accuse believers before God (Rev. 12:10), and the history of Job suggests that slander (Job 1:9–11, Job 2:5) is part of the devil’s strategy of accusation.
3. Satan Is Limited in His “Rulership.”
Sinful human beings have made Satan a ruler, and his slanderous accusations are taken into consideration instead of being simply dismissed by God. God allows this to happen in order that these accusations may be clearly proved wrong. For this reason, Satan has room and time to “rule,” but, as the history of Job also indicates (“ ‘do not lay a hand on his person’ ” [Job 1:12, NKJV]; “ ‘spare his life’ ” [Job 2:6, NKJV]), he is limited by God in this “rulership.”
Moreover, we learn, in Daniel 10, about the limits of the evil power. According to this chapter, “the unfolding of human history is not determined solely by the decisions made by human beings, for there is an unseen dimension of reality that must also be taken into account. In particular, there are malevolent forces in the universe that exercise a baneful influence in the sociopolitical realm, especially where God’s people are concerned. Nevertheless, the power of these evil agencies is limited, for transcendent powers of goodness oppose them, and the faithful prayers of believers are also effective against them. However antagonistic the forces of evil may be towards the will of God, they cannot prevent it from being accomplished.”—Powers of Evil: A Biblical Study of Satan and Demons, p. 64.
Ellen G. White affirms the existence of a similar cosmic conflict regarding the life of every person, and she also highlights the importance of prayer in this context. In the chapter “The Power of Satan” in Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, she underscores that “God alone can limit the power of Satan” (Page 341) and that she “saw evil angels contending for souls, and angels of God resisting them. The conflict was severe” (Page 345). However, she adds, “It is not the work of good angels to control the minds of men against their will. If they yield to the enemy, and make no effort to resist him, then the angels of God can do but little more than hold in check the host of Satan, that they shall not destroy, until further light be given to those in peril, to move them to arouse and look to heaven for help” (Page 345). In this context, she stresses that “the great Commander in heaven and earth has limited Satan’s power” while, at the same time, she highlights the importance of prayer, because “our Savior listens to the earnest prayer of faith, and sends a reinforcement of those angels that excel in strength to deliver him” (Page 346).
Part III: Life Application
Job’s book provides fascinating insights into the reality of the great controversy. Job had decided to fear God in spite of the circumstances. Taking this perspective into account, discuss the following questions:
How can God’s protection over us inspire us to fear, desire, and love Him even more? In what ways might His protection possibly challenge some of us in, or be a hindrance to, our response to Him?
Satan has limitations imposed upon his rulership, which become evident in the heavenly council scene in Job. What do the existing limits on Satan’s power tell us about God’s power and actions?
In the chapter “The Power of Satan” (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, p. 345), Ellen G. White highlights the importance of prayer in order for God to send angels to deliver us. Thus, how important is your prayer life in opening up avenues for divine action?
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Key Text: 1 John 3:8
Study Focus: Job 1:1–12, Job 2:1–7, Daniel 10, Luke 4:6, John 12:31.
Introduction: Satan is limited by God in his rulership. He is an illegitimate ruler, especially from the standpoint of his character.
Lesson Themes: This week’s lesson underlines three main notions:
Satan is an illegitimate and temporary “ruler.” God granted Satan limited and temporary rulership after sin entered this world, but this rulership is not a legitimate authority. Although God has limited His own activity to eliminate evil in this world, Jesus has overcome the devil. Christ’s victory over temptation in the wilderness and the defeat of Satan on the cross indicate that Satan’s rulership is illegitimate and temporary.
Satan slanders and makes captives under his “rulership.” Despite the fact that Satan is an illegitimate and temporary ruler, human beings can become lawful captives of his rulership. Our human will is inclined to follow Satan’s suggestions, unless Christ dwells in us, guiding our desires and lives.
Satan is limited in his “rulership.” Satan has room and time to “rule,” but he is limited by God in this “rulership.” In the unfolding of human history, transcendent powers of goodness oppose evil, and the prayers of believers are an effective resource against them.
Life Application: Satan is limited in his temporary rulership. On the basis of Jesus’ victory, we are not under the bondage of the fear of death. But we still need to be vigilant and depend on the power of God. How can your prayer life help you to successfully resist Satan’s illegitimate rulership?
Part II: Commentary
1. Satan Is an Illegitimate and Temporary “Ruler.”
In the synoptic Gospels, the focus of the antagonism between Satan and Jesus is the temptation in the wilderness (Matt. 4:1–11; Mark 1:12, 13; Luke 4:1–13). Among the three synoptics, Luke gives additional details in the third temptation about Satan’s alleged authority. Showing to Jesus “all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time” (Luke 4:5, NKJV), the devil offered to Him “ ‘all this authority . . . and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish’ ” (Luke 4:6, NKJV).
It is debatable whether Satan really had the authority he claimed to have and, if so, how he had acquired it. To be sure, after sin entered the world, “God grants Satan considerable freedom to exercise his baneful influence throughout the world.”—Sydney H. T. Page, Powers of Evil: A Biblical Study of Satan and Demons (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1995), p. 98. However, this freedom is different from saying that Satan has legitimate authority in the world. In fact, by rejecting Satan’s offering, Jesus does not recognize the legitimacy of such authority.
In the Gospel of John, the antagonism between Satan and Jesus is particularly highlighted in the references to “the ruler [prince] of this world” (John 12:31, NKJV; John 14:30, NKJV; John 16:11, NKJV). In John 12:31–33, Jesus emphasizes the judgment of the world and the casting out of its ruler/prince, with particular reference to His death. In John 14:30, Jesus points out in the context of His farewell discourse to the disciples that “ ‘the ruler [prince] of this world is coming’ ” (NKJV). Jesus, underscoring the antagonism of this statement, adds, “And he has nothing in Me” (NKJV). The statement probably has in view the coming of Judas Iscariot, who is the agent by which “the devil himself precipitates Jesus’ death.” However, the Cross is not the triumph of the devil, but surprisingly his overthrow (see D. A. Carson, The Gospel According to John, The Pillar New Testament Commentary [Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1991], p. 508). Then, as Jesus teaches the disciples regarding the promised Parakletos, the Holy Spirit, He emphasizes again, now in John 16:11, that “ ‘the ruler [prince] of this world is judged’ ” (NKJV), which seems to echo the casting out of the devil in John 12:31.
Therefore, whereas the synoptics underline the victory of Christ over Satan in the temptation in the wilderness at the beginning of His public ministry, the Gospel of John stresses the defeat of Satan, the ruler/prince of this world, at the cross (see also Powers of Evil: A Biblical Study of Satan and Demons, p. 129); that is, at the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry. In both cases, we learn that Satan is an illegitimate and temporary ruler of a sinful world, a world that is paradoxically loved by God but also judged for rejecting Jesus (John 1:10, 29; John 3:16, 17, 19; John 9:39; John 12:31, 47; John 14:17; John 15:18, 19; John 16:8; John 17:9, 14, 16, 21). As Robert Recker indicates, Satan “is a deposed prince, or one in process of deposition.”—“Satan: In Power or Dethroned?” Calvin Theological Journal 6, no. 2 (1971), p. 147.
2. Satan Slanders and Makes Captives Under His “Rulership.”
Despite being illegitimate as a ruler, because of sin human beings became lawful captives of Satan’s rulership. Ellen G. White underlines that “fallen man is Satan’s lawful captive. . . . Man is naturally inclined to follow Satan’s suggestions, and he cannot successfully resist so terrible a foe unless Christ, the mighty Conqueror, dwells in him, guiding his desires, and giving him strength.”—Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, p. 341. It is not God who “has made Satan ‘the prince of this world,’ but . . . human beings have made him such through their sin.”—Powers of Evil: A Biblical Study of Satan and Demons, p. 129.
Even though Satan is, from the perspective of human sin, a lawful ruler of corrupted human beings, he is still an illegitimate ruler from the standpoint of his character and actions. Jesus emphatically describes him as a liar and a murderer. In His words, Satan “ ‘was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it’ ” (John 8:44, NKJV). Basically, lies/slander and mortal captivity are the essence of his “rulership,” which needs to be overthrown by Jesus.
The Gospel of John seems to underscore that “the ruler [prince] of this world” is defeated and cast out by Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, His resurrection, and ascension to the Father (John 12:31–33, John 16:11). However, Jesus’ intercessory prayer on behalf of His disciples, in John 17, assumes that the influence of Satan over humanity does not end with the cross. “To the contrary, John indicates that the opposition incited by Satan against Jesus will also be directed against the followers of Jesus.”—Powers of Evil: A Biblical Study of Satan and Demons, p. 130. In John 17:15, Jesus prays that the Father keep “ ‘them from the evil one,’ ” because they are in the world but do not belong to it (John 17:15, 16, NKJV). In 1 John 5:19, the distinction is made between believers of God and unbelievers (those of the world), contrasting the people of God with those who are under the power of the devil: “We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one” (NKJV).
Hebrews 2:14, 15 spells out the power that the devil has over sinful human beings, subjecting them to bondage, in terms of “the power of death.” This passage also teaches that Jesus destroys this power by means of His death. Thus, on the basis of Jesus’ victory, we are not under the bondage of the fear of death. But we still need to be vigilant and depend on the power of God. The history of salvation is not over yet, and “the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Pet. 5:8, NKJV). Furthermore, before his final destruction (Rev. 20:10), Satan continues to accuse believers before God (Rev. 12:10), and the history of Job suggests that slander (Job 1:9–11, Job 2:5) is part of the devil’s strategy of accusation.
3. Satan Is Limited in His “Rulership.”
Sinful human beings have made Satan a ruler, and his slanderous accusations are taken into consideration instead of being simply dismissed by God. God allows this to happen in order that these accusations may be clearly proved wrong. For this reason, Satan has room and time to “rule,” but, as the history of Job also indicates (“ ‘do not lay a hand on his person’ ” [Job 1:12, NKJV]; “ ‘spare his life’ ” [Job 2:6, NKJV]), he is limited by God in this “rulership.”
Moreover, we learn, in Daniel 10, about the limits of the evil power. According to this chapter, “the unfolding of human history is not determined solely by the decisions made by human beings, for there is an unseen dimension of reality that must also be taken into account. In particular, there are malevolent forces in the universe that exercise a baneful influence in the sociopolitical realm, especially where God’s people are concerned. Nevertheless, the power of these evil agencies is limited, for transcendent powers of goodness oppose them, and the faithful prayers of believers are also effective against them. However antagonistic the forces of evil may be towards the will of God, they cannot prevent it from being accomplished.”—Powers of Evil: A Biblical Study of Satan and Demons, p. 64.
Ellen G. White affirms the existence of a similar cosmic conflict regarding the life of every person, and she also highlights the importance of prayer in this context. In the chapter “The Power of Satan” in Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, she underscores that “God alone can limit the power of Satan” (Page 341) and that she “saw evil angels contending for souls, and angels of God resisting them. The conflict was severe” (Page 345). However, she adds, “It is not the work of good angels to control the minds of men against their will. If they yield to the enemy, and make no effort to resist him, then the angels of God can do but little more than hold in check the host of Satan, that they shall not destroy, until further light be given to those in peril, to move them to arouse and look to heaven for help” (Page 345). In this context, she stresses that “the great Commander in heaven and earth has limited Satan’s power” while, at the same time, she highlights the importance of prayer, because “our Savior listens to the earnest prayer of faith, and sends a reinforcement of those angels that excel in strength to deliver him” (Page 346).
Part III: Life Application
Job’s book provides fascinating insights into the reality of the great controversy. Job had decided to fear God in spite of the circumstances. Taking this perspective into account, discuss the following questions:
How can God’s protection over us inspire us to fear, desire, and love Him even more? In what ways might His protection possibly challenge some of us in, or be a hindrance to, our response to Him?
Satan has limitations imposed upon his rulership, which become evident in the heavenly council scene in Job. What do the existing limits on Satan’s power tell us about God’s power and actions?
In the chapter “The Power of Satan” (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, p. 345), Ellen G. White highlights the importance of prayer in order for God to send angels to deliver us. Thus, how important is your prayer life in opening up avenues for divine action?