WHAT IS SATAN'S TO GIVE?

And the devil took him up, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and said to him "To you I will give all this authority and their glory; for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will.  If you, then, will worship me, it shall all be yours."  And Jesus answered him, " It is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve'" (Luke 4:5-8).

As I was reading this text I questioned, "What, really, can satan give?  Did God allow him the power to give to Jesus the kingdoms of the world?"  One of the key points to remember about satan is that he always lies--lying is his native tongue (John 8:44).  So, if satan claimed to be able to deliver the kingdoms of the world to Jesus it would have been just as much a lie as the one he told to Eve, saying she would be like God (Genesis 3:5).  He always offers to give what he cannot.  He cannot give anything but evil.

Jesus referred to satan as the ruler of this world (John 14:30-31).  The apostle Paul did the same in 2nd Corinthians 4:4.  However, do not assume that satan has more power than he does because of these two references.  The spirit of satan is alive in all those who follow the conventional wisdom of the world and those who put the desires of the flesh ahead of the will of God (Ephesians 2:1-3).  Because so many follow his ways, it appears as if he is the god of this world--it does seem as if he does have dominion over the earth.  Put on the armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18) and remember, "For dominion belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations" (Psalms 22:28).  Satan does not exactly know the future for he does not have dominion, so his prophecies often fail.  Because God has dominion, his prophecies are always true--he is in control of the future.

Jesus does not respond to satan with a reasoned argument because one cannot reason with the unreasonable.  Jesus only responds with Biblical truth from Deuteronomy 6:13.  The evil one has nothing to give but evil.  Never believe his lies that he has something good to give!

Grace&Peace;
Tom