Word
of God
Man
does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth from
the mouth of God
Matthew
4:4
The
Gospel According to Luke 4:5-7, 13
5
Then the devil took him up into an high mountain, and showed him all
the kingdoms of the world, in the twinkling of an eye. 6 And the
devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory
of those kingdoms: for that is delivered to me: and to whomsoever I
will, I give it.
7
If thou therefore wilt worship me, they shall be all thine.
13
And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him
for a little season.
Brethren:
While
doing the reading today, it was noted that Satan during his tempting
of Christ stated that the kingdoms of the world were given unto him.
It occurred to this writer that so often we as Christians are
continually asked the question “why do bad things happen to good
people?”. Although the above is not a complete answer, it does in
part give some glimpse into the answer. Satan has control of this
world, it is, for the time being his kingdom. If we read the
scriptures we can see this as being made known. In Job 1:7 we read
that Satan was compassing the earth, going to and fro. Likewise was
we read in 2 Corinthians 4:4 that the god of this world (that being
Satan) has blinded the minds and eyes of non-believers. Finally we
read in 1 Peter 5:8, how Satan walks upon the earth seeking to devour
all those that he might be able.
Moving
forward to thirteenth verse , we read that Satan ended ALL the
temptations. We only read of three, so how many more may have been
advanced? It is possible that these three encompassed all, or there
may have been more put forth. We don’t know, but suffice to say,
that by offering the kingship of the earth to Christ, it would have
most likely included all and every sinful vice known to man.
Fortunately for us Christ’s kingdom, is NOT of this world.
Here
included are some additional thoughts as put forth by John Gill a
17th century theologian.
And the devil said unto him, all this power will I give thee That is, all the kingdoms of the world, and all the government and jurisdiction over them: and the glory of them; the riches, honours, and grandeur belonging to them for that is delivered unto me So far he spoke modestly, in that he owned an original, superior governor of them, by whom he pretended they were transferred to him; but lied, in that he suggested they were put into his hands by him, who had the supreme power over them; and that he acted by his constitution and appointment, as a deputy under him; when what power he had, as the God of the world, was by usurpation, and not by designation of God; and at most only by permission and to whomsoever I will I give it or "these", as the Vulgate Latin reads; that is, these kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; when so to do is the peculiar and sole prerogative of God: nor can Satan dispose of the goods of a single man, nor of a herd of swine, nor enter into them without leave from God.
And the devil said unto him, all this power will I give thee That is, all the kingdoms of the world, and all the government and jurisdiction over them: and the glory of them; the riches, honours, and grandeur belonging to them for that is delivered unto me So far he spoke modestly, in that he owned an original, superior governor of them, by whom he pretended they were transferred to him; but lied, in that he suggested they were put into his hands by him, who had the supreme power over them; and that he acted by his constitution and appointment, as a deputy under him; when what power he had, as the God of the world, was by usurpation, and not by designation of God; and at most only by permission and to whomsoever I will I give it or "these", as the Vulgate Latin reads; that is, these kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; when so to do is the peculiar and sole prerogative of God: nor can Satan dispose of the goods of a single man, nor of a herd of swine, nor enter into them without leave from God.
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