Why Satan is not “the god of this world”
I don’t think I need to substantiate how most of Christendom would agree that Satan is considered to be the god (little ‘g’) of this world, and that he strives at every turn to blind people to the truth of the gospel. Where does this idea come from? Typically, this passage is the source:
(2Co 4:3-4 KJV) 3 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: 4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
Fair enough, at a surface glance, it is understandable how this conclusion could be reached. But is this conclusion a true and fair understanding of this passage?
If we begin to really dig in to this passage, we will find this statement by Paul does not just come out of the blue. As Paul is known to do, he has been building an argument over the past chapter (3) that is now reaching a culmination here at the beginning of this chapter. Of course, there are no chapter divisions in the original letter to the Corinthians, so any divisions are arbitrary.
This “blinding” and “hiding” of the gospel is a reference to a passage in (where else?) the Torah. Just about the entire chapter of 2 Cor 3 deals with Paul’s application of this Torah passage. Here it is from the WEB version:
(Exo 34:29-35 WEB) 29 And it came to pass when Moses came down from mount Sinai (with the two tables of testimony in Moses's hand, when he came down from the mount) that Moses knew not that the skin of his face shone, while he talked with him. 30 And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come nigh him. 31 And Moses called to them; and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned to him; and Moses talked with them. 32 And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh: and he gave them in commandment all that the LORD had spoken with him in mount Sinai. 33 And till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a vail on his face. 34 But when Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he took the vail off, until he came out. And he came out and spoke to the children of Israel that which he was commanded. 35 And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses's face shone: and Moses put the vail upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him.
Ramesh DeSilva over at biblethingsinbibleways.wordpress.com has done a very detailed deconstruction of this passage, which is a worthy read for understanding the context of what the apostle is getting at. While Ramesh he does not address the Satan/god of this world aspect, the blinding and hiding is dealt with very thoroughly. Here is the gist of Ramesh’s argument in a nutshell:
What he [Moses] covered with a veil was the “Glory of God” that was temporarily manifest on his face. In verse [2 Cor 3:] 14, Paul compares this physical vail that covered the Glory of God that shone forth in Moses’ face to a spiritual vail which blocked the eyes of the Children of Israel from witnessing the fullness of God’s Glory. Paul exclaims that the same spiritual vail or blindness is still blocking their view, that even when they read the Old Covenant they cannot see God’s true Glory because of the spiritual veil which is blocking the light from shining forth. This spiritual vail can only be removed through Christ as per Paul. (It is important to note that the thing that is done away in Christ is not the Old Covenant or The Law, but the spiritual vail which covers their eyes). Paul continues in verse 15 saying, that even in his day, the vail is still upon their hearts when they read the 5 Books of Moses, which can only be removed when their hearts turn to God. In other words the majority of Jews of his day were reading God’s Word without seeing God’s true Glory.
Satan is not mentioned of “blinding” anyone or “hiding” anything in the Torah passage. The context of the “hiddenness” of the gospel that Paul speaks of in chapter 4 is that a spiritual veil is upon the hearts of the Jews when Moses is read. He comes right out and says it in chap 3:
(2Co 3:15 KJV) 15 But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart.
The issue, then,is that their hearts are somehow “kept” from recognizing the truth of the gospel by this spiritual veil.
Now, some of you might say, “If there is some sort of veil or impediment to Jews understanding the gospel, let’s get rid of it so they can be saved!”, right? Well, it’s a little more involved than that, because it’s not a knowledge issue, it’s a heart issue. And where does this heart issue stem from? Apparently, from God Himself:
(Jhn 12:37-41 KJV) 37 But though he [Yeshua] had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him: 38 That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? 39 Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again, 40 He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. 41 These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him.
What?! God blinded their eyes and hardened their heart?! Apparently so. And if you think about it, this concept is all through the Bible, but maybe you haven’t really put it together in this way before.
(Exo 9:12 KJV) 12 And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had spoken unto Moses.
(Exo 10:1, 20, 27 KJV) 1 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh: for I have hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants, that I might shew these my signs before him: ...
20 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go. ...
27 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let them go.
(Exo 11:10 KJV) 10 And Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh: and the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go out of his land.
(Exo 14:8 KJV) 8 And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel: and the children of Israel went out with an high hand.
Poor Pharaoh, he never stood a chance against those odds.
(Deu 2:30 KJV) 30 But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him: for the LORD thy God hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, that he might deliver him into thy hand, as appeareth this day.
(Deu 29:4 KJV) 4 Yet the LORD hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.
(Isa 63:17 KJV) 17 O LORD, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants' sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.
Poor Sihon, poor Israel...wait a minute, Israel had their collective heart hardened, too? Hmm. Well, of course, that was just “Old Testament” stuff, because now God is a God of grace and mercy...right?
(Mat 13:10-15, 34-35 KJV) 10 And the disciples came, and said unto him [Yeshua], Why speakest thou unto them in parables? 11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. 12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. 13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. 14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: 15 For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. ... 34 All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them: 35 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.
(Luk 8:10 KJV) 10 And he[Yeshua] said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.
(Act 28:25-27 KJV) 25 And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers, 26 Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive: 27 For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
Each of the gospel writers includes this reference to Isaiah 6 at least once. Yeshua taught that the rejection of the truth of the Kingdom of God was a fulfillment of this prophecy, orchestrated by God Himself! He said he specifically spoke in parables so that his message would be, in a sense, “veiled”; those who would get it would get it, those who wouldn’t, wouldn’t.
What does this teach us? That God is ultimately in control, and has a specific plan and purpose that will ultimately culminate in his glory, even if we don’t have a full understanding just yet. While we want everyone to understand the truth of the Kingdom message, God’s timing may not be right at that moment for that individual or group of people.
Now, what does all this have to do with the original premise about Satan not being the “god of this world”? I think you may begin to see where this is headed, but let’s revisit the 2 Cor 4 passage to draw some conclusions. We’ll need to start in v. 3:
(2Co 4:3 KJV) 3 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
Paul’s contention is that for some, the gospel is indeed kalypto: hidden, veiled, covered up. Remember the “veil” concept from Moses above. Those to whom the gospel is “veiled” are (present tense) perishing.
(2Co 4: KJV) 4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
Continuing the thought, those who are perishing, who have a veil upon their hearts, are now called “them which believe not”, literally apistos: faithless. But here is the good news already revealed in the last chapter:
(2Co 3:16 KJV) 16 Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.
All that is required is turning to the Lord, i.e., repentance, and the veil is lifted. But who is it that has typhlo-o: blunted their understanding, darkened their minds in the first place? Paul says it is “the god of this world.” And who is the god of this world?
Well, if you use a little “g” we must be talking about some other god than the one true God. The first problem is, the Greek phrase doesn’t allow for a little “g” god here, because it reads ho theos, i.e., THE God, not A god. But the most likely reason well-intentioned translators put a little “g” god there is because no one wants to think of the big “g” God blinding anybody’s minds to the light of the gospel. However, as we have seen, God can, has, and is doing this to accomplish his own purpose for his own glory.
The second problem is, he is called “the god of this world”, as if this is a little god ruling over territory that the big “g” God has allowed. This concept flies in the face of the most basic Torah principle of all: the Shema. There is only one God, and there is none other than he.
If there is a little “god” ruling over this world, then there are at least two gods. This is a clear violation of Torah.
Going to the Greek again, we find the word is not kosmos: world, but aion: age. If we were to take the words and translate them in the same order into English, it would read: the-God-the-age-this. Remember, it is a capital “g” God because of ho indicating THE God. Some might render this “the God of this age” which would not be entirely incorrect. However, we know that God is the God of every age, so it sounds a bit awkward. Also, when God is typically identified as ho theos (THE God) the word “the” is dropped in English because it is clear Whom is being talked about.
Smoothed out a bit, it might better be rendered “God, the/for this current age”. If we put that back into v. 3-4 as a whole, and highlight our revised words, it could be thus:
2Co 4:3-4) 3 But if our gospel be veiled, it is covered to them that are perishing: 4 In whom God, for this current age, hath blinded the minds of them which are faithless, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
This implies there will be an age where it is not veiled and covered for those who are currently choosing not to believe/have no faith. All of Romans chapter 11 speaks to this fact, where Paul emphatically declares that all of this will culminate in return of many of the original “olive branches” who have currently been “broken off, after God has completed working with the “wild branches”.
In the letter to the Corinthians, the verse that is typically not connected to this verse but ties it all together contextually is chap 4 v.6
(2Co 4:5-6 KJV) 5 For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. 6 For God [ho theos], who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
If it is THE God [ho theos] in v. 6 who shines in our hearts (i.e., removes the blindness/darkeness) then why is it unusual to think that THE God [ho theos] would also be the one veiling some hearts to accomplish his purpose? He can cover, he can reveal; that’s what He does!
The more important question is: why is Satan dragged into this passage in the first place? The context nowhere demands this, nor is it warranted by the Greek text itself. It is only the traditions of men and the unwillingness of our minds to recognize that THE God, the only God, can choose to do whatever he wants with his creation, and it is all good, and for his glory. We conclude with the thoughts of Paul:
(Rom 11:33 KJV) 33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
