To whom do the kingdoms of the world belong to?
God's or Satan's?

    God, through his heavenly messengers, prophets, and apostles, has told us that the kingdoms of the world are His, and that He appoints whomever He wants to rule. On the other hand, Satan once said that the kingdoms of the world are his and that he appoints whomever he wants. Who should Christians, especially pastors, writers of evangelical books, and those who teach doctrine to brethren, believe?
    There are Christians who, influenced by the russellistic heresy, think that Satan is the one who rules the world and sets rulers in power. The Bible says just the contrary; it says that God sets kings in their kingdoms. The only thing that Satan and demons can do is tempt rulers according to their lusts, trying to derail God's plans. But it doesn't mean that they rule this world or that they set kings in their kingdoms. Satan and demons also tempt Church leaders, pastors, and denominational leaders to make them go astray. They try to twist God's plans. This doesn't mean that Church leaders, pastors and denominational leaders are set in their positions by the Devil, nor that churches and denominations belong to Satan. God permits, till certain limits, wickedness in government, churches, denominations, etc., but this doesn't mean that Satan rules over these institutions.
    The Scripture speaks very plainly about who puts and removes kings. Let us read what the Prophet Daniel has to say about this.

 

                "And he changeth the times and the seasons; He removeth

kings, and setteth up kings; he giveth wisdom unto the wise,

and knowledge to them that know understanding. He revealeth

 the deep and secret things; he knoweth what is in the darkness,

 and the light dwelleth with him."                     ( Dn  2: 20-22 )

 

    As we have read, Daniel, who knew best, more than all the members of the ruling body of the russellites, declares that God is the one who removes and appoints kings. It is not a vague statement that you have to ponder about, it is a plain statement that you just have to hear in order to understand.
    If we read Dn 2: 37 we will see Daniel telling Nebuchadnezzar, the most powerful king who ever reigned, that his kingdom and power was given by God. Daniel does not say that Satan gave it Nebuchadnezzar. Nevertheless, that is what many Christians and all russellites believe.

 

                "Thou, O king, art a king of kings, for the God of heaven

hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, glory.”

( Dn  2: 37 )

 

    A couple of chapters later, in Dn 4: 13-17 the Bible says that a "watcher and holy" told Nebuchadnezzar about this issue.

 

                "13 I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold,

a watcher and an holy one came down from heaven. 14 He cried

 aloud, and said thus….. 17 This matter is by the decree of the

watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the

intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in

the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and

setteth up over it the basest of men."

                                                            ( Dn 4: 13-17 abbreviated )

 

    It is perfectly clear who the kingdoms of the world belong to. Or maybe the russellites know more than this "watcher and holy" that came to Earth sent by God? Could it be? After this declaration of the watcher, Daniel affirms again twice more that the kingdoms are God's. Let us read.

 

                "25 That they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling

shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee

 to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of

heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know

 that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and

 giveth it to whomsoever He will. 26 And whereas they

commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; thy kingdom

 shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known
            that the heavens do rule."                         ( Dn 4: 25-26 )

 

                "31 While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice

from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is

spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee. 32 And they shall

drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts

 of the field; they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven

 times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the Most High

 ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He

will.                                                                ( Dn 4: 31-32 )

 

    A voice sent from God told Nebuchadnezzar that God appoints kingdoms to whomsoever He wants. Satan, russellites, and sadly some Christians, say that it is Satan who appoints the rulers of the world. Is there any hesitation about to whom we should believe?
    Many years later, in chapter 5, Daniel, speaking to Belshazzar about his grandfather Nebuchadnezzar's experience, reiterates who the kingdoms of the Earth belong to.

 

                "And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was

 made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses;

 they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the

 dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the
            kingdom of men, and that He appointeth over it whomsoever

he will."                                                                         ( Dn 5: 21 )

 

    It is interesting to notice that all this is said to a gentile king, so that the russellites could not allege that the only kings that God appointed were those of the Israelite theocracy.
    Now let us see what Jesus says about this issue. When Jesus was presented before Pilate, this Roman governor arrogantly told Jesus that he could crucify or release him. At that time Jesus told him that his power came from God. Let us read.

 

                "Then saith Pilate unto him: Speakest thou not unto me?

 Knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have

power to release thee? Jesus answered:Thou couldest have

no power at all against me, except it were given thee from

above. Therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the

greater sin."                                         ( Jn 19: 10-11 )

 

    Here Jesus reiterates what was said by Daniel, by the watchers, and by the voice that came from heaven. Are more testimonies needed to convince anyone that God appoints kings, governors and rulers of the Earth?
    But, anyway, what is the "biblical" base for those who affirm that it is Satan who sets forth kings and kingdoms? It is Satan's word, therefore, they believe him.

 

                "And the Devil, taking him up into a high mountain, shewed

 unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.

 And the devil said unto him: All this power will I give thee,

and the glory of them, for that is delivered unto me, and to

whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me,

 all shall be thine. And Jesus answered and said unto him: Get

 thee behind me, Satan, for it is written, Thou shalt worship

the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”

( Lk  4: 5-8 )

 

    Some may ask: Why did Jesus not refute Satan's statement? If a man comes to the door of an honest married woman and promise's to give her a million dollars if she goes to bed with him, what should this honest woman do? Should she start a discussion to demonstrate to him that he does not have so much money, or should she kick him out of her home? If she would start a discussion to demonstrate that he does not have that money, everybody would think that if he had the money she would go to bed with him. Therefore, the only alternative for an honest woman is to drive him out without any discussion.
    If Jesus argued with the Devil to demonstrate that he did not have the power to give him the kingdoms of the Earth, Christ's enemies today, including russellites, would be saying that Jesus did not accept the Devil's proposal because he knew that the Devil did not have that power. That is why Jesus did what he did: ordered Satan to leave at once.
    Satan faked that he had doubts about if Jesus was or not the Son of God. Satan asked Jesus to give proofs of that, by converting stones to bread or throwing himself from the Temple peak. Jesus did not refute Satan about that; he did not start a discussion to demonstrate that he was the Son of God. Nevertheless, the fact that Jesus did not refute Satan does not mean that Satan was saying the truth. By the same token, the fact that Jesus did not refute Satan when he said that the kingdoms of the world were his does not mean that the Devil was saying the truth.
    Another thing alleged by those who hold up that heresy is that if Satan were not the owner of the kingdoms he would not have offered them to Jesus. It seems that they think that Satan was honest enough not to offer what he could not give. Even Satan knew that Jesus knew that the kingdoms of the Earth were God's. It seems that he was hoping that after his forty days fast his mind was feeble enough to become confused. Satan also knew that Jesus knew that he should not convert stones into bread nor throw himself from the Temple, and he asked Jesus to do it anyway.
    Paul the apostle, who knew better than all these charlatans, stated clearly that the kingdoms and authorities belonged to God.

 

                "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For

there is no power but of God. The powers that be are

ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power,
           resisteth the ordinance of God; and they that resist shall

receive to themselves damnation.  For rulers are not a terror

 to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of
            the power? Do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise

of the same. For he is the minister of God to thee for good.

But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth
            not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger

 to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must

 need be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.

 For this cause pay ye tribute also, for they are God's ministers,

 attending continually upon this very thing.”

( Ro 13: 1-6 )

 

    Saint Paul clearly says that governments do not exist but only those that God sets up. God puts rulers in their position. After being in position those rulers, enticed by Satan, may corrupt their ministry and do ungodly things, but it does not mean that they were not placed there by God. It happened so with Saul. Similarly, God calls a person to be a pastor or to be a founder or director of a denomination, and after being in position, incited by Satan, they may corrupt their ministry and do ungodly things, but it does not mean that God did not place them there. It does not mean either that Satan rules the churches.
    It is illogical to think that Paul exhorted his brethren to pay taxes to Satan's agents. If he exhorted them to pay taxes is because governments are of God, not of Satan. In the former passage Paul says: a) that there are no powers but God's ordained; b) that those that exist are ordained by God; c) that he who opposes the government opposes God; and d) that governments are ministers of God; he says that three times. Is that vague or confusing? Who says the truth, Satan and the russellites or Saint Paul? It is not only Paul who affirms this, but also Peter.

 

                "Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the

Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme, or unto

 governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the

punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do

 well. For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may

put to silence the ignorance of foolish men. As free, and not

 using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the

servants of God. Honour all men. Love the brotherhood.

Fear God. Honour the king."                        ( I Pt  2: 13-17 )

 

    As we see Peter also tells us that the governments are God's. If the kings were agents of Satan, appointed by Satan, Peter was not going to exhort his brethren to honor an agent of Satan. Could it be that not even Peter knew as much as the russellites?
    There are some who have the absurd hypothesis that the Earth was Adam's and that he yielded to Satan its dominion. In no place of the Bible does it say that the planet belonged to Adam nor that Adam yielded its dominion to Satan. These are distorted lucubrations of people who try to explain what is happening around them without taking the Bible into consideration. If we read in the Bible the books of Kings and Chronicles, we will see that God was always the one who appointed kings to their position.
    But even without appealing to the Bible, by mere use of common sense we can conclude that the kingdoms of the world are not Satan's. Let us try to imagine what our concept of Satan would be if the kingdoms of the world were really his.

        a) Since there are hundreds of thousands of churches, and millions preach the gospel, we have to come to the conclusion that Satan is easygoing and tolerant; he permits that the gospel be preached in his kingdom.
        b) There are so many hospitals and orphanages in Satan's world that this tells us that he is very kindhearted.
        c) Given that Satan rules the world, and that he didn't kill at once all the apostles, it is necessary to think that he is not as bad as he is depicted.
        d) He rules the world and does not terrorize Christians by appearing to them to instill fear in them; therefore, he has to be pretty moderate.
        e) Yes, he is the one who put in the minds of corrupted people to print pornography, but as ruler of the world he also permits Bibles and Christian books to be printed; in consequence he is a very democratic being.
    These are the absurdities that we have to get to, if we think that the kingdoms of the Earth are Satan's and that he is the one who appoints kings.
    Not only is it false and blasphemous to say that Satan rules the world, it is highly flattering for him. True Christians must think deeply about all this before teaching others such a heresy.

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