UNDER WHOSE AUTHORITY ARE YOU?

12. What objective was set forth in Saul’s commission, leading to what question?

¹² When speaking to Saul, Jesus said that the objective for opening the people’s eyes was “to turn them from darkness to light and from the authority of Satan to God.” (Acts 26:18)

What is the “authority of Satan” that Jesus mentioned? How did it come about? And how can we come out from under its domination?

15. (a) How did Satan subtly seek to undermine God’s authority? (b) How was God’s word involved in this? (c) What prompted Adam and Eve in their course of action?

¹⁵ As the inspired account shows, Satan attempted to use his influence in a subtle way, and in this he was successful. How so? By insinuation and falsehood. He put forth error, under cover of a lie, as a substitute for truth. In other words, he put darkness for light. Interestingly, it was regarding life, saying that Eve would not die but would continue to live in the flesh on earth if she did as he suggested. He promised her increased enlightenment when he said, through the serpent: “In the very day of your eating from it [the forbidden fruit] your eyes are bound to be opened.” Then, implying she would become free to exercise authority independent of God, he added: “You are bound to be like God, knowing [for yourselves] good and bad.” (Gen. 3:1-5) Satan thus claimed that God’s word and command given to Adam were not to be relied on as a true light to guide and keep him and his wife in the right roadway leading to life. First Eve and then Adam decided to disobey God’s simple and direct command, and to strike out on the roadway of selfish independence, a roadway leading away from life and light in God’s favor into darkness and death.​—Ps. 119:105; see also 2 Corinthians 11:14.

16. (a) Why is it helpful to consider Satan’s line of approach? (b) How do the Scriptures give enlightenment respecting this?

¹⁶ We pause here to consider one of Satan’s chief tactics and how it operates. By subtle means, by deception, he tempts us to view things from a selfish viewpoint, as he did with Eve. If at heart we are, or become, governed by selfishness, then we readily fall into Satan’s snare and are easily blinded and deceived. We seek to justify ourselves, and put out of our mind the fear of God. See how clearly and forcefully this is expressed in Psalm 36:1-3: “The utterance of transgression to the wicked one is in the midst of his heart; there is no dread of God in front of his eyes. For he has acted too smoothly to himself in his own eyes to find out his error so as to hate it. The words of his mouth are hurtfulness and deception; he has ceased to have insight for doing good.” God’s judgment of such is well expressed by the prophet Isaiah: “Woe to those who are saying that good is bad and bad is good, those who are putting darkness for light and light for darkness . . . ! Woe to those wise in their own eyes and discreet even in front of their own faces!” We should certainly fear lest we “become hardened [and hence blinded] by the deceptive power of sin.”​—Isa. 5:20, 21; Heb. 3:13.

17. To what extent was man himself responsible for becoming increasingly subject to Satan’s influence?

¹⁷ From the time of the rebellion in Eden, mankind in general came increasingly under Satan’s influence and control.

18. What development occurred after the Flood regarding Satan’s authority?

¹⁸ After the Flood, the time came when Satan began to exercise authority by way of specific visible rulership. For the first time we read of a kingdom. Satan found a willing tool for his ambitious purpose in Nimrod, and concerning him we read: “He made the start in becoming a mighty one in the earth. He displayed himself a mighty hunter in opposition to Jehovah. . . . And the beginning of his kingdom came to be Babel . . . in the land of Shinar. Out of that land he went forth [in conquest] into Assyria and set himself to building Nineveh.”​—Gen. 10:8-12.

19. (a) How did opposition to Jehovah manifest itself, and what was Jehovah’s reaction? (b) Though halted, how did this opposition continue to develop?

¹⁹ Fired with that same ambitious and defiant spirit, certain men thus determined to set up and retain authority in their own hands. They said: “Come on! Let us build ourselves a city and also a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a celebrated name for ourselves, for fear we may be scattered over all the surface of the earth.” This suited Satan’s purpose, but it was in direct opposition to Jehovah, the Sovereign Lord, and his declared purpose. He did not shut his eyes to the situation. God “proceeded . . . to see the city and the tower that the sons of men had built.” He then made this observation: “Why, now there is nothing that they may have in mind to do that will be unattainable for them.” So Jehovah broke up their united purpose by confusing their language, and causing them to be scattered over all the earth. (Gen. 9:1; 11:1-8; Acts 4:24) The majority of men, however, still preferred human rulership, and there were always those who had Satan’s spirit of ambition for power and authority. This resulted in man-made kingdoms, sometimes just a city-kingdom, then expanding to embrace an entire region, such as the kingdoms of Moab and Ammon, and finally the great empires and world powers.

20. (a) What part has religion played in man-made kingdoms? (b) What exception to this does the Bible record? (c) How and to what extent has Satan held rulership over most of mankind?

²⁰ Religion played a large part in all these kingdoms, but the rulers and their subjects did not recognize Jehovah as the Supreme Ruler to whom worship and subjection were due. (Jer. 10:10; Dan. 6:26) The Bible mentions only one exception, namely, Melchizedek, king of Salem. He served also as “priest of the Most High God,” and, when blessing Abram, he said: “Blessed be Abram of the Most High God, Producer of heaven and earth.” Abram himself made similar reference to God when addressing the king of Sodom. (Gen. 14:18-23) Otherwise, through false religion and deception, Satan held rulership over all the kingdoms, along with the disobedient angels who joined in with him. This is generally not realized because Satan and his demon hosts are invisible to human eyes. Invisible, yes, but all the same effective. On three occasions Jesus spoke of Satan the Devil as ‘the ruler of this world.’ And telling of the Christian’s fight against the Devil, Paul says it is a fight “against the authorities, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the wicked spirit forces in the heavenly places.”​—John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; Eph. 6:11, 12; see also 2 Corinthians 4:4.

21. (a) What is involved in being delivered from Satan’s authority? (b) How have things today reached a climax on both sides?

²¹ From this it is evident that when Jesus spoke to Saul about turning people “from the authority of Satan to God,” this is a transfer from one rulership to another. As Paul wrote: “He [Jehovah] delivered us from the authority of the darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of his love.” (Col. 1:13) Today, the situation has reached a great and tense climax on the two opposing sides, that of Jehovah God and that of Satan the Devil. The foretold “enmity” between the two sides has indeed come to a climax. (Gen. 3:15) Under Satan’s rule, the darkness is of greater density than ever. The rulers and the ruled do not know which way to turn to solve their many vexing problems. It is a ‘gloomy darkness that may be felt.’ (Ex. 10:21, 22) But under Jehovah’s rule by his Messianic King, Christ Jesus, the light of truth and righteousness is shining with a greater intensity than ever, giving clear direction and confidence to his subjects, besides many spiritual pleasures and delights. The issue before mankind thus centers around the theme of rulership and kingdom authority.

22. Where and how are authority and rulership stressed regarding (a) the Messianic kingdom, and (b) Satan’s bid for supremacy?

²² Notice how this theme is emphasized in the book of Revelation. In a vision given to John, he hears loud voices in heaven saying: “The kingdom of the world did become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will rule as king forever and ever.” This was fulfilled in 1914 C.E., at the end of the uninterrupted rule of the world by Gentile powers, permitted by God for 2,520 years from 607 B.C.E. Then, after seeing the birth of the Messianic kingdom, the war in heaven and the hurling of the dragon, Satan the Devil, out of heaven, John hears the proclamation: “Now have come to pass the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ.” In contrast, the next vision tells how the dragon gives the “wild beast” (a symbol of Satan’s worldwide political organization) “its power and its throne and great authority,” so that all peoples of the earth give it their worship. Similar authority and worship are further mentioned regarding the “image of the wild beast,” a symbol of the present-day United Nations organization. In fact, Satan’s organization “puts under compulsion all persons” to receive its mark of identification, without which life is made next to impossible.​—Rev. 11:15; 12:10; 13:2, 15-17.