lets have a debate but i think so
He runs the world for now.
Eph 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Welcome, @aniyababy43, great question to kick off a conversation!
I’ve always thought of it this way:
Scripture does describe the devil as having influence in the world right now, but it’s never presented as equal power. More like… real influence, but limited authority.
The part that encourages me is that every time the Bible mentions spiritual opposition, it also reminds us that God’s power and protection are greater. So yes, the enemy has a role in the world, but he doesn’t get the final word, not even close.
Curious how others here understand that balance too.
It thinks it is powerful, but in my opinion, it is usually, only as powerful within our domains, as we allow it to be by giving it attention, by fear, and by disobedience toward MESSIAH.
One of the greatest accomplishments of the Devil is convincing the world that he doesn’t exist. No Devil, then no Hell. No Devil, no Hell, no sin. No sin, no reason for a Savior. No Savior, no God. No evil means no good. No Hell, then no Heaven. No judgment for sin, if there is no sin. Simply, live as you will.
Jesus tells us the Devil is real. Luke 10:18-19
“And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you the authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.”
If he were not real, would Jesus warn us against him? Jesus told the Priests, and the rulers of the Synagogues that reject Him {Jesus}, that
“Ye are of your father the devil.” John 8:44
the Devil is NOT, some red-faced, horned head, tail wagging, pitchfork-wielding, demon straight out of a Hollywood horror movie. He is not a creature so hideous that you would run in terror if you saw him. He is “son of the morning.” He is as beautiful as “every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold.” Truth is, if he were to walk into a church building, many would fall and worship him, thinking he was Jesus Himself. He is what he is.
Second, he is NOT all-powerful. This is an important fact for you to understand. The Devil IS the lord of the air. He is in control of this natural realm. As long as you are of this world, you are of him. You are in his hand. However, the Word tells us he needs permission to tempt the children of God. We see this in Job 1 and 2. We see this when Jesus said to Peter,
“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:” Luke 22:31
We see this in the Word when the Word declares this in James 4:7
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
It does not say, Resist the Devil and he may. It says, “Resist the devil, and he WILL flee from you.” We see this when Jesus tells us we should not fear the Devil. Or anything, but God Himself.
“And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matthew 10:28
Of course, we see this in the end. When Satan is cast out and “They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms?” So he is not all-powerful. He is not a creature that can simply come in and destroy you and your life and bring you into chains to torment you forever. That’s Hollywood. Not the Devil.
But do not be misled. He is very real. He is capable of many destructive things. He can ruin your life if you let him. He works in the ways he knows, and the sin that brought him down in the first place is very much alive and well in this world. Pride. The desire for vast amounts of “followers.” Think about this for a second. What was Satan’s sin? Pride, greed, envy, desire for power. The desire to be God.
Yes, he is real, but not all-powerful. We must be careful not to overlook him.
Peter
No. He may have possessed Judas and Herod Antipater so they could crucify Christ, but in the end Judas hanged himself and the also powerful or even more powerful angel of death from exodus appears in acts and executes Herod. I think that shows that the devil is mote powerful than people, but still his company drives them mad so they kill themselves or god intervenes and gets rid of the devils henchmen.