Satan, formerly called Lucifer, tried to undermine the authority of God and become like the “Most High” in a failed attempted coup to remove God (Isaiah 14:12-14). When Satan tempted Christ, he offered Him the whole world, claiming it was his to give (Luke 4:5-8), and Christ did not dispute this claim.
God allowed Satan to retain his authority on Earth for a purpose. He tests the character of every human being, including Job, whose suffering under Satan’s affliction reveals much about why God sometimes allows us to suffer (Job 1:6-12). The Apostle Paul wrote that God “…tests our hearts” (1 Thessalonians 2:4), and Moses explained to the ancient Israelites, “Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands” (Deuteronomy 8:2).
Our Creator could have pre programmed humans to behave according to predetermined instincts, but then we would be automatons. God allows mankind to learn, often from experience, that the only way of life that will work is revealed in His Word, the Bible (Matthew 4:4; Deuteronomy 5:29).
Humans were created for a wonderful destiny — to become God’s sons and daughters (2 Corinthians 6:18) and to bear responsibilities within His family. In order to do this man must learn how to discern right from wrong. God pointed out the right way from the beginning, but He allowed human beings to make their own decisions, and they chose to follow Satan rather than God. When Jesus Christ returns to the earth, He will begin the process of reversing the damage Satan has done.
But although Satan dominates the earth at this time, deceiving and influencing mankind, God still reserves the right to intervene. In the Old Testament, He intervened many times,creating circumstances to advance His plan. Examples include the plagues on Egypt, crossing the Red Sea, codifying His Law and setting up kings when the people rejected His direct rule. Saul, David, Solomon, Jeroboam, Ahab, Jezebel, Amaziah, Hezekiah and others experienced God’s direct intervention in their lives – sometimes for their good, but more often to punish or restrain them. Their lives can be studied in the books of Samuel, Kings and Chronicles.
Perhaps the ruler who learned most about God’s oversight in human kingdoms was the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar II. In 605 BC he conquered Jerusalem and took captives back to Babylon (now called Iraq). These captives included a young man called Daniel and his three friends, who were trained in the royal courts (Daniel 1:1-21). Two decades later, despite Daniel having explained one troubling dream, and Nebuchadnezzar having witnessed Daniel’s three friends survive a fiery furnace, the king still did not accept God as the one true God, and attributed all his glory to his own exploits. Daniel chapter 4 describes how God intervened, telling Nebuchadnezzar he would suffer from madness and lose his throne until he learned that “the Most High rules in the kingdom of men” (Daniel 4:17, 25, 32).
When Jesus Christ outlined events heralding the end of the age, just before His return, in His “Olivet Prophecy” (Matthew, chapters 24 and 25), He told His followers God is in overall control. Although conditions would reach a point where, if God did not intervene, “no flesh would be saved,” He assured them He would intervene (Matthew 24:22).
While God has given mankind free will to make his own decisions and Satan still has the power to influence human thinking, the Almighty God is in charge of His overall master plan. He allows mankind to learn—partly by firsthand experience— that the only way of life that will work is the way of life He reveals in His Word, the Bible. God wants humanity to learn that “the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps” (Jeremiah 10:23) and that Satan’s way leads to misery and suffering.
