- Who Controls the World?
- God or Satan?
by Will J. Kinney
- Who is in control of the world?
Is it God or Satan? Jesus Christ said: "All power is given unto me in heaven and in
earth." Matthew 28:18. The Lord's prayer in Matthew 6:13 ends with :"For thine
is the kingdom and the power and the glory for ever, Amen." This phrase is in
brackets in the NASB and removed in the NIV, RSV and ESV. Jesus either said it or he
didn't; they can't all be right.
In Ephesians 1:20-22 it is said of Christ that
God "raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly
places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name
that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come; and hath put all
things under his feet."
Daniel 4:17,25,26 tell us three times that
"the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he
will." 2 Chronicles 20:6 affirms: "O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God
in heaven? and rulest not thou over all kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is
there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?"
God is the sovereign ruler and controller of
this world and of the entire universe. There is only one King, and Satan is not the
king, the controller, or the ruler of this world- at least according to the true Holy
Bible - the King James Bible of 1611 - which is pure in all its precepts and true in
all its doctrines. However such is not the case with a multitude of bogus bible
versions on the market today.
Satan is a liar from the beginning. During the
temptation in the wilderness, Satan told Jesus that all the kingdoms of the world
were his and that he gave them to whomsoever he would - he was lying. He is a liar
and the father of it - John 8:44. Satan's statement directly contradicts
Daniel 4:17 which says "the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to
whomsoever He will", and the other Scriptures I quoted. But the NIV, NAS, ESV and
NKJV have bought Satan's lie and are passing it off to God's children.
All Greek texts read the
same in 1 John 5:19, so it is not a textual variation, but a simple matter of sound and
consistent doctrine as opposed to a lie. The Greek texts read: "oidamen oti ek tou qeou
esmen kai o kosmoV oloV en tw ponhrw keitai".
In I John 5:19 the King James Bible along with
the Geneva Bible, Tyndale, Young's, the Spanish Reina Valera of 1602, and 1909
(y todo el mundo está puesto en maldad), Lamsa's translation of the Peshitta, Webster's
1833 translation, the KJV 21, Green's literal translation and Green's Modern KJV, and the
Third Millennium Bible all say: "And we know that we are of God, and THE WHOLE WORLD
LIETH IN WICKEDNESS."
Wycliffe's Bible says: " We witen, that we ben of God, and al the world is set in
yuel." Or the modernized version would be: "We know that we be of God and all
the world is set in evil."
Many commentators who are usually sound in
their doctrine become very confused in their thinking when they try to explain this
passage, yet the meaning as it stands in the true Holy Bible is quite clear. We live in a fallen world; it lies in sin and wickedness,
just as the text says. But God is still in control and ruling over all His creation.
"He worketh all things after the counsel of his own will" Ephesians 1:11.
Even though it may appear that wickedness is winning, the eye of faith sees
his sovereignty and rejoices in this confidence.
However, believe it or not, many new versions pervert the truth of God's sovereign
rule and would have us believe that Satan is the ruler of this world and is in control.
In fact, they come right out and say it in these exact words.
The NIV says: "The whole world is UNDER THE CONTROL OF THE EVIL ONE."
Before you rush to your school boy Greek to
defend this obvious lie, check out any of your own preferred bible versions and notice how
they frequently translate nouns that have the definite article. See for
instance Romans 12:9 in the NIV, NKJV, NASB, or the NASB in Matthew 5:37 and 6:13.
NASB: " the whole world lies in the power of the evil one."
Today's English Version: "the whole world is under the rule of the Evil One."
ESV (English Standard Version): "the whole world lies in the power of the evil
one."
Living Bible 1981: "the world around us is under Satan's power and control."
ISV (International Standard Version): "the whole world lies under the control of the
evil one."
The NKJV, and the Holman Christian Standard Bible try to strike a medium with : " the
whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one" but the NKJV as well as the NASB
are also wrong when three times they refer to Satan as the "ruler of this
world" in John 12:31; 14:30, and 16:11. Satan is NOT the ruler of this
world. He is the spiritual "prince of this world", as the KJB, RV, ASV,
Tyndale, Geneva, and even the NIV correctly say, but there are also other spiritual
"princes" or beings working among the nations, and all of them are under the
control of God and not Satan.
Daniel chapter 10 reveals that there are spiritual "princes" of Persia and
of Grecia, and the angel Michael is one of the chief princes of the nation of
Israel. These are members of the spiritual principalities and powers in the heavenly
places, Satan being the "prince of the power of the air" Ephesians 2:2, but he
is not, as the NKJV and the NASB teach, the RULER of this world.
I have asked people who use the NIV or any of
these modern versions a simple question. Who is in control of this world, God or
Satan? I usually get the response that God is in control of this world. Then I
show them what the NIV, NASB, and NKJV say in 1 John 5:19, or in John 12:31; 14:30
and 16:11. Usually they are a bit shocked and begin to doubt the reliability of
these versions (as well they should). But unfortunately what I have most often found to be
the case is that after a short while they then try to defend this obvious error by a
series of silly explanations all beginning with "But" ..."But"
..."But".
It is a very simple question. Does the King James Bible teach that Satan is the ruler of
this world, and that the whole world is under the control of the Evil One? Answer: NO
Do the NKJV, NASB, NIV, ESV teach that Satan is the ruler of this world and that the whole
world is under his control? Answer: YES.
I don't care that your bogus bibles teach the correct doctrine that God is the ruler and
controller of the world SOMEWHERE . If you have an obvious, huge LIE staring you in the
face in a perverted bible version, then toss it out and get yourself the REAL ONE.
- If you would like to discuss the Bible version issue
further, please join our online Which Version club on Yahoo. We welcome all sides of
this most vital issue. Here is the site.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/whichversion/
For more articles in defense of the Authorized King James Holy Bible, please visit my
website:
http://www.geocities.com/brandplucked/
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