And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry. And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”
But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ ”
Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.”
And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”
Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’ ”
And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ ” Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.
Luke 4:1-13
"If you are the Son of God..."
The devil was trying to make Jesus question if He actually was the Son of God.
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Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish."
Was the devil lying about having authority over the kingdoms of the earth, or was he telling the truth?
Jesus did not argue that the devil had the authority that he claimed. His rebuke to the devil was in regards to worshiping anyone other than God.
We read in the Gospels that Jesus was healing and delivering people who were demon possessed, sick, had diseases, deaf, mute, blind, lame, etc. This indicates that the devil had some kind of authority.
We may not attribute some of these things as being from the devil or demonic, however we would be wrong to think that because we know from Job's story of affliction that God suggested to Satan that he test Job and then granted him permission to do so.
[On a side note, in today's modern age, even Christians look to science and medicine for healing, oftentimes before we look to God. We should always seek God first, but also there are times when we should be seeking spiritual healing and deliverance rather than that which comes through science and medicine.]
Satan took away many of Job's possessions, killed his servants and his children, and then covered his body in boils. Satan's purpose was to get Job to curse God. However, God put him up to it. God was testing Job to see if he would curse Him when bad things happened. He was testing Job's faithfulness.
Satan is subject to God, therefore he cannot do anything without God's consent, but God does grant Satan authority to do things for His purposes.
Satan is the Adversary, the Tempter, the Tester (1 Peter 5:8, 1 Thes. 3:5, James 1:3). God created Satan to test man's faithfulness to God by tempting him through his own desires - the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John 2:16). God directs Satan when and whom he shall test.
The Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. God did not protect Jesus from the devil's temptations, but rather He led Jesus there so that He would be tempted.
The Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tested by Satan in order to determine if Jesus was going to remain faithful to God throughout His mission. God tested Him prior to Jesus going public in His ministry.
The devil tempted Jesus by the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life.
Jesus endured the temptation and therefore was approved and received the crown of life (James 1:12). He carried out His purpose here on earth without having any sin.
James the brother of Jesus wrote quite a bit about remaining faithful to God throughout trials. He said that whoever endures temptations will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him (James 1:12). I do not think he's talking about receiving a literal crown, but receiving eternal life.
The promise of eternal life is made only to those who love Jesus. If a Christian does not remain faithful to God when going through a trial, he may fall away from God by a hardened heart, and his love for God may grow cold. If he no longer loves God, he will not receive eternal life. This is the devil's purpose.
James described the progression of sin and how it can lead to death:
But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.
James 1:14-16
The devil's purpose is to tempt man to be unfaithful to God. That is why he comes to steal, and to kill, and to destroy (John 10:10). God does not tempt man (James 1:13), but He needs to test man's faithfulness to Him because only faithful men and women who endure trials are going to be saved and reign with Christ (Matthew 10:10, 24:13; 2 Timothy 2:12). Therefore He created a being whom He can use specifically for that purpose.
Adam and Eve were given authority over Eden (Genesis 2:15) but their faithfulness needed to be tested. Satan embodied a creature which God created, and he went to them.
Adam and Eve had no reason for not trusting the snake. God had previously brought all of the animals to Adam so that he could name them, so he was already familiar with all of the animals, including the snake. There was no death, shedding of blood, or eating of flesh, therefore the animals did not kill, so they had no fear of the animals. There was no good or evil in the garden, and Adam and Eve did not know good or evil.
God tested their faithfulness by sending Satan to tempt them through one of the creatures He created and they trusted. They failed the test, therefore God exiled them from the Garden of Eden so that they could not access the Tree of Life. They eventually died and returned to the ground from which they were made.
If they remained faithful to God, they would have continued to have authority over Eden. I think it is a good possibility that God would have given them authority over all the earth as well as the crown of life because he who is faithful with little will be faithful with much (Luke 16:10).
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We also see that the devil was working through the Jews and their religion at the time of Christ.
In John 8, Jesus said to some Jews that if they abide in His word, they are truly His disciples, and that they would know the truth and the truth would set them free.
Their response was that they were Abraham’s descendants and have never been in bondage to anyone. They must have forgotten that many of Abraham's descendants were in bondage to Assyria and Babylon after Israel was conquered by them because of God's judgment against them at the end of the period of the kings, but that is besides the point.
Jesus did not remind them of that, but responded that anyone who commits a sin is a slave to sin, and that a slave to sin does not abide in His house forever, but a child of God does abide forever. "If the Son sets you free, you shall be free indeed." Here, Jesus was mildly implying that they were in bondage to sin and therefore they do not abide in His house nor are they children of God. But now Jesus pours out some hard truth to them.
He said to the Jews, “I know that you are Abraham’s descendants, but you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father.”
They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. You do the deeds of your father.”
Then they said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father—God.”
Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me? He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.”
John 8:37-47
After some further discourse, the Jews prove Jesus's accusations of being the children of the devil by attempting to stone Him to death. Just as Jesus said a little while later, "the thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy (John 10:10).
The Jews not only rejected Jesus as being the Son of God and the Christ, which is by the way the definition of "antichrist" (1 John 2:22, 23), but they sought and conspired to kill Him, and eventually succeeded. They did the deeds of their father the devil (John 8:41).
Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8; Hebrews 2:14), so the Jews fiercely opposed Him because He challenged their religion and their beliefs about God.
God did not intend to start a religion or have a religious people. Israel was supposed to be a kingdom of people who were set apart for Himself and who worshiped Him alone. The laws were given to them to follow as the laws of His kingdom, similar to how we have cultural laws. But God's laws for Israel were intended to be different from the laws of the surrounding nations, in order for the surrounding nations to know that Israel was set apart from the other nations because they belong to God.
The sacrifices were required so that they could be forgiven of their sins so they could continue to be in fellowship with God. Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness (Hebrews 9:22), and God does not fellowship with unrepentant sinners (1 John1:6).
Judaism was developed by the Jews and contained many laws and requirements that were not given by God, and therefore it was a legalistic religion. It was not at all what God intended, so Jesus challenged it and was met with resistance that led to them killing Him.
Judaism is the same today, except that it does not include sacrifice for sins because the temple was destroyed in AD 70. So for over 2,000 years, Jews who practice Judaism have not shed blood for the forgiveness of their sins.
However, that is a good thing because God does not want them to make sacrifices for their sins anymore. That is why He destroyed the temple by the hand of Rome in AD 70. He gave His only Son Jesus as the once for all sacrifice of sin, doing away with the old covenant sacrificial system. Jesus's blood is the seal of God's new covenant with His people, so there is no longer a need for man to make sacrifices for his sins.
For man to continue to make sacrifices to God after He sacrificed His Son for this purpose would be an abomination to Him. However the Jews want to rebuild the temple so they can reinstitute the sacricial system, and many, many Christians support them in their efforts.
Many Jews today practice Judaism and continue to reject Jesus as the Messiah and as the Son of God. They are still waiting for their Messiah to come. Judaism is an antichrist religion, just as Islam and Hinduism are. It is antichrist because it denies that Jesus is the Son of God and the Christ.
Jews continue to persecute Christians today, steal land from Palestinians and kill them, continuing to do their father the devil's work, just like they did when Jesus was here.
I wonder how God feels about His people supporting a people and their agenda - a people who rejects His Son - when He Himself has rejected them and took the kingdom of God from them because they broke their covenant with Him (Jeremiah 3:6-8; Jeremiah 31:31-32; Matthew 21:31-32; Matthew 21:43; Matthew 22:8; Hebrews 8:9)?
I wonder how God feels about His people supporting a people who rejects His Son and whom He has rejected, and who persecutes their own brothers and sisters who are in Christ?
I can only imagine that it is an abomination to Him and that it grieves Him deeply.
The Spirit said, "Do not be deceived", yet many, many good, well intentioned Christians have been deceived by an unbiblical doctrine of a false teacher of the 1800's - a doctrine that requires these things to happen. This doctrine was not taught by the church prior to the 1800's, nor is it taught outside of the United States, except when Christians of other nations have been influenced by American Christians.
This doctrine places Israel at the center of the end times instead of Christ. The focus of God's people and the end times should be on Jesus, not on Israel.
If you want to focus on Israel, then learn the truth about Israel and how Christians in nations outside of the United States, including Palestine, interpret the Scriptures and view them. To learn the truth, I suggest looking to news outlets and churches outside of the United States who are not caught up in the propaganda or have an agenda. The true Israel is very different than the "innocent" Israel we hear about in the American news.
This doctrine also teaches that 1/3 of the Jewish people whom Christians wish to support will be gathered back to their land and then be annihilated before Christ returns. Would the God of the Bible gather all of His people back to their land only to have 1/3 of them killed? Many Christians believe so, and support it.
This is not a Biblical doctrine, but a deception of the Adversary. It is an unbiblical doctrine of demons. The God of the Bible does not condone His children to persecute, kill or steal, nor does He plan to have 1/3 of the Jews killed. Only the devil and his children do those things.
God loves the Jewish people and wishes to see them repent and believe in Jesus so that they can live for and be with Him for eternity.
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The devil has sinned from the beginning and whoever sins is of the devil (1 John 3:8; John 8:44). He has always been working to destroy man's faith which produces efforts to seek first the kingdom of God.
But Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). Speaking about His death, Jesus said, "Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out" (John 12:31).
The judgment of the world is God's judgment of the society which is ruled by the devil, who is the ruler of this world. Jesus said that the devil will be cast out.
Cast out of where? Revelation 12:9 says that Satan and his angels were cast out of heaven to the earth when they lost the war in heaven between Michael and his angels (Revelation 12:7-12).
Though many Christians attribute this as a future event, Jesus said in John 12:31 that these things were taking place "now", meaning at His death and resurrection.
At the cross, there was a great spiritual war taking place behind the scenes between God's angels and the devil. The angels prevailed and the devil was cast out of heaven and down to the earth.
I understand this to mean that the devil can no longer go before God in heaven, as we see him do in Job, but he has been exiled to the earth, where he continues his work to destroy man through deception.
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The Binding of Satan
When Jesus came, the Jews said that Jesus was casting out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of demons.
But Jesus responded,
“How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end. No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house" - Mark 3:23-27.
Jesus is basically saying that their idea doesn't make any sense, because Satan's house would not stand if He was casting out demons by the power of a demon, because it would be divided.
Jesus then said that no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house.
Jesus is saying to them, that He had bound Satan (the strong man) so that He could enter his house to plunder it. He plundered Satan's house by casting out demons, healing, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom. Many of the people He cast demons out of, healed, and heard the gospel, were taken from Satan's house and entered the kingdom of God.
Jesus did not mean that He physically bound Satan with a chain, as is symbolically described in Revelation 20:1-3, but that He limited his activity on the earth.
Prior to Jesus coming, Satan had a free for all, but at some point when Jesus came, He limited his activity so that He could set people free from the bondage of Satan.
This is just speculation, but I wonder if Jesus bound Satan when the angels came to tend to Jesus after He was tempted (Matthew 4:11), because in Revelation 20:1, John wrote that he saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand, which was used to bind Satan. Just a thought.
So, I believe the progression of events looks like this:
• Prior to Jesus coming, Satan had free reign. He was the ruler of the world.
• Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil. He bound Satan so that He could cast out demons and free people from the bondage of Satan.
• When Jesus was at the cross, there was a spiritual war taking place behind the scenes, and Satan was cast out of heaven and down to the earth. He could no longer come and go between heaven and earth as he pleased. He resides on the earth for the purpose of deceiving man to keep him from knowing God and eternal life through Christ.
• At some point, Satan will be loosed from bondage for a little while, so that he can continue in his deception of the nations. But fire from God will reign down on him and he will be thrown in the lake of fire, where he will be tormented forever and ever.
• Because of God's sacrifice of His only begotten Son, Satan has no power or authority because death has been defeated.
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