Scripture: Luke 4 v 5 - 7: "And the devil, taking Him up into an high mountain, shewed unto Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
6 And the devil said unto Him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me: and to whomsoever I will, I give it.
7 If Thou therefore will worship me, all shall be thine."
After His baptism in the Jordan River Jesus Christ was sent into the wilderness to confront Satan. The Holy Spirit had descended upon Him and would stay upon Him.
This was in contrast to the prophets of the Old Testament when the Holy Spirit came upon them for the time they prophesied and then left them. So seeing the Holy Spirit remain upon Jesus was a remarkable miracle.
He had fasted 40 days to have the spiritual build up to confront and overcome His enemy in a world the Devil controlled. Jesus created this world and gave dominion of it to Adam, who through sin and disobedience, gave control of it to Satan.
Notice that Jesus did not contradict the claim that all the kingdoms of the world were under Satan's control or ownership. Instead He answered him with "Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve." That is the truth that cancels out every lie the devil can tempt you with.
Eve was tempted in innocence but Adam knew that submission to the Serpent in Eden was treason against God and a heavy burden for all humanity. Not all his knowledge and friendship with God was able to stop him. In 1 Corinthians 15 v 45 - 47: "And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven."
The second Adam is Jesus Christ, the first man was Adam, the second man is the Lord from Heaven. This reveals that the fall of the first Adam caused every other human until the resurrection of Jesus, to be born in a fallen state. In a state lower than Adam was when created in Eden. The only way to be restored to the fullness of the original creation is to be born again. And our Father has added to that the power of the Holy Spirit, making us a New Creation.
To those in the world, and all the kingdoms, territories, demonic lands, satanic powers, we are strange and peculiar people. We have authority from Jesus to pull down all Satan's Kingdoms, worldly domains, slavery and bondage to sin.
Jesus called Satan 'The Father of Lies' meaning that he originated every deceitful con, fake news, fraud, lie, theft. According to Zechariah 5 v 3 - 4 there is a curse that comes upon everyone who steals or swears falsely, whether big or petty theft is inconsequential. The curse is that your house will be destroyed. Satan will lose everything and his kingdom and every kingdom he claims power over ends up in the unquenchable fire of Hell.
The kingdoms in contention are not earthly but spiritual. In Daniel 10, the pre-incarnate Jesus wanted to break through to Daniel to answer his prayers but the demonic king over Persia withstood him for 21 days. He had to call on the Archangel Michael, the guardian of the Jews, to help Him get through the barrier. But He succeeded.
Satan has given all these kingdoms including the animal kingdom, the insect kingdom over to his chief demons which have found willing human subjects to rule over Earth's kingdom's in exchange for great wealth.
They have become corrupt gangs like the Mafia, The Kremlin Oligarchs, The WEF, The United Nations, The Crime Bosses, The Drug Cartels, The Robber Barons, The African National Congress, The Politicians all round the world. Jesus has given us authority to pull down these false kingdoms through the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Unfortunately many churches have misused these gifts or rejected them as not for today.
When we are struggling for answers we need to use the power Jesus won for us to pull down the spiritual, unseen barriers that are blocking our blessings. We cannot prophesy them away. We must confront those evil spirits with God's Word and power. Especially the Holy Spirit and His very powerful gifts when used correctly.
Jesus knew that through His death on the Cross and His resurrection as He stated in Matthew 28 v 18: "All power is given unto Me in heaven and in Earth." He had conquered the unbreakable power of sin over us. He was the sinless, pure, holy sacrifice - He was the only acceptable sacrifice for the whole human race.
But in the wilderness, before the Cross, Satan was telling Him, I can spare You all the pain and agony of taking on the sin of the world, plus the death on the Cross, if you submit to me and worship me. You want all the kingdoms so that's what You will get in exchange for Your submission. It would mean turning His back on His Father and Heaven and on every human soul. It would achieve nothing.
Get thee behind Me, Satan!
Satan was acknowledging that the only person on Earth who was a threat to him was Jesus. He had greater power and authority than the Devil. Demons were already trembling at the presence of Jesus. They knew Him! They were forbidden to reveal Him as the Son of God. He did not want lying demons saying anything about Him. It would only get worse as His disciples were given power to heal and cast out demons.
Thereafter all Christians had the potential to do likewise when the power of the Holy Spirit came upon them. This was the ultimate threat to Satan's control of the world - that we would rise up in the power of God and block him at every turn. His only weapon left is bluff, lies, rumours and more lies.
If we fall for those lies we are trapped back into his power where he can exert fear and control over us through sin, alcohol, sex, drugs, gambling, sickness, fear, rejection, bitterness, feuds, war, hate, famine, money, death, worry and doubt. Those are the real kingdoms he rules. Jesus has given us the power to get out but we need to use it to overcome Satan for ourselves.
Jesus has won the supreme victory for us and its not enough to just accept our salvation. We must use it effectively so others may stop being victims and become victorious over every circumstance. We must walk the walk and talk the talk in the glory of His resurrection, wherein we were transformed from a death sentence to everlasting life. Let us be glad and rejoice in it!!
Prayer: Heavenly Father open our eyes to see and understand the great victory that was won for us 2000 years ago. Let us put away childish things and walk in newness of life, making up for lost time and challenging the defeated, weaponless, armourless devil with the name of Jesus Christ and the power of His Blood. Father show us how to conquer these kingdoms to rescue the captives and bring them Home. In Jesus' name. Amen.