SINNERS UNDER THE DOMINION OF SATAN

REF: Acts 26:18 (NIV)

……….to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.

COMMENT: When Satan, the master deceiver, received the power of attorney from Adam in the Garden of Eden, Satan became so powerful that his title changed to “god of this world” Ref. 2Corinthians 4:4 and Matthew 4:8-10. He dominates all those who have not received Jesus Christ as their personal saviour and rules over them without problems even if they have not committed their lives to him. As long as they have not yet received the Lord Jesus Christ, the “god of this world” dominates them in most of their activities. They sin nearly all the time.

 Those who have received Jesus are sanctified by faith in him (Jesus). It is as if they have never sinned and in case they sin, and then they repent, Jesus intercedes for them and they are forgiven.(1John 2:1) Once forgiven, it is as if they have never sinned in their lives.

The scriptures under reference, refer to Paul’s experience on his way to Damascus to persecute the believers, but the Lord Jesus who had then returned to heaven, confronted him, and what he (Soul) went through had a major transformation to him as a person.  His name changed from Saul to Paul and he got a new job description. He was ordered to open the eyes of those in darkness and to remove them from the power of Satan to God. That is snatching them from Satan and to usher them into the kingdom of God.

Remember, Satan is capable of doing many things and has some powers. He has a lot of influence in education even Christian theological studies such as liberal theology that questions the bible and basic faith issues. The theory of evolution which has made great advances these days is the work of Satan. Teachers are teaching it to our children in school as the truth. Think of wars in the world today and the number of innocent people perishing.  The conspiracies going on all over, are nothing but the work of the evil one as well, but his time is running out.

Please note that Satan has lots of abilities although not anywhere near God’s power. Satan cannot create anything, but can imitate and that way he deceives many. The bible describes Satan as a roaring lion looking for somebody to devour. An old hymn entitled, “Stand up, Stand up for Jesus”, states that Satan is a strong warrior.

We have to know how strong the enemy is, before we can handle him in a battle. We have to avoid ignorance and stick to the rules of the war in order to win the victory.

PRAYER: Thank you Holy Spirit for your revelation that Satan is not a school boy and can dominate those who do not want to receive Jesus in their hearts.