Who is the God of this World?

Joshua Perez, Bruce Whitehair

11/30/24

The title "God of this World", is found in 2 Corinthians 4:4, where many have deduced that Paul is applying this title to Satan.

"Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God" (2 Corinthians 4:4 NLT)

The Greek word for Satan is satanas (Σατανᾶς), and as becomes immediately apparent when referring to the Greek text, satanas is absent from it. 

"ἐν οἷς ὁ θεὸς τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου ἐτύφλωσεν τὰ νοήματα τῶν ἀπίστων, ἵνα μὴ αὐτοῖς λάμψῃ ὁ φωτισμὸς τοῦ εὐαγγελίου τῆς δόξης τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὅς ἐστιν εἰκόνα τοῦ θεοῦ."

The term "Satan" is found only in the English translation of the NLT, which took the interpretive liberty of inserting "Satan" into the text for clarity. However, since the Greek does not include the word satanas, we must carefully study this passage to determine who Paul is truly referring to as "the god of this world."

"Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we received mercy, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God, but by the open proclamation of the truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing" (2 Corinthians 4:1-3) 

The context of 2 Corinthians 4 focuses on walking in obedience to the faith and preaching the gospel to the world. As Christians, we have been called out of darkness and into the light, and we are commanded to spread this message to the four corners of the earth (Matthew 28:19-20). However, verse 3 explains that the gospel of our salvation may be veiled to some—specifically, to those who are already perishing and destined for destruction. This brings us to the verse in question.

"in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, so that they will not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God" (2 Corinthians 4:4 NASB)

The first thing to note is that the Greek word for "world" in this passage is aion. Thayer's Greek Lexicon defines aion as: "unbroken age, perpetuity of time, eternity, period of time, age." This Greek word does not refer to the universe (the heavens and the earth), but rather to a period of time. Other Greek words, such as kosmos (κόσμος) or oikoumene (οἰκουμένη), specifically refer to the earth or the universe. However, aion refers to an age, a specific period of time. This implies that whoever the "God of this age" is, their position is temporary, lasting only for a season.

Another point to consider is that the word "God" (theos) can be used as a title of authority possessed by someone who is not the Almighty. For example, in Exodus 7:1, Moses is called "God" to Pharaoh. Moses is not Hashem (the Lord), but he was given authority by Him. In this way, "God" can signify rulership without implying equality with Hashem. So, the "God of this age" does not necessarily have to be God Himself, despite the title theos being applied to them.

So, who is the "God of this age"? Verse 4 helps clarify this by explaining that this figure blinds the minds of the unbelievers so that they will not see the light of the gospel of the glory of the Messiah. The concept of people's "hearts being hardened to the truth" appears throughout the Bible, and we will now overview some key examples.

The first example of this is found in the story of the Exodus, where God hardened Pharaoh's heart so that he would not let the Israelites go.

"The Lord said to Moses, 'When you go back to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go.'" (Exodus 4:21)

God hardens Pharaoh's heart several more times in this story, until he does finally let them go. (Exodus 4:21, 7:3-4, 9:12, 10:1-2, etc) However, it was God who hardened Pharaoh's heart, not the Devil. 

Another example of this is seen in Isaiah chapter 6, where Isaiah was commissioned to relay a message to the Jews, who's eyes and hearts were "blinded". 

"And He said, 'Go, tell this people: Keep on listening, but do not perceive; Keep on looking, but do not understand. Render the hearts of this people insensitive, Their ears dull, And their eyes blind, Otherwise they might see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, Understand with their hearts, And return and be healed.'" (Isaiah 6:9-10)

Evidently, Hashem was the one who veiled their eyes and hearts so they would not understand Isaiah's message from the Lord. 

Later on, Isaiah prays to the Lord, lamenting over Israel who's hearts were hardened by him, pleading with him to return to them in mercy. Reflecting that Hashem is the one who plays the role of blinding the wicked from the truth. 

"Why, O Lord, do You make us wander from Your ways And harden our heart from fearing You? Return for the sake of Your servants, the tribes of Your heritage." (Isaiah 63:17) 

In the gospel of John, John references the passage in Isaiah 6 to reflect how the Jews of his time were also hardened to the truth, the Messiah.

"For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, 'He has blinded their eyes And hardened their heart, So that they would not see with their eyes And understand with their heart and be converted And I heal them.'" (John 12:39-40)

This is further expounded upon in Romans 11, where Paul references Isaiah 29:10 to explain why, in part, the Jews have experienced a "blindness" to the truth of the Messiah. 

"What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened; just as it is written, 'God gave them a spirit of stupor, Eyes to see not and ears to hear not, down to this very day.'" (Romans 11:7-8)

God is the one who poured out a spirit of blindness on the Jews, so that many of them would be hardened to the truth that Yeshua is the Messiah (the gospel of our salvation).

Finally, the most important instance of this concept is found in 2 Thessalonians, where Paul states that those who continually reject God and His Christ will ultimately be given over to a reprobate mind, so that they may believe a lie.

"That is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth but took pleasure in wickedness" (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12)

Those who fall into the deception of wickedness in alignment with Satan and the Antichrist, and willfully reject God and the work of the holy spirit on their hearts, will ultimately be given a spirit of blindness. This leads them to believe a lie and remain trapped in the darkness of their sins. Therefore, it can be concluded that the Devil does not hold the role of hardening hearts to the truth; God is the ultimate source of this power.

There are several other verses that some may cite to argue that Satan is the ruler of this world, and that perhaps God has given Satan this role of hardening hearts. Using the concept of agency—where an agent possesses the full legal status of the sender—this would be a logical argument. That is, while God is the source of this power, Satan could be seen as the instrument through which God enacts it. However, after carefully examining these verses, it becomes clear that Satan is no longer the ruler of this world.

The first passage many use to support this position is the temptation of Yeshua, where Satan offers Him all the kingdoms of the world, provided He bows down and worships him.

"Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; and he said to Him, 'All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.' Then Jesus said to him, 'Go, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.''" (Matthew 4:8-10 NASB)

It is true that Yeshua never challenged him on this, as in, that it wasn't Satan's to give. However, Satan lost all of his authority after the crucifixion of Yeshua.

"Jesus answered and said, 'This voice has not come for My sake, but for your sakes. Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.'" (John 12:30-32 NASB)

In the context of his death, Yeshua says that "the ruler of this world will be cast out", and then he will be exalted. This is undoubtedly in reference to Satan, who lost his authority on the earth after Yeshua's death, burial, and resurrection.

"They will bear you up in their hands, That you do not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread upon the lion and cobra, The young lion and the serpent you will trample down." (Psalm 91:12-13 NASB)

Satan is called both a lion (1 Peter 1:8), and a serpent (Revelation 12:8), who according to this prophecy, was trampled over by Yeshua. 

"Concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged." (John 16:9-11 NASB)

Again in the context of His death, burial, and resurrection, Yeshua later in the Gospel of John declares that the ruler of this world is judged by God.

"Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives." (Hebrews 2:14-15 NASB)

Finally, the author of the book of Hebrews plainly states that Satan, the Devil, was rendered powerless by the one who, through His death, freed those who were enslaved. The Devil once held authority on the earth, but at the crucifixion, that authority was transferred to the resurrected Master, Yeshua.

"Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, 'All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.'" (Matthew 28:18 NASB) 

Before the coming of Messiah, God the father was the one responsible for blinding the unrepentant to his salvation. But now, in these last days, this role was delegated to his son Yeshua, the "God of this Age".