Who was in authority and ruling the Old Testament world?  

The most important key to understanding the Old Testament is the concept of “dominion” or “authority.”  People believe that Father God was in authority over the earth and that it was Him who was ruling & reigning throughout all of time.  As a result of this wrong premise, people erroneously believe that it was Father God who drowned all the inhabitants of the earth, who burned alive sinners & innocents in Sodom & Gomorrah, who commanded genocide, who commanded slaughter of babies / children / women / men, who commanded great acts of terror to be done, who commanded plagues, who commanded curses, who brought forth evil punishments of rape & ravishing of wives, who killed innocent babies for the sins of their parents, who murdered 70,000 innocent people for the sin of their leader, who starved people to the point of eating their own children, who brought enemies to rip open pregnant women, who had babies & children smashed to pieces before their parent’s eyes, who had bears come out of the woods to maul to death 42 kids, among 1000’s of other evil deeds.  People think evil of Father because they don’t realize that He was not the one ruling & reigning during the Old Testament times.

In the beginning, God made the earth as a place for man to have dominion over – to rule & reign over.  He literally gave the earth to mankind as our possession, whereas He claimed the heavens for Himself.  He made us in His image, part of which entailed us having a domain to be in charge of – that domain was earth.  He literally gave the earth to us in a manner as if we had the title deed to it, such that we were the legal owners of it.  The earth was man’s possession, we were in charge of it, we were to subdue it, and we were to rule over it & every living creature in it.  In the beginning, you could say that Adam & Eve were the “gods of this world.”  When we look up the OT word for “God” it is the word ‘ĕlôhı̂ym which means “rulers, judges, divine ones, angels, gods” as we see in the Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew dictionary.

Genesis 1:26-28 NKJV  Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”  (27)  So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.  (28)  Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

 

Psalms 115:16 NKJV  The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD’s; But the earth He has given to the children of men.

 

God, H430, אלהים, ‘ĕlôhı̂ym, BDB Definition:  (plural)  rulers, judges, divine ones, angels, gods

When the Devil tricked Adam & Eve into sinning, they unknowingly bowed the knee to him making him their authority, their ruler, and their “god.”  Satan legally inherited authority over Adam & Eve and everything they possessed, such as the earth & everything in it, because they bowed the knee to him.  Whoever you bow the knee to, you make that one your lord – your authority – your god.  And as Holy Spirit says, “To whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness.”  (Romans 6:16)  Sin is of the Devil, so when you enter into sin you become a slave to sin, thus you become a slave of Satan.  Upon Adam & Eve’s sin, the Devil became the god of this world and he received all authority over man & earth, which we also see in his conversation with Jesus.

Luke 4:5-7 NKJV  Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.  (6)  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.  (7)  Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.”

Can you believe that Satan was tempting Jesus by offering Him authority in the earth?  How is it possible for the Devil to offer Jesus authority in the earth?  Because upon Adam & Eve’s sin, all authority over the earth was delivered to Satan, and he gives it to whomever he wishes.  What did the Devil want?  He wanted to be worshiped by Jesus.  If Jesus would worship him, the Devil would give Him authority in the earth.  The major point is this:  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit had zero authority over the earth because Father had given it to man as our possession, and we gave it to the devil by way of sin.  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit had authority in heaven, but it wasn’t until Jesus finished His works and was resurrected that He had authority in both heaven & earth!  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were NOT ruling & reigning over the earth!  This is a huge point!  Satan was the god of this world and he was ruling & reigning in the title “God” and the name “Yahweh” (or “Jehovah” or “LORD” depending on your bible translation) throughout all of the Old Testament.

Matthew 28:5-18 NKJV  But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.  (6)  He is not here; for He is risen, as He said.” …  (9)  And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” … (18)  And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.”

Let’s consider some additional proof points.  Three times Jesus referred to someone else who was ruling the world.  From the context of these passages, it is clear that none of the Godhead were ruling & reigning, but rather an evil person who was being cast out and judged was ruling & reigning over the earth.  The same Devil that offered Jesus authority in the earth is the one who was ruling & reigning as god of this world, whom Jesus called “the ruler of this world.”

John 12:31 NKJV  Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.

 

John 14:30 NKJV  I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.

 

John 16:8-11 NKJV  And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment … (11)  of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

Let’s look at John 14:30 more closely…  It says that the ruler of this world “had nothing in Jesus.”  What does that mean?  What gave Satan authority over Adam & Eve to begin with?  Sin.  Jesus was sin-free so therefore Satan had no authority over Jesus – “there was nothing (no sin) in Jesus.”  What happens when our sin gets washed away by the blood of Jesus?  Satan loses the major aspect of his authority over us, because when the sin is gone “he has nothing in us.”

Colossians 1:13-14 NKJV  He has delivered us from the power (exousia = authority) of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,  (14)  in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

 

2 Corinthians 4:4 KJV  In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

Colossians confirms everything that was said above.  Before our sins are forgiven, we are under the power & authority of darkness.  We are under Satan’s rulership before our sins are washed away by the blood of Jesus.  Everyone in the Old Testament was still in their sins, their sins were not washed away, Satan “had something (sin) in them,” thus they were abiding under the authority / power / rulership of the Devil!  This is why the Holy Spirit through Paul refers to the Devil as the “god of this world.”  Major point:  All the evil deeds of “God” or “LORD” or “Yahweh” or “Jehovah” were in fact the deeds of the Devil who was truly in authority over man & earth!  Our Father is innocent of all stealing, killing, destroying, cursing, making-sick, evil punishments, etcetera – all of those deeds were done by “the ruler of this world” whom Jesus came to cast out!  Thank you, Jesus!

Let’s go further…  Jesus came to this world to bring in the “kingdom of God.”  Jesus didn’t bring a literal physical kingdom, rather He brought into the earth the “rule & reign of God.”  Let’s look at this word “kingdom” to get a better understanding.  “Kingdom” is the Greek word “basileia” which is “royal power, kingship, dominion, rule.”  This is not referring to a physical kingdom, as we can see in Luke 17 Jesus said that the kingdom is not with observation, but rather, it is inside of you.  When you are born again, when your sins are washed away, you are translated out of the authority of darkness and placed in the body of Christ.  The Spirit of Christ is in you, and you are in Christ.  Where is Christ?  Christ is seated in heavenly places in a position of authority over all principalities, powers, mights, dominions, and every name that is named.  (Ephesians 1:21)  When you are born again you receive the Spirit of God who dwells in you, thus the authority / dominion / rule & reign of God is within you and exercised through you.  Jesus came to bring the rule & reign of God into this earth, meaning that His rule was not in the earth until He came, and was not widespread until after His resurrection (and limited to the degree that people get born again and receive the Spirit and the kingdom / dominion / authority / rule & reign of God).  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were not ruling & reigning in the OT!  Jesus brought the rule & reign of God into the earth, and it is spread to the degree that people are born again.  And the kingdom / rule & reign of God is useful to the degree that Christians actually begin to operate in authority – which is limited but growing at this time.

Luke 17:20-21 NKJV  Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation;  (21)  nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”

 

Kingdom, G932, βασιλεία, basileia, Thayer Definition:  1) royal power, kingship, dominion, rule;  1a) not to be confused with an actual kingdom but rather the right or authority to rule over a kingdom;  1b) of the royal power of Jesus as the triumphant Messiah;  1c) of the royal power and dignity conferred on Christians in the Messiah’s kingdom

Before we proceed, I want to remind us of a few things.  It is important to know that the Devil was operating as the god of this world in the names you are familiar with in the OT:  God, LORD, Yahweh, Jehovah, Most High, and any other god name.  Let me also remind us that there is a veil over the OT, thus Good God and Devil God are mingled together – all of their words & deeds are mingled together in the various god names.  That being said, the name Yahweh belongs to the Devil, but you’ll have to watch the videos to learn more about that.  Truly the words satan and devil are just descriptive terms that have been adopted as proper names for Satan, but those are not his true name.  The name he officially chose to operate in was revealed to Moses just prior to the Exodus:  Yahweh or Jehovah or YHWH which is improperly rendered as LORD in many bibles.  Yahweh is Satan’s “god name” he seeks to operate in and receive worship by.

Moving on…  there are two more things that give Satan authority over mankind:  law and oaths.  I will briefly mention some things that the bible says about the law:

1.   The law is not just the 10 commandments.  It is properly “the book of the law” which entails several hundred laws and evil curses beyond human imagination.  Some laws align with the true “royal law of love,” yet others are extremely evil, such as laws allowing you to beat your slave to within an inch of their life.

2.   The god who gave the law dwells in thick darkness and was speaking amidst fire & smoke which are all attributes of Leviathan the beast.

3.   The god who gave the law was seen face to face and spoke in an audible voice, yet Jesus said that no one has ever seen or heard God at any time.

4.   The law is the “ministry of death written and engraved on stones.”

5.   The law is the “ministry of condemnation.” 

6.   The law multiplies sin, curse, and death – it is utterly ineffective in dealing with the sin problem – it worsens it. 

7.   The law is weak and perfects nothing. 

8.   The law was against us and contrary to us. 

9.   The law was given by angels, not by True God.

10.  The law is “not of faith” and can justify no one. 

11.  The law separates you from Christ.  When you come out of the law you become “married to another” – you become married to Christ.  Who were you “married to” while under the law?  Satan the god of this world. 

12.  When you go back under the law, what happens?  You are fallen from grace and Christ profits you nothing. 

13.  Multiple times Jesus referred to “your law” yet He never claimed it as “His law.” 

14.  Jesus said that He accuses us of nothing, rather Moses in whom they trusted was the accuser.  If the law was truly from God, then Jesus would be lying in His statement. 

Everything that I just said has a scripture tied to it.  Let’s be very clear, anything that separates you from God is not from Him!  Being under the law utterly disconnects you from God – it is not from Him!  To say another way, anything that Jesus redeems you from, He is not the author of it.  Jesus redeemed us from law & curse.  Jesus redeemed us from sin & death.  Jesus redeemed us from sickness, pain, poverty, etc.  Everything that Jesus redeemed us from is from the god of this world:  Yahweh the Devil.

All the world was enslaved to Satan because of sin; however, Israel was doubly indebted to the Devil because they signed a contract of law & curse which bound them to fulfill the law, otherwise Yahweh would bring the evil curses of Deuteronomy 28 upon them.  For this very specific reason, Jesus had to be born a Jew under the law so that He could redeem them from it.  People often think that Jesus was an advocate of the law because He said that He did not come to destroy the law but to fulfill it.  And He said that whoever teaches against the law would be considered least in the kingdom of heaven.  Those statements seem like He supports the law.  Actually, what Jesus wants is for you not to be cursed.  Jesus came to redeem us from law & curse – redeem us from wrath – redeem our lives from destruction.  What happens if you break Yahweh’s law?  Terrible evil curses will come upon you.  Jesus doesn’t want that – that is why He redeems us from law, so that you won’t be cursed.  Therefore, if someone teaches people to break the law, what will happen to the one who transgresses?  Evil curses will come upon them!  That is exactly opposite of the will of Jesus, therefore He can never promote breaking the law, because people will be severely harmed!  On the contrary, Jesus came to live under the law, fulfill the righteous requirement of the law, not transgress the law, and bear all the punishments of breaking the law which is the bearing of curse.  In doing these things, Jesus became a qualified redeemer from the law for those who put their faith in Him.  In the same way, Jesus had to live sinless and bear all the punishment of sin for us, so that He could be a qualified redeemer from sin.

Galatians 3:13 NKJV  Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE”)

 

Galatians 4:4-5 NKJV  But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,  (5)  to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

 

Colossians 2:13-15 NKJV  And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,  (14)  having wiped out the handwriting of requirements^G1378 (the law) that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.  (15)  Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

 

Requirements, G1378, δόγμα, dogma, Thayer Definition:  1) doctrine, decree, ordinance;  1a) of public decrees;  1b) of the Roman Senate;  1c) of rulers;  2) the rules and requirements of the law of Moses; carrying a suggestion of severity and of threatened judgment

Jesus came to earth to set us free from oppression of the devil.  Jesus came to redeem us out from under the authority of darkness, which meant that He had to wash away our sins and redeem us from law.  When we are redeemed from law, then Satan-Yahweh has no right to put his curses upon us.  Therefore, Jesus was born under the law, fulfilled the law, bore the curse on our behalf, and in so doing He wiped out the law and He nailed it to the cross.  Where there is no law, there is no transgression.  Where there’s no transgression, there’s no wrath / curse.  Amen!  Let me repeat:  The two major things Jesus did to get us out from the Devil’s authority include washing away our sins with His blood, and redeeming us out from under the law so we can’t be cursed.  Thank you, Jesus!  When He did these two things, Jesus stripped Satan of his right to rule & reign – “having disarmed principalities and powers” – He triumphed over Yahweh-Satan and when He arose He received all authority in heaven and on earth because Satan was stripped of authority!  Thank you, Jesus!

Now one last thing to discuss on authority…  Jesus warned us in Matthew chapter 5 that taking oaths was “of the evil one.”  When you swear by someone, such as taking oaths in the name Yahweh, what are you doing?  You are giving authority to the one whom you swore by if you don’t fulfill your oath.  Thus if you swear in the name Yahweh and don’t honor your obligation, then you have given him the right to exercise authority over you, and in his case we know that he likes to bring evil curses & death upon people.  Therefore, Jesus instructed us to let our yes be yes, and our no be no, and not to swear at all.  Don’t give someone authority by swearing in their name!  Amen!

Now that you have read this overview, I encourage you to watch the authority playlist and really let this sink in.  Once you realize who was in charge of the earth, then suddenly you have great understanding and will realize that Father wasn’t responsible for all of the evil deeds.  Many will ask, “Well why would the devil punish sin, such as Sodom & Gomorrah, or the great flood?”  Remember that Satan is playing god.  He disguises himself as an angel of light and his ministers as ministers of righteousness.  He presents himself as holy and righteous and seeks to be worshiped as God.  If he were to present himself as a lying, cheating, murderous devil, then hardly anyone would worship him (which is his #1 objective).  Instead, he presents himself as holy and his murderous deeds as righteous punishments, and he ends up getting you to “call evil good.”  If we will look at Jesus, however, we will see the opposite is true – the perfection of Father is that He loves and does good even to His enemies.  This is one of the easiest ways to identify which g/God is operating:  How are enemies treated?