The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. (Psalm 24:1-2 ESV)
It is time to protest and challenge the idea that the world belongs to “satan”. Our God founded the earth and created the human beings that created the system that is referred to as “the world”. The world is not the physical planet. The world refers to the ordered system in operation. The Bible makes it clear that God created the earth and God created human beings. God owns it all; the earth, the wealth of the earth, the world and the peoples.
Why exactly does the world belong to devils? What gives them the right? The common explanation is that Adam handed over control of the world to the devil when they sinned in the garden. However, there is very little scripture to support that claim. The punishment for the “original sin” does not include a declaration that the universe has been handed over to the devil. There is no decree of God anywhere in the bible that cancels the initial blessing for mankind to “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion” (Genesis 1:28). The punishment for Adam included hardship, but there was nothing about handing over the world to the devil.
The idea that the world belongs to the devil is not true. The dark world around us is not due to the powerful devil, it is because Christians have no interest in “worldly affairs”. Christians are happy to build a fortress in their churches as they await their escape to heaven. This course of action creates a vacuum for the devil to fill. The devils have no legal right to “have dominion” over the world, but then, darkness triumphs in the absence of light. Jesus made it clear that as long as he was around, he was the light of the world (John 9:5). A mission he hopes his true disciples would uphold in their days.