The following excerpt is taken from What Every Christian Should Know About Satan. Order your copy in print, Kindle, or Audible versions here.

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The apostle Paul makes at least two direct references to Satan’s authority over the world (2 Cor. 4:3-4; Eph. 2:1-2). In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul notes: “But if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case, the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Cor. 4:3-4, emphasis added).

Throughout the church age, Bible interpreters have disagreed about the identity of the god of this age. Most of us are inclined immediately to understand this as a reference to Satan. After all, Paul writes about the evil one in other parts of this letter. For example, the apostle urges his readers to forgive and welcome back a believer under church discipline, noting that Satan’s schemes include unforgiveness, which enables him to take advantage of Christians (2 Cor. 2:11). Later, Paul warns that Satan disguises himself as an angel of light (11:14). And finally, Paul shares a personal experience in which a “messenger of Satan” is sent to keep him from sliding into the sin of self-exaltation (2 Cor. 12:7). So, it seems natural to understand the god of this age as Satan.

However, early church fathers Cyril of Jerusalem and Ambrosiaster believed Paul was writing about God. Their argument was simple: Only God is truly sovereign over this age (the Greek word is aion, which may be translated “age” or “era”). Cyril and Ambrosiaster argued that if Satan is called “god” (Greek theos) in 2 Corinthians 4, and Jesus is called “God” (theos) elsewhere in the New Testament (John 1:1-3, 17-18; Tit. 1:3-4), then the passages in John and Titus cannot refer to Jesus as the true God. In other words, if Satan is theos and Jesus is theos, there is nothing uniquely divine about the Son of God.

Understanding the god of this age as God is not as far-fetched as one might imagine. Note what Paul writes to the Romans about the work of God in hardening certain people’s hearts:

What then? Israel did not find what it was looking for, but the elect did find it. The rest were hardened, as it is written, God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that cannot see and ears that cannot hear, to this day…. I don’t want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you will not be conceited: A partial hardening has come upon Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in (Rom. 11:7-8, 25; cf. Isa. 6:9-10).

God rules supremely over all authorities and domains. In the process, he accomplishes his divine purposes, which may include leveraging satanic, demonic, and human rebellion. 

Even so, these two passages – Romans 11 and 2 Corinthians 4 – do not appear to be directly related. Further, if we see how Paul uses the word theos in other passages, it should become clear that he means to identify Satan, not God, as the god of this age. For example, concerning enemies of the cross, Paul writes, “Their end is destruction; their god is their stomach; their glory is in their shame; and they are focused on earthly things” (Phil. 3:19). In addition, Paul says pagans offer sacrifices to other gods (theoi), who in fact are demons (1 Cor. 10:19-20). 

What’s more, in the second of Paul’s direct references to Satan and his command over the world, we detect a similar context to that of 2 Corinthians 4: “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you previously lived according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit now working in the disobedient” (Eph. 2:1-2, emphasis added).

Taken together, these Pauline passages seem to describe an evil, controlling ruler who commands the hearts of unbelievers. So, Satan is the better candidate for the god of this age (2 Cor. 4:4). This is consistent with Paul’s depiction of Satan as the ruler of the power of the air (Eph. 2:2). 

Age and air

But what do the terms this age and the air mean in a New Testament context? Let’s look a little closer.

The Greek word for age (aion) sometimes is translated “world,” but more properly it depicts the temporal aspects of the world. It can refer to time without end, or eternity (Rom. 1:25; 2 Cor. 11:31; Phil. 4:20). However, aion often is used to describe shorter periods of time, especially the present age. Satan is the god of this age (2 Cor. 4:4). And the cares of this age/world (aion) choke the word of the gospel as it grows (Matt. 13:22).

The expression this age often is set against the age to come (Matt. 12:32; Eph. 1:21; Heb. 6:5). Christians are warned not to be conformed to this age (Rom. 12:2), but to live sensible, righteous, and godly lives (Tit. 2:12). Demetrius deserts Paul because he is in love with this present age (2 Tim. 4:10). In contrast, Jesus promises to be with his followers “to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20).

So, it seems best to understand this age as a limited time in which Satan rules over a kingdom in opposition to the eternal kingdom of God. Put another way, Satan’s rule is restricted in scope and in time. He commands a vast empire, but one that neither endures nor challenges the sovereignty of Almighty God. 

As for the meaning of the air, we are told that Satan is the ruler of the power of the air (Eph. 2:2). This is sometimes rendered “the prince of the power of the air” (KJV, ESV, NASB); “the prince that ruleth in the air” (GNV); “the commander of the powers in the unseen world” (NLT); “the ruler of the spiritual powers in space” (GNT); and “the ruler of the kingdom of the air” (NIV). 

The word air may be translated “foggy atmosphere,” indicating the darkness Satan prefers to the light. But the entire phrase could simply mean that the evil one commands those principalities and powers that operate in the unseen realm. It was commonly believed that evil spirits dominated the lowest realm of the heavens, known as the atmospheric realm, far below the stellar heavens and the highest heaven, where God sits enthroned. “Air” was the usual term for atmospheric heaven.

In the New Testament, the air (Greek aer) is the realm of the demonic. The Greeks thought of the “lower air” to be impure and therefore the domain of evil spirits. A. T. Robertson notes, “‘Air’ was used by the ancients for the lower and denser atmosphere, and another word for the higher and rarer. Satan is here [Eph. 2:2] pictured as ruler of the demons and other agencies of evil, ‘the prince of this world’ (John 16:11).”

Interestingly, Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 that we are to be caught up in future resurrection to meet the Lord in the air (Greek aera), perhaps giving us a preview of a crushing blow to the realm the evil one presently rules.

Scorched earth 

Satan rules a vast empire that includes evil spirits, fallen human beings, and a worldly system in opposition to God. He directs his world with all the panache of a formerly anointed cherub, complete with lies, deceit, creaturely delights, false promises, and incessant appeals to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s possessions. His kingdom is in direct opposition to God, God’s kingdom, and God’s people. 

While the ruler of this world cannot win – Christ already has defeated him through the Son of Man’s sinless life and finished work on the cross – he wages war as if convinced he still can vanquish his creator. And he carries on a scorched-earth policy in the hope there is nothing left for the redeemed sons of God to enjoy. That, of course, is a fool’s pursuit, for when Christ returns, he purges this fallen world of sin and its stain, and thus makes everything new (Rev. 21:5).

Next: Satan: The Destroyer