Is the Devil Real, Who Really Rules the World

Is the Devil real? Who really rules the world? Some say the Devil is just the evil inside each of us. If that is true then he is NOT a real person. Some have seen the comical depiction of the Devil on one shoulder and a good angel on the other shoulder, whispering in the ear to do bad or good. It is true that each of us face urges and temptations to do wrong at times and we may need to struggle or fight those urges or temptations. That in itself doesn't prove the Devil is inside, it only proves that indeed there are wicked or evil tendencies in all of us, as sinful imperfect humans, that we must fight. Please check the account in Matthew 4:1,8-10. There it relates the account of Jesus and his 3 temptations. It says Jesus was to be tempted by the Devil, the account relates 3 temptations, one to turn a stone into bread, another was to jump off the mountain and force God to save him from a sure death, and the third one is noteworthy. It says" Again the Devil took him along to an unusually high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory (perhaps it was a vision). And he said to him 'All these things I will give you, if you fall down and do an act of worship to me' then Jesus said ' Go away, Satan! For it is written "it is the Lord (Jehovah) your God you must worship, and it is to him alone you should render sacred service."' Then the Devil left him. So a few things become evident after reading these verses, one, that Jesus actually had a conversation with the Devil, even using his name Satan. So the question arises, if the Devil is not a real person, who was Jesus talking to? To himself? Well, we know Jesus was perfect, and was born without sin, so it could NOT be the evil inside of him, as there was no evil in him. Secondly, did you notice the 3rd temptation was of ALL the kingdoms of the world and their glory? So, for this to be an actual temptation, they must have been under the Devils control, for his offer to Jesus to make sense. Now Jesus could have said, "well, that's a ridiculous offer the world's kingdom's don't belong to you," but he didn't say it because he knew it to be true. So then, is there any other Biblical references to the Devil ruling the world? Yes, Revelation 12:9 says "So down the great dragon was hurled, the original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, who is misleading the entire inhabited earth, he was hurled down to the earth and his angels were hurled down with him". This is a continuation from verse 7 which shows there was a war in heaven and the Devil was hurled down to the earth. So now we are living in that time, where the Devil is misleading the entire earth. Doesn't that explain why there is so much wickedness and chaos on the earth? Also John14:30 Jesus states that "the ruler of the world is coming, but he has no hold on me," if he was referring to God that would make no sense, obviously he was referring to the Devil. Also 1John5:19 says"the whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one". Also 2Corinthians4:4 says" the god of this system of things has blinded the minds of the unbelievers". Obviously the Devil, (called also Satan) has only one goal, and that is to mislead everyone, to turn everyone away from serving God, and indirectly serve him. The Devil is very cunning. In 2Corinthians11:14 the Apostle Paul says "for Satan himself keeps disguising himself as an angel of light." He is a master of disguises, and through many ways he misleads the vast majority of mankind. Don't fall victim to his greatest lie, that is, that he really doesn't exist, If you still doubt his existence and his influence on human society, why has there been a surge in movies, stories, and TV shows about the occult, magic, vampires, witches, warlocks, even boy sorcerers. There is so much material available today that portrays these demonic practices as mere fun, as harmless entertainment, and that is part of the lie. The Devil is so cunning that even some "Christians" are fooled into celebrating Halloween, which is steeped in Demonic traditions. Imagine how God feels seeing those who (supposedly) worship him dressed as the Devil, demons, ghouls, witches etc? It's all just harmless fun right? Don't believe the lie! John Derek Hamilton June 1,2020