Revelation 11:15 proclaims, “and the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever” (KJV, 2001). Satan is considered to be the "kingdoms of this world" which will ultimately become "the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ". This world is run by Satan, period. He runs the government, entertainment industry, banking system, etc. Even the Bible claims this fact in the following five verses: 2 Corinthians 4:4, “…the god of this world (Satan) hath blinded the minds of them which believe not (in Jesus Christ), lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them” (KJV, 2001). 1 John 5:19: "We know that we are of God, and that the whole world is under the power of the evil one". Revelation 12:9: "The great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceived the whole world". Ephesians 6:12, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places”. John 14:30, “I will no longer talk much with you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has nothing in me”. The Holy Spirit has opened my eyes, and it seems many other Christians as well, to the fact of Satan running the world and every aspect in it. This article will explain what the world is, how to avoid it, and what to replace it with.
To be blunt, the world is everything we know and how unbelievers and some Christians (if they are not following Jesus Christ and are falling into temptation from Satan) behave. To explain further, the world is anything and everything we put ahead and instead of Jesus Christ called idols, which may be the city we live in, our workplace, the people we talk to, how we conduct ourselves, the curse words we use, the conversations we have, basically anything! More examples of idols include social media, cell phones, laptops, gaming systems, sports, shopping, animals, money, gambling, drinking alcohol, drugs, music, friends, spouses, children, celebrities, Hollywood, tv shows, movies, cars, etc. Everything in this world – is the world. To define it further, the world follows Satan’s moral law, or lack thereof, and Christians follow God’s moral law outlined in the Bible - basically - the Ten Commandments given to Moses in Exodus Chapter 20, which are as follows:
1. You shall have no other gods before me.
2. You shall not make unto you any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
4. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
5. Honor your father and mother: that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God has given you.
6. You shall not kill.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness (lie) against thy neighbor.
10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house, wife, manservant, maidservant, ox, ass, or anything that is your neighbor’s (KJV, 2001).
Another important commandment in Matthew 5:44 states, “love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” (KJV, 2001). And the ultimate commandment according to Jesus Christ in Luke 10:27 is to, “love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind; and your neighbor as yourself” (KJV, 2001).
To further explain how the world's and God’s moral laws differs is, God says to love your enemy as yourself, and not to lie about them, the world says to rather take revenge, hate and gossip (lie) about them, and has set up neighborhood watch groups to harass and terrorize them, all legally with law enforcement. God says to wait until marriage to have sex, but the world says if it feels right do it before, so you know what you’re getting beforehand. God says to not steal, the world says it's okay to steal and encourages theft, allowing thieves to steal from stores if the total is under $1000.00. God says to not commit adultery, the world promotes it with dating sites for married men to seek out mistresses. God says to not covet what your neighbor has, the world encourages a culture that 'keeps up with the Jones'' to compete with them rather than love them. There is an abundance of examples I could give but try for yourself to compare and contrast as I did above with God’s commandments and moral law and the world's moral law and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal this further to your heart and mind. At any rate, once an unbeliever accepts Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, or a Christian re-dedicates their life to Him, the Holy Spirit starts working on their sin and convicting them in their hearts and minds to mold them to the image of Jesus Christ, and away from Satan and his world and morals. The way to avoid the world and Satan's moral law and how to replace it with God and his moral law is as 1 John 5:4 states, “For whosoever is born of God (through Jesus Christ) overcomes the world: and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith” (KJV, 2001).
Lastly, are a few Bible verses confirming we live in Satan’s world and Jesus Christ and his followers are not of this world, but of another one which will be coming soon. First, when Jesus Christ ascended into Heaven from the Mount of Olives, he confirmed in John 14:30 that Satan is in charge of the world, “hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world comes, and has nothing in me” (KJV, 2001). John 8:23, “and he said unto them, you are from beneath; I am from above: you are of this world; I am not of this world” (KJV, 2001). John 15:19, “if you were of the world, the world would love his own: but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” (KJV, 2001). 1 John 2:15, “love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (KJV, 2001). 1 John 4:5, “they are of the world: therefore, they speak of the world, and the world heareth them” (KJV, 2001). John 17:14, “I have given them your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world” (KJV, 2001). John 3:17, “for God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved” (KJV, 2001). Remember the good news, whoever shall lose themselves shall gain eternal life - in other words - anyone who accepts Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and rejects the world, and worldly idols, and all of their sinful instincts and desires, shall live forever. Maranatha!