1. What offer did Satan make Christ in one of his great temptations?
“And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, showed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them; for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will, I give it.” Luke 4:5, 6.
2. How did he come into possession of this dominion?
“While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption; for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.” 2 Peter 2:19.
“Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” Rom. 6:16.
3. How did Satan overcome man, by force or deception?
“Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die; for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.” Gen. 3:1–6. See also 1 Tim. 2:13, 14.
4. In what condition is man since the fall?
“And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.” 2 Tim. 2:26.
“For we know that the law is spiritual; but I am carnal, sold under sin.” Rom. 7:14.
6. Whom did Satan say they would be like if they would obey him?
“For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” Gen. 3:5.
“And ye shall be as God.” Revised Version.
7. Besides deceiving the woman, how many has Satan deceived?
“And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world; he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” Rev. 12:9.
8. How extensive was the result of Adam’s sin?
“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” Rom. 5:12.
9. What, then, is the condition of the world?
“And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.” 1 John 5:19. See note.
10. What is the nature of Satan’s kingdom?
“For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord; walk as children of light.” “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.” “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.” Eph. 5:8, 11; 6:12.
11. To what did this darkness pertain?
“Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” Rom. 1:21.
“Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart.” Eph. 4:18.
12. When this kingdom is set up in the mind, what condition is the person in?
“But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.” 1 John 2:11.
“To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in Me.” Acts 26:18.
13. When a man is wandering in the dark, what is his condition? Ans.—He is lost. See Matt. 10:6; 18:11.
14. When a man is lost, how will he usually act?
“Therefore is judgment far from us, neither doth justice overtake us; we wait for light, but behold obscurity; for brightness, but we walk in darkness. We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes: we stumble at noonday as in the night; we are in desolate places as dead men.” Isa. 59:9, 10.
15. In what condition does the Saviour say such people are?
“Let them alone; they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.” Matt. 15:14. See also Matt. 23:16, 17, 19, 24, 26.
16. Where is the seat of the blindness or darkness?
“Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart.” Eph. 4:18. See also Matt. 13:15.
17. If man in the fall lost both his dominion over the earth and the proper control of his own mind, what is involved in the restoration?
NOTE.
“The whole world lieth in the evil one.” Revised Version. “The whole world lies under the evil one.” Emphatic Diaglott. “Lieth in the wicked one.” Macknight. “Is embraced in the arms of the devil, where it lies fast asleep and carnally secure, deriving its heat and power from its infernal fosterer.”—Clarke’s Commentary.
