The Cosmos: Satan’s System of Control
January 12, 2025
Dr. Bradford Reaves
Crossway Christian Fellowship
1 John 2:15–17
Introduction: The Hidden Hand Behind the World
Good morning, church. As we continue our journey into spiritual warfare, we turn our focus to what the Bible calls “the world”—not the physical earth, but the organized system under Satan.
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:15–17)
Now, what most believers and even pastors fail to understand is that we are in the world, but not of the world. What’s happening in Christianity today is that churches are trying to make church appealing to the world by imitating worldly things in our worship services. That’s why you can have chocolate waterfalls and Superbowl worship service: pastors and modern churches has imitated the kingdom of Satan instead of the Kingdom of Christ. That can be difficult for many to hear because they think that the church is drawing a crowd or being successful, but what they are doing is following worldly strategies to gain money, power, and influence.
So what do these churches do? They say they are establishing the Kingdom here on earth. That’s false theology or better known as ‘Kingdom Now’ Theology which is also rooted in the prosperity gospel. When you begin to understand how Satan operates and how he establishes his counterfeit kingdom, you begin to recognize the false theology in this world and in the apostate church. Now, why is important to understand all of this? Because having solid foundation in your belief provides you with a deeper faith in the things of God and give you liberty. You are not holding onto the things of the world for security, but in Christ alone and from that you are better able to serve him.
This “world” refers to the cosmos—a structured system of rebellion designed to oppose God. Today, we will uncover the strategies of this world; what we also call a Babylonian Kingdom, we will understand the realms where spiritual warfare occurs, and learn how believers can stand firm against its influence. We’re going to talk about this in depth in a couple of months but I want to start by looking at the 5 I Will’s of Satan to better understand how Satan’s system of control.
I. The Five ‘I Wills’ of Satan
The “Five ‘I Wills’” of Satan are drawn from Isaiah 14:12-15, which describes the prideful declarations of Lucifer before his fall. These statements reveal the heart of Satan’s rebellion and form the foundation of his system of control, the cosmos. Look at Isaiah 14 with me and then we will break these down:
“How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! 13 You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ 15 But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit. (Isaiah 14:12–15)
1. “I will ascend to heaven.”
• Satan desired to usurp God’s throne, claiming authority that was never his.
• This reflects his attempt to exalt himself above God’s order and authority.
2. “I will set my throne on high.”
• He sought to establish a counterfeit kingdom, a rival dominion to God’s.
• This explains his role as the “god of this age” (2 Corinthians 4:4) and his influence over the world’s systems.
3. “I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north.”
• Satan aimed to take the place of honor and worship that belongs only to God.
• This highlights his desire to redirect worship from God to himself, seen in his temptations of Jesus (Matthew 4:8-9).
4. “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds.”
• He wanted to rise above God’s creation, exalting himself above all things.
• This reflects his arrogance and delusional belief that he could surpass God.
5. “I will make myself like the Most High.”
• The ultimate declaration of pride: Satan sought to equal God in power and glory.
• This ambition echoes through his actions, from the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:5) to his future deception of the nations (Revelation 13).
II. The Cosmos: Satan’s Organized System
A. Understanding the Three Realms of Heaven
Many people, including Christians, do not understand that the current rulership of this world is under the dominion of Satan. You see this in Luke 4:6 -7, in the temptation of the Messiah. The kingdoms of this world belong to Satan. Why is that? When God created humanity, He gave Adam dominion over the earth, giving them the authority to steward creation. In Genesis 1:28, God commands them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” This was a divine mandate to govern the earth in alignment with God’s will. However, this authority was abdicated when Adam and Eve chose to disobey God’s command and eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
By succumbing to Satan’s deception, Adam effectively relinquished his God-given dominion to the enemy. This act of abdication allowed Satan to establish his system of control, the cosmos, and become the “god of this age” (2 Corinthians 4:4). The consequences of Adam’s decision are evident throughout Scripture and history: a world marred by sin, death, and spiritual rebellion. Yet, even in the midst of this abdication, God set a plan of redemption into motion. Through Christ, the “last Adam” (1 Corinthians 15:45), the authority lost in the Garden is restored. Jesus’ victory on the cross and His resurrection reclaimed dominion and provided believers with the authority to resist Satan and advance God’s kingdom.
This is why it shouldn't shock you that the cosmos, that's a Greek word for the kingdoms of this world, that the cosmos are controlled by Satan. But as a citizen of the Kingdom of God, you have authority over Satan’s control under the headship of Messiah. So you are now in this world, but not of this world. An unregenerate person does not bear this armor and so they succumb to the control of Satan in order to get ahead in the world and they are under the control of worldly leaders who are under the control of the Babylonian system.
Now, if you recall in the temptation with the Messiah, Satan offers the kingdoms to him. They were his to offer. So this is showing his will that he would offer him to the Messiah if the Messiah would bow down and worship him. Obviously, the Messiah passed the test and didn't. However, we need to recognize that Satan does this over and over again. Why do you think that the world’s wealthiest people are pagans? We see that with Hollywood’s elite who are Satanist and pedophiles. But this temptation of offering the kings will one day happen again when Satan offers the kingdoms to the Antichrist.
So Satan has a hierarchy of different levels of the Cosmos.
1. Earth – The Human Realm: God gave humanity stewardship over the earth (Genesis 1:28). However, sin opened the door for Satan to exert influence here.
2. Atmosphere – Satan’s Temporary Domain: Ephesians 2:2calls him “the prince of the power of the air.” His influence permeates culture, politics, and ideologies.
3. Cosmos – The Heavenly Realms: This is the spiritual battleground where demonic forces operate. Ephesians 6:12 reminds us, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness.”
B. The Goal of the Cosmos
• Satan’s system blinds unbelievers to the truth of the gospel (2 Corinthians 4:4).
• It promotes relativism, materialism, and pride to lure people away from God’s kingdom.
So this is part of understanding knowing the desires of the cosmos and how to stop that from entering into you sphere of influence and ruling over your life. It's a big temptation. The cosmos does not know the Father and it is without God; God is the enemy. So when we're in the cosmos, in this world system, we are rejecting God’s authority over our lives, or our churches, or our governments. You say, “Well, there's people out there in the world that say they believe in God.”
Yes, but what God? It's not the God of the Bible because the Bible is telling you that in the cosmos, there's no, the one true God is not there. If you practice your Christianity as a heretic, you'll be completely welcomed into the cosmos. Just like, you know, you see these churches rolling out LGBTQ pastors and transgender pastors, they're completely welcomed in the cosmos.
• The Greek word kosmos has a range of meanings depending on context. It can refer to:
1. The created universe or physical world.
2. Humanity, as in “the world” of people.
3. The system or order of the world, particularly when opposed to God. In 1 John 2:15-17, kosmos refers to the world system under Satan’s influence—a structured, organized rebellion against God’s authority.
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:15–17)
In the context of spiritual warfare, kosmos refers to Satan’s domain. This includes the values, ideologies, and structures that oppose God.
Ephesians 2:2 describes Satan as the “prince of the power of the air,” working in the kosmos to influence human culture and behavior. Believers are called to be in the kosmos but not of it (John 17:14-16). While we live within Satan’s system, we are not to adopt its values or succumb to its influence. Through Christ, believers have authority over the spiritual powers of the kosmos. 1 John 5:4-5 assures us that our faith overcomes the world.
But when you get a true believer telling who really Jesus is, who the Bible is, what it says, then the cosmos hates you for it. And the people of the cosmos will hate you. So you get the pushback because there's nothing there. You cannot find God in the cosmos. It’s a satanic system. So the problem is, as you can see, people, unfortunately, will search the cosmos for Him, but they can't find Him there. All they find is counterfeits.
However, the word of God continues to pierce through the cosmos and this is one of Satan's problems. God has put it there and he can't get it out of there. So what must Satan do is distort it, confuse it, malign it, attack it, bury it, misinterpret it, infiltrate it, and so on.
II. The Four Levels of Demonic Work
1. Influence
At the foundational level, demonic influence occurs subtly, affecting thoughts, perceptions, and decisions. Satan often operates as an “angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14), presenting ideas or actions as beneficial but ultimately leading people astray. This influence can be seen in the normalization of sin and worldly philosophies, such as moral relativism, which distort God’s truth. For instance, even societal movements that appear well-intentioned may align with Satan’s counterfeit system, promoting ideas contrary to God’s design.
2. Suppression
Suppression deepens Satan’s hold by hindering spiritual growth, prayer, and obedience to God. Believers under suppression may feel spiritually stagnant, unable to break free from sin or grow in faith. This suppression often takes advantage of unconfessed sin or ignorance of biblical truth. Prolonged exposure to occultic influences or sinful environments can lead to suppression, keeping individuals trapped and powerless.
3. Oppression
Oppression involves external attacks on the individual, often manifesting in physical, emotional, or psychological torment. Symptoms include anxiety, despair, and even manifestations of spiritual activity. Oppression is common when individuals knowingly or unknowingly invite demonic forces into their lives—through sin, trauma, or engaging with occult practices like Ouija boards, tarot cards, or certain forms of entertainment.
4. Possession
The most severe level is possession, where an individual, typically an unbeliever, is fully controlled by demonic forces. Believers cannot be possessed because the Holy Spirit resides in them, but they can experience extreme oppression that mimics possession. Possession often occurs when individuals directly engage in occult practices or make “deals” with demonic entities, leading to total spiritual enslavement.
IV. The Authority of the Believer Over the Demonic Realm
A. Authority Through Christ
As citizens of heaven, believers live in the tension of being “in the world but not of the world” (John 17:14-16). This means that while we exist within the sphere of Satan’s counterfeit cosmos, we are empowered to operate above its influence. The cosmos, as described in Scripture, is an organized system of rebellion against God, ruled by Satan, the “god of this age” (2 Corinthians 4:4). Yet, believers are not helpless within this system. On the contrary, we are equipped with divine authority to resist Satan’s schemes and even command demonic forces in the name of Jesus.
This authority flows directly from Christ’s victory over Satan through His death and resurrection. In Colossians 2:15, Paul declares that Jesus “disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in Him.” Through this triumph, believers inherit the authority of Christ, allowing us to resist the powers of darkness.
Luke 10:19 reminds us, “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.” This authority is not based on our strength but on Christ’s work, and it is exercised through faith, prayer, and alignment with God’s Word.
While the cosmos seeks to entangle believers in deception, sin, and fear, our role is to stand firm against these schemes. Ephesians 6:11 exhorts us to “put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” This includes the use of spiritual weapons: the truth of God’s Word, prayer, and the name of Jesus. When believers speak or act in the name of Jesus, it represents His authority and power over the demonic realm. Demons are subject to this name, as seen in Acts 16:18, where Paul commanded a spirit to leave a girl and it departed “that very hour.”
Moreover, believers are called to push back the darkness in the cosmos by living as light in the world (Matthew 5:14-16). This means exposing the works of darkness, proclaiming the gospel, and demonstrating the authority of Christ through lives of holiness and victory. The cosmos is passing away, as 1 John 2:17 states, but those who do the will of God will abide forever. In this, believers are not only resistors of Satan’s system but active participants in God’s mission to redeem and restore creation.
B. Weapons of Warfare:
1. The Word of God: Hebrews 4:12: “For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword.”
2. Prayer and Fasting: Matthew 17:21 Some spiritual battles require intentional fasting and prayer.
C. Living Above the Cosmos: Jesus prayed in John 17:14-18: “They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” Believers are called to live counter-culturally, rejecting the world’s values while advancing God’s kingdom.
Conclusion: Standing Firm in a Fallen World
The cosmos, Satan’s system of control, is vast and deceptive, but it is temporary. 1 John 2:17 reminds us, “The world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” As believers, we are not of this world. We have authority in Christ to resist the devil, expose deception, and stand firm in truth. Let us commit ourselves to prayer, discernment, and the daily application of God’s Word.
