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Introduction
If there is any place where darkness has set up its throne, it is in the heart of man and his realm; for sin rules in the heart of man — it has permeated every fiber of his being. On the other hand, the prince of darkness, the demonic spirit who presides over the evil world system, relentlessly carries on in the realm of man a diabolic enterprise. By his activity, Satan further darkens man’s understanding and blinds his eyes. The heart of man and his realm used to be a place of no darkness, a place where there was no wickedness at all, until the coming of the prince of darkness. In the beginning, when the LORD made man, He gave man “dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Genesis 1:28). Moreover, the LORD Himself planted a garden in Eden and placed the man there to work it and to keep it; and He commanded the man, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:16-17).
Man walked obediently and perfectly ruled over the earth, being submissive to God’s rules and authority, until the coming of the prince of darkness, the destroyer. Before the prince of darkness’ intrusion into the abode of man, man was a son of Light: he belonged to the Light, loved the Light, walked in the Light, was controlled by the Light and delighted in the Light. In other words, man was a child of God and God was his only object of love and joy; man lived in perfect obedience to God, he lived for the glory of the LORD and enjoyed His blessings. But darkness struck man and overtook his realm when the prince of darkness made his way into the garden of Paradise, after he and his demons had been thrown down to earth as a result of their rebellion against God.
The prince of darkness failed in his attempt to exalt himself above the stars of God; he failed to make himself like the Most High (cf. Isaiah 14:13-15). His rebellion against the Most High cost him his original divinely assigned position of authority (cf. Ezekiel 28:16-17 & Isaiah 14:12), and he “has come down to [earth] in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short” (Revelation 12:12). He went from being a covering cherub to being the most cursed of all fallen beings – for he was cast down to the ground (cf. Genesis 3:14-15). Then he set in his heart to pit man – God’s image bearer, against his Creator, in order to destroy him. So when he came to the woman in the garden of Eden, he disguised himself as an angel of light and seduced her by raising into question the goodness of God. He also denied the truthfulness of God’s threat of death in case of man’s disobedience and distorted the meaning of God’s prohibition, saying to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:4-5).
Man Forsook Light and Became Darkness
‘The People who Walked in Darkness Have Seen a Great Light’
The Distinctive Nature and Works of the Light
Christ the Light is the Singular Source of Life and Light
The Price of Rejecting the Light