Question: In John 12:31 Jesus says “Now shall the prince of this world be cast out.” I have read several commentaries that say “the prince of this world” refers to Satan. They say the verse means that Satan will be overthrown as the ruler of the world and men will be delivered from his power. They believe that prior to the crucifixion Satan had dominion over men and the power of death. I do not understand how one can come to this interpretation. I have never before heard of Satan being the ruler of this world or having the power of death. I am unaware of any biblical evidence that points to these idea. Moreover, after the crucifixion Satan maintained the power to tempt people and lead them astray; I do not see how his power had diminished.

Answer: I will confess that my thinking on this subject is going through some development, so be critical.

Hebrews 2:14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.

This passage definitely says that Satan has the power of death, but what does that mean. We see in Job 1&2 that Satan cannot freely take Job’s life. He is subject to God’s will or choice in this matter. He asks God to stretch out His hand and afflict Job but it seems the immediate cause of the affliction is Satan (though does he really control the winds or the “fire of God”? We can imagine him manipulating the Sabeans). He asks God to stretch out His hand and cause bodily suffering to Job and God says, “He is in your hands” but limits how much he can cause Job to suffer. Satan must spare Job’s life. That implies that he could kill Job, an evidence that he has a or the power of death, but once again it is subject to God’s will.

The author of Hebrews mentions that Christ’s death frees us from the fear of death, His sacrifice having paid the penalty for our sins so that we no longer need fear death leading to eternal punishment. Maybe Satan’s power of death includes the fear people have of death and that pushes them away from God and toward Satan. As the tempter in the garden of Eden Satan certainly wielded the power of death by leading Adam and Eve to eat from the forbidden tree and so incur death. The passage doesn’t exactly say that Satan no longer has the power of death, but that believers no longer fear death, which breaks Satan’s hold over people.

Of course, as in many Scriptural prophecies, the breaking of Satan’s power may take place in stages, this stage being the removal of his power of fear of death, the next stage being his casting out of heaven (Revelation 12) and the next his defeat at the hands of the returning Jesus (Revelation 19) and his being bound for a thousand years, then the final stage, after his release, his defeat again by Christ and his being cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20).

As to Satan’s authority in the world:

John 14:30 I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me
John 12:31 Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out.
2 Corinthians 4:4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
Ephesians 2:2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.
Revelation 12:9 The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
1 John 5:19 We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.
Matthew 4:8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

Again, we have plenty of passages in Scripture which attribute all control over the world to God, but it seems that, like in Job, God allows Satan to have control in a subservient way. We know that Satan’s tempting of humans and leading them into sin can result in his control over them (perhaps like the Sabeans who were led to attack Job’s property). Satan plays on men’s pride (1 Timothy 3:6), interferes with receiving the truth (Matthew 13:18-22,38-39), and plants false believers among believers (1 Timothy 4:1-2; 2 Timothy 3:1-9; Revelation 2:9; 3:9).

There seems to be some evidence that God has given angels, even fallen angels, some allowance to be in charge of earth’s nations (in Daniel 10 there is an angelic prince of Persia who seeks to hinder the angel of God bringing an answer to Daniel’s prayer). If fallen angels have charge over nations, and Satan has charge over them, does this give credit to his statement to Jesus that he could give Jesus all the kingdoms of the world, in a wicked way, of course, not from genuine worship of Jesus but from fear of Satan.

Something has changed in Satan’s power over us.

2 Timothy 2:25 Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.
Ephesians 2:1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ
1 Peter 5:8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
James 4:7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

In submission to Christ we may overcome the devil’s works against our lives. We can spot his lies (Ephesians 6:11; 2 Corinthians 2:11). We can cast out demons who afflict others.