I appoologize for multiple post. Please read in it's entirety before forming an opinion. Thanks for all the comments. Yours in Jesus Christ. Bro. Danny.

THE GOD OF THIS WORLD By Danny Laird

An argument against a longstanding false doctrine.
The purpose of this treatise is to argue and present irrefutable Biblical and historical evidence of an error in doctrine. (FALSE DOCTRINE) The doctrine in question begins with the scripture (II Corinthians 4:4.)

2Co 4:4 In1722 whom3739 the3588 god2316 of this5127 world165 hath blinded5186 the3588 minds3540 of them which believe not,571 lest3361 the3588 light5462 of the3588 glorious1391 gospel2098 of Christ,5547 who3739 is2076 the image1504 of God,2316 should shine826 unto them.846 KJV (Strong's numbers reluctantly inserted for comparison to alleged Greek lexicon word translations)
False doctrine: Many pastors and teachers have taught this doctrine and will not agree with this treatise. I call this teaching false because as you will see, works attributed Satan are actually the work of God and to give Satan credit for the work of God is a sin and an assault against the holy word of God. I say this with all due respect to pastors and teachers. We humans make errors. Only God does not make mistakes. Let us correct our error in humility and without pride in Jesus name.
The doctrinal error being taught in this scripture II Corinthians 4:4 is Satan is the "god of this world" and "hath blinded the minds of them which believe not” lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ who is the image of God should shine unto them.

In reference to the above quoted scripture the following questions will be answered:
1. Who controls such powers as evil, lying spirits and all other entities and powers that could produce the effect of keeping people from believing (or blinding their minds) keeping them from believing the light of the glorious gospel?
2. Who “blinds the minds of them which believe not?”
3. Why should the little “g” god in this scripture be a capital “G” God?
4. What do the scriptures say on this topic?
5. What happened historically to cause this false doctrine to be perpetrated on the Church?

Point #1 God created everything including evil in the book of Genesis.

Gen 2:9 and out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Gen 3:5 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 3:22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now,
lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

(The Bible scriptures are clear who created evil and mans disobedience to God caused him to know the
difference between good and evil. Eve was beguiled of the serpent but clearly she and Adam made their own
choice to disobey God.)

I have heard it taught that when Adam and Eve fell in the garden of Eden, Satan gained dominion over the
Earth. I find no Biblical basis for the theory that God gave up His sovereignty and gave Satan dominion.


The following scriptures clearly show that God is in control of evil.

Deu 7:15 “will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee;”
(Clearly the Lord will put evil plagues and sickness on those with whom He is displeased or for other punitive
reasons.)

Deu 30:15 “See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;”
(This is a clear choice we make.)

Jos 23:15 “ so shall the LORD bring upon you all evil things,”
(Walk in the Lords ways or clearly he will set evil upon us. Again a free choice we
make.)

Below are clear pertinent scriptures showing that it is the Lord God who created evil and who can and will send
evil upon man and also has control of evil spirits as well as lying spirits.

1Sa 16:14 “But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.”

1Sa 16:15 “ And Saul's servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee.”

1Sa 16:16 “the evil spirit from God is upon thee,”

2Sa 12:11 “Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee”

2Sa 17:14 “ For the LORD had appointed to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that the LORD
might bring evil upon Absalom “

2Sa 24:16 “And when the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it the LORD repented him
of the evil,”

1Ki 9:9 “ therefore hath the LORD brought upon them all this evil.”

1Ki 14:10 “ Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam”

Ki 22:23 “ the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets,”

Ki 6:33 “ this evil is of the LORD; “

Amo 3:6 “ shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?”

There are many scriptures that can be quoted on this subject that it simply is not practical to do so. I believe
the doctrinal point has been made that the Lord created evil and is in control of good and evil and controls
even the lying spirits for his own sovereign purposes including controlling any works of Satan.

Do not misunderstand. God is not evil. He is loving, merciful and just. He simply is in control of His children
and owns everything that he has created, as we will prove. Everything created by God was created for Him and
remains under His dominion. Many times God has used Evil for punitive purposes upon those who do not
follow His word. He will even turn one over to Satan for the destruction of their flesh. 1Co 5:5 To deliver such
an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

The scriptures below show how the theme works with that which God has created.

Rom 9:11 (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth
Rom 9:12 It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.
Rom 9:13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
Rom 9:14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.
Rom 9:15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
Rom 9:16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
Rom 9:17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
Rom 9:18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
Rom 9:19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?
Rom 9:20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
Rom 9:21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?
Rom 9:22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:
Rom 9:23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,
Rom 9:24 Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?

In the book of Job Satan needed Gods permission to lay claim to and do evil to Job. This is a clear Biblical example of the God of this world being in control of all evil including Satan (another of His creation) who will answer to God and in the end will receive his just reward for his rebellion against God, as will all of Gods created beings.

Moving on to point #2. Who " blinds the minds of those who believe not?" The following scripture’s should put this issue into proper context.

Joh 9:39 And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.

Isa 44:18 They have not known nor understood: for he hath shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand.

Rom 1:28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

Rom 11:7 What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded.
Rom 11:8 (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear unto this day.

Joh 12:40 He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.

2Th 2:11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
2Th 2:12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

2Co 3:14 But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ.
2Co 3:15 But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart.
2Co 3:16 Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.

It is plain to see who does the blinding. If one takes II Corinthians chapter 3 in context with chapter 4,
considering that until the 1599 Geneva Bible was printed there were no chapter or verse separations in the English Bible. Taking this into consideration then II Corinthians 3:13 through 3:16 above would flow with II Corinthians 4:4 and would not be out of context as is being taught today.

Moving on to point #3. We shall prove that the little "g" god should be a capital "G" God in this scripture. As stated earlier when I quoted the scripture II Cor. 4:4, I left the Strong's Concordance numbers in the quote.

If you look at the word in Greek for the little (g) "god" in this scripture you will see that it comes from the Strong's Concordance word number 2316 which is "theos”. A little further in this scripture a capital (G) "God" is used and you will notice that it also comes from 2316 in the Strong's Concordance or “theos”.

If you look at all other New Testament usages of this word “theos” (2316) in the Strong's Concordance, you will see that II Corinth. 4:4 is the only passage that has made usage of a little "g" when referring to “theos”. My Strong's Concordance does not list the part of II Cor. 4:4 that has the little "g" (god), but does list the capital (G) God of the second part of the scripture. The little "g" god quote is missing because it should read as a capital "G" God. We will cover this point in more detail later.

The scriptures already quoted have clearly and concisely made point #4. Please re-read them and you will plainly see who has blinded the unbelievers.

Mar 4:12 That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.

Moving on to point #5 and proving that the little "g “ god in this passage is an error and should be a capital “G” God, using older vernacular Bibles and manuscripts.

Below you will note II Corinthians 4:4 quoted from English Bibles and Greek manuscripts previously in print prior to the King James version and one or two later versions that got it right. Note the RNKJV use of the word elohim.

Geneva Bible 1587:
In whom the God of this world hath blinded the mindes, that is, of the infidels, that the light of the glorious Gospell of Christ, which is the image of God, should not shine vnto them.

Coverdale Bible 1535:
amonge whom the God of this worlde hath blynded ye myndes of them which beleue not, that ye lighte of the Gospell of the glory of Christ ( which is the ymage of God) shulde not shyne vnto them.

Tyndale Bible 1534:
If our gospel be yet hid, it is hid among them that are lost, in whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest should shine unto them the light of the glorious gospel of Christ,

Wycliffe Bible 1395:
in which God hath blent the soulis of vnfeithful men of this world, that the liytnyng of the gospel of the glorie of Crist, which is the ymage of God, schyne not.

Let us compare today's King James Version with the original 1611 King James version. They are side by side in this illustration. There can be no doubt what the original intent of this scripture was. (Note: the capital "G" in the original 1611 KJV.)

Today's KJV Bible: 1611 KJV Bible::
4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. 4 In whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which beleeue not, lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine vnto them.
(Note underline and bold text on word "God"added by author.)


4 bei welchen der Gott dieser Welt der Ungläubigen Sinn verblendet hat, daß sie nicht sehen das helle Licht des Evangeliums von der Klarheit Christi, welcher ist das Ebenbild Gottes.
German 1545 Unrevidierte Luther. Capital Gott, German for God.

4 bei welchen der Gott dieser Welt der Ungläubigen Sinn verblendet hat, daß sie nicht sehen das helle Licht des Evangeliums von der Klarheit Christi, welcher ist das Ebenbild Gottes
German Luther Bibel. Capital Gott, German for God
(Ger Lut)

4 to them whose minds the God of this world hath blinded, in order that they might not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of the Messiah (who is the likeness of God) should dawn upon them.
James Murdock translation of Syriac Peshitta. Capital God

There is also a capital “G” God in 2 Corinthians 4:4 in the Llamsa translation of the Syriac Peshitta.

Restored Name King James Version
The RNKJV uses the KJV but restores the names of God to their original forms. For example, where the KJV renders yod-he-vav-he (YWHW) "the LORD", the RNKJV renders it "Yahweh". (NB: Actually it renders it yod-he-vav-he now.) Similarly, other Hebrew names like "Elohim" (God/Mighty One(s)) are left in their Hebrew form. The Greek work "Iesous" (Jesus) is also restored to its Hebrew/Aramaic form: "Yahushua".

Note: the use of the word elohim a name used for God throughout the Old Testament.
4 In whom the elohim of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious evangel of the Messiah, who is the image of יהוה, should shine unto them.

Erasmus in his Greek Text of the New Testament used the word “qeou” 1,174 times. He used this word for God. Making this word a little “g:” god instead of “God” would be completely subjective and not in character or context with his other usages throughout his text.

Erasmus also used the word “satanas” Satanas 33 times in his Greek text. Why would anyone think that Erasmus had intended for this word God in II Corinthians 4:4 to mean Satan? Would he not have used the word that meant Satan? This is simple logic from a simple man.

It should be apparent at this point that many previous versions of the English Bible and other important text had a capital "G" God and not a little "g" in this passage of scripture as did the original 1611 King James version of the Bible.