The noise of this world seems to be increasing to a dizzying pitch: a pulsating babble of glorified sin being loudly trumpeted through the megaphones of this age. Instagram, Google, Disney, and Netflix (among others) are the transmitters of a constant wave of subversive noise that inundates the soul’s receptors with a deafening blast against the truth of God. Without apology, these unholy instruments of digital dissemination have boosted the bass line of idolatry, lust, and pride until it sounds like a catchy pop tune to our tone-deaf society. Is it any surprise, then, that Satan himself is the hidden conductor behind this swelling dissonance?
Granted, you won’t find a Luciferian radio tower rising up through the stratosphere like a grotesque steel-beamed colossus, but one thing is for certain: Satan and his minions are flooding the surrounding airwaves with a high-voltage broadcast of toxic propaganda. Even at this moment, whether your ears are tuned to it or not, a cacophony of rebellious and accusatory rhetoric is being transmitted through the metaphysical air, bombarding mankind with an evil static that often permeates into the inner operations of the mind and corrupts almost every school of human thought.
The Bible certainly confirms this unsettling fact. It is no accident that Paul portrays Satan as “the prince of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2). The apostle’s inspired wording evokes a fitting vision of Satan and his unseen forces hovering like a menacing swarm under the firmament. According to John Gill, in fact, the people of Paul’s day were quite aware of a supernatural climate filled with a multitude of “noxious and accusing spirits, who fly about in the air.” Likewise, the Pulpit Commentary describes this “power of the air” as a strategic point of operation for winged demons to secretly “exercise a real influence on human souls, and draw them in worldly directions, and contrary to the will of God.”
In a very real sense, then, Satan and his myriad of fallen angels are perfectly positioned like ethereal transmitters to disperse their deadly falsehoods to unsuspecting humanity below. No wonder Satan is called, even by Jesus Himself, the “prince of this world” (John 12:31; John 14:30; John 16:11), and rightly revealed by Paul as the “god of this age,” who has “blinded the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ” (II Corinthians 4:4). Truly, the Bible tells us, the whole world lies in the power of the evil one (1 John 5:19).
This is not to say, of course, that Satan rules the world with complete autonomy, for Almighty God is still sovereign (Isaiah 46:10; Daniel 4:35). But it does mean that in His unfathomable wisdom, God has allowed our adversary to have a level of influence over the unbelieving world until such time as the power of the Gospel fulfills God’s will in the redemption of lost souls and culminates in His final judgment (Genesis 50:20; Romans 9:22-23). Until then, the fallen world still languishes in a last-ditch frenzy of devilish activity. Satan to this day goes “to and fro” and walks “up and down” upon the earth (Job 1:7), still prowling around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). Surely, such boastful “roaring” should end any speculation that the devil is stalking humanity in timid silence or moving against God without vocal opposition and savage, murderous murmurings (John 8:44).
And yet, thankfully, the informed Christian should never fear the devil’s predictable roar. The Bible tells us all we need to know about Satan and his criminal profile so we can identify his noisy rhetoric and deflect its sinful effects. Surprisingly, for all his deviousness and cunning, Satan appears content with the original blueprint for success he once enjoyed in the garden of Eden. To this day, Satan is still spreading the same lies he first transmitted to Eve when that serpent of old hissed forth the question, “Did God actually say…?” (Genesis 3:1) and instantly exposed his modus operandi to the world.
Just as he did in the beginning, Satan attacks mankind’s sensual weakness to achieve a three-pronged result. Wide-eyed Eve, confused by the devil’s craftiness, succumbed to the flesh and surmised by the promptings of Satan that the tree from which she was forbidden to eat was “good for food, a delight to the eyes, and was desirable to make one wise” (Genesis 3:6). This trifecta of carnal compulsion first practiced in Eden was later summarized by the apostle John as the three pillars of the fallen world: “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world” (1 John 2:16).
Thus, Satan’s worldwide broadcast of lies follows the familiar ancient pattern: 1) discrediting God, or casting doubt about Him or His existence; 2) minimizing the destructive nature of sin and the due penalty of death; and 3) the promotion of idolatry or the deity of self, which drives a man or woman to dethrone God and do that which is “right in his (or her) own eyes” (Proverbs 21:2; Judges 21:25). These are the flaming darts of temptation which Satan uses against us, transmitting their ungodly ideas like a noise machine that fills the air to mask the inner voice of one’s conscience and, if possible, the thunderous voice of Almighty God.
Despite these satanic efforts, however, the happy fact remains that God can never be silenced. In His omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence, He has eternally possessed the sovereign might to squelch the vile noise coming from Satan and his workers of iniquity. Before the very foundation of creation, God had already set in place His plan of reconciliation as a bulwark against the wiles of the devil. Immediately after the upheaval in Eden, God revealed His great promise of redemption to the coming generations with these words: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He (her seed) will crush your head, and you (the serpent) will strike his heel” (Genesis 3:15).
Here we see, even at the lowest point of mankind’s checkered history, our merciful God proclaiming the first inklings of the Gospel message that would find full voice in Jesus’ earthly ministry. Here we see by God’s first response that the Gospel has always been the resounding, symphonic counterpoint to the tumultuous noise of Satan that first blared in Eden. Indeed Jesus Christ, the triumphant Seed of the woman, has placed the devil underfoot to squash him into eternal damnation. This, we know, is the profound purpose for the Son of God’s humble entrance into this dark world: “…To destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8).
It is the Gospel, then, which rings high and lofty with the good news that Jesus Christ died for our sins, was buried, and then raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). By His stripes, His horrific sacrificial death, and His victorious resurrection, Christ is even now building His Church with the living stones of redeemed sinners who have placed their faith in Him. Trials and temptations will surely beset believers in this world, but ultimately, the believer’s victory is assured for all eternity by Jesus’ finished work at the cross.
In light of this glorious truth, it is always proper and fitting for professing Christians to turn up the pure, unrelenting signal of the Gospel and destroy the rising discord of Satan once and for all. As devoted followers of Jesus Christ, we have been given from our Lord no greater call to action than this: “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation” (Mark 16:15). Why, then, would we focus on anything other than our broadcast of God’s redemptive chorus?
This is no time to capitulate to the world and match our Christian melody to the driving rhythms of the devil’s soundtrack. To do so would be a tragic misstep that places our faith in the flesh and not in God. The Bible teaches, in fact, that any distortion of the Gospel on our part will always bring trouble (Galatians 1:7). By attempting to rebroadcast the Gospel through the magnetic disruption of human invention, we will only add a layer of static to the clear signal of God’s truth and bury it under the already-deafening noise of this world. We must remember that the Holy Spirit alone has the power to amplify the Gospel to the perfect pitch and volume for the effectual reception of the hearer (Matthew 10:18-20; Acts 4:31).
Indeed Paul placed his full confidence in the simple proclamation of the Gospel when he boldly declared, “Since God in His mercy has given us this ministry, we do not lose heart. Instead, we have renounced secret and shameful ways. We do not practice deceit, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by open proclamation of the truth, we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God” (II Corinthians 4:1-2).
Sadly, even in this pure transmission, many unbelieving rebels will still not hear (II Corinthians 4:3-4). They will hide from God within the satanic noise of this world and find their solace there (II Thessalonians 2:11-12; John 3:19). Just like the wayward people condemned in Isaiah 5:8-23, they will indulge in the many feasts of carnal delight, yet never regard the deeds of God or see the work of His hands. They will call evil good, and good evil. They will put darkness for light, and light for darkness. They will be wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight. In other words, they will act just like their father, the devil, to whom they have listened.
But to the wretched souls horribly burdened by their sins in the midst of the world’s vain chatter, the sound of the Gospel of Jesus Christ will be music to their ears. For their sake, brothers and sisters, turn up your signal and drown out the noise. Be ready to broadcast God’s word at any moment (2 Timothy 4:2). Fill the air with songs of praise to God for those who might be listening (Acts 16:25). Shout out your testimony to the heavens and join your voice with the great cloud of faithful witnesses (Hebrews 12:1). Blast the melodious tidings of God’s grace for all the world to hear (Titus 2:11).
Is your signal getting stronger?
