Ever since Satan seduced man to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and caused man to have his nature of sin (Gen. 3:1-7; 2 Cor. 11:3; 1 Tim. 2:14), he has been at enmity with all who belong to God, all who stand on God’s side (Gen. 3:15).
Satan caused man to reject God’s way of salvation through Cain and his descendants (Gen. 4:3, 5-12; 1 John 3:12, 8; John 8:44).
The angels under Satan joined with man through marriage and corrupted the earth during Noah’s time. Genesis 6:4 says, “The sons of God came in to the daughters of men.” Many say that the sons of God spoken of here refer to the godly descendants of Adam—Seth and his descendants. However, if we read carefully, we will see that sons of God refers to the fallen angels. The angels under Satan came to corrupt man, mingling with man, corrupting man to the uttermost and bringing in God’s judgment.
The most prominent person who was utilized by Satan was Nimrod (Gen. 10:5-11, 32). He was the first person on the earth to reign as a king; he became the first king. He also was the first to establish a nation. He took the lead to overthrow the authority of God’s rule, to set himself up as a king, to rule over others, and to establish a kingdom. This was Satan’s work.
The story of Babel involves the collective rebellion against God (Gen. 11:3-4). Archaeologists and historians tell us that when the city of Babel and the tower of Babel were being built, the names of idols were inscribed on all the bricks. This was Satan’s effort to blot out the name of God from the face of the earth.
Whenever man exalts his own name, he exalts idols. At Babel, Satan’s instigation among men reached a peak. They collectively rebelled to abolish God’s authority from the earth; in other words, they intended to force God from the earth to the heavens. It was as if Satan were saying to God, “Since You will not allow me to exercise my authority in the heavens, I will not allow You to exercise Your authority on the earth. Go back!”
The condition of today’s world is the same, especially in totalitarian nations, whose intent is to push God from the earth to the heavens, to eliminate God from the universe; this is Satan’s work. This work began by him injecting man with his poisonous nature, his evil nature, and eventually led to him instigating man to collectively overthrow God’s authority and to force God from the earth. This is Satan’s corruption of man.