A major area of truth revealed in the Scriptures is that we are living in a fallen world, which is under the influence and power of the evil one.
The Scriptures reveals that Satan rebelled against God (Ezek. 28:12-17; Isa. 14:12-15). Subsequently, in cunning and deceit, he tempted Eve (Gen. 3:1-5).
<2> Adam and Eve yielded to Satan's temptation and sinned against God. As a result, they came under the judgement of God and the influence of the evil one.
The fall of Adam and Eve has far-reaching adverse consequences, not only for themselves, but also for the whole world. Since then, the fallen world has been under Satan's power. The apostle John categorically states this in 1 John 5:19: “The whole world lies in the power of the evil one”. Man now has a tendency to live according to the course of this world, indulging in the desires of the flesh. This is a universal problem.
The apostle Paul describes the sobering reality of the lives of those outside the kingdom of God in this way:
Ephesians 2:1-3
1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,
2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.
3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.
The “course of this world” in verse 2 refers to the trends, values, ways and perspective of the fallen world under the influence of the evil one, who is referred to as “the prince of the power of the air”.
2 Peter 3:10 teaches that the heavens and the earth together with its works are destined for destruction.
2 Peter 3:10
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.
1 John 2:15 and 17 caution us not to love the world nor the things in the world.
1 John 2:15, 17
15 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
17 The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.
What is of the fallen world will not endure (v. 17); it will ultimately perish, and we must not be preoccupied with it.
What then will endure? The kingdom the Lord is building. He is not rebuilding or restoring the fallen world. He is building a different kingdom whose values and emphases are opposed to those of the fallen world. He is building an everlasting kingdom in which righteousness dwells. This is the kingdom of God.