1. Therefore, just as the devil lied at the beginning, so did he also in the end, when he said, “All these were given to me, and to whomsoever I want, I will give.”  Matthew 4:9, Luke 4:6

He is not the one who determines the kingdoms of this world; it is God;  “The heart of a king is in the hand of God.” Proverbs 21:1

And about Solomon the Word says “My kings reign, and potentates administer justice. By Me are tycoons magnified, and by Me do overlords possess territories.” Proverbs 8:15

And the apostle Paul says on the same point: “Subject yourselves to all superior authorities, for there is no authority that is not by God; and those that exist, have been ordained by God.” Romans 13:1

And again, in reference to them he says, “For he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is a servant of God, an avenger that is enraged by the one who does evil”. Romans 13:4

Since he (Paul) had not said those words in reference to the angelic powers, or to the invisible authorities as some dare to explain,  but in reference to human authorities, he then says: “And it is for this that you are also subject to taxes; for they are God's servants, dedicated to this very thing.” Romans 13:6

However, this was also confirmed by the Lord, because on the one hand He did not do what the devil was striving to tempt Him to do, and on the other hand, He instructed that tax should be paid to the tax-collectors, for both Himself and for Peter; Matthew 17:27 -  “for they are God's servants, dedicated to this very thing.”Romans 13:6

2.  Thus, since the man (Cain) who had apostatised from God had become so enraged that he even looked upon a relative as an enemy and was living with such restlessness and homicide and greed, God instilled in him the fear of mankind (given that he did not know the fear of God), so that, by being subjected to human authority and educated by human laws, men might reach a certain degree of justice and each might correct the other for fear of the sword that is before them;  as the apostle says: “For he does not bear the sword in vain, as he is a servant of God, an avenger who is enraged by the one who does evil”. Romans 13:4

This is also why leaders themselves have the laws as a garment of justice; and for whatever just and legal that people do, they will not be interrogated for those things, nor will they be punished.  But for whatever they do towards overturning the law - unjustly and disrespectfully and illegally and tyrannically – with those things they shall perish, because God’s fair judgment reaches everyone equally, and it is not weakened in anything. Therefore the terrestrial kingdom was determined for the benefit of the nations by God , and not by the devil (who never rests, but rather does not want the nations to remain calm).  Thus, by being in fear of the authority of people, they will not devour each other like the fish do, but with the decrees of laws, the multiple injustice of the nations is averted.  And in this manner,  they are also “servants of God” who ask taxes from us, being “dedicated to this very thing.”

3. “...and those authorities that exist, have been ordained by God.”  It is therefore clear that the devil lies, when he says “All these were given to me, and to whomsoever I want, I will give.”  For by the One whose command  men were created, by His command also are kings appointed who are suitable for their subjects. Some of them (kings) are given to help and to benefit their subjects, and also to preserve justice;  however, some (kings) are given to intimidate, punish and rebuke. Then again, others (kings) are for taunting and insulting and being arrogant – just as their subjects deserve. And that - as we mentioned earlier - is how God’s fair judgment is meted out to everyone equally. But the devil - being an apostate angel – can only do what he has been doing since the beginning: deceive and seduce the mind of man in order to make him disobey God’s commands and gradually blind the hearts of those who try to worship Him and make them forget the true God, and instead worship him (the devil) as god.

4. But, just like an apostate who, by taking over a territory as an enemy upsets those who live in it and claims for himself the glory of a king before all those who are ignorant of the fact that he is an apostate and a robber, likewise the devil - who is one of those apostate angels (that are situated above, with the leader who has the authority of the air - as clearly stated by the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 2:2,  and because he had become envious of man - he too had become an apostate of God’s law.  Envy is a thing foreign to God. And because his apostasy was exposed by a man, and man became the criterion of his mindset, that is why he became all the more opposed to man, by envying his life and seeking to lock him inside his own apostate authority.

That is why the Logos and Creator of all, who, as a man had exposed him as an apostate, accordingly subjected him to mankind.  “Behold, He says, I am giving you the authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions and upon all the power of the enemy.” Luke 10:19

Just as the devil dominated man, making him apostatise against God, thus also when a man returns to God, his apostasy is waived.

English rendition by A.N.