The Wizard's Spell

Out at the prison Bible study we were working through 2 Corinthians 4. We stopped to ponder this description from Paul:

The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

As I've shared recently about 2 Corinthians, the issue of perception runs through the whole letter. We see another example of that here. Satan--the "god of this age"--has blinded minds so that we cannot see the light. 

As I pointed out to the class, this is a different way to think about Satan. We tend to view Satan as a tempter. Satan causes us to stumble by dangling a lure of desire. But here in 2 Corinthians, Satan's influence has more to do with distorted perception, the blinding of minds, than tempting us with naughty pleasures. 

In trying to find a way to describe this to the guys, I said this: "Imagine a dark wizard who has cast a spell of delusion upon the entire world. That is how Paul is describing Satan here. Less as a tempter, than as a wizard casting a hallucinatory spell causing distorted and confused perceptions. Under the power of that spell, we're lost in a maze of funhouse mirrors."

A lot of the guys in the class love fantasy fiction. Many have written their own fantasy novels, which I've read. So, much appreciation for the "dark wizard" comparison!