The thought of anything coming out of the pit and able to reach the earth should fill us with horror. Yet Scripture teaches that the pit is not totally unable to reach this world. Its influence stretches out to touch the people of this world and draw them into its deadly grasp. It chokes and eventually asphyxiates those who breathe in its doctrine. It lures people into its snares. The smoke is pictured as so thick that it obscures the light of the sun. In the same way, the devil is able to hold people in darkness, even though the sunlight of the gospel has shone into the world. It misrepresents God and his messengers, and incites suspicion towards all heaven’s influence. It tells the world that God only wishes to take away from them what small pleasure they have from life. With innumerable lies it wins the trust of those who are perishing so that they are proofed against the message of salvation. As a result, even the most gracious offers of God’s kindness are treated as if they were tricks and traps set for the unwary worldling.
Yet God allows this to take place. Even Satan and his allies serve a purpose in the plan of God. They are the very means that he uses to hold the rebellious in darkness. Satan is called the prince of the power of the air. He holds power over the air that men breathe, that is, he tries to control their thought life and to prevent them understanding anything as it really is. He is the spirit who allures the souls of men by making sin appear so desirable that no matter what the cost, it must be obtained.