Mat 4:8-9, 8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.
The 3rd temptation is the most subtle of all in my estimation. In the age of feelings and emotions, vast majority do not plumb line feelings and emotions by God’s word. Here Satan as an angel of light uses fluttery words pretending to fight for believers as he did with Eve, 2Cor 11:13-14, “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light”. His aim is to turn men to rebel against God like he did before he was cast out of heaven.
Satan on the highest mountain tempted Christ to idolatry, the offer of the kingdoms and the glory of the world in exchange for worship. This is the most charming temptation to the unthinking and unwary. It turns men away from the path of self-denial to establish an outward and worldly domain. He promises success in building a church, home etc but not according to God’s way. God’s kingdom cannot be secularized, if he can get believers’ focus off Christ and dwell on what they could gain, he has succeeded.