Ephesians 6:12.....Principalities, powers, Spirit rebels..REALLY? Devils, demons and spirits?

Eph 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.


Greek word here for wrestle is pale: meaning partake in warfare between the saints and the powers who are against God.

There are actually four kinds of "Spirit Rebels" or demons mentioned here:
1.  Principalities, greek word is archas.   In Satan's kingdom, these are the high rulers.  Those who carry the most in "rank" in a military standing. 
Thanks to Christ and the completion on the cross, we know these (as well as Satan) are defeated for those who believe in Christ.  See Eph 1:21 and Col 2:10.

2.  Next we see the Greek word of exousias meaning authorities.  These are those demons who get their empowerment  and orders from their "chief ruler", Satan.  Most of the modern version Bibles just read "Powers"

3.  Third is "rulers of the darkness of this age"  Greek word, kosmokratopas.  This type is seen many times in our Bible... Dan 10:13-21  Eph 1:21 and Col 1:16-18.  There are many in this world right this minute.  These are the Rulers of anything today who do not follow Christ and his teachings.  These are the rulers with no morals, with little to do with religion or even attempting to do the right thing.  These people are the worshipers of money, power and fame.

4.  The final kind is spiritual wickedness.  Greek word, pneumatika ponerias, we see they are in the heavenlies and are of Satan.

Heavenlies: http://biblesuite.com/greek/2032.htm

2032 epouránios (an adjective, derived from 1909 /epí, "on, fitting," which intensifies 3772 /ouranós, "heaven") – properly, heavenly, referring to the impact of heaven's influence on the particular situation or person.

[The prefix (epi) shows this always "fits" – from the standpoint of heaven.]

This was the best definition I could find on heavenlies, I think it is a pretty good one. 

So, does that mean there are devils and demons in Heaven?  No, not in the high heavens where God is.  The best reading I came across was this commentary by Jon Gill:

 "but in the aerial heavens, where the power or posse of devils reside, and where they are above us, over our heads, overlooking us, and watching every advantage against us;"

 http://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/gills-exposition-of-the-bible/ephesians-6-12.html

 There is the web site if you wish to read it all, good stuff!

So, are there demons, devils and evil spirits?    The Bible says yes.  Most Biblical scholars say yes.

What can be done about it?  Well read on in Eph and find we are to "Stand our ground" and there is a Full Armor of God that we can put on to protect us!

Eph 6:13-18 :
13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Blessings on all!! 

Calabash

 

Judas betrayal of Jesus and the severed ear

All four gospels speak of the kiss Judas betrays Christ with.  All four gospels speak of the servants ear being cut off.  Mt 26:47, Mk 14:43, Lk 22:50 and Jn 18:12.
However John 18:5 tells us Jesus admitted to them that He was the one they were seeking.  John 18:6 tells us that upon hearing the news, "...,they went backward, and fell to the ground."

There was so much power coming from Christ at this time that it was overwhelming to even stand.  At that very moment, Christ could have killed them all if he had wanted to.  I believe this was a show of power to all these people, even the disciples that were present.  In addition, if not killed or further incapacitated them, he could have easily escaped them.  But, Christ knew it was His time to fulfill the prophecy that had been laid before Him, it was His time to be the sacrifice for us all.

Something else I want you to see is in Mark 14:51 & 52:,  "51 A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him, 52 he fled naked, leaving his garment behind". 
This is odd, this occurred after the men had fell to the ground due to the power of Christ and after the ear had been cut off and then healed (by the power of Christ).   
There is some speculation as to who this young boy was.  Some say it was Lazarus, others say it was a rich young ruler.  Notice that this young man had on nothing but a linen garment, the kind generally used in a burial.  This event took place at Gethsemane which was a garden, not a residential area.  I feel it is possible that there was a tomb close by and with all the power Christ was emitting, this young man was raised back from death to life.  We know Christ had and exercised that power more than once.  It would have been natural that this man would have wanted to follow our Lord (literally) especially since he would not have know what was going on at that moment.  Then, when he was seized, the ran. 
Why resurrected not just out for a night stroll?:
1.  If the young man was just "out strolling" it would have been natural for the robe to be secured on.  Notice it fell away when he was seized and left the man running naked.
2.  He would have watched the commotion from afar, not walked right up to the man being confronted by soldiers.
3.  If he was a true follower of Jesus, he would have been dressed more appropriately to begin with.
A preacher man by the name of Creflo Dollar placed this little jewel in my mind to share.  To Me, it just makes sense.



So, what is the point I am trying to make?....It is just another "revelation" of the word.  Your thoughts?


Blessings on all!



Calabash