Teaching is a sacred qualification in the ministry. God has set in the church apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers (Ephesians 4:11) to speak His Word with authority and discernment.

In this lesson, based on Lesson 9 of our syllabus (page 27), we will study the Areas of Demon Domination. It is a historical fact that the devil's influence can dominate and destroy entire empires and nations. For example, Revelation 18:2 states: "Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit."

In Isaiah 14:12, God addresses Lucifer: "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!" The scope of demonic domination is vast. Looking upon Satan after his defeat, Isaiah 14:16-17 asks: "Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof?"

Having visited Europe just after World War II, including the beaches of Normandy, I have seen physical devastation that turned cities into a wilderness. But the driving force behind such destruction is spiritual.

Historical and modern examples illustrate how demonic forces dominate nations:

• Napoleon Bonaparte: While historians saw a military genius conquering Europe, God saw Lucifer inspiring a little man to make the earth tremble through unnecessary war and bloodshed.
• Alexander the Great: Historians recorded his military genius, but he was driven by a demonic urge to conquer, kill, and exalt himself. He died in a drunken orgy at the age of 33, weeping because there were no more worlds to conquer.
• Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini: In modern times, these dictators made boastful statements of world domination. Mussolini once declared, "I would shake hands with the devil if he would give me the desires of my heart" (which was conquest). He aligned with Hitler and met a shameful end, being hung upside down and kicked to pieces by his own people. Italy has suffered political instability ever since.
• Ancient Babylon: Much of the world's witchcraft was born and distributed from Babylon to lead people to worship Lucifer. Isaiah 13:19-22 prophesied its total destruction, decreeing it would remain an uninhabited wilderness.

God warned Israel to keep these spiritual influences out of their land. In Exodus 22:18, Moses was commanded: "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live." In 1 Chronicles 10:13, we read that God removed Saul from his kingdom and he died because he transgressed by consulting a medium.

In my travels, I have felt these national spiritual atmospheres:

• Indonesia: A beautiful country, yet heavily bound by witchcraft, with more witch doctors than medical doctors.
• Singapore: Pagan temples abound, where worshipers are forced to pay homage and give offerings to a local spiritual ruler named "Pa" before they are permitted to worship elsewhere.
• Tibet: A mountainous region where the devil has held supremacy for ages through witchcraft and gurus.
• Russia and Siberia: Traveling 5,000 miles across the Soviet Union, I felt a heavy, depressing atmosphere of atheism. The people lived in a constant state of spiritual gloom because the nation was under demonic oppression.

During the Great Tribulation, global satanic worship will culminate. Revelation 13:4 states: "And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?"

Demonic Domination of Cities

If the devil cannot control a country, he seeks to dominate a city. In Revelation 2:13, Jesus addresses the church in Pergamos: "I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith... where Satan dwelleth." Satan set up his headquarters and throne in that city.

Parents should be careful where they raise their children. A wicked city environment can expose children to demonic influences, whereas a simpler, rural environment can foster holiness and peace.

Throughout history, specific spirits have dominated cities:

• Babylon: Dominated by a sorcerous spirit that even hindered Daniel's prayers from being answered (Daniel 10:20).
• Sodom and Gomorrah: These cities gave themselves over to the sin of sodomy, where men abandoned natural relationships to make love to men. This perversion became so dominant that God wiped the cities out with fire.
• Modern Cities: Every city has a distinct spiritual personality. The spiritual atmosphere of New York City (a center of global commerce and world government) is vastly different from Hollywood, Las Vegas, or Paris. A pastor of a large church in New York once told me that he could feel a heavy, oppressing spirit lift off him the moment he traveled 20 miles out of the city, and feel it return as his plane landed.

To take a city for God, we must follow Jesus' instruction in Matthew 12:29: we must first bind the "strong man" (the ruling spirit of that area) before we can rescue his victims and set them free.