Western civilization is entering its final warfare before Armageddon. In this deliberate study of principalities and powers, we will expose the occult, revealing the doctrines, words, rites, eulogies, phrases, and definitions that demon worshippers use. The only intelligent way to interpret our times is through a biblical perspective.

Jesus prophesied that His church shall prevail. In Matthew 16:18, He said, "Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Today, the church must rise up to the greatest action of its entire history. We must deal with the effects and works of Satan out on the firing line, acquainting ourselves with what is happening in the world today. Involvement in things like Ouija boards or studying astrology and the zodiac can open the door to Satan. This grants him access to your life, resulting in unnatural occurrences because you have unwittingly opened a door to him. Therefore, understanding these lessons is vital to spiritual victory and power.

It matters little what mere men or even various denominations say about these issues; it is only what God says that truly matters. If we subject ourselves entirely to the Word of God, we will know how to act. If we stand on the Word of God, we stand on nothing but victory.

God knows the subject of principalities and powers intimately. He created the being we now know as Lucifer. God witnessed Lucifer as an archangel of praise and worship in heaven, and He saw him become a potentate of evil principalities and sinful powers. God is not ignorant of what is happening on earth, nor is He ignorant of the person carrying it out. We must listen to God speak from His seat of authority, because no human being can handle these supernatural forces alone. A significant percentage of people in asylums are not simply medically ill; they are possessed by evil. If they were set free by the Spirit of God, they would be completely normal.

Here is what God says regarding principalities and powers:

1. Jesus Christ is the Creator of All Power

Understanding how a power came to be reveals who can handle it. If a scientist creates atomic power, you do not send a butcher or a baker to operate it; you send the one who created it, who knows which button to push and how to control it. We are dealing with God's creation. God is the creator of all things through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Colossians 1:16 states: "For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him."

2. Christ is the Head of All Power

Not only is Christ the creator and the originator of all power, He is also its head.

• Colossians 2:10 says, "And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power."
• Ephesians 1:21 tells us that God elevated Christ "Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come."

If Christ is the head, and we are in Him, we have no reason to fear the tail. The world may not recognize the importance of the church, but the church operates under the authority of the one who governs all things.

3. Christ Destroyed the Devil's Power

Colossians 2:15 declares, "And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it." When Jesus descended into the heart of the earth, He defeated Satan. He stripped him of his authority, took the keys of death and hell, and emerged victorious in the resurrection. Because He has spoiled these principalities and powers, they are defeated and powerless against Him.

4. God Reveals Wisdom to the Church

Ephesians 3:10 says, "To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God." God locates these powers for us: they are in heavenly places. Furthermore, the truth about these principalities and powers is revealed to the church so that the church can make it known. The mass media will not teach people how to find salvation or spiritual freedom; that is the job of the body of Jesus Christ.

5. God Reveals the Believer's Position of Power

Romans 8:37-39 tells us: "Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

In every battle, we are more than conquerors. A conqueror is one who fights an equal force and wins. But the church is "more than a conqueror" because Jesus has already fought the battle and won the victory for us. We do not need to fear the present, the future, or any spiritual depth or height.

6. God Wants Believers to Understand These Principalities

God wants us to have a deep comprehension of these powers. The manifold wisdom of God is the deliverance of all mankind from the power of the devil. Imagine a world without the need for prisons or hospitals, where the staggering costs of sickness and crime are erased. Sickness and bondage are abnormal conditions frequently caused by spiritual forces we ought to be resisting. God’s wisdom dictates that we set prisoners free and help those whom the devil has oppressed.

7. God Provides the Armor

Ephesians 6:10 says, "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might." Our strength is not found in human organizations or committees; it is found directly in Jehovah God. When we need strength, we go straight to the Strong One.

8. God Wants the Believer to Know the Battle

Our major battle in life involves these unseen forces. The Apostle Paul lays this out in Ephesians 6:12: "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."

Consider how various translations illuminate the depth of this conflict:

• Weymouth Translation: "For ours is not a conflict with mere flesh and blood, but with the despotisms, the empires, the forces that control and govern this dark world—the spiritual hosts of evil arrayed against us in the heavenly warfare."
• Conybeare Translation: "For the adversaries with whom we wrestle are not flesh and blood, but they are the Principalities, the Powers, and the Sovereigns of this present darkness, the spirits of evil in the heavens."
• Moffatt Translation: "For we have to struggle, not with blood and flesh, but with the angelic Rulers, the angelic Authorities, the potentates of the dark present, the spirit-forces of evil in the heavenly sphere."
• Revised Standard Version: "For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."
• J.B. Phillips Translation: "For our fight is not against any physical enemy: it is against organizations and powers that are spiritual. We are up against the unseen power that controls this dark world, and spiritual agents from the very headquarters of evil."
• New English Bible: "For our fight is not against human foes, but against cosmic powers, against the authorities and potentates of this dark world, against the superhuman forces of evil in the heavens."

Until we see this picture clearly, we will not know how to successfully resist the devil. But when we understand our position, we can speak with authority from our spirit, and we cannot lose.