I N THE LAST FEW CHAPTERS WE’VE DEVOTED ATTENTION TO THE INAUGURATION of the kingdom of God. Yahweh’s plan to revive the Edenic program was launched as part of his new covenant plan to become man to ensure success where Israel had failed. Yahweh’s good rule would overspread the globe as originally intended.
It would be a mistake, however, to presume that the gods of the nations would not resist—or that they saw such resistance as pointless. This is not the view of the spiritual world the New Testament presents to us.
Though originally given their dominions by Yahweh, the lesser elohim had governed corruptly and had not maintained loyalty to the Most High. Instead, they embraced the worship that should have gone only to Yahweh (Deut 17:3; 29:25).
Although Yahweh told these elohim that they would die like men (Psa 82:6–8)—that he would strip them of their immortality—there is no indication that the threat tempered opposition to Yahweh. The New Testament makes it clear that, once the powers of darkness understood that they had been duped by the crucifixion and resurrection, there was a sense that the timetable of their judgment had been set in motion (Rev 12:12).
The judgment against the elohim in the divine council meeting of Psalm 82 had been linked to the repossession of the nations (Psa 82:8; “Rise up, O God, judge the earth, because you shall inherit all the nations”). So long as that could be forestalled and opposed, the struggle would continue. And since Yahweh had linked that repossession to human participation, the forces of darkness had good reason to suppose that they could drag on the long war against Yahweh. Yahweh had lived among his people in the days of Moses and the monarchy, and they had been lured away from him.
The New Testament describes a spiritual struggle in the unseen world in the wake of the inauguration of the kingdom of God. Understanding the portrayal of the conflict and its correlation with the Old Testament divine council worldview is the goal of this chapter.
THE UNSEEN COMBATANTS: General Terminology
We saw earlier that the Hebrew Bible uses the term elohim to speak of any inhabitant of the spiritual world. The word itself provides no differentiation among beings within that realm, though hierarchy is certainly present. Yahweh, for example, is an elohim , but no other elohim is Yahweh. Nevertheless, the term elohim tells us very little about how an ancient reader would have parsed the pecking order of the unseen realm. The same is true of certain Greek terms that are used in the New Testament. 1
When the subject of spiritual warfare surfaces, most students of Scripture think of angels and demons. Those terms are very broad and don’t shed a great deal of light on how New Testament writers thought of rank and power in the unseen world.
There are roughly 175 references to angels in the New Testament ( aggelos/angelos ). Like the Hebrew counterpart ( malʾak ), the term means “messenger.” Fundamentally, the term describes a task performed by a divine being, not what a divine being is . 2
The use of the term angelos increased in the Second Temple period on through the New Testament so that its meaning became more generic, akin to daimonion . 3 That is, it can be found on occasion outside the context of delivering a message in descriptions of a group of divine beings (e.g., Luke 15:10).
This widening of the term’s semantics is shown in Hebrews 1:4–5; 2:7–9. In the second of these passages, the word angelos is used when the writer quotes Psalm 8:4–6, so that Hebrews 2:7 describes humankind as being “a little lower than the angels,” whereas the Hebrew text of Psalm 8:5 has humanity being “a little lower than elohim .” While the original Hebrew text could mean that humankind was created “a little lower than God [ elohim ],” the Greek translation that the writer of Hebrews is using (the Septuagint) interpreted elohim as plural, and translated the word with angeloi (“angels”). This shows us that angelos had become a word deemed appropriate to generally describe a member of the supernatural realm, just as elohim is used in the Old Testament. 4
The two Greek terms translated “demon” in the New Testament are daimōn and daimonion . Our word “demon” is actually a transliteration of the Greek, not a translation. In classical Greek literature, which preceded the time of the New Testament, the term daimōn describes any divine being without regard to its nature (good or evil). A daimōn can be a god or goddesss, some lesser divine power, or the spirit of the departed human dead. 5 As such, it is akin to Hebrew elohim in its generic meaning.
The New Testament is silent on the origin of demons. 6 There is no passage that describes a primeval rebellion before Eden where angels fell from grace and became demons. The origin of demons in Jewish texts outside the Bible (such as 1 Enoch) is attributed to the events of Genesis 6:1–4. When a Nephilim was killed in these texts, its disembodied spirit was considered a demon. These demons then roamed the earth to harass humans. The New Testament does not explicitly embrace this belief, though there are traces of the notion, such as demon possession of humans (implying the effort to be re-embodied).
Not surprisingly, in the New Testament, the terms daimōn and daimonion are nearly always used negatively. 7 That is, they refer to evil, sinister powers. 8 This is likely due to the use of the terms in the Septuagint, though the influence of Second Temple Judaism may be a factor. The Septuagint translators use daimōn once (Isa 65:11) of a foreign god. 9 Daimonion occurs nine times to refer to idols (e.g., Psa 96:5 [Septuagint: 95:5]) and foreign gods of the nations whom Israel was not to worship (e.g., Psa 91:6 [Septuagint: 90:6]). 10
In the New Testament, the verb equivalents to these nouns ( daimonao, daimonizomai ) refer to being possessed by a daimōn and are always negative. Daimonion occurs in parallel to “unclean spirit” in several passages (e.g., Luke 8:29; 9:42; cf. Luke 4:33).
Oddly enough, only one verse in the Bible mentions Satan and demons together: “So if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I expel demons by Beelzebul” (Luke 11:18). The verse strongly implies that Satan has authority over demons, but does not make it clear that all demons are under his authority or how this authority emerged. The Old Testament is silent on the matter since the noun saṭan was not a proper name and was not used of the enemy in the garden. 11
OBSERVATIONS ON PAUL’S VOCABULARY
The same ambiguity concerning the relationship between Satan and other divine beings hostile to God is found in Paul’s writings. Since Paul mentions standing against the tactics of the devil in the same breath as a listing of other terms for supernatural enemies, Ephesians 6:11–12 informs us there is a relationship, but doesn’t describe it in any specific way.
Similar passages that many Bible readers presume are clear in this regard are actually not. For example, 2 Corinthians 4:4 refers to “the god of this age” who has blinded humanity. Nearly all scholars identify this figure as Satan, but the name doesn’t occur in the verse or the context. 12 Additionally, the phrase “god of this age” may refer to God himself. It is possible that the verse draws on Isaiah 6:9–10 (Septuagint), where it is God who has blinded the eyes of those who don’t believe. 13
Ephesians 2:2 speaks of “the prince of the power of the air” ( ESV ), another verse associated with Satan—and which, upon closer examination, does not include any reference to the name or the devil.
It is difficult to know precisely what Paul was thinking here. Recall our earlier discussion of the original rebel of Genesis 3 who was cast down to “earth” (Hebrew: ʾerets , a term that can refer to the ground or Sheol). It would be understandable to see that particular divine rebel as lord (first in rebellion and thus authority) of earth. This lordship could even extend to the “air” (the heavens), since that space was considered in ancient Israelite cosmology to be beneath God’s domain, which was above the waters of the earth (Job 22:13; Amos 9:6; Pss 29:10; 148:4). 14
However, if Paul was thinking more in terms of Graeco-Roman cosmology, this explanation fails since the air was “the region below the moon and above the earth.” 15 The idea of Paul’s using a Graeco-Roman backdrop for this phrase may get support from Paul’s use of another term elsewhere: stoicheia . That Greek lemma can refer to one of four things: (1) basic principles of religious teaching (e.g., law); (2) rudimentary substances of the physical world; (3) astral deities (astrological myths); (4) spiritual beings in general. 16 Since this term is strongly rooted in Graeco-Roman cosmological thinking, it may be that Paul’s reference to the “air” back in Ephesians is as well. 17
PAUL AND THE DEUTERONOMY 32 WORLDVIEW
Paul’s writings reveal an awareness of the cosmic-geographical worldview that we’ve been discussing at length in this book.
One instance of daimonion in the Septuagint is particularly noteworthy as we begin exploring Paul’s language. The term is used in Deuteronomy 32:17 to translate the “demons” (Hebrew: shedim ), who are called elohim in that same verse, who had seduced the Israelites. 18 The reference is important in light of Paul’s warning about fellowshiping with demons ( daimonion ) in 1 Corinthians 10:20–21 by eating meat sacrificed to idols. In that passage Paul quotes Deuteronomy 32:17. The clear implication is that Paul considered these beings real and dangerous. 19 This is why, in his earlier discussion of the issue of eating such meat, he acknowledged that there were other gods ( theoi ) and lords among people who did not belong to Yahweh and Jesus (1 Cor 8:1–6). 20 Paul was well aware of the divine council worldview that had the nations under lesser elohim and considered them a threat to believers, as they had been to Israel.
Taking Paul’s comments in both 1 Corinthians 8 and 10 together (the subject matter is the same) helps us see that, for Paul, there was an overlap between the words daimonion and theos (“god”). 21 The word theos was used of high-ranking spiritual beings who had authority both in pantheons and geographical domains on earth. The word theos , then, has some conceptual overlap with those divine beings who were set over the nations.
The apostle’s vocabulary elsewhere makes it clear that he understood and presumed the Deuteronomy 32 worldview: 22
•“rulers” ( archontōn or archōn )
•“principalities” ( archē )
•“powers”/“authorities” ( exousia )
•“powers” ( dynamis )
•“dominions”/“lords” ( kyrios )
•“thrones” ( thronos ) 23
•“world rulers” ( kosmokratōr )
These lemmas have something in common—they were used both in the New Testament and other Greek literature to denote geographical domain authority . At times these terms are used of humans, but several instances demonstrate that Paul had spiritual beings in mind. We’ll briefly survey Paul’s terminology.
One of the Old Testament passages we looked at in addition to Deuteronomy 32:8–9 to understand Yahweh’s decision to put the nations under the authority of lesser gods was Daniel 10 . In that passage we saw that there were divine beings over the nations, called “princes” ( sar/sarim ) by Daniel, and that the Septuagint refers to Michael as one of the chief archontōn or archōn , depending on the manuscript evidence. 24
Ephesians 6:12 includes a number of the lemmas listed above: “Our struggle is not against blood and flesh, but against the rulers [ archē ], against the authorities [ exousia ], against the world rulers [ kosmokratōr ] of this darkness, against the spiritual forces [ pneumatikos ] of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
Paul refers to these hostile beings in the unseen realm earlier in Ephesians. He wrote that God raised Jesus from the dead and “seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above every ruler [ archē ] and authority [ exousia ] and power [ dynamis ] and dominion [ kyrios ]” (Eph 1:20–21 ESV ). 25 It was only after Christ had risen that God’s plan was “made known to the rulers [ archē ] and authorities [ exousia ] in the heavenly places” (Eph 3:10 ESV ). These cosmic forces are the “rulers [ archē ] and authorities [ exousia ]” disarmed and put to shame by the cross (Col 2:15). Had those “rulers” [ archōntōn ] known that the death of the messiah was necessary for God’s plan to succeed, they never would have crucified Jesus (1 Cor 2:8). 26
The reference to “dominion” in Ephesians 1:21 ( kyrios ; plural: kuriotēs ) is related to the word Paul uses to describe how unbelievers have many gods ( theoi ) and “lords” ( kurioi ), but for the believer there is only one God, Yahweh, and one Lord, Jesus (1 Cor 8:5). These gods and lords are considered real by Paul and are a threat to believers (1 Cor 10:20–21).
The picture that thus emerges from the New Testament has points of both clarity and ambiguity. 27
It is clear that Satan is leader of at least some of the powers of darkness. As the original rebel, he likely ranked first (or worst) in terms of example in the minds of ancient readers. The fact that he is the one who confronted Jesus in the desert, an account we considered earlier, and offered Jesus the kingdoms of the world suggests as much. The lack of a clearly delineated hierarchy leaves the possibility that there are competing agendas in the unseen world, even where there exists the common goal of opposition to Yahweh and his people. 28
A second point of relative clarity is that Paul grasped the Deuteronomy 32 worldview. This should be no surprise given Paul’s command of the Old Testament. The world in which the newly inaugurated kingdom of God was now spreading was one dominated by invisible divine powers transparently described in the vocabulary of geographical rulership. We are not told how the terms relate to each other or precisely what they signify in a hierarchy, but the message of cosmic geography is plainly telegraphed.
THE “GLORIOUS ONES” IN PETER AND JUDE
Second Peter 2:10 and Jude 8 refer to the “glorious ones” ( doksas ). The term probably refers to divine beings of the council close to God’s glorious presence, since Second Temple period texts describe such beings. 29 These passages in 2 Peter and Jude speak of (human) blasphemers who rail against the glorious ones. The 2 Peter passage adds the note that angels, though greater than those human blasphemers, would not dare to do such a thing. The wording suggests some distinction between angels and “glorious ones” in rank (and perhaps power). For example, 2 Enoch 21:3 identifies Gabriel, widely described as an archangel in biblical and other Second Temple period texts, as one of “the glorious ones of the Lord.” 30
Recall that, in terms of the divine council hierarchy of the Old Testament, “angels” would denote a low-level task or job description (transmitting a message as a messenger), as opposed to ruling over a geographical region, something assigned to “sons of God” in the Deuteronomy 32 worldview. In other words, in the spiritual world, just as in the human world, while divine beings (save for the unique Yahweh) are all of the same “species,” some have higher rank than others. The “household” metaphor discussed in chapter 3 is illustrative. While a pharaoh’s administration might number thousands, there was nevertheless an inner circle of individuals that had greater access, status, and delegated power. Hence “glorious ones” are likely named because of closer access to God’s glory.
SACRED SPACE AND REALM DISTINCTION
The New Testament portrays the Christian life—even the very Christian existence —as prompting a spiritual turf war. But we often don’t pick up on the messaging.
Sacred space and realm distinction are not just Old Testament concepts. We talked at length about these two concepts in earlier chapters in regard to the Israelite tabernacle and the temple. But New Testament language about them takes the reader in fascinating directions. Believe it or not, you are sacred space .
Paul in particular refers to the believer as the place where God now tabernacles—we are the temple of God, both individually and corporately. This is most transparently seen in English translations in two passages where Paul tells the Corinthians, “You are God’s temple” (1 Cor 3:16), and, “Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor 6:19). The former speaks of the church corporately as the temple; the latter focuses on each believer individually. 31 Paul also relays the same message:
19 Consequently, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens of the saints [lit.: holy ones] and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are built up together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit (Eph 2:19–22).
We are the place where God dwells—the same presence that filled the temple in the Old Testament.
The same concept is less obvious in other passages. For example, while most Christians will have heard of the tabernacle, most never discern that Paul transfers the language of the tabernacle to the believer to make the specific point that the same presence that oriented holy ground in Israel’s camp indwells the believer. In 2 Corinthians the apostle writes:
1 For we know that if our earthly house, the tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made by hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For indeed, in this house we groan, because we desire to put on our dwelling from heaven (2 Cor 5:1–2).
Paul compares the believer’s body—which he had called God’s temple in his first letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor 6:19)—to a tent . The Greek word translated “tent” is skēnos , a term closely related to skēnē , the term used in 2 Corinthians 5:1–4 of Israel’s tabernacle, and which is used in the Septuagint for the tabernacle (e.g., Exod 29:4).
The implications are startling. We have all likely heard the verse where Jesus says, “Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there in the midst of them” (Matt 18:20). But put in the context of this other New Testament language, which in turn is informed by the Old Testament imagery of the tabernacle and temple, it means that wherever believers are and gather, the spiritual ground they occupy is sanctified amid the powers of darkness.
If we could see with spiritual eyes, we would see a world of darkness peppered with the lights of Yahweh’s presence, spreading out to meet each other, inexorably pressing and spreading out to take back the ground of the disinherited nations from the enemy. Of course we would also see those lights surrounded by darkness.
The imagery requires perspective. At one time, not long ago, there was one light, meandering its way through the domains of hostile gods. That light nearly went out, scattered to all parts of the known world in tiny embers. But then another solitary, but great, light shone in darkness (Isa 60:1; Matt 4:16). That light would turn the darkness into light (Isa 42:16), and the nations would be drawn to it (Isa 60:1–3).
The New Testament portrayal of the spiritual war doesn’t hide the task from the reader. The people of God, in whom is the Name, the presence of Yahweh, are surrounded, as they have been before. The apostles understood that but were not faint of heart. There would be no surrender of holy ground in the midst of darkness. Some of the things they taught early believers to observe in fact commemorated the unseen conflict raging around them. Everyone had to choose a side.