Pre-Article Disclaimer for Newer Readers: If you are reading this blog for the first time or are not totally familiar with my work, I am a 100% Christian writer who analyzes things from a Christian point of view. I sometimes research into what the spiritual forces of evil are up to in hopes of gleaning information to help us Christians figure out what is going on or to figure out what Satan has planned. You can read more about why I dare consider these unbiblical sources at the following link Now on to the article...
Last night I listened to part of an interview with L.A. Marzulli on Coast to Coast A.M. about various topics relating to spiritual warfare. At one point in the interview Marzulli referenced the struggle recorded in the Book of Daniel between an angel and “the prince of Persia” as a case study in the ongoing spiritual warfare. Marzulli expressed the thought that evil spiritual beings might have assigned locations where they operate out of to resist the activities of good spiritual beings.
Today I want to address the theory that evil spiritual beings have assigned locations in which they operate out of. First I begin with an overview of Daniel 10, including some implications we can infer from the text. After reviewing Daniel 10, I’ll share/summarize what an author the spiritual forces of evil used said in regards to the idea that evil spiritual beings have assigned locations in which they operate out of.
Daniel 10 begins with Daniel mourning for three weeks after receiving a revelation.
- Dan 10:1 In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing was true, but the time appointed was long: and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision.
- Dan 10:2 In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks.
- Dan 10:3 I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.
Three weeks later an angel finally appeared to Daniel to give him understanding. The angel explained to Daniel that he was delayed by the “prince of the kingdom of Persia” for three weeks. The angel also mentioned that he required help of the archangel Michael (Jude 1:9) to overcome the delay.
- Dan 10:11 And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling.
- Dan 10:12 Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.
- Dan 10:13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.
Interestingly, the angel mentioned to Daniel that he would return to fight with the “prince of Persia” and then encounter the “prince of Greece”.
- Dan 10:20 Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come.
- Dan 10:21 But I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince.
There are some implications that we can draw from Daniel 10:
1. The angel called the individual who delayed him the “prince of the kingdom of Persia” and the “prince of Persia”. It’s unlikely that the “prince of Persia” is human because humans unlikely have the ability to delay an angel for three weeks. The archangel Michael is referred to as a “chief prince” in Daniel 10:13 (also 10:21) so the title “prince” unlikely refers to the title given to a human in this context. Therefore, it’s likely that the entity that delayed the angel for three weeks was an evil spiritual being.
2. The angel specified that the entity he faced was the “prince of Persia” and the entity he would face was the “prince of Greece”. The angel distinguished these two spiritual entities by location in which they operated from. This implies that there are evil spiritual entities assigned to operate out of specific locations.
3. The detail that the “prince of Persia” managed to delay the angel for three weeks and required the help of the archangel Michael suggests that this evil spiritual being/”prince of Persia” was a fairly strong one. Daniel lived under Persian control at the time so perhaps the “prince of Persia” was focused on preventing the angel from visiting Daniel since such a visitation would occur in his “jurisdiction”.
4. The angel mentioned to Daniel that he would return to fight with “the prince of Persia”. This suggests there was some sort of spiritual battle going on in the Persian empire at the time.
I referenced the “prince of Persia” as an example of a “ruler of darkness” in my detailed analysis of Ephesians 6:12, I posited that the title “rulers of darkness” best described evil spiritual beings who preside over a specific location.
- Eph 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.
One author that the spiritual forces of evil used did have something to say about the idea that spiritual beings are assigned to operate out of specific locations. New Age author Alice Bailey, who worked under the direction of an Ascended Master named Djwhal Khul (a type of spiritual being mentioned in Ephesians 6:12 as the “spiritual wickedness in high places”), claimed that there were Ascended Masters specifically assigned to certain areas of the world, such as Europe, India, and America, to serve as “regents” of these locations.[1] Bailey also alleged that these (evil) entities sought to control the governments of the locations they were assigned to by impressing and inspiring countries’ statesmen and rulers and impacting governing groups.[2]
Whether you believe Bailey is a usable source to cite or not with regards to trying to understand what the spiritual forces of evil are up to, her statement does not refute the notion that the spiritual forces of evil have wicked spiritual beings assigned to certain locations. However, we don’t need Bailey’s words, a highly fallible source, to support the idea that evil spiritual beings are assigned to operate at specific locations because the Bible, an infallible source, appears to contain evidence to support the idea.
Feel free to comment if you think I’m misinterpreting Daniel 10 and the Bible does not support such an idea. I’m not perfect so if you provide evidence that I’m wrong I’ll take appropriate steps to correct for my errors.
References
[1] Bailey, Alice. Initiation, Human, and Solar. New York: Lucis Trust: 1922 46
[2] Ibid 46.
