Believers and Spiritual Attacks
Lesson # 4
Principalities, Rulers of Darkness, and Demonic Host

  1. Who is the Enemy?
    • 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. Ephesians 6:12 NKJV

  2. Satan’s kingdom of darkness:
    • Jesus admitted that Satan had a kingdom—Matthew 12:25-26.

    • Satan declared that the kingdoms of this world were under his spiritual control through his kingdom of darkness and Jesus did not correct him — Luke 4:5-8.

    • The enemy has an army of fallen angels and they have spiritual confrontations with the Lord’s army commanded by the archangel Michael — Revelation 12:7; Daniel10:13, 21.
    • After the battle of Revelation 12:7, the devil and his angels are cast out of heaven and sent to earth and the tribulation time begins—Revelation 12:7-17.
    • The Lord Jesus declared at Gethsemane that He could ask the Father to send to His assistance twelve legions of angels, but He did not do it because all that was written about Him needed to be fulfilled—Matthew 26:52-53.

  3. The work of the demonic on the earth:
    • Demonic possession can cause a person to act out of control, as we can read about the Gadarene demoniac whom people tried to restrain by putting chains and shackles on him, but he broke them and he was driven naked into the wilderness — Luke 8:27-33.
    • He was possessed by a multitude of demons called Legion — Luke 8:30.
    • After Jesus cast out the demons, the man acted normal and he even wanted to follow Jesus, but Jesus told him to stay in his area and tell his story — Luke 8:35-39.
    • Jesus explained how unclean spirits work together to possess a person and they can come in as a group to indwell a person — Luke 11:24-26.
    • Mary Magdalene had seven demons cast out of her and after her deliverance she followed Jesus faithfully to the end — Luke 8:1-2; John 20:11-18.
    • King Saul had a demonic spirit that would come and possess him and one time when David was playing the harp for him, Saul cast a spear at David trying to kill him, but David escaped — 1 Samuel 18:9-11.
    • At the time of Jesus, there were many groups of people around the area of Israel that worshiped idols and participated in demonic rituals where they came to be possessed by demons. Many of these people seemed to have moved into the area of Israel and these demon-possessed people were the ones Jesus encountered as He went throughout the land.

  4. Demon possession today:
    • Today, throughout the world, there are many societies that practice religions which are controlled by demonic spirits: witchcraft, devil worshipping, Santeria, Voodoo, and others in Africa, Central and South America, India, the islands, and many other places in the world. Demonic rituals are part of these religions and those who participate in their rituals open themselves to demon possession.

  5. Born-again Christian believers and demonic possession:
    • When a person is born-again, his sins are forgiven and washed with the blood of Jesus.
    • The Holy Spirit comes into that person’s spirit and changes it from death to life—Jesus gives eternal life to the believer and HE seals the believer’s spirit with the Holy Spirit. A demonic spirit cannot come in to indwell born-again believer’s spirit because it is sealed with His Holy Spirit.
    • A born-again believer cannot be demon-possessed. If he/she is demon-possessed then that person was never saved. The Spirit of God and an unclean spirit of the devil cannot both indwell a person.