Everything Is Spiritual

The spiritual world has a hierarchy. In the Bible, we read about archangels and angels. Archangels have more authority, perform more critical tasks, and assist other angels when they cannot complete the job. The demon side also has a rank structure. Ephesians 6:12, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

Angels are assigned to individuals, at least children. In speaking about children in Matthew 18, Jesus says in verse ten, “Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.”

Demons can influence and even possess people (live inside of them), so they are also, for lack of a better term, assigned to people. We also know from Daniel, chapter ten, that demons are assigned to specific areas of land and nations. Angels do not possess people. The Holy Spirit of God lives inside the believer.

Daniel 10 provides us with valuable insights into the unseen activities of angels and demons.

Daniel is in deep sorrow. He is on his twenty-first day of prayer and fasting; Daniel is seeking answers from God. Daniel sees a vision. Those who were with him did not see what Daniel saw, as it was invisible to them. They ran away in fear. Daniel is left alone.

An angel comes to Daniel to answer his prayer. The angel explains to Daniel that he was dispatched to Daniel when Daniel began to pray twenty-one days ago. However, the angel was met by “the prince of the kingdom of Persia” (Daniel 10:13). This is not a human prince, but rather the demon that Satan, in his hierarchy of demons, has placed over the land of Persia. This angel could not overpower this demon alone. Michael, the archangel, comes to his rescue. With Michael’s help, the angel can get to Daniel to answer his prayer.

Spiritual battles are going on all around us.

In the New Testament, we are told to “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Maybe this is why. What would have happened if Daniel had stopped praying on day nineteen or day twelve? What would have happened if Daniel had prayed a quick two-minute prayer, like so many Christians do? Would the angel have continued to fight the demon to get the prayer answered? Would Michael have jumped into the fray to help him?

Do Christians consider that demons are activated when we pray? Do we realize we are in a spiritual battle, or are we so self-serving and caught up in the physical world that we only think of God answering our prayers, never considering that forces of darkness can hinder our spiritual influence?

Do we forget that everything is spiritual?

By saying everything is spiritual, I am not implying that there is no material world. What I am saying is that spiritual forces drive the material world. God has a plan. He has outlined it in His Word. The rapture, the tribulation period, the rise of the Antichrist, the second coming of Christ, Jesus’ one-thousand-year reign, and eternity are coming. There is nothing anyone or anything can do to stop it.

Everyone is part of God’s plan. True, the average Joe may not influence world events to the same extent as a king or president. Still, the average Joe does influence eternal events. Our own decision about Christ determines our eternal living status (heaven or hell), and we can also affect other people’s eternal choices.

There have been numerous developments in the world recently. The bombing of Iran, Israel’s wars, a war ending in Africa, record-setting floods in China, the list goes on. We think of what politicians do as political. We think of weather, good or bad, as the forces of nature. This is only partially correct. It is all spiritual. Demons and angels are involved in these events just as much, if not more than the people directly involved.

Persia changed its name to Iran in 1935. If Daniel 10 were written today instead of 500 B.C. Daniel 10:13 would start, “But the prince of the nation of Iran withstood me…”

With Iran’s desire to wipe Israel and all Jews off the map, with her desire to “kill the infidel,” with the dozens of executions of their own people since the American bombing, we can see that the prince of the kingdom of Persia is still at work. Death and destruction are Satan’s and his demon’s mode of operation.

God, who knows the beginning from the end, knows every event, from the falling of the sparrow to world wars. He knows how an individual will act. He knows what a nation will do. All of it, from our everyday mundane acts to history-changing events, is part of God’s plan. Everything is leading up to His return and eternity.

It is all spiritual. Christians need to start thinking Godly instead of worldly and seeing things through God’s perspective instead of the world’s.