The Hidden War

The Bible plainly talks about the hidden forces that drive and divide the nations of this earth.

Ephesians 6:12

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. 

There are 4 classes of spiritual forces mentioned in this verse:

• Principalities

• Powers

• The rulers of the darkness of this world

• Spiritual wickedness in high places

Each of these classes relate to something we commonly see:

• Principalities: Government - governmental structure, governing entities and bodies

• Powers: The Political - sphere of political influence and manipulation

• The rulers of the darkness of this world: overall corruption which starts with the spirit of pride and commonly manifests in moral and financial corruption

• Spiritual wickedness in high places: the religious world, false god worship and false religions

These 4 classes are also associated with the 4 directions upon the Earth: North, South, East and West. In scripture, 4 is always related to the Earth, i.e. the four winds of the earth, the four corners of the earth.

North: Spiritual wickedness in high places (false religion)

South: Rulers of the darkness of this world (corruption)

East: Principalities  (government and ruling bodies)

West: Powers (political influence)

Illustration #1

The United States is in the Western hemisphere and in the White House, the West Wing is from where the country is run. The West symbolizes political influence. For a season, the United States of America has been allowed to be the largest political influence in the world, but I believe that season is coming to an end. Notice that the East Wing of the White House was destroyed, symbolizing the tearing down of the government and a diminishing of the power it wields on the world stage. With a diminished government, the political reign ends. 

The Driving Force

The systems of this world operate by political influence (powers) that are based in governmental systems and ruling bodies (principalities) which are driven by corruption (the rulers of the darkness of this world) which has its foundations in false religion (spiritual wickedness in high places). The bottom line is that behind every government is a false religion. Let that marinate for a moment. This statement may sound confusing at first because many nations claim to be atheistic or agnostic, but that in and of itself is a false religion. Satan is an imitator, so even when it seems there is no religion, there will always be a belief system based on a central source from which comes a structure or set of rules that adherents must follow. In essence, this is a religion!

Illustration #2:

For those of you who know something about eschatology, the Bible talks about a future world leader that it calls the Antichrist and the Beast. The Beast is always mentioned with someone called the False Prophet. Now that you have learned that false religion is the driving force behind nations, you can more easily see why there must be a False Prophet who rules with the Beast.

A Christian Nation?

Since I touched on eschatology in that last example, the Bible also says that the only nation that will be redeemed is Israel. True believers in Christ have been called out from among nations. We are known as the Church which is derived from the word “ecclesia” which means “called out”. I point this out to say that there is no "Christian nation" upon the face of this earth no matter how many times they say it to convince themselves or other people. The United States has never been a Christian nation nor will it ever be. Why? Because of the principalities that reign over it and the spiritual wickedness which drives it. I won’t enumerate them in this writing but just look at and truly understand the formation of this nation and its Westward expansion. The persecuted who fled other nations became the persecutors in the new land. 

Summary

The whole point of this article is so that we take our focus off of what certain individuals are saying and doing and begin to understand what is driving those individuals behind the scenes. There is a hidden war in the spiritual realm and all of it is in fulfillment of what God said in His Word. So, there is no need to fear or worry. There is no need to be stressed or angry, just trust God!