Saturday, June 10, 2006

The Prince of the Power of the Air

And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. (Ephesians 2:1-3).
The power of the air refers to the realm of demonic spirits. They have no more place in heaven, having fallen when they rebelled, along with satan, against Almighty God. As disembodied spirits, they have no place on earth, unless they can find a body to inhabit. (The Greek word sometimes translated as “demon possessed,” is daimonizomai, and is better understood as demonized, that is, having a demon.)

All that is left for them is the region between heaven and earth. So Paul refers to it as the power of the air, the atmosphere that surrounds. The Greek word for “air” is aer. A. T. Robertson notes that, Aer was used by the ancients for the lower and denser atmosphere and aither [ether] for the higher and rarer.”

The Greek word for “power” here is exousia, the same word used in Ephesians 1:21, where God seated Christ in the heavenlies, “far above all principality, power, might and dominon, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in that which is to come.” The word for “prince” here is closely related to the word for “principality,” and they both refer to a ruler.

Who is this evil prince? It is the one of whom Jesus said,
Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. (John 12:31)

I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me. (John 14:30)

The ruler of this world is judged. (John 16:11)
In 2 Corinthians 4:4, Paul refers to him as “the god of this age,” and he is none other than satan. He has been judged and cast down, for though he tried to destroy the mission of the Lord Jesus Christ, Jesus has defeated him instead. For Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8) and heal all who are oppressed by him (Acts 10:38).

The Lord Jesus Christ also sent out His disciples with divine authority to do the same:
Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” And He said to them, “I saw satan fall like lightning from heaven.” (Luke 10:18).
Soon this fallen prince and his demons will not even have the lower atmosphere for their habitation.
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)
Then it will be that “the devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Revelation 20:10).

The prince of the power of the air may have once held powerful influence in your life when you were dead in trespasses and sins, but if you know the Lord Jesus Christ, God has made you alive with Christ. The works of the devil have been destroyed, and that destruction is now in the process of being enforced upon him. Soon he will not even have a platform from which to propagate his lies and accusations, but will be cast into the depths of hell.

4 comments:

  1. Anonymous9:25 AM

    Thank you . . . may God continue to bless you as you bless the Kingdom.

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  2. Anonymous2:24 PM

    When the word "aer" is given this meaning it requires a different meaning being given it when Paul says he does not battle the air. But,
    if the word "aer" is understood to mean our personal "circumstances" then not battling the aer is the same as being content in whatever state I am in and means the same as "resist not evil." We meet the Lord in our circum- stances and there we remain with him. Our relationship with the Lord is spiritual. Christ is in us. The kingdom is in us, and comes not with the seeing of the physical eye.

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  3. Anonymous9:21 PM

    I Praise God for web sites like these and the powerful info it gives. What an awesome time we live in God is yet in control even when things are out of control.I give God the glory for the kingdom is in us and He has given us all power over the enemy we are to operate like the KING!!!!!.

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