Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 08093 In Ephesians 2:2, Paul describes the spiritual condition of unbelievers before conversion, stating that they “followed the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience.” The title “prince of the power of the air” is applied…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 08094 Ezekiel 28 contains a remarkable passage that moves beyond the human prince of Tyre to describe a figure of extraordinary beauty, wisdom, and original exaltation who was present in Eden and is called a “covering cherub.” Who is this figure, and what does the passage reveal about the origin and fall of Satan?…
Reading Time: 3 minutesQuestion 08091 The phrase “powers and principalities” appears in several New Testament passages and has become almost a shorthand in Christian vocabulary for the unseen spiritual forces at work in the world. But what does the language actually mean, and what does it tell us about the organisation and activity of the spiritual realm? The…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 08092 Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4:4 that “the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.” The phrase “god of this world” is a startling title, and it raises immediate questions. In what sense is…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 08090 In Daniel 10, the prophet receives a vision and is told by an angelic messenger that his arrival was delayed for twenty-one days because “the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me” (Daniel 10:13). This “prince of Persia” is not a human ruler. He is a powerful spiritual being capable of opposing…
Reading Time: 3 minutesQuestion 08086 Few passages in the New Testament have generated as much interpretive debate as 1 Peter 3:19, where Peter writes that Christ “went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison.” Who are these spirits? Where is the prison? And what was proclaimed to them? The answers to these questions have divided commentators for centuries,…
Reading Time: 3 minutesQuestion 08082 When John describes an angel descending from heaven with “a great chain in his hand” to bind Satan for a thousand years, the image is striking and has generated considerable discussion. What does this chain represent, and should we understand it as a literal, physical restraint placed on a spiritual being? The Vision…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 08132 The concept of “familial spirits” or “familiar spirits” appears in several English translations of the Old Testament and has generated significant discussion in both scholarly and popular Christian contexts. Understanding what the biblical text actually describes, as distinct from what later tradition or contemporary spiritual warfare teaching has made of the concept, is…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 08128 The question of whether demons can perform miracles touches on something that matters deeply for discernment in the life of the church. If the answer is a straightforward no, then the supernatural becomes a reliable indicator of divine activity. If the answer is more nuanced, as Scripture suggests it is, then believers need…
Reading Time: 4 minutesQuestion 08141 Few pastoral situations require more care than the moment a church member approaches their pastor and says, “An angel spoke to me.” The claim touches on deeply held convictions about the supernatural, personal experience, and spiritual authority, and handling it badly can damage the person, the congregation, or both. Getting it right requires…