Title: 13
Author: Joe Griffin
Last saved by: PaulD
Company: GDC

The Church of the Living God

		08-12-17.FBC08-50 /

Theologians Who Support the Biblical Account of the Invisible War: Barnhouse, Walvoord, Zockler, Leupold, Larkin, Thieme; Common Reference: Eph 6:10-12

7.	We learn from Daniel that in this war, high-ranking angelic warriors contend for the souls of men and heavy emphasis is placed on capital cities of the world’s nations.  Insight on this from Donald Grey Barnhouse:
Calling Michael “your prince” would be obscure were it not for the fact that later in the same book we find it written that “At that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people …” (Daniel 12:1).  This would lead us to believe that Michael is God’s angel in charge of Jewish affairs upon the earth, and that since the Jews are chosen by God for special purposes Michael’s position is a very high one.    
The display of the forces of Satan, as recorded by Daniel, leads us to believe that the entire globe is organized under principalities, corresponding to earthly governments.  If there is a Prince of Persia and a Prince of Greece, we may not be astonished if there is a Prince of Russia or a Prince of India, a Prince of Britain and a Prince of the United States.  This is not mere conjecture for it is bluntly stated that earth government is in the hands of Satan.  Paul tells the Ephesian believers that it is necessary for them to be clad in the whole armor of God, “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” (Ephesians 6:12).  Satan may even have corporals in charge of municipal affairs.  (pp. 131-32)

Donald Grey Barnhouse, “Satan’s Organization,” in The Invisible War: The Panorama of the Continuing Conflict between Good and Evil (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1965), 131-32.

8.	Some theologians debate the claim that the prince of Persia is not a demon but rather the king of Persia.  Dr. John F. Walvoord disputes this in his book, Daniel: The Key to Prophetic Revelation, and in doing so, quotes supporting sources.  Here are two, the first from Otto Zöckler:
Zöckler refutes Calvin and others who understand the conflict of the angel as being with an earthly king rather than an angelic being.  Zöckler supports the idea that this is angelic warfare on the basis of the following considerations:
… (3) the idea of an angel’s conflict with a human king seems very inappropriate; (4) the angel Michael was Israel’s ‘prince,’ i.e., guardian angel, according to v. 21; chap. 12:1; and corresponding to this, the prince of Persia who is here noticed and the prince of Graecia mentioned in v. 20, were, without doubt, the angels of Persia and Javan \jā‑van\ [ /w*y* yawan: Greece ] respectively; (5) the idea of guardian angels over entire realms, whether friendly or hostile in their disposition toward the theocracy, is attested by various Old-Testament parallels.  (p. 246)

Otto Zöckler, “The Book of the Prophet Daniel,” in A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, ed. John Peter Lange, 1876 ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1960), 13:228.

Although the entire subject of the unseen struggle between the holy angels and the fallen angels is not clearly revealed in the Scriptures, from the rare glimpses which are afforded, as in this instance, it is plain that behind the political and social conditions of the world there is angelic influence—good on the part of the holy angels, evil on the part of the angels under satanic control.    This is the struggle to which Paul referred in Ephesians 6:10-18.  (p. 247)

John  F. Walvoord, “The Vision of the Glory of God,” in Daniel: The Key to Prophetic Revelation (Chicago: Moody Press, 1971), 246-47.

9.	The second supporting reference is that of Herbert C. Leupold and reads as follows:
Bad angels, called demons in the New Testament, are, without a doubt, referred to here [Daniel 10].  In the course of time, these demonic powers gained a very strong influence over certain nations and the government of these nations.  They became the controlling power.  They used whatever resources they could muster to hamper God’s work and to thwart His purposes.
We get a rare glimpse behind the scene of world history.  There are spiritual forces at work that are far in excess of what men who disregard revelation would suppose.  They struggle behind the struggles that are written on the pages of history.

Herbert Carl Leupold, Exposition of Daniel (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1949), 457-58.

From this we can learn that, behind the many details of prophecy relating to the history of this period, there is the unseen struggle between angelic forces that the will of God may be accomplished.

Walvoord, Daniel, 247-48.

10.	One final reference to the “unseen world” revealed by Daniel 10 is by Clarence Larkin:
Here [Daniel 10] the veil is lifted, and we are shown something of the workings of the “unseen world,” and of the connection between the “Spirit World” and the affairs of men and nations on the earth.  The Scriptures clearly teach that there is a “Kingdom of Darkness” over which Satan reigns as “king” (Matthew 12:24-30, and that his Kingdom is composed of “principalities,” “powers,” “age rulers of darkness,” and “wicked spirits.”  All this is revealed in Ephesians 6:12.  Satan is the “prince of the powers of the air” (Eph. 2:2), and the “god of this world.”  It was no false claim he made when he offered to give to Jesus the “Kingdoms of this world, and the glory of them.”  Matt. 4:8-9.
From this we see that Satan has his Kingdom organized in a wonderful manner.  It is divided into Kingdoms and Principalities.  These divisions correspond with the Kingdom divisions of our earth.  If Satan has a “Prince of Persia” and a “Prince of Grecia,” why not a Prince of every nation?  Satan has limitations.  He is not omnipresent, neither is he omnipotent or omniscient.  He has to depend upon his agents.  And so great and powerful are his “Princes” that it takes a supernatural being, like Michael the Archangel, to overcome them.

Clarence Larkin, “The Relation of Supernatural Beings to the Earth,” in The Book of Daniel (Glenside, PA: Rev. Clarence Larkin Estate, 1929), 224.

11.	The purpose of drawing from these several sources is to emphasize the general acceptance by theologians of the unseen world and the Invisible War.  Each of these men subscribe to the literal-grammatical-historical system of hermeneutics. 
12.	Each of these men reference Ephesians 6:10-12 as a key passage documenting the satanic table of organization that does battle on the Dark Side.
13.	The background for this passage finds Paul utilizing the Roman soldier’s uniform as a teaching aid to describe the believer’s defense against the “schemes of the devil.”  For a brief synopsis we consult R. B. Thieme, Jr.’s Satan and Demonism:
Paul proclaimed the “unfathomable riches of Christ” (Eph 3:8) when the eagle standards, plumed casques, and gleaming spears of the Roman legion dominated the landscape.  His contact with the Roman military was inevitable since he lived under the shadow of the world’s greatest military empire.  From the Mark Antony barracks in Jerusalem through his first imprisonment in Rome Paul was continually in the company of the warriors of Rome.  The combat equipment and weapons of the Roman soldier inspired the military metaphor of Ephesians 6:10-17.  Believers are commanded to put on the full armor of God like a soldier equipping himself for battle.  Just as the body armor protects the soldier against the slashes and thrusts of enemy weapons, divine armor protects the believer against demonic attack.

R. B. Thieme, Jr., “Defense against Demons: Defensive Armor,” in Satan and Demonism, 3d ed. (Houston: R. B. Thieme, Jr., Bible Ministries, 1996), 75.

14.	Here is the passage quoted from the New American Standard Bible with bracketed commentary on its key words:
Ephesians 6:10 -	Finally [ Toà loipÒj, tou loipos: “From now on” ], be strong [ ™ndunamÒw, endunamoō: strength from truth resident in the soul ] in the Lord in the strength [ kr£toj, kratos: manifest (easily understood) power of truth in the soul ] of His might [ „scÚj, ischus: functional (ability to execute) power of doctrine in the soul ].
v. 11 -	Put on [ constative aorist middle imperative of ™ndÚw, enduō: habitually keep yourself dressed to do battle ] the full armor [ panopl…a, panoplia: p£j, pas + Óplon, hoplon: “all weaponry,” i.e., full armor of the Roman hoplite: infantry soldier ] of God, so that [ purpose clause ] you will be able [ dÚnami, dumani: have the power ] to stand firm [ constative active infinitive of †sthmi, histēmi: the purpose is to advance to spiritual maturity and hold your ground ] against the schemes [ meqode…a, methodeia: strategy and tactics ] of the devil.
15.	Let’s note our corrected translation as we have it so far:
Ephesians 6:10 -	From now on, be strong in the Lord through the power of truth in the soul and of His power to execute.
v. 11 -	Habitually keep yourself dressed for battle as an infantry soldier of God, so that you will have the power to seize and hold your ground against the strategy and tactics of the devil.
NOTE:	The spiritual conflict is waged on an invisible battlefield, namely the believer’s soul.  The enemy’s artillery is thought which is fired at the soul both internally and externally.  The Scripture refers to the internal assaults as “futile speculations” in Romans 1:21 while the external attacks are called the “doctrines of demons” in 1 Timothy 4:1.
Spiritual conflict requires the soul be protected by spiritual weaponry.  Verse 10 stresses the requirement for the artillery of thought stored in the soul, while verse 11 stresses habitual Code-Red alertness to defend the soul against attacks both internally and externally.

© 2008 by Joe Griffin Media Ministries.  All rights reserved.	www.joegriffin.org