The Devil’s Ministry and Administration
in What is the devil? by Semuon
When the Devil was cast out of Heaven, his cohorts were cast out with him. Originally, the Devil was an archangel who ruled over hosts of angels under him. All the subservient angels simultaneously fell with the archangel. These angels are currently serving the Devil in this world. The Bible calls them “gods of this age” or “spirits of the world” (2 Cor. 4:4; 1 Cor. 2:12).
And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him (Rev. 12:7-9).
The spirits of the world were originally created as angels in Heaven, but they were all cast out when they fell. These spirits serve the prince of the power of the air, the Devil, to oppose God. The Bible mentions three groups of spirits that belong to the spirits of the world: spirit of false prophet, the spirit of antichrist, and the spirit of heresy.
The spirit of false prophet is the one that works in psychics, soothsayers, and other religions that offer false hope to the world (1 John 4:1). For example, Buddhism and Hinduism are examples of the works of this spirit. The spirit of antichrist is the one that directly opposes Christ, e.g. the Unification church, Satanic churches, etc. (1 John 4:3). Those who are of the spirit of antichrist use the Bible to manifest biblically similar operations and organizations in their cult. In America, satanic churches perform weddings in a similar way to Christian weddings. While pastors bless the couple in Jesus’ name, satanic priests also ‘bless’ the couple in Satan’s name. The spirit of antichrist blatantly opposes the churches of Christ.
The spirit of heresy is similar to the spirit of antichrist in that they both cause people to deny Jesus. A heretical church generally projects an image of Christianity, but its motive is not to lead people to Christ but back to the world. Jesus warned that the people of the spirit of heresy will deceive others and say, “Jesus is here,” or “Jesus is over there” (Matt. 24:23). People are easily tempted to follow such trends. However, Jesus strictly warned us not to adhere to those words.
The spirit of heresy offers a different way to salvation other than Jesus. Heresy is a doctrine that proclaims another jesus, gospel, or spirit other than what the Bible reveals.
The spirit of false prophet causes the world to fall into foolishness. The spirit of antichrist causes people to be enemies of Christ. The spirit of heresy deceives people. There are many other spirits in the world that we are not aware of but these are three main types of powers that confront our spiritual lives. The spirits of false prophet, the antichrist, and heresy used to be all angels. Unlike demons that inhabit people’s bodies, these fallen angels oppress people from the outside.
The spirit of antichrist, spirit of false prophet, and spirit of heresy are all fallen angels who are led by Satan himself. Satan is the chief leader that rules with an elaborate organization of these fallen angels. He is called, Beelzebub, which means that he is the chief captain. Under Satan are different ranks of angels who diligently protect and reinforce their positions.
If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? (Matt. 12:26).
The book of Revelation mentions “the synagogue of Satan,” which has an elaborate organization (Rev. 2:9; 3:9).
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places (Eph. 6:12).
Principalities shape or influence the ideologies and constitution of a nation. A communist state such as North Korea, whose ideologies deny the existence of God, persecute Christians through their laws and constitutions. Behind their state of affairs lies a great organization of these fallen angels. The archangel rules these angels. The angels rule over the people. The people rule over the nations; the nations shape the social culture. Overall, Satan is operating in the background every step of the way.
In certain countries, a born-again Christian must flee from his hometown. His own family can actually kill him for falling into apostasy. These people believe that killing an apostate is an act of devotion to their gods. I have been in those countries where people were in misery by oppression, poverty, and ignorance. I wept bitterly as I witnessed the oppression upon their lives. The blessings a nation experiences depends upon the principalities that influence that nation. Even today, Christianity is being oppressed by these principalities that work over the nations.
Powers are fallen angels that control the government and determine who becomes the president or the king. These spirits influence and control an individual (a king or president) to persecute Christians. Usually, he seizes the government and determines the fate of Christianity in that country. Thus, Christianity can experience revival or persecution according to the government. Principalities oppress Christianity on a national scale, but powers persecute Christians on a more targeted level. Powers can also work behind religious authorities. More specifically, they can work behind religious denominations to persecute other denominations.
Rulers of the darkness of this age are the fallen angels that lead people to idolatry and false religions. People who are under their influence become spiritually dull and paralyzed. The spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places are the deceiving spirits and demons that bring curses upon people.
In summary, principalities oppress the nations. Powers persecute the people. The rulers of the darkness spiritually paralyze the people. The spiritual hosts of wickedness bring curses upon the people. Some might be under oppression but not be persecuted. Some might go through persecution even in a country that is not under oppression. Some might be deceived by rulers of the darkness even in a country that enjoys religious freedom. Ironically, some might even live under curses even though they live in a wonderful country with no oppression or persecution. On the flipside, some can live in victory though they are in a country oppressed by ideologies. No matter the circumstances, the administration of the Devil is well advanced and unified for one purpose, to divide the relationship between God and man.
In many nations around the world, Christianity is being suppressed and oppressed. This is the result of the elaborate network of the Devil and his cohorts to disrupt God’s relationship with man.
Therefore, casting out demons is just the beginning; not all battles have been won. Though we overcome death by casting out demons, we can face death through the oppression of principalities. Our spiritual battle is not just overcoming an unclean spirit, but it is also a lifetime of wrestling against principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this age, and heavenly hosts of wickedness.
The Devil and his administration fight with everything they have.
Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time (Rev. 12:12).
Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea (Rev. 12:17, ESV).
In the English Standard Version of the Bible, “and he stood on the sand of the sea,” is included as part of the translation. This refers to the end of the world. In other words, the administration of the Devil will fight with the church of Christ to the end until Jesus returns. Therefore, it is important to note that not all problems are solved just with casting out demons.
Demons cannot enter into people’s bodies on their own. We will learn more about this issue later in the series, but demons do not have the strength or ability to enter into our bodies on their own. They need the assistance of the deceiving spirits to enter into the flesh. So there is always a reason why demons would enter into people’s bodies. To successfully cast out demons and keep them away, we need to thoroughly understand the Gospel and through it, obtain the power to victoriously eradicate the spirits of the world.
