Territorial spirits are national angels, or

demons A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, anime ...

, who rule over certain geographical areas in the world, a concept accepted within the

Charismatic movement The charismatic movement in Christianity is a movement within established or mainstream Christian denominations to adopt beliefs and practices of Charismatic Christianity with an emphasis on baptism with the Holy Spirit, and the use of sp ...

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestantism, Protestant Charismatic Christianity, Charismatic Christian movementKingdom Now theology. This belief has been popularized by the novel, '' This Present Darkness'' by Frank Peretti, as well as by the ministry of Peter Wagner. The existence of territorial spirits is viewed as significant in spiritual warfare within these Christian groups.

Biblical context

Deuteronomy 32:8-9

In both the

Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond t ...

and the

Dead Sea Scrolls The Dead Sea Scrolls (also the Qumran Caves Scrolls) are ancient Jewish and Hebrew religious manuscripts discovered between 1946 and 1956 at the Qumran Caves in what was then Mandatory Palestine, near Ein Feshkha in the West Bank, on the ...

Deuteronomy Deuteronomy ( grc, Δευτερονόμιον, Deuteronómion, second law) is the fifth and last book of the Torah (in Judaism), where it is called (Hebrew: hbo, , Dəḇārīm, hewords Moses.html"_;"title="f_Moses">f_Moseslabel=none)_and_th ...

32:8-9 refers to a time when God divided the nations of the earth among the "

sons of God Sons of God ( he, בְנֵי־הָאֱלֹהִים, Bənē hāʾĔlōhīm, literally: "sons of the Elohim") is a phrase used in the Tanakh or Old Testament and in Christian Apocrypha. The phrase is also used in Kabbalah where ''bene elohim'' ...

" (Israel is excepted as the special possession of God Himself.) Given the meaning of this phrase in the

Book of Job The Book of Job (; hbo, אִיּוֹב, ʾIyyōḇ), or simply Job, is a book found in the Ketuvim ("Writings") section of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh), and is the first of the Poetic Books in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. Scholars a ...

, it is suggested that this is a reference to the origin of territorial spirits who were, at one time, angels administering the earth on God's behalf. Wagner appeals to F. F. Bruce, who points out that the Septuagint reading "implies that the administration of various nations has been parcelled out among a corresponding number of angelic powers." The question remains, however, as to whether these spirits are malevolent.

Psalm 82

Psalm 82 speaks of "

elohim ''Elohim'' (: ), the plural of (), is a Hebrew word meaning "gods". Although the word is plural, in the Hebrew Bible it usually takes a singular verb and refers to a single deity, particularly (but not always) the God of Israel. At other times ...

" who are "sons of the most High" and are assigned to judge mankind until dying like men or "falling like one of the princes". Psalm 58 covers similar ground.

Daniel 10

Daniel Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength"), ...

10 concerns the visitation of a man "His body was like topaz, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude" to the prophet

. This man explains to Daniel that he was delayed by the "Prince of Persia" (10:13), but was helped by "Michael, one of the chief princes" (a reference to the

Michael the Archangel Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...

, who was recognized in Jewish literature to be a chief angel guarding over Israel). Later in the chapter, the man warns Daniel that soon the "Prince of Greece" (10:20) will join his Persian counterpart to make war upon them. Wagner regards this chapter as a key passage supporting the existence of territorial spirits, and appeals to Keil and

Delitzsch Delitzsch (; Slavic: ''delč'' or ''delcz'' for hill) is a town in Saxony in Germany, 20 km north of Leipzig and 30 km east of Halle (Saale). With 24,850 inhabitants at the end of 2015, it is the largest town in the district of Nordsa ...

, who suggest that the "prince of Persia" is the "guardian spirit of the kingdom."Wagner, Confronting the Powers, 173. George Otis says that Daniel 10 is "a well-defined case of an evil spiritual being ruling over an area with explicitly defined boundaries." David E. Stevens notes that many scholars take the Prince of Persia to be an earthly political authority, such as

Cambyses II Cambyses II ( peo, 𐎣𐎲𐎢𐎪𐎡𐎹 ''Kabūjiya'') was the second King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire from 530 to 522 BC. He was the son and successor of Cyrus the Great () and his mother was Cassandane. Before his accession, Cambyse ...

. Stevens personally accepts the angelic interpretation, but argues that the "influence exerted by these angelic princes is personal and sociopolitical in nature and not territorial." Stevens notes that in Daniel 12:1, Michael the Archangel, is described as "the great prince who protects your people" ( NIV), which "emphasizes the protective role of Michael in relation to the people of God rather than with respect to a given territory. Michael remained the guardian angel of the people of God, whether Israel was in the Promised Land or was dispersed in exile among the nations."

Criticism

Melvin Tinker argues that the literary use of ''territorial'' spirits is a

misnomer A misnomer is a name that is incorrectly or unsuitably applied. Misnomers often arise because something was named long before its correct nature was known, or because an earlier form of something has been replaced by a later form to which the name ...

, since spirits referred to in various Biblical passages "are to be more associated with political and religious power and ideologies." Scholars such as Robert Priest, Paul Hiebert and A. Scott Moreau detect

animist Animism (from Latin: ' meaning 'breath, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all things— animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather systems ...

ideas in the arguments of supporters of the theory of territorial spirits. Robert Guelich of Fuller Theological Seminary does not find the concept of territorial spirits within the

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

s, and has analyzed this problem in a critical review of

Frank E. Peretti Frank Edward Peretti (born January 13, 1951) is a '' New York Times'' best-selling author of Christian fiction, whose novels primarily focus on the supernatural. , his works have sold over 15 million copies worldwide. He has been described by the ...

's novel '' This Present Darkness''. Peter Wagner promotes "Strategic-Level Spiritual Warfare" (SLSW) which involves the practice of learning the names and assignments of demonic spirits as the first step to effective spiritual warfare. Opponents of this theological construct, and associated beliefs in "spiritual warfare", point out that while the Bible may describe some form of demonic control over geography, it does not prescribe many of the behaviors and teachings that proponents advocate in response. There is no mention in either the Hebrew Bible or the New Testament of believers banding together and praying a form of "spiritual warfare" against particular territorial demons. The battles occurring in the spiritual realms (as described in Daniel 10) have no Biblically identified link to the actions and prayers of God's people in the physical world.See Leanne Payne
"Spiritual Mapping: A Misguided Focus on the Demonic"
/ref>

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

* Gross, Edward N. ''Miracles, Demons and Spiritual Warfare: An Urgent Call for Discernment'' (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1990). * Hiebert, Paul G. "Biblical Perspectives on Spiritual Warfare," in ''Anthropological Reflections on Missiological Issues'' (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1994), pp. 203–215. * Moreau, A Scott. "Religious Borrowing as a Two-Way Street: An introduction to animistic tendencies in the Euro-North American context," in ''Christianity and the Religions'', Edward Rommen and Harold Netland, eds. (Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1995), pp. 166–183. * Priest, Robert J. Thomas Campbell and Bradford A. Mullen, "Missiological Syncretism: The New Animistic Paradigm," in ''Spiritual Power and Missions'', Edward Rommem, ed., (Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1995), pp. 143–168. * Wagner, C. Peter and F. Melvin Prick Tickler, eds., ''Wrestling With Dark Angels'' (Ventura: Regal, 1990) * Wagner, C. Peter. ''Breaking Strongholds in Your City'' (Ventura: Regal, 1993).

External links

Apologetics Index (Contra)Spiritual Warfare - Discipleship ModelDeuteronomy 32:8-9 and the sons of God
{{Book of Daniel Spiritual warfare Charismatic and Pentecostal Christianity Demons in Christianity Tutelary deities