The apostle Peter understood true, biblical spiritual warfare. Never in his epistles did he instruct Christians to pull down principalities and powers over cities. He did, however, instruct them to resist Satan’s attacks against their personal lives, and he told them exactly how they should resist:

Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world (1 Pet. 5:8-9).

Notice first that Peter indicated our position is one of defense, not offense. Satan is the one who is prowling around, not us. He is looking for us; we’re not looking for him. Our job is not to attack but to resist.

Second, notice that Satan, like a lion, is seeking someone to devour. How could he possibly devour Christians? Did Peter mean that Satan could literally eat their flesh like a lion would? Obviously not. The only way Satan could devour a Christian is to deceive him into believing a lie that destroys his faith.

Third, notice Peter tells us to resist the devil through our faith. Our struggle is not a physical battle, and we can’t fight Satan by swinging our fists in the air. He attacks us with lies, and we resist those lies by standing firm in our faith in God’s Word. That, again, is scriptural spiritual warfare.

The Christians to whom Peter was writing were suffering some severe persecution, and thus were being tempted to renounce their faith in Christ. It is often when we are in the midst of adverse circumstances that Satan will attack with his doubts and lies. That is the time to stand firm in your faith. That is the “evil day” of which Paul wrote when you need to “put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil (Eph. 6:11, emphasis added).

And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Eph. 6:17).

Salvation, as the Bible describes it, includes our deliverance from Satan’s captivity. God has “delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son” (Col. 1:13). Knowing this is like having a helmet that guards our minds from believing Satan’s lie that we are still under his dominion. Satan is no longer our master—Jesus is.

Additionally, we are to take “the sword of the Spirit” which, as Paul explains, is figurative for the Word of God. As I already mentioned, Jesus was the perfect example of a spiritual warrior who skillfully wielded His spiritual sword. During His temptation in the wilderness He responded to Satan each time by quoting directly from God’s Word. So too, if we are to defeat the devil in spiritual combat, we must know and believe what God has said, lest we fall for his lies.

Also notice that Jesus used “the sword of the Spirit” defensively. Some like to point out, to those of us who maintain that the armor of which Paul wrote is primarily defensive, that a sword is definitely an offensive weapon. Thus, with a very weak argument, they try to justify their theory that this passage in Ephesians 6:10-12 is applicable to our supposed responsibility to offensively “pull down strongholds” of evil spirits in the heavenly places.

Obviously, from reading Paul’s own reason why Christians should put on God’s armor (that they may “stand firm against the schemes of the devil”), we know that he is speaking primarily of a defensive use of the armor. Additionally, although a sword can be thought of as an offensive weapon, it can also be thought of as defensive, as it blocks and protects from the thrusts of the opponent’s sword.

Moreover, we must be careful that we don’t strain the entire metaphor, as we attempt to wrench from the various pieces of armor significance that really doesn’t exist. When we begin to argue about the defensive and offensive nature of a sword, we are very likely “pushing the parable too far” as we carve into pieces a simple metaphor that was never meant to be so dissected.

Moreover, it is an assumption on our part to think that there are ruling spirits that specialize in specific sins. The whole concept of there being “spirits of greed,” “spirits of lust,” “religious spirits,” “spirits of strife,” and so on, cannot be supported by Scripture, much less the idea that those different kinds of spirits exist in the higher ranks of evil spirits who rule the kingdom of darkness.

Amazing as it is to those who have never studied the four Gospels closely, there are only three specific kinds of demons that Jesus cast out: Once a “dumb demon” is mentioned (Luke 11:14), once we read of a “deaf and dumb spirit” (Mark 9:25), and more than once we find reference to “unclean spirits,” which seem to include all demons that Jesus exorcised, including even the “deaf and dumb” one (see Mark 9:25).

Is it not possible that the “deaf and dumb spirit” was able to do something other than make someone deaf and dumb? There is no doubt it could, because it caused the boy of Mark 9 to have terrible seizures as well. Therefore “deaf and dumb” may not be a reference to the specific type of spirit it was but rather a simple reference as to how it was harming a certain individual. Some of us have become “category-crazy” when it comes to demons, going way beyond biblical revelation.

In the entire Old Testament, the only specific spirits that are named that could perhaps be considered specific evil spirits are a “deceiving spirit” (1 Kings 22:22-23), a “spirit of distortion” (Is. 19:14), and a “spirit of harlotry” (Hos. 4:12; 5:4). In regard to the first and the second, certainly all evil spirits could be referred to as “deceiving spirits” and “spirits of distortion.” In regard to the third, the phrase “spirit of harlotry” is not necessarily a reference to a specific evil spirit, but simply a prevailing attitude.^[1]

In the whole book of Acts, the only time a specific evil spirit is mentioned is in Acts 16:16, where we read about a young girl who had a “spirit of divination.” And in all the epistles, the only kind of specific evil spirits that are mentioned are “deceitful spirits” (1 Tim. 4:1) which, again, could be a description of any evil spirit.

In light of the few references to specific kinds of demons in the Bible, it is amazing to read through some of the modern lists which contain hundreds of various kinds of demons that might inhabit people or control cities.

We should not assume there is any categorization, by specific sin, of any higher ranks of evil spirits. It is an assumption to say, “Because there is so much gambling in that city, there must be gambling spirits over it.”

^[1] The “spirit of jealousy” spoken of in Numbers 5:14-30 and the “spirit of haughtiness” of Proverbs 16:18 are good examples of the word spirit being used to convey a certain kind of predominant attitude, rather than an actual demon. In Numbers 14:24 we read that Caleb had a “different spirit,” which is obviously referring to Caleb’s good attitude.

The whole of idea of “generational curses” is derived from four passages of Scripture found in the Old Testament that all say essentially the same thing. They are Exodus 20:5; 34:7; Numbers 14:8 and Deuteronomy 5:9. Let’s consider Numbers 14:18:

The Lord is slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generations (emphasis added).

How are we to interpret this passage of Scripture? Does it mean that God will put a curse on or punish someone for the sins of his parents, grandparents, great grandparents, or great, great grandparents? Are we to believe that God might forgive someone of his sins when he believes in Jesus but then punish that same person for his great-grandparents’ sins?

Absolutely not, otherwise God could rightfully be accused of being grossly unjust and hypocritical. He Himself has stated that punishing someone for his parents’ sins would be morally wrong:

“Yet you [the Israelites] say, ‘Why should the son not bear the punishment for the father’s iniquity?’ [God responds:] When the son has practiced justice and righteousness, and has observed all My statutes and done them, he shall surely live. The person who sins will die. The son will not bear the punishment for the father’s iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son’s iniquity; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself” (Ezek. 18:19-20, emphasis added).

Moreover, under the Law of Moses, God commanded that neither father nor son should bear the punishment for the sins of the other:

Fathers shall not be put to death for their sons, nor shall sons be put to death for their fathers; everyone shall be put to death for his own sin (Deut. 24:16).

There is no possibility that a God of love and righteousness might curse or punish someone for his ancestor’s sins.^[1] So then what does Scripture mean when it says that God will “by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generations”?

It can only mean that God holds people responsible for the sinful example they set in front of their offspring, and He thus holds them partly responsible for the sins their offspring commit because of their influence. God holds people partly responsible, because of their evil influence, for the sins of their great grandchildren! That is how holy God is. And no one can say that He is unfair in doing so.

Notice that the passage under consideration states that God will “visit the iniquity of the fathers on the children.” It is the iniquity of fathers on their children that is being visited.

Thus, the whole idea of “generational curses” is a superstition, and a bad one at that, as it makes God appear unrighteous.

^[1] This is not to say that children don’t suffer because of their parents’ sins, because they often do. When they do, however, it is not an indication that God is punishing those children for their parents’ sins, but an indication that people are so evil that they practice certain sins that they know will cause their own children to suffer. It is also clear from Scripture that God may mercifully withhold judgment on one individual that He may later pour out upon a subsequent and equally- or more-deserving offspring. Similarly, He might mercifully withhold His judgment upon a wicked generation yet pour it out upon a subsequent and equally- or more-deserving generation (see Jer. 16:11-12). That is much different than punishing a person for his grandparents’ sins.

Is it possible to have some satanic curse upon us because of past involvement in the occult?

We must not forget that when we are born again, we are delivered from Satan’s power and the kingdom of darkness (see Acts 26:18; Col. 1:13). Satan no longer has any hold on us unless we give it to him. Although the Bible indicates that the Ephesian Christians were heavily involved in practicing magic before their conversion (see Acts 19:18-19), there is no record of Paul breaking any “Satanic curses” or binding Satan’s power over them after they were born again. The reason is because they were automatically set free from Satan’s dominion the moment they first believed in Jesus.

Additionally, when Paul wrote to the Ephesian Christians, he gave no instructions regarding setting anyone free from generational or satanic curses. All he told them was “do not give the devil an opportunity” (Eph. 4:27), and to “put on the full armor of God” that they might “be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil” (Eph. 6:11). Those are every Christian’s responsibilities.

But why, in some cases, have Christians apparently been helped when someone broke a “generational” or “satanic curse” over them? Possibly because the individual who needed help had faith that the devil would flee once the “curse” was broken. Faith is what puts the devil on the run, and every Christian can and should have faith that when he resists the devil, the devil will flee. There is no need, however, to call in a “deliverance specialist” in order to send Satan running.

Finally, the Bible tells us that Christ “became a curse for us,” and in so doing, “redeemed us from the curse of the Law” (Gal 3:13, emphasis added). All of us were formerly under God’s curse because we had sinned, but since Jesus bore our punishment, we have been released from that curse. Praise God! No longer cursed, we can rejoice that we have now been blessed “with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Eph. 1:3).

This myth is based upon several ideas that cannot be supported by Scripture. One such idea is that territorial spirits stay around for a long time. That is, the ones that lived over a region hundreds of years ago are supposedly the ones still there. Thus, if we find that a city was founded by greedy people, we can then conclude that there are spirits of greed dominating the city today. If the city was once an old Indian village, we can conclude that spirits of shamanism and witchcraft dominate the city today. And on and on it goes.

But is it true that the same evil principalities and powers that lived over a geographical area hundreds of years ago are still there today? Perhaps, but not necessarily.

Consider the story we’ve previously considered from the tenth chapter of the book of Daniel. The unnamed angel who was assisted by Michael to fight “the prince of Persia” said to Daniel, “I shall now return to fight against the prince of Persia; so I am going forth, and behold, the prince of Greece is about to come” (Dan. 10:20, emphasis added). History tells us that the Persian Empire fell to the Greeks through the conquests of Alexander the Great. Yet this unnamed angel was aware of imminent corresponding changes in the spiritual realm, the “prince of Greece” was coming.

When the prince of Greece did come, did he rule in the spiritual realm over the Greek Empire just as the prince of Persia ruled in the spiritual realm over the Persian Empire? That would seem to be a reasonable conclusion, and if so, then some high-ranking evil spirits changed geographical locations, as the Greek Empire included practically all the territory of the Persian Empire. When there are political changes on earth, there is a possibility that there are changes in the kingdom of darkness. The fact is, however, that we just don’t know unless God would reveal it to us.

Regardless, it makes little difference what particular evil spirits are ruling over any given geographical area, as there is nothing we can do about it through “spiritual warfare,” as proven earlier.

The driving motivation for many Christians who are heavily involved in doing spiritual warfare against territorial spirits is their desire to see God’s kingdom expanded. For this they are to be commended. Every Christian should desire to see more people escape from Satan’s grasp.

It is important, however, that we use God’s methods to build God’s kingdom. God knows what works and what is a waste of time. He has told us exactly what our responsibilities are in regard to the expansion of His kingdom. To think we can do something not found in Scripture that will multiply the effectiveness of our evangelism, something that Jesus, Peter, or Paul never practiced in their ministries, is foolish.

Why do so many Christians think that spiritual warfare can open the door to effective evangelism? Their line of reasoning usually sounds something like this: “Satan has blinded the minds of unsaved people. We must therefore do spiritual warfare against Satan to stop him from blinding them. Once the blinders are removed, more people will believe the gospel.” Is this true?

There is certainly no doubt that Satan has blinded the minds of unsaved people. Paul wrote:

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God (2 Cor. 4:3-4).

The question is, Did Paul give this piece of information to the Corinthian Christians with the intent of motivating them to do spiritual warfare and pull down territorial spirits so that unsaved people would become more receptive?

The answer is No for several obvious reasons.

First, because Paul did not go on to say, “Therefore Corinthians, because Satan has blinded the minds of unbelievers, I want you to do spiritual warfare and pull down territorial spirits so those blinders will be removed.” Rather, the very next thing he mentioned was his preaching of Christ, which is the way that spiritual blindness is removed.

Second, in none of his letters did Paul instruct any believers to be involved in pulling down strongholds over their cities that evangelistic results might increase.

Third, we know from reading all of Paul’s letters that he did not believe Satan’s blinding was the primary reason why unbelievers remained unbelieving. Satan’s blinding is a contributing factor, but not the main or only factor. The primary factor that keeps people unsaved is the hardness of their hearts. This is obvious for the simple reason that Satan is not able to keep everyone blinded. Some people, when they hear the truth, believe it, and thus reject any lies they formerly believed. It is not so much Satan’s blinding that causes their unbelief, as it is their unbelief that allows Satan’s blinding.

It is true that when a Christian sins, it may be because he has yielded to temptation from an evil spirit. Yielding to the suggestion of an evil spirit, however, does not mean that the evil spirit himself is then able to come inside the believer. When we sin as Christians, we break our fellowship with God because we have disobeyed Him (see 1 John 1:5-6). We feel guilty. We have not, however, broken our relationship with Him, as we are still His children.

If we confess our sins, “He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Then our fellowship with Him is restored. Notice John did not say that we needed to be cleansed from any indwelling demons when we are guilty of sin.

Every Christian is faced with daily temptations from the world, the flesh and the devil. Paul wrote that we do indeed have a struggle against various evil spirits (see Eph 6:12). Therefore, to some degree, every believer is harassed by demon spirits. That is normal, and it is our responsibility to resist the devil and demons by faith in God’s Word (see 1 Pet. 5:8-9). When we believe and act upon what God has said, that is resisting the devil.

For example, if Satan brings thoughts of depression, we should think on a scripture that counteracts depression, and obey God’s Word to “rejoice always” (1 Thes. 5:16) and “give thanks in everything” (1 Thes. 5:18). It is our responsibility to act upon God’s Word and replace Satan’s thoughts with God’s thoughts.

We must recognize that as free moral agents, we can think about whatever we want to think. If a believer continually chooses to listen and yield to the suggestions of evil spirits, he can certainly open his mind to being oppressed, which is simply a state of being more receptive to and more dominated by wrong thoughts. If he chooses to yield even more, he could become obsessed with a certain kind of wrong thinking, which is very rare for a Christian, but can occur. Yet even then, if the obsessed Christian desires to be free, all he needs to do is determine to think about and yield to God’s Words and resist the devil.

But could he ever become possessed? Only if he willfully decided, from his heart, without being pressured, to reject Christ and turn his back upon Him completely. Then, of course, he would no longer be a Christian^[1] and thus potentially could become possessed—if he yielded himself all the more to the evil spirit that was oppressing him. But that is a far cry from the idea of opening the door for an evil spirit to inhabit you through committing one sin.

It is a fact that there is not a single example in the New Testament of any Christian being possessed by a demon. Nor is there any warning addressed to Christians about the dangerous possibility of their being inhabited by demons. Nor is there any instruction regarding how to cast out demons from fellow-Christians.

The truth is that as Christians, we don’t need demons cast out of us—what we need is to have our minds renewed upon the Word of God. That is scriptural. Paul wrote:

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect (Rom. 12:2).

Once our minds have been cleansed of old thinking patterns and been renewed with the truth of God’s Word, we gain victory over sinful habits and live in a consistent Christ-like manner. The truth is what sets us free (John 8:32). We are transformed as we renew our minds, not as we have all the demons exorcised.

Why then are there so many Christians who testify that they have had a demon (or demons) cast out of them? One possibility is that they just imagined that they had a demon in them that has since been cast out. Many Christians are gullible and lack knowledge of God’s Word, and so they are easy prey for “ministers of deliverance” who psychologically manipulate people into thinking they have demons. Once people are convinced they have a demon living in them, they will naturally cooperate with anyone who appears confident of his ability to exorcise the demon.

Another real possibility is that such people who have had demons cast of out them were not true believers in Christ at the time of their deliverance, even though they thought they were believers. The modern gospel, which stands in stark contrast to the biblical gospel, has deceived many into thinking they are Christians even though they are indistinguishable from non-Christians and Jesus is not their Lord. In Scripture, we find that when people believed the gospel and were born again, demons that lived in them automatically came out (see Acts 8:5-7). Demons can’t possess people who are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit indwells all people who are born again.

^[1] Those who hold to the position of “once saved, always saved” will no doubt disagree. I would encourage them to read Rom. 11:22; 1 Cor. 15:1-2; Phil. 3:18-19; Col. 1:21-23 and Heb. 3:12-14, paying special attention to the word “if” whenever it is found.

We continue this chapter by considering additional erroneous but popular teachings regarding Satan and spiritual warfare. At the conclusion, we will consider what Scripture actually says in regard to spiritual warfare that every believer should practice.

There is, according to Scripture, no doubt that Satan rules over a hierarchy of evil spirits who inhabit the earth’s atmosphere and who assist him in ruling the kingdom of darkness. That those evil spirits are “territorial,” ruling over certain geographical areas, is a concept that is also contained in the Bible (see Dan. 10:13, 20-21; Mark 5:9-10). That Christians have the authority to cast demons out of other people and the responsibility to resist the devil is scriptural (see Mark 16:17; Jas. 4:7; 1 Pet. 5:8-9). But can Christians pull down evil spirits over cities? The answer is that they can’t, and to attempt to do so is a waste of their time.

Just because we can cast demons out of people, we should not assume that we can pull down evil spirits over cities. There are numerous examples of casting demons out of people in the Gospels and the book of Acts, but can you think of even one example in the Gospels or the book of Acts where someone pulled down an evil spirit that was ruling over a city or geographical area? You can’t because there are no such examples. Can you think of one instruction anywhere in the epistles about our responsibility to pull down evil spirits from the atmosphere? No, because there are none. For this reason, we have no biblical basis to believe that we can or should be waging “spiritual warfare” against evil spirits in the atmosphere.