I love those type of videos that show how unity, intercession, and prayer change whole communities. I could watch them again and again. Seeing football stadiums full of believers praying and interceding for their city and nation has me grabbing the tissues every time. However, it seems like many of them include Christians stating that they believe taking down “territorial spirits” was part of the spiritual warfare necessary to kick off the revival. They discuss the long meetings they had, asking God to reveal these spirits, so they could be bound, broken, or cast down. Only once that demon was removed, could true transformation begin.
The real question is, all these amazing personal stories aside, is there any Scriptural basis for territorial spirits and this step of warfare? The main passage I have seen used in support of this teaching is in Daniel 10. Daniel is praying and interceding for the Jews, fasting for over three weeks straight. Suddenly, he is visited by a divine being and receives a powerful vision. Some argue whether this is an angel or a theophany. It would seem to be an angel, as he later says that the “Prince of Persia withstood me” and he had to have help from Michael. I don’t think God (or Jesus if this was a Christophany) need any help from another angel to defeat anything. The angel then proceeds to reveal to Daniel the battles that will take place between two parts of the Greek Empire over the land of Israel. The main point to Daniel is that though empires will battle, rise and fall, God’s kingdom will remain and He will save and protect His people.
Who is the “Prince of Persia”, and who is the “Prince of Greece” that the angel must go and fight later? Since Michael and the one speaking are clearly angels (see Jude 1:9 and Rev. 12:7 for more on Michael), some say it is obvious that the Prince of Greece and Persia are angels as well. Since they are fighting God’s angels, they must be fallen angels that we call demons. First, it is not absolute that these two figures are demons at all. Throughout Daniel, God reveals how He is working among the human kings of the earth; for example, chapter 4 Nebuchadnezzar “wrestles” with God and ends up mooing like a cow until he humbles himself. In chapter 6, Belteshazzar blasphemes against God, and is judged that very night. It is very possible that the Prince of Persia and Greece are referring to the actual kings (such as Cyrus and Alexander) that God will use to bring about His own plan.
Second, even if we say that these two are demons, the whole teaching of territorial spirits does not follow. It is God’s angels who are fighting against these demons, not Daniel. Daniel is only shown what is taking place in the spiritual realm, he is not asked to “join in” and help them battle these princes. Also, since nothing much is said about them, it is not wise to build a whole teaching that whole nations, cities, or territories have demons that rule over them and their power must be broken before revival can begin. The main point of this passage is that God hears the intercession of His people, He is in control of kings and empires no matter what it looks like, and God will ultimately save and protect His people. The spiritual warfare is shown to Daniel so that he understands that there is so much going on in the spiritual realm that he is clueless about. God sends His angels to fight on our behalf!
The other passage I have seen used for this teaching is Deuteronomy 32:8-9. The context of this passage is the prophetic song of Moses which lays out Israel’s rebellion against God, their judgment, and God’s eventual vindication of His people. In verses 8 and 9, God is wanting Israel to see that although He created all nations, He gave Israel a special place and blessing. In talking about the other nations, God says, “When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind he fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of Israel.” I put that phrase in bold because in the Septuagint (Greek OT) and the Dead Sea Scrolls it reads “sons of God” instead of “Israel” as in the Masoretic text (Hebrew text that is foundation of our OT). Some say that sons of God is the most attested and should be used (ESV does).
What does this have to do with territorial spirits??? Sons of God is a phrase used in the OT to talk about angels (see Job 1:6). If “sons of God” is the correct reading, some say that this shows that God established nations according to the number of angels. Some angels rebelled with Satan, thereby becoming demons. The position God gave them over a nation or territory was turned to evil. The first problem is that Genesis 6 also uses this phrase “sons of God”, and there is argument whether it is referring to angels or the godly line of Seth (men). The next problem is that there is manuscript disagreement, and it is always dangerous to build a teaching based on one disputed passage. Finally, even if this was about angels, there is no instruction for Israel to “battle” against these demons, nor is there is evidence that these angels were ones who rebelled against God.
The bottom line is that the answer to the question, “are there territorial spirits?” is yes and no. Yes, because demons can only be in one place at a time. They are not God having the power of omnipresence. As in the story of Legion, the demons were in the man, the pigs, and then somewhere else (the pit?). In that sense, a demon is in a certain place or territory. The answer is no in that the complex teaching that has evolved about fighting territorial spirits simply doesn’t have the backing in Scripture. As we discussed before, our experience or interviews with demons are not a reliable enough source to base doctrine on.
The warning I leave you with is that the teaching of territorial spirits does have a lot of backing, the problem is that it is from idolatrous religions and animism. God is constantly reminding Israel in the OT, that He is not a territorial god like the false gods of the pagan nations (see Ezekiel 1 for a beautiful picture of this). The thing that worries me is that this teaching seems to give more power to demons and creates possible fear and glory for Satan that he doesn’t deserve. Satan would love for us to think that there is complicated process of steps we have to do to defeat him. It is just way too easy to cast out demons in Jesus name and preach the Gospel.
The Bible Nerd 