This seems to be the primary and most basic meaning of “principalities and powers.” These spiritual beings are active in the world of human experience and culture-not in some mystical or magical or superstitious sense, as in paganism, but more directly, as forces which influence human behavior. But we have enough to make it clear that they do really exist and are part of our current reality. Again, we don’t have extensive biblical revelation about these. These powers also include “Satan and his angels,” all spiritual beings of whatever sort that are in rebellion against God and in the service of Satan and evil. “Then Elisha prayed: ‘O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.’ So the Lord opened the eyes of the servant, and he saw the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” A dramatic and in a sense paradigmatic instance is found in 2 Kings 6:17. Its primary meaning is “that which goes forth, army, war, warfare, host.” In Scripture the term can be used of angels, of the sun, moon, and stars, and even of the whole creation.Ĭlearly YHWH commands many multitudes of spiritual beings which are mostly invisible to us but which appear at strategic times in the economy of God. More than 200 times the Old Testament refers to God as “Lord of hosts” or “Lord of armies.” The Hebrew word for host (literally, army), occurs 487 times in the Old Testament. (This however does not rule out the demonic nature or power of social institutions. We don’t have much revelation about this, but we get hints or glimpses in Old Testament books such as Ezekiel and Daniel. These include the heavenly spirits or angels that are in the service of Almighty God, his “heavenly hosts,” which may be organized in various hierarchies or divisions. Without dealing now with those, we can at least affirm that in most cases biblical references to “principalities and powers” indicate real created spirits which operate in and influence the world of people and culture. Various interpretations have been given to “principalities and powers” in the New Testament. In light of this often unconsidered reality, we might ponder the common Old Testament phrase, “Lord God of Hosts.” This phrase, or title for God, is a reminder of the vast unseen world with which we have to do. In the Western world normally we (even most Christians) don’t think much about this. These and other New Testament passages reveal the existence of a vast but real unseen world of powers, beings, and spirits with which we are daily engaged. In Ephesians 3:10 Paul writes that God’s plan is that “through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenlies.” Again in Ephesians 6:12 we read that our warfare is “against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenlies.” In Ephesians Paul speaks of “principalities and powers” (KJV), or “rulers and authorities” (NRSV).
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