Ephesians 6:12 King James Version 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. In the ESV it says, "against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." Does this mean there are devils in heaven engaging in spiritual warfare against believers, or would heavenly places refer to somewhere else?
Hey, Lee.
First of all, "heavenly places" would actually be a better translation than "high places". The Greek word which is translated into English as "high" in the KJV is
epouranios:
https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g2032/kjv/tr/0-1/
This word appears 20 times in the Textus Receptus from which the KJV is translated into English, and 16 of those times it is translated into English as "heavenly", 2 times it is translated into English as "celestial", 1 time it is translated into English as "in heaven", and, of course, in the last instance here in Ephesians 6:12, it is translated into English as "high". With this in mind, we are definitely reading about spiritual wickedness or wicked spirits in heavenly places. In fact, most Bible translations translate
epouranios into English as "in the heavenly realms", "in the heavenly places", or "in the heavens."
https://biblehub.com/ephesians/6-12.htm
In order to understand this better, we need to realize that the Bible speaks of more than one heaven. In fact, it speaks of three heavens.
2 Corinthians 12:1-4
"It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth) such an one
caught up to the third heaven. And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth) How that he was
caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter."
According to Paul, there are three heavens, and "the third heaven" is where "paradise" is located or it is where God the Father, Jesus, and the dead in Christ presently dwell. Logic dictates that if there is a "third heaven", then there must also be a first and second heaven. The first heaven is this earth's atmosphere, or it is the place where the fowl fly.
Genesis 1:20
"And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven."
Seeing how the fowl fly in what we could rightly call "the first heaven", and seeing how "paradise" is in "the third heaven" where God the Father, Jesus, and the dead in Christ presently dwell, logic dictates that "the second heaven" must lie between these two other "heavens". With such being the case, "the second heaven", if I can call it that, would appear to be what we might normally call "outer space" or the region between our earth's atmosphere and "the third heaven".
So, in which of these three heavens do wicked spirits operate?
Personally, I believe that they operate in all three.
For example:
Revelation 12:7-12
"
And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not;
neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world:
he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying
in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ:
for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. Therefore
rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them.
Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for
the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time."
Let me see if I can break down what we just read a bit.
First of all, this "war in heaven" was prophesied by the prophet Daniel, and this will be the fulfillment of it when it happens.
Daniel 12:1
"And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book."
The time is still coming when Michael, "the great prince" or the archangel (Jude 1:9), will stand up with his angels to do battle against Satan and his angels. When this heavenly battle takes place, Michael and his angels will prevail, and Satan and his angels will no longer have any dwelling place in the "heavens", but they will be "cast out into the earth", or "cast down", and they will "come down" unto the inhabiters of the earth and sea. When they "come down", Satan will have great wrath because he will know that he has but a short time, and this short time will be "a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time" (Daniel 12:1), or this will be the time of what we commonly call the "great tribulation" (Matthew 24:21).
Please notice that, prior to this time, or prior to the time of Satan's "casting down", Satan will have been "the accuser of our brethren...which accused them before our God day and night", and these accusations will have taken place before God in "the third heaven". In fact, this is precisely what we see happening in the book of Job.
Job 1:6-7
"Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it."
Job 2:1-2
"Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD. And the LORD said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it."
Here, we see "the sons of God", or angels, presenting themselves before the LORD in heaven, and Satan came also among them. Not only that, but he came from going to and fro in the earth. In other words, Satan has access to all three heavens even as I type. He accused Job before the throne of God in "the third heaven" in the days of Job, and he is still the accuser of the brethren before God's throne in "the third heaven" as I type.
It is my understanding, however, that this "war in heaven" (Revelation 12:7) between Michael and his angels and Satan and his angels will not take place in "the third heaven", but in what we might rightly call "the second heaven" instead.
Please consider the following portions of scripture which, in context, are parts of a conversation between the prophet Daniel and the angel Gabriel:
Daniel 10:12-13
"Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.
But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia."
Daniel 10:20
"Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee?
and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come."
Here, the angel Gabriel, who is the one doing the talking, revealed some very relevant truths to us in relation to your question. For one thing, he told Daniel that he had been sent to him from the first day that he had prayed, "but the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes", or one of the archangels, "came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia." These "princes" and "kings" of whom Gabriel spoke were angelic beings with whom he and Michael had to do battle in the heavenly region between "the third heaven", from which Gabriel was sent to Daniel, and the earth upon which Daniel dwelt. In fact, Gabriel had to fight against these angelic beings for 21 days or for three weeks, and he was only able to prevail against them with the assistance of the "chief prince" or archangel Michael.
Not only this, but Gabriel told Daniel that when he left him he would be returning to fight with the prince of Persia, and then the prince of Grecia or Greece would come. Again, these "princes" are angelic beings who seemingly reside in the region we might rightly call "the second heaven", and they apparently have great sway or spiritual influence over the regions where they dwell. Anyhow, I believe that when Michael and his angels fight against Satan and his angels in the "war in heaven" (Revelation 12:7) that it will take place in this "heaven" or in what we might rightly call "the second heaven". Again, the outcome of that war will be that Satan and his angels will be cast out of the heavenly realms and down to this earth where they will come with great wrath.
With these things in mind, as I said earlier, I believe that Satan and his angels presently have access to all three heavens, and this is who we are truly fighting against as Christians.
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