Principalities, powers, the rulers of the darkness of this world

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.

Are the powers and rulers of the darkness of this world fallen angels serving under Satan? If so, what do they do to influence us or affect us? Is that something we can even quantify or discuss? How do we wrestle against them? Just looking to learn more as this interests me.

Also there's something I don't understand, if they are fallen angels how are they acting on us? Don't we pretty much do all the bad stuff in the world ourselves? Or do they act on us in such a way that it's imperceptible, influencing us somehow? I just don't get it. Maybe it's such a big thing that they do that I don't even notice it since it's always the same. Maybe things are different in heaven and you just feel better! Just thoughts, I don't know if that's true obviously.

False teachers and willfully ignorant people that listen to them.

There is a problem among Saints today that Satan takes full advantage of.
Willful ignorance.
They do not know how to properly study Scripture or are too lazy to study so the rely on what others teach.
False teachers are very good at using fancy words, making themselves out to be super smart with a superior understanding.
Scripture is written in such a way that if you will learn the proper way to study, pray a lot. and put forth the effort, you can understand.
Just accept what it says and what it does not say and never try to spin it to prove what you believe as so many do.

Why do you block your profile, do you have something to hide?

I do not want anymore info about me on the internet than necessary.
Never use credit or debt cards and do not have a cell phone.

The picture above represents this passage from Ephesians. Our Bible describes a lot about Satan and his damned devils. Volumes can be written and doubtless were written over thousands of years on this subject.
We see the perfect creation sullied by Satan's attack on Eve. He got to Adam and the entire human race through our great grandmother. That's why we need powerful men of God to stand up against the demons and the men that use him to destroy families, relationships and churches, yea even nations!

Most people do not realize when these beings are at work. They have the tactical advantage of being invisible. They are greater in power than mere men. Many of them are intelligent although there are various degrees of that as well as rank in Satan's armies. I have seen them at work first hand.
You may say, How do you know when they are invisible?

A. Those who live godly will suffer persecution. This is not merely from people, but from the devil's. They mark you as a threat to their purposes and you become their personal enemy. When someone gets saved, they will often attack for a time. When you are making good progress and leading others to Christ, you may get their attention.
None of us are as holy as Job was. However, he is an example of what Satan's forces are looking to attack. Strange circumstances and more than coincidental sufferings, setbacks and temptations will often mark the attacks. It takes some spiritual growth, some maturity to recognize these.

B. Demonic possession
A believer in Jesus Christ can not be demon possessed. The unsaved around them certainly can be, especially if they provide reasons for that to happen. That can be any number of sins, fornication, drugs, alcohol, dabbling in any forbidden practices of wicked religions. They are not usually recognizable in the person, but sometimes they are obvious.
I plan to write a book, Lord willing, on such experiences.

One is personal. It involved my highschool girlfriend. She was a lovely overachiever who was valedictorian of her highschool. She wrote me a song and played / sang it at a friend's party. That's where we started dating.
Eventually we went to WVU and she had a personality change. I will spare the details now, but sum up the events with the episode in front of Wise Library and the chemistry college where I took classes. Outside waiting for class to begin, she approached me strangely. Out of the blue, she tried to kill me with superhuman strength. I'm a lot bigger than her and an athlete that spent my life trading in martial arts. I've fought and won against attacks from older football and basketball players who were twice my size in roid rage or possibly possession in the past..
However, She was strong enough to potentially kill me as she tried and frighten this man who fought violent men without fear as a young adult. I did not fight her, but rather kept escaping her grasps, attempts to stab and throw me off the wall.
After a little bit, the Holy Spirit in me told me not to fear and reminded me, Greater is He Who is in me than he who is in the world.
Immediately, He made it clear that it was a demon that was using her body to try to kill me. He also immediately took away ALL fear.
I was in a long drawn out spiritual fight of prayer and appeal to the sacrifice of Christ Jesus. Eventually, by God's power, that damned spirit was cast out of Mary. She awakened from unconsciousness in my arms, was out of breath, sweating, exhausted and didn't know how she got there. She did not believe anything about what had happened.

Although it is fiction and not Scripture, an excellent source to answer your questions is C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters. Lewis demonstrates how unclean spirits influence humans from the perspective of the spirits themselves.

If you're interested in something more real-world, I'd suggest Neil T. Anderson's books on spiritual warfare and getting free from it. John Bevere's Bait of Satan is also helpful.

The battleground is mostly in the thoughts. Satan's forces can and do inject thoughts into our minds without our consent. They will pretend to be us, speaking in the first person. Remember that Satan is the craftiest being.

Thoughts may seem innocuous, but the evil spirit wants the Christian to accept a thought as if it was his own. Then the thoughts may increase in number and become less innocent. It's like the evil spirit creates a base in the mind to operate from. If not dealt with correctly, the Christian may not be able to think for himself at all. He may become forgetful, unable to concentrate, and even hostile to suggestions that he does not seem himself.

Satan is too smart to say things that do not fit in with the personality of the victim. A negative person may become even more pessimistic to the point of hopelessness. The extrovert may begin to imagine that they are infallible.

We need to know that our minds belong to us. God does not speak directly to the mind. We should always choose what to think. If a thought comes that we did not choose, then it's from the pit of hell, not us, not God.

An example. I was driving to work and I had the thought that it was going to be a freezing cold winter. I began to think about buying some warmer clothes. Then I thought, where did that suggestion come from? I took no action. Winter that year was quite mild. It's like the bait on a hook. Satan seeks to get us to agree with his suggestions.

God's word says this (2 Corinthians 10:3-5) "

"…For though we live in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh. The weapons of our warfare are not the weapons of the world. Instead, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We tear down arguments and every presumption set up against the knowledge of God; and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.…"

Especially in spiritual things, we must compare our thoughts to God's word. For example, some people have thoughts that induce fear. We can answer that with:

"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity or cowardice or fear, but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of sound judgment and personal discipline [abilities that result in a calm, well-balanced mind and self-control]" Amplified, 2 Timothy 1:7

That's happened to me before, thoughts happening on their own. I think it might have even been that it seemed like me thinking from my perspective (maybe with words even) but it was happening all on it's own. How can you be sure it's not just your mind? It seems like an unknowable thing once you introduce the possibility of it being a devil or Satan spiritually influencing you, since there's no definitive proof either way. It could be you, or something else, how do you know?

Jerry Marzinsky has more experience with demon possession than anyone that I know of. Keep in mind that he is not saved or a believer in Jesus Christ. More about that Here.

Although I don't agree with all of Jerry's views, he makes a case for what you guys might be discussing. The following link has a lot of case histories, interviews with patents in one of America's largest facilities for mental patients....a large prison system. If you are interested in the deep dive of study on this issue, here's a very good resource.
However, listen to the previous link first. It is far more important.

Psychotic Schizophrenia or Demon Possession?

Have a good week.
☕😎📖

I do not remember the exact day or instance that I deliberately sinned for the first time but I am certain there was one. From that time forward I was on the devil's payroll.

The sin was actually already there in my makeup uncommitted as yet. It is the sin nature.

It is the sin nature that we have by birth that must be surrendered at the cross, washed away by Jesu's blood. We are made clean.

Now our life is taken up in learning to live in this new way, this new life, even the inner Christ life which we received when we are born again. Fellowship with God.

So, you sinned because you had to, because you were created badly by God?

Isaiah 53v6: "All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way..." it doesn't say "we were born astray."!

Adam had a choice, he chose to rebel, I was in Adam, whether you believe it or not or whether you like it or not, when Adam sinned I sinned. I have no complaints against the way God has made me or how He has created mankind. Under federal headship.

Colloquially you can be SURE if you were in Adam's place you would have sinned.

Adam chose for us, we have no choice. Doomed we are, the wages of sin is death, we are bound to sin and bound to die.

Death has become our shepherd.

But God had mercy on us and sent us a Saviour, all who put their hope and trust in Him will be saved.

Folks don't like to be called sheeps these days, sheeples. But actually everybody is following somebody. I am VERY happy to follow the Good Shepherd.

Every day we are bombarded with messaging from politicos, news, and social media. The designed polarity from these sources of information that demand we take a position or face "cancellation", or social chastizement.
Some call this the voice of the age, or zeitgeist. It the principalities, powers, and rulers of darkness that is behind this messaging.
We wrestle with these powers by resisting their lies, maintaining the truth and speaking the truth.

Think of principalities like how you are a light in your area for God, and in your same area there's others who are doing works for the kingdom of darkness.They will have spirits in them like you have the Spirit of the Lord in you.

On earth as it is in heaven.Earthly armies have ranks. And they will place their units in areas of importance.Spiritually there would be high ranking personal controlling units within their designated spot.And to win ground is to win souls.

It is fascinating seeing the few accounts in Scripture where humans are privy to the spirit realm.
It is absolutely fair to say that some of the thoughts and ideas people get in their heads are from spirits. Not ALL are bad though. Hebrews tells us there are ministering angels to help us.

1 Kings 22 has become one of my most favorite bizarre chapters in the Bible.
Look at the Lord asking for someone to come up with a plan to make King Ahab go to battle that he may be killed. And some "spirit" comes up with a plan, and God likes it!

19 Then Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by, on His right hand and on His left. 20 And the Lord said, ‘Who will persuade Ahab to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead?’ So one spoke in this manner, and another spoke in that manner. 21 Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, and said, ‘I will persuade him.’ 22 The Lord said to him, ‘In what way?’ So he said, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And the Lord said, ‘You shall persuade him, and also prevail. Go out and do so.’ 23 Therefore look! The Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours, and the Lord has declared disaster against you.”

After Ahab and Jezebel had Naboth killed to steal his Vinyard they had it coming. Not to mention all the other wickedness they were involved in. They used deception to kill Naboth.

Naboth would not sell His vineyard because it was his ancestral inheritance. Abab wanted it for a garden since it was right next to the palace. Since Naboth was not selling or budging, Jezebel hatched a plot to throw a feast to honor Naboth and then have 2 accusers show up at the feast and accuse Naboth of blasphemy to get him stoned.

1 Kings

8 So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to the elders and to the nobles who were in his city, who lived with Naboth. 9 She wrote in the letters, saying, “Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people. 10 Set two men, wicked fellows, before him, and let them testify against him, saying, ‘You cursed God and the king!’ Then carry him out, and stone him to death.”
11 The men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who lived in his city, did as Jezebel had instructed them in the letters which she had written and sent to them. 12 They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people. 13 The two men, the wicked fellows, came in and sat before him. The wicked fellows testified against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, “Naboth cursed God and the king!” Then they carried him out of the city and stoned him to death with stones. 14 Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned and is dead.”
15 When Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, Jezebel said to Ahab, “Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money; for Naboth is not alive, but dead.”
16 When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.

This was the final straw for Ahab and Jezebel. EliYah was sent to Ahab with a message.

17 YHVH’s word came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 18 “Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who dwells in Samaria. Behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone down to take possession of it. 19 You shall speak to him, saying, ‘YHVH says, “Have you killed and also taken possession?” ’ You shall speak to him, saying, ‘YHVH says, “In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, dogs will lick your blood, even yours.” ’ ”
20 Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me, my enemy?”
He answered, “I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do that which is evil in YHVH’s sight. 21 Behold, I will bring evil on you, and will utterly sweep you away and will cut off from Ahab everyone who urinates against a wall, and him who is shut up and him who is left at large in Israel. 22 I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the provocation with which you have provoked Me to anger, and have made Israel to sin.” 23 YHVH also spoke of Jezebel, saying, “The dogs will eat Jezebel by the rampart of Jezreel. 24 The dogs will eat he who dies of Ahab in the city; and the birds of the sky will eat he who dies in the field.”
25 But there was no one like Ahab, who sold himself to do that which was evil in YHVH’s sight, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up. 26 He did very abominably in following idols, according to all that the Amorites did, whom YHVH cast out before the children of Israel.

So Ahab met his end because he stole Naboth's ancestral inheritance land after killing Naboth to get it. Naboth means fruits.

I mean I get it. But the thread isn’t really about Naboth or Jezebel or Ahab.

It’s about the influence of spirits on earthly humans.