~ from email ~

There is the false teaching that certain evil spirits are especially associated with a geographical area and influence it from the air.[1] They put up such stubborn resistance against the gospel that Christians find it difficult to evangelize or to achieve significant spiritual progress in their ministries. Thus Christians should “discern” the evil spirits (probably by extra-biblical revelation) that are “ruling” over the area (in the sky above the area), and pray against them (by exercising spiritual authority over them) so that they would depart. Once they have departed, there will be a sudden change in the spiritual “atmosphere,” and from that point, evangelism and other Christian work will become easier and more effective.

The doctrine has no actual biblical support, but it is derived from misapplications of references to demonic “strongholds,” Daniel 10, and Jesus’ teaching about the “strongman.”

The Bible relates the effects of evil spirits with the minds of people, who then carry out evil actions. A city that is especially bound by sexual sins, more so than other cities, may have become a strategic location for demonic influences of this sort. The Boston area is filled with intellectual pride (although not necessarily intellectual competence), having so many prominent universities.

These demonic influences are not in the sky above the area, but in the minds of the people. They induce people to think anti-biblical thoughts, and to adopt non-Christian worldviews. It is an intellectual operation, and not an indefinable something “in the air.” Likewise, the “strongholds” mentioned in the Bible are not little castles in the sky, but they refer to the stubborn mindsets and dispositions that these evil influences have installed in the minds of men. Paul says that they consist of “pretensions,” “arguments,” and “thoughts.”

Therefore, it is unbiblical to ask God to reveal the kinds of spirits that are dominant over an area’s atmosphere, and it is futile to combat demonic “strongholds” by screaming at the sky, calling the evil spirits by name, and commanding them to depart. As for Daniel 10, it records what happened in the spiritual world when Daniel prayed to God. It does not teach that we should directly address demons in the atmosphere, but that we should speak to God, and trust him to do what needs to be done.

Jesus dealt with the “strongman” first by preaching. He counteracted false ideas in the mind (not in the air). We participate in the spiritual conflict by preaching the truth and refuting false beliefs.

Since our spiritual weapons come from divine wisdom, we do not fight non-Christian ideas with non-Christian ideas. The biblical approach is not to argue against secular science with better secular science, or to argue against false religions with a better application of the same false religions. Rather, the biblical approach is to declare the superiority of divine wisdom over all non-Christian ideas.

Instead of naming the spirits and commanding them to leave the sky, we ought to preach the whole counsel of God. If we perceive that a mindset or worldview is strongly held by people in our area, then we could become familiar with it to better handle the resistance in our sermons and discussions (see Acts 17:22; Titus 1:12–13).

Then, Jesus dealt with the “strongman” also by healing the sick (Luke 13:16; Acts 10:38) and casting out demons from people (not from the sky). Those who affirm the misguided doctrine of territorial spirits are also eager to preach the word, heal the sick, and cast out demons, but those who deny the continuation of miraculous healing and the casting out of demons have renounced the ministry model of Christ. Thus they are worse than those who affirm the doctrine of territorial spirits.

[1] For example, “greed,” “lust,” “pride,” “the occult,” and so on. Sometimes it might have a name, like “dragon” or “legion.”