Satan's Headquarters by Derek Prince

 Satan’s Headquarters

In Ephesians 6:12, Paul makes it very clear that, as Christians, we are involved in a life and death struggle with a highly- organized kingdom peopled by evil, rebellious spirit-beings and that the headquarters of this kingdom is in the heavenly realm.

The phrase, "the heavenly realm," raises a particular problem in the minds of Christians. If Satan was cast out of heaven long ago, how then can he still occupy a place in the heavenly realm?

Let me answer this question by pointing out some passages that describe events that took place long after the initial rebellion and casting down of Satan by God. These passages indicate that Satan still had access to the presence of God in heaven at that time. Job 1:6-7:

6 One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them.

7 The Lord said to Satan, ’Where have you come from?" Satan answered the Lord, "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it.” (NIV)

Almost exactly the same incident is recorded again in Job 2:1-2:

1 On another day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them to present himself before him.

2 And the Lord said to Satan, ’Where have you come from?" Satan answered the Lord, ’From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it." (NIV)

So at that time, which was in the days of Job, we see that Satan still had direct access to the presence of the Lord. When God's angels came to present themselves and report to the Lord, Satan was there among them. The passage seems to indicate that the other angels did not identify Satan. I can understand this because in 2 Corinthians 11:14, Paul says that Satan is transformed as "an angel of light." The passage creates in my mind the impression that the only one who could identify  Satan was  the  Lord.

 Apparently, he could appear in the presence of God mingling with the other angels and not be detected.

The Lord said, "Where have you come from, Satan?" In other words, "What are you doing here?" The Lord did not immediately banish Satan from His presence, but actually had a conversation with him. Therefore, we know that in the time of Job, Satan still had access to the presence of God in heaven.

10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: ’Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down." (Revelation 12:10 NIV)

The "accuser of our brothers" is Satan. Notice that at this time he is still accusing God's people before God day and night.

Revelation 12:11-12 continues:

11’They overcame him [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.

12"Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short." (NIV)

That passage indicates that Satan still has access to the presence of God, and he uses his access to accuse God's people in the presence of God. Clearly, all the above passages that I have quoted refer to periods long after the original rebellion of Satan. So what is the answer? There is more than one heaven. I believe this is clearly indicated all through Scripture. For instance, in the first verse of the Bible, Genesis 1:1, it says, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." The Hebrew word for heavens is shamayim. "Im" is the plural ending. The first time heaven is introduced, it is introduced in the plural.

In 2 Chronicles 2:6, we have this utterance of Solomon in his prayer to the Lord at the dedication of the temple: "But who is able to build a temple for him [the Lord], since the heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain him?" (NIV)

Where the translation says, "the highest heavens," the Hebrew says, literally, "the heaven of heavens." Either translation clearly indicates there is more than one heaven. The word "heaven" of the phrase "heaven of heavens" suggests a heaven that is as high above heaven as heaven is above earth.

In 2 Corinthians 12:2-4, Paul is even more specific:

2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows.

3 And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows—

4 was caught up to Paradise. He heard inexpressible things, things that a man is not permitted to tell. (NIV)

Before I became a preacher, I was a logician and sometimes I cannot get away from logic. Logic convinces me that if there is a third heaven, there must be a first and a second. So there are at least three heavens. Apparently, the third heaven is where Paradise, the place of rest of the departed righteous, is now located. It is also where God Himself dwells.

Ephesians 4:10 speaks about the death and resurrection of Jesus:

10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe. (NIV)

Notice that phrase "all the heavens." The word "all" can only be correctly used of at least three. When I was teaching English to African students in Kenya, a student once said to me, "All my parents have come to see me." I said, "You can't say 'All my parents,' because no one has more than two parents. If you only have two you can't say 'All.' " The same applies to the phrase "all the heavens." There must be at least three. I think that is clearly indicated by the whole tenor of Scripture. That leads us to the answer of the problem of how Satan's kingdom is still in the heavenly realm.

In colloquial speech, we sometimes use the phrase "seventh heaven" to describe a condition of great happiness. I suggest that is not scriptural. Actually, that phrase is taken from the Koran, the sacred book of Islam, and is probably not appropriate for Christians. Instead, if you are feeling particularly happy, let me suggest that you say you are "on cloud nine." There are plenty of clouds in heaven and that expression is more in line with Scripture. Jesus is coming in the clouds.

That there are three heavens is my opinion and not an established doctrine. However, I believe it to be a reasonable opinion which fits all the known facts of Scripture and experience. What are the three heavens? The first heaven is the visible and natural heaven with the sun, the moon, and the stars which we see with our eyes.

The third heaven, we know from 2 Corinthians 12, is God's dwelling place. It is Paradise, the place of rest of the departed righteous. It is the place to which the man was caught up and heard God speaking words that could not be uttered.

So we are left with the second heaven. Clearly, this must be between the first and the third. I understand it to be an intermediate heaven between the heaven of God's dwelling and the visible heaven that we see here on earth. I also believe this intermediate heaven is where Satan's headquarters are located. This would explain why we often find ourselves in an intense wrestling match when we pray.

Sometimes we do not realize how hard it is to break through to God. Sometimes we pray a prayer that is in the will of God, we believe God hears, and yet the answer tarries. There can be more than one explanation for that, but one major reason for experiences of this kind in the life of sincere committed believers is that we are involved in a warfare and that the headquarters of Satan's kingdom is located between the visible heaven and the heaven of God's dwelling.

 Battle of Angels

The book of Daniel has a specific example of spiritual warfare that casts further light on the location of Satan's kingdom. In fact, it describes a battle of angels. In chapter 10, Daniel describes how he set himself to pray and seek God for a revelation concerning the future of His people Israel. For three weeks he devoted himself with special intensity to prayer and waiting on God. At the end of the three weeks an angel from heaven came to Daniel with the answer to his prayer. The angel was so glorious and powerful that all the people with Daniel were scattered and he was the only one who remained to receive the revelation. Daniel 10:2-6 states:

2 In those days I, Daniel, had been mourning for three entire weeks.

3 I did not eat any tasty food, nor did meat or wine enter my mouth, nor did I use any ointment at all, until the entire three weeks were completed.

4 And on the twenty-fourth day of the first month, while I was by the bank of the great river, that is, the Tigris,

5 I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, there was a certain man dressed in linen, whose waist was girded with a belt of pure gold of Uphaz.

6 His body also was like beryl, his face had the appearance of lightning, his eyes were like flaming torches, his arms and feet like the gleam of polished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a tumult. (NAS)

As I have already mentioned, Daniel's companions could not stand this glorious apparition and just disappeared. Then the angel began to speak to Daniel and the part on which I want to focus is verses 12-13:

12  Then he said to me, ’Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words." (NAS)

 It is important to see that the first day that Daniel started praying, his prayer was heard and the angel was dispatched with the answer. However, the angel did not arrive on earth with Daniel "for three entire weeks," or twenty-one days. What kept the angel three weeks on the journey? He was opposed by Satan's angels. Somewhere in the journey from the heaven of God to earth, the angel was required to go through Satan's kingdom in the heavenlies. There he was opposed by evil angels who tried to prevent him from getting through with a message to Daniel. Verse 13 continues:

13 "But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days; [The angel took twenty-one days because he had resistance and opposition in the heavenlies.] then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes [or archangels], came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia." (NAS)

All this took place in the heavenly realms. The leader of Satan's angels is called "the prince of the kingdom of Persia," the chief ruler over Persia. Related to him and apparently under him, were various "kings" or lesser angels. Then, on God's side, the angel that came to help the original angel was the archangel Michael.

In Daniel 12:1, we read this about Michael:

1 "Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise." (NAS)

The word "great prince" we can interpret as "archangel." This particular archangel, Michael, stands guard over the sons of Daniel's people, the children of Israel.

Michael, in some special way, is charged by God with watching over the interests and protecting Israel. Because this whole revelation centered around the future of Israel, it was very much in the interests of Israel that the messenger should get through. So when the first angel was held up, then the archangel Michael came to help him and they battled there with the satanic angels for twenty-one days.

The satanic angels were represented by one who was known as the prince of the kingdom of Persia (the supreme ruler) and under him various kings or subordinate rulers who had various areas of authority. For instance, there might be one king over each major city of the Persian Empire, one over each major ethnic group, perhaps one also over each of the various religious and pagan cults of the Persian Empire. We get a picture of a highly organized, structured kingdom with various areas and descending levels of authority with headquarters in the heavenlies and which is a kingdom of rebellious, fallen spirit-beings.

The angel again speaks about this conflict in Daniel 10:20:

20 ... ’Do you understand why I came to you? But I shall now return to fight against the prince of Persia...." (NAS)

In other words, the battle against this evil satanic angel that dominated the empire of Persia was not yet complete. There would be further war in the heavens. The angel continues:

20 " . . . I am going forth, and behold, the prince of Greece is about to come." (NAS)

In other words, once victory has been gained over the evil angel that rules the empire of Persia, the next empire that will arise will be the empire of Greece and that also will have its own specific evil angel that is the ruler, or prince, of Greece.

In verse 21, the angel that is speaking to Daniel says:

21 ’Yet there is no one who stands firmly with me against these forces except Michael your prince." (NAS)

So we see again that the archangel Michael is specifically associated with protecting and watching over the interests of God's people, Israel. We also see that it took the united strength of the first angel and Michael to overcome the satanic ruling angels in Satan's kingdom that were opposing the outworking of God's purpose for Israel.

You might wonder at the reference to Persia and Greece. Let me remind you that there were four major Gentile empires that successively dominated Israel and the city of Jerusalem from about the fifth century B.C. and onwards. They were Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome. Persia and Greece were significant because, at that time, they were the two dominant Gentile empires.

We see from these passages in Daniel that the battle centers around God's people and God's purposes. I believe that is still true today.

Wherever God's people are and God's purposes are being worked out, that is where the spiritual battle will be most intense. In my opinion, in the days in which we now live, the center of the conflict is once again over Israel and the city of Jerusalem.

The effect of Daniel's prayers is somewhat staggering. When Daniel started to pray on earth it set all heaven in motion, both the angels of God and the angels of Satan. That gives us a terrific insight into what prayer can do.

I am also impressed by the fact that God's angels apparently needed the help of Daniel's prayers to get them through and accomplish their mission. Again, that gives us a tremendous insight into the effectiveness of prayer.