A Critical Look at a New ‘Key’ to

Evangelization
Posted on April 1, 1995

by Mike Wakely

A new theology of the unseen world is making a huge impact on strategies for world
missions and evangelization.

A new theology of the unseen world is making a huge impact on strategies for world
missions and evangelization. Popularized by Frank Peretti’s novels, it has been given
respectability by a number of books and given a very wide public platform through the
AD2000 and Beyond movement. With this new theology has come a new vocabulary
that unfolds what it is all about:

Territorial spirits. A hierarchy of demons (authorities and powers, etc.) who have been
assigned to specific geographical areas. The main proof text is Daniel 10, which refers
to the "Prince of Persia" and the "Prince of Greece."

Strategic-level spiritual warfare. A certain kind of intercession. According to C. Peter

Wagner, ground-level spiritual warfare refers to the casting out of demons from people,
occult-level spiritual warfare deals with "shamans, New Age channelers, occult
practitioners, witches and warlocks, satanist priests, fortune-tellers and the like,"1 and
strategic-level spiritual warfare contends with "an even more ominous concentration of
demonic power: territorial spirits."2

Spiritual mapping. A new way of saying "research and spiritual discernment" — "an
attempt to see a city or a nation or the world "as it really is, not as it appears to be."3 It
includes discovering where demons are most active and powerful, why they are able to
hold onto those powers, and also what their names are. "Accurate spiritual mapping is
based on quality historical research," says Wagner.4 The AD2000 and Beyond
Movement is establishing a Center for Spiritual Mapping.

The 10/40 window. The spiritually barren nations between the latitudes of 10 and 40
degrees north. However, George Otis goes further and implies spiritual significance to
the area as the last shrinking bastion of demonic possession. Noting that the garden of
Eden (Iran and Iraq) are at the "geographical bull’s eye" of the window, he notes that
"of the many ideas on the subject of how God might intend to wind down the historical
process and bring closure to world evangelization, one of the more interesting is the
theory that the armies of the Lord are currently being vectored toward Eden….In fact
the only thing necessary for this theory to become reality is for the evangelistic forces
currently surrounding the window to continue their inward advance at a more or less
uniform pace."5

Various other concepts spin off this theology: remitting (or making atonement for) the
sins of nations as part of the prayer strategy against demonic influence in a nation; the
demonization of a nation, the assumption that demons take over nations, cultures,
religions, and societies as well as people.

This new theology of intercession and missions raises many questions. Because it has
become a central plank of the AD2000 and Beyond Movement, it is essential to
examine its foundations. There are clearly some positive benefits:

l. The emphasis on prayer and intercession for the nations, and the enthusiasm that has
been stirred by the whole movement and its literature.

2. The renewed missions focus on the 10/40 window, which encompasses a high
percentage of the least evangelized peoples in the world.

3. Results coming from the prayer emphasis and focus. Even if our theologies of prayer
are perhaps not altogether correct, God surely hears and answers sincere and committed
intercession.

4. It has harnessed the power of the imagination to assist intercession.

5. It has given a clear and manageable strategy for evangelization and prayer, providing
for direction and purpose in approaching cities, areas, and countries.

6. It has excited a high degree of anticipation, expectation, and faith. More heat perhaps
than light, but real heat nevertheless. The literature on this teaching is replete with
examples of its success, often drawn from Latin America and Africa, as evidence of the
truth of its teaching, and it is right to hesitate before criticizing a teaching which appears
to work when put to the test. However, theend does not justify themeans, and truth,
rather than success, is our most valuable asset. If we surrender truth for a pragmatic
moment of enthusiasm which catches the public’s imagination, we will have a short-
term gain and a long-term setback. This concern leads me to express the following
reservations about the movement, its theology, and its literature.

1. It is a new theology, not rooted in historical understanding or scholarship.

Wagner expresses surprise that, out of all the books on angelology or demonology in the
Fuller Seminary library, he could find only five that "made any reference at all to
territories, and of the five only three discussed the issues a bit, but clearly in a
secondary way."6 After 2,000 years of theological scholarship, that fact alone should
make us question the emphasis that this teaching is now receiving. Wagner does say that
he suspects this teaching must have historical roots, but they are as yet unclear.7 If these
amazing things have lain in Scripture for all these years, why has no one seen them?
"Bringing down territorial spirits identified with specific geographical areas is a fairly
new concept," admits Steven Lawson.8

2. There is very little biblical evidence of this world view. Even its advocates admit
that there is little biblical teaching on the subject of the territoriality of a demonic
hierarchy. Most of the teaching is therefore drawn from the experiences of missionaries
and Christian workers and not from the Bible. Wagner admits that his conclusions are
sometimes personal guesswork: "Nothing in this verse itself (Eph. 6:12) indicates that
one or more of these categories would necessarily fit the description of territorial spirits,
but many, including myself, feel it is highly probable."9
David Pawson says:

Though Scriptures are now claimed to support the method, its origins did not lie
in the rediscovery of the biblical nature of mission. When examined in the light
of Scripture, the evidence is meager….There are only two verses in the whole
Bible that explicitly describe ¨territorial spirit"(Daniel 10:13, 20). Even then, it
is not entirely clear whether the "princes" of Persia and Greece are human or
demonic, though most scholars assume the latter….There is certainly no trace of
starting missions in any new place by binding the local demonic ruler, no hint
that Paul sought to identify and bind the spirits of Athens or Corinth before
preaching there. Were this an essential prerequisite for releasing a situation, it
would surely have been specifically included in the ascending Lord’s missionary
mandate. There is no apostolic precedent, either in precept or practice. Neither is
there any command for believers to "bind" the devil.10

Apart from Daniel 10, some other biblical evidence is offered for the territorial nature of
demonic activity: the King of Tyre (Ezek. 28:12), the spirit of Babylon (Rev. 17:3-5),
Bel in Babylon (Jer. 51:44), Baal-Zebub of Ekron (2 Kings 1:2, 3), and Apollyon of the
underworld (Rev. 9:11), but these are small shreds of evidence on which to build a
comprehensive view of a demonic hierarchy.

It is quite widely admitted that "the examples of territorial spirits in the New Testament
are limited."11 The harlot of Revelation 17 "is the most explicit example I have found of
a demonic spirit controlling nations and peoples."12 Given the many other
interpretations of the harlot in Revelation 17, that is a clear way of saying that New
Testament evidence is extremely thin. It seems very risky to build such a doctrine on so
little evidence.

In contrast to the teaching on territorial spirits, the New Testament seems to indicate
that demons need people (and on occasion animals) in which to dwell, rather than
regions, houses, or territories. In Matthew 12:43-46 the unclean spirit finds no rest as he
wanders through waterless places. "Then he says, ¨I will return to my house from which
I came."1 Just as God in the New Testament makes our bodies his temple, so it appears
that demons need a human body fortheir home on earth.

Amajor emphasis of the teaching is that it is not only people who are demonized, but
"social structures such as governments or industries."13 "Social structures are not, in
themselves, demonic, but they can be and often are demonized by some extremely
pernicious and dominating demonic personalities, which I call territorial spirits."14 No
biblical evidence is offered for this belief, and it appears to be one of the areas that
actually goes against biblical revelation.

The apostle Paul says some extraordinarily nice things about governments and the
ruling powers and our need to be in subjection to them, as they are appointed by God,
sometimes a difficult teaching perhaps, but not to be ignored, especially as he wrote
under the rule of the Roman emperors (Rom. 13:1-7). Peter says something similar (1
Pet. 2:13-17), and Paul commands us to pray for "kings and all who are in high
positions" (1 Tim. 2:2). 3. There is a lot of excellent research and sound biblical truth
mixed with spectacular leaps into imagination and fantasy. Wagner and Otis have gone
into a lot of detailed research and study and much of what they teach is excellent and
useful material. Suddenly they leap, without a warning, into wild and fantastic
speculation and exercises of spectacular imagination.

For example: In Engaging the Enemy, after an excellent introduction on principles of

spiritual warfare and prayer, Wagner moves without warning away from biblical
foundations and into imaginative descriptions of the demonic hierarchy that rules the
earth.

Larry Lea "identifies four levels of territorial warfare: (1) Principalities. These are
individual demon spirits. (2) Powers. This group includes the captains of teams of
spirits (such as Legion in Mark 5:9). (3) Rulers of darkness. This group includes
regional spirits. (4) Strongmen. These dominate wickedness in high places and oversee
the other levels of demonic activity."15

Where did he get that picture of the demonic hierarchy? There is no suggestion that it is
founded on imaginative guesswork. In fairness to Wagner, he does admit that this is
more guesswork than biblical truth. "New Testament scholars cannot find a strict
hierarchical order in Ephesians 6:12 since the same Greek terms are used with different
meanings and interchangeably in other parts of Scripture."16

George Otis similarly intersperses good research with dramatic speculation and
spectacular leaps of his lively imagination. Much of it makes for great reading, but bears
little relation to revealed truth. Here is one example among many:

While Adam and Eve’s moral breakdown led to their banishment from Eden, there is no
indication in Scripture that the serpent went with them. Instead, there is striking
evidence that the serpent of Eden has established a global command and control center
atop the oily residue of the garden’s once flourishing vegetation and animal life.17

Some exegesis of Scripture is very biased to the assumed world view and quite
unsound. For example, the interpretation of the "strongman" who is to be bound (Matt.
12:29). This passage is not a call to spiritual warfare with a high-ranking demon. Jesus
is answering the criticism that he is casting out demons by the power of "Beelzebul, the
prince of demons."

First, Jesus equates Beelzebul with Satan (v. 26) and not with some territorial spirit.
Second, he tells a parable about a strong man. (The word is the normal adjective
meaning "strong," i.e., a tough guy, a strong person, and not the title of a senior demon.)
There is no command to us to "bind." The parable illustrates the need to deal with the
enemy in a person’s life before the Spirit of God may take up residence. This parable
and its vocabulary is grossly overused and its meaning distorted in the current
movement.

4. This world view owes more to Frank Peretti than to Scripture. All the books I
have read acknowledge their debt to Frank Peretti. Peter Wagner says: "Undoubtedly,
the single most influential event that has stimulatedinterest in strategic-levelspiritual
warfare among American Christians was the publication of Frank Peretti’s two novels,
This Present Darkness and Piercing the Darkness. Many Christians who had scarcely
given a thought to the possibility that events shaping human society could have a
relationship to struggles among powerful supernatural beings are now openly talking
about the likelihood. In fact, even though they know better, many find themselves
reading This Present Darkness as a documentary rather than as somewhat fanciful
fiction."18

Peretti’s books project a fantasy-land where good and bad angels fight it out on more or
less equal terms, and the really nice people never get hurt. It is great fun, sensational
and exciting, but not a faithful reflection of real life nor of the unseen world as the Bible
reveals it. The theology of territorial spirits, spiritual mapping, and strategic-level
spiritual warfare is also exciting, sensational (especially Otis’s more dramatic
projections!) and quite spectacular. It carries many of the weaknesses of Peretti’s
fantasies.

5. The movement opens the door to endless varieties of even wilder excess,
exaggeration, and extremism. Once the basic criterion of scriptural truth has been
replaced by the extra-biblical basis of personal experience, imagination, and feeling, the
sky is the limit as to where this teaching could take excitable people.

Wagner quotes: "Dean Sherman suggests that one reason we need to do spiritual
mapping is that Satan has already done his mapping. ¨Like any good general, Satan’s
plans to rule the earth have begun with good maps….Satan knows his battleground.
"Sherman’s experience bears this out."19 It would be better if Scripture agreed.

Wagner says that it is very important and helpful to find out the names of the territorial
spirits. "Dick Bernal, one of the pioneers of contemporary strategic-level spiritual
warfare, says: ¨I cannot be too emphatic. In dealing with the princes and rulers of the
heavenlies, they must be identified."20 One can imagine the chaos and confusion this is
going to cause, and the absurd, if not dangerous, results of excitable and enthusiastic
people desperate to identify the "angel of their city" or the demonic "strongmen" that
supposedly rule their patch of the earth.

6. The arguments are based on very limited and carefully selected experiences.
Wagner admits in Warfare Prayer that he draws most of his illustrations from
Argentina. Why? (a) Because he has a lot of experience of Argentina; (b) because an
Argentinian evangelist, Carlos Annacondia, has been practicing this method of prayer,
based on this kind of world view, with considerable success; and (c) because Argentina
is a success story at the present time.

What Wagner does not do is (a) give any examples of those who have practiced this
world view and method without visible success, and (b) give examples of those who
have seen great success, revival, people movements, and church growth with totally
different methods and world view.

Further, he fails to give adequate attention to the likely alternative reasons why there is
great church growth in Argentina and in other places where through history the church
has grown. He also fails to mention why other churches and evangelists are seeing
similar response in Argentina without practicing strategic-level spiritual warfare. That is
not to decry the methods of Carlos Annacondia, but it is vital to see the whole picture if
you are drawing theological conclusions from it.
7. There is no New Testament precedent for prayer warfare against demons,
except at a personal level. David Pawson says,

One striking feature of engagement with demons by Jesus and others in the New
Testament is that they never took the initiative. They never went looking for them. Only
when demons manifested themselves were they confronted and banished and even then
not always immediately, as if their interference was a distraction (Acts 16:18).21

Referring to the passage in Daniel 10, which is the onlyplace where spiritual beingsare
referred to in relation to specified territories, Pawson says: "What needs to be noted is
that Daniel did not directly engage them, nor was he commanded to do so. They were
dealt with by angelic intervention."22

Direct confrontation with demons in the New Testament is always at a personal level,
when and as they manifest themselves in a person. The Bible does not command us to
go looking for demons, demonic activity, or "strongholds." Ephesians 6 tells us to put
on the whole armor of God because of the reality and threat of the spiritual forces of
evil in the heavenly places. It does not tell us to go looking for that source of evil or to
engage them in battle. The exhortation is to be strong, protected, and equipped.

When the apostle Paul came into a heathen city he did not go around "mapping it,"
looking for the centers of evil, or even praying down the strongholds. He took his
spiritual sword and preached the gospel. His weapon against evil was his sword, the
Word of God, and an open statement of the truth. Prayer without preaching is not
envisaged.

8. The danger of grasping for quick and easy answers to old problems. Everyone
involved in evangelism is looking for the "keys" to quick and guaranteed success. When
a certain method meets with some success, books inevitably follow that outline the
methods. For example, we have had the Don Richardson Peace Child method, the
Bangladesh "contextualization" method, the Korean prayer mountain method, the John
Wimber "Signs and Wonders" method, and many more. There is much to be learned
from them all, but it is essential to recognize in them all:

(a) God is sovereign, and he uses one way to reach people in one place and another way
to reach people in another area—the Korean model may not work in Taiwan, any more
than the Bangladesh method works in the Philippines;

(b) there is much to be learned from them all, but the touchstone of usefulness must be
biblical truth.

9. This teaching gives an inadequate view of the fall of man, and hence an
inadequate emphasis to human responsibility. Otis states, "Because all human
peoples belong to God initially by right of fatherhood, Satan has no automatic control
over them. Unless individuals give themselves over to the rulership of Satan willingly,
they will remain under the tender influence of the Holy Spirit. Satan’s objective, then, is
to gain control over the lives of human beings by dominating the systems—political,
economic and religious—that they have created."23 The ensuing argument is obvious—
once satanic control has been broken men will want to listen to the Holy Spirit and will
turn to Christ.
However, this is not a biblical view of man’s evil, stubborn, and rebellious heart. (a) It
underrates the results of man’s rebellion at the fall and the consequences of being
descendants of Adam. (b) It gives inadequate emphasis to the deceitfulness of the
human heart, pride, the weakness of the flesh, etc. (c) It delivers man of his
responsibility for sin and for refusing to submit to Christ.

The Bible states that "the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to
keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of
God" (2 Cor. 4:4). The "god of this world" could indeed be referring to demonic
activity. It could equally well be referring to the "cares and riches and pleasure of life"
(Luke 8:14) that choke the seed of the word. The apostle did not blame demons for
man’s blindness, nor attempt to "bind" them or rebuke them. The whole passage is
about "the open statement of the truth" and the preaching of "Jesus Christ as Lord." Man
carries responsibility for rejecting "the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the
face of Jesus Christ."

We fall into error when we forget that the enemies of the gospel are not only the devil,
but also the world and the flesh, and the call to sinners is to repent and believe. The lust
of the flesh, the deceitfulness of the heart, the attractivenessof the world, the power
ofthe old man, the nature of Adam—all are allies of the devil, and man is responsible
for his condition. It is an error to blame demons for man’s stubborn rebellion, and naive
to believe that man is just waiting to respond to the truth once the demons have been
"bound."

10. It presents a wholly distorted teaching on the biblical nature of prayer. Wagner
says: "One of the reasons we need to exercise caution at this point is that we have no
biblical examples of the 12 apostles or any other first-century Christian leaders who
challenged the devil to a direct power encounter as Jesus did….What happens when
Christians today shout, ¨I bind you, Satan!1? Perhaps not as much as we would hope.
Satan will eventually be bound for l,000 years, but it will be an angel who does it, not a
human being."24

Apart from direct encounters with demons at the moment of exorcism, there is no
teaching, example, or exhortation in Scripture to address prayer to the devil or demons.
But this is the emphasis of the movement—a new way to pray. Walter Wink writes,
"This new element in prayer—the resistance of the Powers to God’s will—marks a
decisive break with the notion that God is the cause of all that happens….Prayer
changes us, but it also changes what is possible for God."25 That appears to be an
extraordinarily arrogant undermining of God’s sovereignty.

A whole range of dramatic vocabulary is being built up around the "warfare prayer"
concept, including "casting down strongholds," "binding the strongman," having a
"power encounter" with the devil, "evicting the ruler of the city," "taking dominion (or
authority) over an area in Jesus’name," "storming the gates of hell," and so on. What all
this really means is sometimes hard to discern, except that it all has to do with giving
direct attention to the devil and demons, which is something the Bible has not
commanded us to do. In fact, it could be quite dangerous.

Prayer in the Scriptures is addressed to the Father, in the Spirit, and in Jesus’name.
Christ purchased a complete victory over Satan. He never commanded us to fight the
devil on his behalf. Our business is with God, not Satan. We do not need to destroy
Satan’s kingdom to build God’s kingdom here on earth.

11. This teaching gives unhealthy attention to the devil and demonic activity. It
underemphasize the finished work of the cross, as well as the work of the Holy Spirit
and angels. There is no doubt that the central focus of "strategic-level spiritual warfare,"
as well as spiritual mapping, and all that proceeds from this teaching, is the demonic. It
gives sharp attention to demons and the strategies of the devil, how to find them, name
them, engage them, take dominion over them, attack them, bind them, resist them, etc.
But this is not the focus of the Scriptures, nor should it be that of the Christian.

What is missing? (a) A clear belief in the sovereignty and the centrality of God is
missing, as is also the presence of the risen Christ with "all authority in heaven and on
earth." (b) The activity and supremacy of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer, in
his prayer life, and in evangelism is understated. So also is the ministry of angels. (Are
they supposedly territorially confined also?) (c) The total, finished accomplishment of
the cross, central to the New Testament, is relegated to (1) the means by which prayer is
effective in "binding" demons; (2) the means by which we know that the devil will
finally be overcome; and (3) the means by which we are saved. The cross has infinitely
more meaning in the life of the believer than this.

All of this does great discredit to God and glory of the gospel, and gives much credit to
man and the importance and power of his prayers.

Colossians 2:15 states: "Christ disarmed (divested himself of, discarded like a garment)
the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in
it (the cross)." Dick Lucas comments on this verse: "There is no call for thebelieving
Christian to make toomuch of the "strong man" and his armor, since "one stronger than
he" has already appeared to overcome him and take away the weapons in which he
trusts….Freedom from demonic forces is no second or subsequent work of grace to be
sought at the hand of God. It is, simply, the gospel privilege for all."26

Satan and his demonic assistants must never be allowed to take center stage in our
theology or our practice. It is Jesus who has "all authority on . . . earth" (Matt. 28:18).
He reigns "far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every
name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come" (Eph. 1:21).

Endnotes
1. C. Peter Wagner, Warfare Prayer (Ventura, Calif.: Regal Books, 1992), p. 17.
2. Ibid., p. 18. 3. Ibid., p. 151.
4. Ibid., p. 153.
5. George Otis, Last of the Giants (Tarrytown, N.Y.: Chosen Books), p. 161.
6. Warfare Prayer, op. cit., p. 88.
7. C. Peter Wagner, Engaging the Enemy (Ventura, Calif.: Regal Books, 1991), p. 39.
8. Ibid.
9. Ibid., p. 19.
10. J. David Pawson, The Fourth Wave (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1993), p. 69.
11. Vernon J. Sterk, in Engaging the Enemy, op. cit., p. 153.
12. Wagner, Warfare Prayer, op. cit., p. 94.
13. Ibid., p. 102.
14. Ibid., p. 96.
15. Quoted by Steven Lawson in Engaging the Enemy, op. cit., p. 38.
16. Wagner, Warfare Prayer, op. cit., p. 63.
17. Otis, op. cit., p. 99.
18. Wagner, Warfare Prayer, op. cit., p. 19.
19. Ibid., p. 152.
20. Ibid., p. 150. 21. Pawson, op. cit., p. 69.
22. Ibid. 23. Otis, op. cit., p. 88.
24. Wagner, Warfare Prayer, op. cit., p. 56.
25. Walter Wink, Unmasking the Powers. Quoted in Warfare Prayer, op. cit., p. 95.
26. R.C. Lucas, The Message of Colossians and Philemon (Downers Grove, Ill.:
InterVarsity Press, 1980), p. 109.

—–

EMQ, Vol. 31, No. 2, pp. 152-162. Copyright © 1995 Evangelism and Missions
Information Service (EMIS). All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced or copied in any
form without written permission from EMIS.