“You used to live just like the rest of the world, full of sin, obeying Satan, the mighty prince of the power of the air. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God.” Ephesians 2:2
A few weeks ago this verse caught the attention of my spirit. I have been pondering it ever since. What caught my attention was phrase, “mighty prince of the power of the air”. Satan, the enemy of God, is given the title prince of the power of the air.
I began to think about the air. The greek word used here means: “to breathe, blow, air”. What happens in this space in which we breathe, in which the wind blows? I began to watch, to look around me. Sounds fill this space. Smells pass through this space. Light (vibrations) consumes this space & people, structural material things, nature & spirits move in this space. I looked around at what fills a modern western home. What ‘mod cons’ are bought which fill the air in a home. There is the TV, when switched on fills a home with sound, light from pictures vibrating ideas, messages, doctrines, ‘truths’, stories, developments of a nation, community, city. Then there is the internet. It fills the space through the vibration of sounds, visuals & text into the space of a bedroom, study, kitchen. It is wireless, roaming, moving, transmitted through the airwaves. As are mobile phones, radio. I was struck by how much is coming into the air of a home.
I remembered an experiment I read about in Europe, of 2 small crytals taken & individually placed in two seperate lead covered rooms & left with only a word written in pen wrapped around each crystal. The first crystal had written on it “Love” & placed in one room. The second had the word “hate” written on it & left in the second lead sealed room. They were then given a period of time unremoved ever from these rooms. At the end of the specified time they were then bought out. The result was astounding. The crystal with love written on it had grow large into a magnificant beautiful crystal. The other with hate written on it was deformed, stunted & hiddiously ugly. The intent was for the only influences on each crystal, the word.
Jesus said Satan is the prince of the power of the air. If he is the prince, then I was challenged yet again, about what I fill my air with.
This verse also states that “He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God.” I was stunned to see that this prince of the power of the air, has an aim; our hearts. It says, “He is the spirit at work in the hearts…” What is his aim with our hearts? It is to make us “refuse to obey God.” The Greek word used by Paul the writer here is “apeitheia”. Speak that outloud. What does that sound like in English? Apathy? The root of this word is used in a negative tense so it means “unbelief, unpersuadable. to pacify, passively to assent to evidence or authroity, to yield, to make friend with, obstinate, rebellious.” I looked again at the ‘mod cons’ & saw two things:
1. to use them requires extremely little physical activity. It makes the body actions when engaged in them passive, pacified.
2. when using them, it utilises the mind. A TV engages the mind, so does the internet, mobile phone, radio. In essence they are filling the space in our minds & feeding our hearts.
In Germany, a tax is required by anyone having a TV, radio or internet in possession. This tax actually is producing the result of people not bringing these things into the home, but leaving them at the office, cafe, beer garden. In Australia there is no such tax & I have been shocked upon re-entering this country at the constantly ‘on’ of these things. The air is being filled & it seems to be producing an nation feeding a spirit of apathy. Yet this nation is prophetised to be a land of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not one of apathy, at least not in my bible or experience. Rest yes, but not apathy! Apathy is a first step to disobedience, to rebellion, to unbelief. I see this with my son! Its hard to move him from his ‘wiggles’ (childrens program on TV) when its meal time. His unbelief when I call him to come for tea, is very real!
The prince of the power of the air. What will we do with the air – the space in our homes, our hearts? This prince’s agenda is clear, always has been, to work on us “to refuse to obey God.”