Obstacles to the Kingdom (7) - Human Political Power

The second biggest obstacle to the kingdom of God is human political power. This comes in many forms, but it always opposes and undermines the Kingdom of God. Political power has been given greater impetus in recent years by the spread of democracy. Before the Holy Spirit can bring the Kingdom of God to fullness, human political power must be swept away.

One danger with human political power is the false hope that blindspeople to the glory of the Kingodm of God. The more serious problem with political power is its impact on spiritual warfare. The concentration of human political power, generates a dramatic shift in spiritual power towards the “principalities and powers” that we struggle against. They could not exist, if there were no equivalent human rulers and powers. Their power will not be broken until human rulers and empires collapse and disappear.

Spiritual power and political power go together. The leaders of nation have authority to enforce their will on any citizen of their domain. Everyone living in a nation must accept their authority their king or president. The mayor, the council and the council officers have authority to act on behalf of anyone resident in their town or city. This power and authority creates a serious spiritual problem, because these political leaders are vulnerable to spiritual attack, and any attack affects everyone under their authority.

Spiritual evil follows political authority. When a political leader is influenced by demonic powers, the people under his authority are vulnerable to a similar attack. When we submit to political leaders, we open ourselves up to spiritual forces at work in their lives. When demonic forces attach themselves to a king or president, they become “principalities and powers”, because they now have authority over many of the people in that nation (Eph 6:12).

Political leaders come under spiritual pressure, because they hold authority over the people in their nation. When a powerful leader falls into sin, everyone in their realm is vulnerable to the same spirit. If the enemy gets control over a leader, he gains spiritual access to everyone in their political realm. The enemy concentrates his forces against those with political power, so he can win an easy victory over their city or nation.

Centralised political or religious authority is dangerous, because it makes principalities and powers possible. Once the enemy gains control over those with power and authority, he has easier access to all those under that authority. As a political leader accumulates more authority, the principality or power that controls him gains greater power over more people. This is how principalities and powers gain influence (Dan 10:13). If an evil spirit gains control over one person, he can make that person’s life miserable. If the same spirit were to gain control over a king or president, he can control a nation.

Many Christians have an overinflated view of the enemy’s power. They believe that our struggle is against spiritual forces that are almost as powerful as the Holy Spirit. The truth is that Satan’s power is an illusion. Evil forces have leveraged their power by gaining control over political and religious leaders with authority over many people. Political power has magnified the authority of spiritual evil. The judgement of the Jews is one source of our enemy’s power. Human political power is the other source of his power.