The Prince of the Power of the Air—Who is That?

Paul the apostle saw and experienced many supernatural occurrences as he walked as a Spirit-led believer in Christ. One such experience he tells us about:

¹I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. ²I 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. ³And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows— ⁴was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell (2 Corinthians 12:1-4; emphasis added).

Paul shared an experience with God, unsure if he was in his body at the time. He said he was "caught up" to the third heaven or paradise. Genesis 1:1 states that, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The word heavens is plural, which raises an important question: if God's dwelling is in the third heaven, where are the first and second heavens? What happens there?

I do not believe that the third heaven is in some faraway galaxy. I think heaven is not on a physical plane like Earth. Some say that the first heaven is the visible skies of galaxies, stars, and planets, and that the second heaven is the unseen spiritual realm that intersects with our world. There is no way to prove this point solely from the Scriptures. However, what is clear is that there is an unseen realm beyond the five physical senses. Call it what you like, the first or second heaven. I believe it is enough to see it as a different dimension of space-time where, if God were to open our spiritual eyes, like the servant of Elisha (2 Kings 6:14-18), we would see powerful angelic beings as well as evil demonic forces trying to influence us humans to do their bidding.

In another place, Paul the Apostle wrote to the Church at Ephesus, warning about a spirit he called “the prince of the power of the air.” Here’s what he wrote:

And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience (Ephesians 2:1-2).

Why do you think Satan is called this? We can logically assume that Paul is talking about the unseen world from which the enemy does his work of deceiving man. Satan is referred to as a spirit with the rank of prince inhabiting a spiritual dimension of power in "the air," a realm where he is active. In another place, Jesus calls him "the ruler of this world" (John 12:31), and the apostle John tells us that the physical world in which we live is under satanic control: "We know that we are children of God and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one" (1John 5:19).

Some believe that Satan resides in Hell, but this is incorrect, according to the Bible. Revelation 12:7-13 describes a future event where there will be a war in the heavenly realms—the lower spiritual realms—where Satan will be defeated and cast onto Earth. I suggest that the unseen realm is where dark spirits manipulate people's minds, aiming to crown Satan as the ruler of this world. The prince of the power of the air is a rebellious, dark spiritual being utilizing unredeemed humanity as his tool of resistance. The return of the Lord Jesus will put an end to his rebellion. Whose side are you on? Keith Thomas

This shortened meditation is from the series, The War Against Satan and Demons; the study is: 1. The Hidden World Beyond Our Reality