12 Principalities in the Heavenly Places

Questions:
I’ve been having a great time going through your study on “Biblical Earth Science and Astronomy.”

There are a few things in particular:

What can you give me supporting the idea that there are 12 principalities in the heavenly places? I suspect that Deut : needs to be considered. Anything else?
What supports the idea that the principalities are changing positions around the earth?
Does the Zodiac play into any of this?
What are those “sweet influences of Pleiades” and “bands of Orion?”

Question 1:

What can you give me supporting the idea that there are  principalities in the heavenly places? I suspect that Deut.: needs to be considered.

Response

My understanding of this particular issue primarily comes from my understanding that there is a corresponding nature to the governmental structure of the principalities, powers, etc., in the heavenly places to that which God originally set up on the earth when He established its governmental structure with the nations. Or in other words, the governmental structure of the heavenly places purposely parallels, (and therefore is made to deliberately correspond with), what God originally set up on the earth.

Wherefore my thinking is that the parallel goes beyond just the simple fact that a governmental structure also exists in the heavenly places like that which exists on the earth, which we know to be the case from such terms as “principalities,” “powers,” etc. It goes beyond this to include the issue of there being a parallel and a correspondence to the very layout, or the very map, so to speak, of the original governmental structure set up on the earth.

In connection with this, (and as you mentioned), what Moses says in Deuteronomy : is significant. For as Moses states…

 When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel. (Deuteronomy :)

Simply put, it is my understanding that when God did this. He did it with Israel being strategically located and positioned in her land in the midst of the nations. And the “number” issue refers to the number of Israel’s 12 tribes. Hence, as I see it, when God established the “bounds of the people” within their nations in the lands of their divided inheritance around Israel, this made it so that they in their land were separated into 12 zones, so to speak, or into  areas or districts for their heritage. And this in turn particularly provided for Israel in their midst to be able to favorably influence them and appropriately deal with them in accordance with their role in God’s plan and purpose, just as Moses had described to the children of Israel earlier on, for example, in Deuteronomy .

So it is my understanding that this basic “map,” or layout, of the nations in the lands of their inheritance constituted the basic original governmental structure, or governmental ordering, of the earth. And this is something that needed to be established on the earth following the time of the judgment of the flood, in connection with the developments that had taken place in the outworking of Satan’s plan of evil on the earth, and also in connection with God responding to those developments.

Now in view of the Adversary’s earned right to operate both in and through the newly created nations of men in the divided lands of their inheritance, it is my understanding that this provided for the same kind of corresponding governmental structure to be established in the heavenly places around the earth. For in view of the various alterations that God put into effect both in the heavens and on the earth in connection with the judgment of the flood, Satan would need to operate both from and through a corresponding governmental structure in the heavenly places in order to carry things out on the earth. He would have to execute his ‘course of the world’ from that realm, and he would have to do it through a structure that would allow him and his cohorts to administer the operations of his policies in the newly created and divided nations of the world. Hence it is my understanding that a corresponding governmental structure was established in the heavenly places to match what was set up on the earth; and through it
Satan would carry out his policies that were designed to give him more and more influence in the nations, and thereby give him more and more ability to operate through them, as he worked to maintain his usurped possession of the earth, and as he worked to oppose God’s use of His own nation Israel.

So as I said, it is primarily my understanding of what God explains in Deuteronomy : that He did with the nations following the flood, (and the significance of Him doing this in connection with His response to the outworking of Satan’s plan of evil on the earth), that gives me reason to think that the basic governmental structure, or layout, of the heavenly places around the earth is composed of  administrative or governmental zones headed up by a principality. And that these  governmental zones correspond with the original divided and separated “bounds of the people” that God “set” in place at that time “according to the number of the children of Israel.”

Question 2:
What supports the idea that the principalities are changing positions around the earth?

Response:

My thinking on this has to do primarily with the kind of changes that I suspect would correspondingly take place in the ordering and influence of the various positions in the governmental structure of the heavenly places, when similar type changes take place in the ordering and influence of the various positions belonging to the overall governmental structure of the earth. In other words, the ordering of the governmental structure of the earth is something that changes over time in connection with such things as the rise of certain nations in power and in the expansion of their dominion, and likewise in connection with the demise and fall of nations. Hence throughout history changes take place in the influence, and in the extent of the influence, belonging to the principalities and powers of the earthly order and structure.

Wherefore it is my understanding that the same thing takes place in the corresponding governmental structure of the heavenly places as such changes take place on the earth, and that this can involve changes in the power and influence that can be exerted and exercised by the corresponding principalities and powers in the heavenly places.

It is my understanding that what Gabriel described to Daniel in Daniel  pertains to this. For as Gabriel related to Daniel, when he was dispatched from God to Daniel “the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days.” At that particular time the ordering of the governmental structure of the earth had the second of the prophesied Gentile dominions in the position of dominant power and influence in the world. As such the kingdom of Persia not only dominated in power and influence on the earth, but its corresponding principality in the heavenly places likewise exercised correspondingly great power and influence in that realm. Hence “the prince, (of the principality) of the kingdom of Persia” in the corresponding governmental structure of the heavenly places exercised correspondingly great enough territorial dominion in that realm, so that he had the power to withstand Gabriel’s ability to pass through his dominion on his way to the earthly kingdom of Persia.

Then as Gabriel also said to Daniel, he was going to return “to fight with the prince of Persia.” But the time would then arrive when “the prince of Grecia shall come.” And when he did, he would more or less displace and replace “the prince of Persia.” For “the prince of Grecia” would come and would move into, or occupy, the position of dominant power and influence in the corresponding governmental structure of the heavenly places, when the time came that the earthly kingdom of Grecia moved into its prophesied position of dominant power and expanded territorial dominion in the governmental structure of the earth.

Issues such as these are the primary reasons for my thinking that changes, including even positional changes, can occur in the corresponding governmental structure of the heavenly places.

As I said, I will respond to your other two questions later. Until then…

Question 3:

Does the Zodiac play into any of this?

Response:

My understanding is that it does. However I do not have my mind settled enough on a number of issues pertaining to its role, nor am I satisfied that I have a clear enough picture of the mechanics of its impact upon the nations, to be able to say much about it.

I am familiar with the teachings of others, who to various degrees speak of its role as an elaborate ‘pre-Gospel’ type witness. I also am aware that there are other kinds of teachings about it as well. And though I do not deny that there may very well be something to some of these teachings, my own understanding is that the specific “knowledge” that it “shewed,” (in conjunction with what the fulness of the firmament itself shewed), was much more basic. Accordingly it is my understanding that it provided the nations with a very fundamental testimony about some very fundamental things regarding the living and true God to which they could respond.

Along with this I also know that for the most part any proper testimony that it once had has been subject to the Adversary’s policy of evil, and as such it has been perverted, distorted, and/or corrupted by men to a great degree and extent over time.

So then with the exception of saying that I believe that it did have a role of impacting the nations, especially for a period of time immediately following the time when God “divided to the nations their inheritance” and established the basic governmental structure of the earth; and also with the exception of saying that I believe that its twelve designated seasonal constellations provided for the corresponding governmental structure in the heavenly places to be able to make a specific positive type impact upon the nations in their governmental structure on the earth; I really am not in the position at this time to be able to confidently say anything else.

Question 4:

What are those “sweet influences of Pleiades” and “bands of Orion?”

Response:

In view of the context in which God asks Job, “Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?” it is my understanding that they are two of the many ‘ordinance powers’ of the firmament of heaven, which are not only integral components of the very structural composition and function of the firmament of heaven itself, but they are also ‘ordinance powers’ of the firmament that are designed to have a direct influential effect upon the earth in the midst of the firmament.

So by being two of what I call the ‘ordinance powers of the firmament of heaven,’ and by being ones that also have a direct and purposed effect upon the earth within the firmament, they therefore exercise an ‘ordinance power’ upon the earth, especially with respect to its position in the firmament. Wherefore with Pleiades having “sweet influences” and Orion having “bands” they exercise powers in the firmament that maintain orderliness and a balance and stability to the earth in its position within it, as well as also being involved in exercising powers that have a regulating effect upon the normality and progression of the earth’s seasons.

Though this is their normal function, the time is coming when they will not function as such. For in the Lord’s day God will use their ‘ordinance powers’ in an extraordinary way, especially when it comes to executing a number of the celestial-based judgments that He will bring upon the earth during that time. And it is for this reason that God brings up the issue of Pleiades and Orion in the series of questions that He asks Job, and by which He educates him in what He needs to realize.

Hence God speaks to Job about ‘binding the sweet influences of Pleiades,’ and about ‘loosing the bands of Orion.’ For when the present time ‘sweet influences’ are ‘bound,’ and when the present time ‘bands’ are ‘loosed,’ then the present time state of orderliness and balance and stability that the earth has in its position within the firmament will be greatly effected. Moreover the structural composition and integrity of the firmament of heaven itself will also be dramatically altered, and will even start to become unglued, so to speak.

Now these kind of drastic things will need to take place in the Lord’s day, especially when it comes to God
successfully and thoroughly dismantling, demolishing, and destroying the implementation of Satan’s plan of evil in the earth, (both physically and spiritually), and also purging it of all of its effects.

Wherefore when God describes the catastrophic and horrific things that will take place during His day, they include terminology and phraseology, for example, that is descriptive of the firmament of heaven and its components, along with the earth and its position within the firmament, being repeatedly and exceedingly convulsed by “the powers of heaven” being “shaken.” All of this, along with the issue of much of the firmament’s physical makeup and integrity actually being caused to fall apart, collapse, and be dissolved, is what will progressively produce the successful judging, perishing, and passing away of this present evil world.

And so when the Lord has His day and these things take place, the issue of ‘binding the sweet influences of Pleiades’ and ‘loosing the bands of Orion’ will be very instrumental in bringing these things to pass.

Keith Blades
Enjoy e Bible Ministries

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