"For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." —Ephesians 6:12
Instead of the 20th century fulfilling the prophecies of liberals that the kingdom of peace, righteousness, and justice would be built here on earth, the power of evil was experienced in ways and in a magnitude never dreamed possible by many at the beginning of the century. The collective forces of evil, which transcend our own personal struggles with individual sin and our daily associates, threatened the existence and stability of our so-called great civilization. Since many Christians have come to have less and less faith in the structures of our society and their ability to save us, it is natural that many of us are looking in fresh ways to biblical clues about Christ and the powers.