Calvary Road Baptist Church
“A Survey Of Satanic & Demonic Warfare In Ezra”
Ezra
Our survey of Satanic and Demonic warfare brings us to the book of Ezra.
The Jewish general and later writer, Flavius Josephus,[1] Jerome, the Roman Catholic linguist who translated the Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible, and the Jewish Talmud considered the books of Ezra and Nehemiah to initially have been a single work. As well, the Hebrew Bible has the two books together as a single work.
However, there is evidence that the two books were originally separate. The lists in Ezra chapter two and Nehemiah chapter seven are basically the same. This would militate against the idea that the two books were originally one, since it is strange to repeat the same list in one volume.
The title of the book being Ezra comes from the major person featured in the second half of the book, who also appears in chapters 8 and 12 of the book of Nehemiah. The name of the book of Ezra is also complicated by the way the Septuagint named some of its books.
In the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament, the name Esdras (Ezra) refers to a number of books. First Esdras (also called Esdras A) is an apocryphal book.[2] Second Esdras (Esdras B) contains the canonical books of Ezra and Nehemiah. However, sometimes Nehemiah is called Esdras C (or G if one accurately reflects the third Hebrew letter, which is gimel). The Apocrypha has still another Esdras, alternately called II Esdras or IV Esdras.
The book of Ezra has been accepted as canonical since before the time of the Septuagint (ca. 200 B.C.), which may have been only about 250 years after the book was written. Few scholars in modern times have therefore questioned the canonicity of Ezra.
Though Ezra the priest is not referred to in the book as being the author, he has long been supposed to be the book’s writer. Internal evidence points to this. In 7.27-9.15, the author refers to himself in the first person. Hebrew tradition also has considered Ezra the author. He was a priest and a scribe of the Law, according to 7.21.
Undoubtedly Ezra had documents at his disposal for the historical sections in Ezra chapters 1-6. Many Bible students have noted similarities between the style of Ezra and the style of the books of First and Second Chronicles. Therefore, some suppose Ezra was also the author of all three books.
The book of Ezra covers two distinct time periods. Chapters 1-6 cover the 23 years from the edict of the Persian ruler, Cyrus, to the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem (538-515 B.C.). Chapters 7-10 deal with the events after Ezra returned from Babylon, in 458 B.C. The two exceptions are 4.6, which refers to an event in the reign of Xerxes (485-465) and verses 7-23, which parenthetically include a letter written later during the reign of Artaxerxes (464- 424). The time of writing of the completed book could not have been earlier than about 450 B.C., when the events recorded in 10.17-44 took place.
Ezra was a contemporary of Nehemiah, explicitly stated in Nehemiah 8.1-9 and 12.36. He was also a contemporary of the prophet Daniel, who was cast into the lion’s den during the reign of the Persian ruler Darius,[3] who ruled Persia after Cyrus and Cyrus’ son Cambyses.[4] Yet we know Ezra was granted permission by Cyrus to return “the vessels of the house of the LORD to Jerusalem.”[5] It is very likely Ezra knew Daniel, Nehemiah, Haggai, Zechariah, and possibly even Malachi as a young man.
The setting of the book of Ezra is the postexilic era when the faithful Israelites were returning from Babylon to Judah so that they could reestablish their temple worship. In all the books written during the postexilic period the temple and temple worship are vital subjects. These include First and Second Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi. All except Esther in which the people were unfaithful to the command of the Lord given through Isaiah and Jeremiah to return to the land after the Captivity.
The people who returned to the land of promise were publicly acknowledging that they believed God would reestablish the nation and usher in a time of kingdom blessing. There were three returns from Babylon to the land of Israel (in 538, 458, and 444 B.C.), just as there had been three deportations from the land to Babylon (605, 597, and 586 B.C.).
The first return was led by Zerubbabel (Ezra 1-6; Haggai; Zechariah) in 538 B.C. The rebuilding of the temple was of vital importance for this group. The second return was led by Ezra (Ezra 7-10) in 458 B.C. The people needed reforming. They needed to return to their covenant obligations. The third return was led by Nehemiah in 444 B.C. Nehemiah’s concerns were to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and, as in Ezra’s time, to lead the people back to obedience to the Lord. The book of Malachi was probably written in Nehemiah’s time. The events in the book of Esther occurred between the events recorded in Ezra chapters 6 and 7. (See the chart “The Three Returns from Exile.”
Nearly a fourth of the book of Ezra was written in Aramaic; the rest was written in Hebrew. The Aramaic sections (67 of 280 verses) are 4.8-6.18 and 7.12-26. The material in these verses was mainly copied from official correspondence for which Aramaic was the standard language of the day.
The book of Ezra was written not simply to record miscellaneous historical facts in the history of Israel during the Jews’ return to the land. Like all books in the Bible, this book had a theological purpose. The purpose of Ezra’s book can be seen by reflecting on the audience for which it was written. Thus, the original readers were exiles who had returned under Zerubbabel and Ezra, but who were then wavering in their relationship to God. As stated earlier, the book may have been written around 450 B.C.
The highlight of the book is in chapters 9-10, which tells of the people’s proper response after sin was found in their midst. Ezra wrote to encourage the remnant to be involved in true temple worship and to remind them to fulfill their covenantal obligations because of God’s mercy. Ezra wanted his readers to emulate that same attitude of dependence on God, which believers of all times should have.[6]
With this background information established, my plan is to survey the book of Ezra followed by a consideration of those few verses in Ezra that suggest Satanic and demonic activity. Before doing that, however, it must be pointed out once more that Ezra was contemporary with Daniel, Haggai, Zechariah, and possibly Malachi. Thus, Ezra’s audience would have been their audience, as well. This means that the scarcity of references to Satanic and demonic activity in Ezra are offset by what is found in those books.
CHAPTERS 1-6, THE FIRST RETURN AND REBUILDING UNDER ZERUBBABEL
This portion of Ezra is easily divided into four parts, the proclamation of Cyrus, the people who returned, the rebuilding of the temple, and the dedication of the temple:
First, the proclamation of Cyrus, Ezra 1.1-4:
1 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying,
2 Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.
3 Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD God of Israel, (he is the God,) which is in Jerusalem.
4 And whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, beside the freewill offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.
What an astonishing decree is made by this pagan ruler, to recognize that he had been charged by the God of Israel to authorize the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem.[7]
Next, the people react and return, Ezra 1.5-2.70: The reaction of the Jewish people to Cyrus’ decree is recorded in Ezra 1.5-11. The record of the people who returned comprises the entire second chapter of Ezra.
Third, the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem is recounted. The rebuilding of the altar and the foundation is detailed in chapter three. The opposition that was faced by those engaged in the work of rebuilding, as well as the steps they took to overcome the opposition, is found in 4.1-6.12. The completion of Zerubbabel’s temple is recorded in 6.13-15:
13 Then Tatnai, governor on this side the river, Shetharboznai, and their companions, according to that which Darius the king had sent, so they did speedily.
14 And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.
15 And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.
This enterprise was undertaken under the rule of four Persian kings, Cyrus, his son Cambyses (who is not mentioned), Darius, and Artaxerxes. Thus, the efforts to rebuild enjoyed the favor of four successive Persian kings.
Finally, we are provided a record of the dedication of the temple and the celebration of the Passover, 6.16-22:
16 And the children of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the Captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy,
17 And offered at the dedication of this house of God an hundred bullocks, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs; and for a sin offering for all Israel, twelve he goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel.
18 And they set the priests in their divisions, and the Levites in their courses, for the service of God, which is at Jerusalem; as it is written in the book of Moses.
19 And the children of the Captivity kept the passover upon the fourteenth day of the first month.
20 For the priests and the Levites were purified together, all of them were pure, and killed the passover for all the children of the Captivity, and for their brethren the priests, and for themselves.
21 And the children of Israel, which were come again out of Captivity, and all such as had separated themselves unto them from the filthiness of the heathen of the land, to seek the LORD God of Israel, did eat,
22 And kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with joy: for the LORD had made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria unto them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.
Why was it so important to the Jewish people to rebuild their temple? Was it not because without a temple they realized they had no legitimate Mosaic Law worship? After all, can the Jewish people have any hope of complying with the Law of Moses without gathering three times each year at the prescribed place of worship? The answer is, “No, they cannot.” That provokes a second question. Can there be any atonement for sin without a mercy seat atop the ark of the covenant? Again, the answer is “No.” For more than 2500 years the Jewish people have been unable to comply with the requirements of the Law of Moses for worship, because they have for the most part had no temple and no mercy seat. Judaism is a fabricated religion, cobbled together by Jewish people to try and make do without a temple, the ark of the covenant, and a mercy seat. We who are Christians, on the other hand, have an altar and a mercy seat. He is the Lord Jesus Christ.[8]
CHAPTERS 7-10, THE SECOND RETURN AND REFORM UNDER EZRA
These four chapters are divided into chapters 7-8, the return to the land, and chapters 9-10, the reform of the land:
First, the return to the land, chapters 7 and 8. The introduction of Ezra is recorded in 7.1-10, with verse ten being of particular interest to contemporary believers who study God’s Word:
“For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.”
This is a universally applicable approach to studying, obeying, and teaching God’s Word. Notice that it is a heart work of seeking the truth, deciding ahead of time to obey the truth you have discovered, and then teaching what you have learned and obeyed to others. The circumstances prompting the second return of the people to the Holy Land is recorded in 7.11-28. The names of those who returned is found in 8.1-14. This section is rounded out by the account of their journey and arrival, 8.15-36.
Then, the reform of the land, chapters 9 and 10. Verses 1-4 of chapter nine is the account of the people’s sin of intermarriage:
1 Now when these things were done, the princes came to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, doing according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.
2 For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons: so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands: yea, the hand of the princes and rulers hath been chief in this trespass.
3 And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down astonied.
4 Then were assembled unto me every one that trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the transgression of those that had been carried away; and I sat astonied until the evening sacrifice.
Please note that the issue was not the marriage of Jewish men to Gentile women. Remember, God sanctioned the marriages of Moses to Zipporah, Salmon to Rahab, and Boaz to Ruth. It was their marriage to women steeped in idolatrous paganism that so stunned Ezra. Verses 5-15 records Ezra’s prayer to God. Chapter ten records the heartfelt confession of sin by the people, for their marriages to what are termed in God’s Word “strange wives,” which is to say wives who were idolatrous pagans. What happened to those pagan wives who were put away? And their children? Ezra wrote nothing about the consequences visited upon them.[9]
Let me conclude by highlighting and commenting on those few passages in Ezra that make reference to things supernaturally evil, of either a Satanic or demonic nature.
Keeping in mind that Ezra chapters one through six records the first wave of returnees to the Promised Land from Captivity, let me read comments about this return in light of what we will learn more about in the book of Daniel:
The notion of territorial spirits receives unequivocal support from the Book of Daniel. The term “territorial,” however, actually understates the nature and function of these angelic powers. Perhaps a better expression would be “empire spirits.”
The text describes angelic powers that have specific connections to the successive empires of Persia and Greece. These evil angels are mentioned to Daniel by an interpreting angel, perhaps Gabriel (see Dan. 9:21), who came to explain a vision God had given to him. Gabriel reveals that there was a heavenly struggle that hindered his coming to Daniel for three weeks:
The prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia (Dan. 10:13).
Later, Gabriel informs Daniel that the heavenly warfare would continue, but would now include a struggle with another angelic prince:
Soon I will return to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I go, the prince of Greece will come ... (No one supports me against them except Michael, your prince) (Dan. 10:20-21, italics mine).
Both the prince of Persia and the prince of Greece in these passages are not references to human rulers, but to angelic forces. There is a clear consensus among Bible scholars on this foundational point. This interpretation is strongly suggested by the fact that the archangel Michael is also referred to as a “prince.” The Septuagint (Iheodotion) translation of the Hebrew term saris archon, a word that was used by Paul (see 1 Cor. 2:6, 8; Eph. 2:2), John (John 12:31), and other first-century and early Christian writers for angelic powers.
Daniel received his vision during the third year of the reign of Cyrus, king of Persia, in 535 B.C. He had been praying and fasting for the people of Israel. Many of them were still in the Mesopotamian cities of Babylon, Persepolis, Susa, and Ecbatana, many miles from Palestine, their homeland. Cyrus, however, had just allowed some of the Jewish exiles to return to Palestine. This first wave of returnees unfortunately encountered hostility from the local inhabitants (colonists originally settled there by the Assyrian kings) and incredible opposition to their efforts to rebuild the temple and the city of Jerusalem (see Ezra 1-6). We can only imagine Satan’s displeasure over the favorable turn of events for Israel with the possibility that they would return to their land and once again worship Yahweh from a reconstructed temple.[10]
Ezra 4.1-6 reads,
1 Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the Captivity builded the temple unto the LORD God of Israel;
2 Then they came to Zerubbabel, and to the chief of the fathers, and said unto them, Let us build with you: for we seek your God, as ye do; and we do sacrifice unto him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assur, which brought us up hither.
3 But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel, said unto them, Ye have nothing to do with us to build an house unto our God; but we ourselves together will build unto the LORD God of Israel, as king Cyrus the king of Persia hath commanded us.
4 Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building,
5 And hired counsellors against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.
6 And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, wrote they unto him an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.
I read the comments of another scholar who successfully draws together threads from different books of the Bible that are sometimes missed:
... the situation on earth reflects the situation in heaven. Presumably, the antagonism of the prince of Persia in the extraterrestrial realm manifested itself in the human opposition Israel encountered as she sought to rebuild the walls and temple of Jerusalem. Later, Israel would find herself under the control of another foreign power, Greece, and the mention of the prince of Greece alludes to this.
That Daniel’s three-week fast coincides with the three-week struggle between the unnamed angel and the prince of Persia demonstrates a relationship between human intercession and what happens on a higher plane. Daniel’s prayers appear to influence angels who play a significant role in shaping the destinies of nations. In the immediate situation, the attempts to terminate the rebuilding of Jerusalem and its temple are not successful. Daniel’s prayers, in conjunction with the efforts of the unnamed angel and Michael, guarantee that God’s purposes for Israel will not be frustrated. The answer to Daniel’s prayers may be delayed because of opposition in the heavenly realm, but the supernatural adversaries of Israel do not have the last word.
The portrayal of the princes of the nations in Daniel reveals that the unfolding of human history is not determined solely by the decisions made by human beings, for there is an unseen dimension of reality that must also be taken into account. In particular, there are malevolent forces in the universe that exercise a baneful influence in the sociopolitical realm, especially where the people of God are concerned. Nevertheless, the power of these evil agencies is limited, for transcendent powers of goodness oppose them, and the faithful prayers of believers are also effective against them. However antagonistic the forces of evil may be towards the will of God, they cannot prevent it from being accomplished.[11]
What we usually refer to as the Minor Prophets are minor only in size, not importance. And especially when you are dealing with the postexilic prophets, those prophets that wrote after the beginning of the return of the Jewish people to the Promised Land from Babylonian Captivity, we will see that they are more connected with regard to the spiritual opposition they shed light on than most people are aware.
A significant takeaway is supplied by Sydney Page, whose comments I read last, especially tying together the fasting and prayers of the prophet Daniel as a fierce spiritual warrior in God’s army, that met with success far away from where he was praying, when the temple in Jerusalem was completed despite intense human opposition that was doubtless energized by demonic forces opposed to the people, plan, and purpose of God.
Is it much different in our day? Although we are on this side of the cross of Christ and His resurrection, the tools at our disposal are the same ones wielded by Daniel. And the enemy is the same, just as wily, just as determined to distract and discourage God’s people as ever. Therefore, let us determine to stay in the fight until we are taken from the battlefield of this life to the rest we will eternally enjoy in the next.
__________
[1] Born 37 AD, died sometime after 100 AD.
[2] “These books [Apocrypha] were never accepted by the Jews as Scripture, but throughout the early history of the church there was a divided opinion on whether they should be a part of Scripture or not. In fact, the earliest Christian evidence is decidedly against viewing the Apocrypha as Scripture, but the use of the Apocrypha gradually increased in some parts of the church until the time of the Reformation. The fact that these books were included by Jerome in his Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible (completed in A.D. 404) gave support to their inclusion, even though Jerome himself said they were not “books of the canon” but merely “books of the church” that were helpful and useful for believers. The wide use of the Latin Vulgate in subsequent centuries guaranteed their continued accessibility, but the lack of any known Hebrew text behind most of them, and their exclusion from the Jewish canon, as well as the lack of their citation in the New Testament, led many to view them with suspicion or to reject their authority.” - Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1994), pages 57-58.
[3] Daniel 6
[4] https://factsanddetails.com/world/cat56/sub371/entry-6050.html
[5] Ezra 1.7
[6]John F. Walvoord & Roy B. Zuck, General Editors, The Bible Knowledge Commentary: Old Testament, (Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook, 1985), pages 651-652.
[7] 2 Chronicles 36.22-23
[8] Romans 3.25 (where propitiation translates há¼±lastá½µrion, meaning mercy seat); Hebrews 13.18
[9] Ibid., page 671.
[10] Clinton E. Arnold, 3 Crucial Questions About Spiritual Warfare, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 1997), pages 153-154.
[11] Sydney H. T. Page, Powers Of Evil: A Biblical Study of Satan & Demons, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1995), page 64.
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