All throughout the Bible, Satan's agenda is to pervert political power so that it can subvert the Messianic promise. Accordingly, "sorcery at the right hand of power" reflects a reality where demonic counsel seeks access to political power; for example, we see this with the Egyptian magicians counseling Pharaoh against Moses, the Sidonian witch Jezebel at the side of her Israelite husband King Ahab, as she sought to kill all the Hebrew prophets, especially Elijah; the Amalekite Haman in his attempt to have King Xerxes to kill the Jews, in opposing Mordecai and Esther; the Babylonian sorcerers in their counsel to Nebuchadnezzar, and in opposing Daniel; and the sorcerer Elymas in his counsel to the governor of Cyprus, seeking to turn him away from the apostle Paul's preaching. This is a dominant theme in the Bible and history, addressed in Volume 3 of "First the Gospel, Then Politics" ("Spiritual Territory").

Below are links to edited excerpts from Volume III of “First the Gospel, Then Politics…”, or from "The Six Pillars of Honest Politics; The Biblical Nature of a Level Playing Field, © 1999-2007 John C. Rankin.

Light and Dark at St. Michael's Chapel

Pro-Life Ministry and the Opposition of Voodoo

Demons on a University Campus

Demonic Opposition to Ministry at Cornell University