The Devil, like God, is described in the Bible in many ways using several names or titles. One of those titles is the ‘Prince of Darkness.’ In Ephesians 6:12 it states that we are at war against ‘spiritual darkness’ in a heavenly realm. ‘For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.’ Which I interpret as war against negativity that manifests as ignorance, deceit, lies, hatred, racism, malice, vengeance, etc. In the song on You Tube, LOVE IS, Brian McKnight sings - ‘in this world we’ve created, in this place that we live, in the blink of an eye babe the darkness slips in.’ LOVE, TRUTH, and RIGHT are what preachers ought to be teaching. Positivity destroys negativity. It is that simple. But the language in Ephesians 6:12 is not. The reason, as I have said before, is that people take this verse literally, rather than figuratively.
A principality is not some ethereal place ruled by powerful beings in the spiritual realm as theologians would have one believe. A principality is a state of mind governed by Ideals/ideas, Good or Evil (Principle of Light or Principle of Darkness), that are extremely potent both in energy and meaning. That is to say that heaven is the world of ideas, both positive and negative, that are accessible mentally. We ‘work out our salvation (true happiness) in fear and trembling’ (Philippians 2:12) by struggling intellectually to grow in our best inclinations while gaining mastery over our worst. In other words, the war between good and evil is being waged every moment in the minds of every one of us. And where the mind goes the body necessarily follows. Just by watching everyday life it becomes self-evident that humankind is in steep decline. Darkness is spreading over the land. However, for me, the title ‘Prince of Darkness’, indicates a phenomena peculiar to the human experience (i.e. - vile, negative mindsets) rather than something from another realm. It makes sense to me that a ‘prince of darkness’ is anyone who adheres to a base, materialistic way of life. But let’s mull over another name for the Devil, Satan, to add to our understanding on this subject.