The Apostle Paul warned us. He said that there would be spiritual wickedness in high places. High places? Naturally, the mind would tend toward governments and unelected or noncommissioned ruling powers. Certainly, these are the “high places” of the world. Naturally still, one would think that there is no way to win or even sustain oneself against wickedness in such high places. But, as Jesus once told the disciples, “With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26).
Then, what would that way be? How could you stand? To be able to withstand rulers empowered by Satan, we would need a special covering: the armor of God. In Ephesians 6, he describes each piece of the garment. But he said “above all things” the most important piece is “the shield of faith.” It is the only piece said to quench the fiery darts of Satan.
Early in Psalms, we begin to see that King David identified God as man’s shield. Before that in Genesis, the very first book of the Bible, God Himself told Abraham in a vision, “Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward” (Genesis 15:1).
Many generations later, John the Beloved identified a small group of survivors during a time of great trouble. Curiously, he said this about them. “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus” (Revelation 14:12). Earlier, he called them the remnant and described them as keepers of “the commandments of God” and having “the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Revelation 12:17).
“The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophesy” (Revelation 19:10).
Through the prophet Joel, God said, “I am the LORD your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed. And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions” (Joel 2:27, 28).
In one such prophesy, a godly woman told of an experience only God could have given her in the mid-1800s (sometime between 1840 and 1858). She said, “I was pointed back to the time of Moses and saw the signs and wonders which God wrought through him before Pharaoh, most of which were imitated by the magicians of Egypt; and that just before the final deliverance of the saints, God would work powerfully for His people, and these modern magicians would be permitted to imitate the work of God. EW 59.2
“That time will soon come, and we shall have to keep hold of the strong arm of Jehovah; for all these great signs and mighty wonders of the devil are designed to deceive God’s people and overthrow them. Our minds must be stayed upon God, and we must not fear the fear of the wicked, that is, fear what they fear, and reverence what they reverence, but be bold and valiant for the truth. Could our eyes be opened, we should see forms of evil angels around us, trying to invent some new way to annoy and destroy us. And we should also see angels of God guarding us from their power; for God’s watchful eye is ever over Israel for good, and He will protect and save His people, if they put their trust in Him. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him. EW 60.1
“Said the angel, ‘Remember, thou art on the enchanted ground.’ I saw that we must watch and have on the whole armor and take the shield of faith, and then we shall be able to stand, and the fiery darts of the wicked cannot harm us.” EW 60.2
“Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise” (Hebrews 10:35, 36). Draw close to God and He will draw close to you. He will not fail you. And He cannot do other than what He has promised. He is not like men, who lie.
Jesus spoke plainly, “Behold I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up take no thought how or what ye shall speak for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved” (Matthew 10:16-22). Such was the experience of Jesus. Even though He was crucified by the very ones He sought to save, He rose from the grave, just as He said He would. And those who died in faith, believing in Him, also rose and gave testimony to the truth throughout Jerusalem, while the chief priests and elders paid large money to the soldiers to say that He was stolen away, while they slept. (Read Matthew 27:50-54; and 28:11-15.)
Jesus died in faith, believing in His Father’s all-encompassing love. And Jesus remained faithful to His charge to save a dying world from the power of wickedness in high places. That same faith, the faith of Jesus, and His faithfulness may be ours for the asking. In the name of Jesus, just ask our Heavenly Father for the faith of Jesus.