Shrouded In Darkness:  Divine Protection By Pastor Brandon Johnson

Shrouded In Darkness:  Divine Protection  

“Dad…Dad, wake up! Bianca needs you upstairs. There is  something wrong with Kailea.” These were the words that our oldest daughter, Destiny, said to me early Wednesday morning. Startled out of my sleep, I rushed upstairs, afraid of what I would find. On my way upstairs, a story that Bianca had shared with me years ago popped into my head. It was a story about a couple who  took in their son for his immunizations, and that evening the mother told Bianca that she literally watched as the “light left his  eyes.” The mother said their son has been autistic since that moment. This story had only come to my mind because Kailea had just had her immunizations that day to prepare for kindergarten. In my short trip upstairs, that story played at least twice in my head, not helping matters. I arrived in the room to find concerned looks all around. When I saw Kailea, I knew this was not normal. Her face was gray, her eyes were slightly open,  and she was trying to talk but could not form words. When we would call her name, it seemed as if something was turning her away from us while it seemed that she was fighting to turn her head towards us. My mother-in-law described it best, “You could  see something trying to suck Kailea’s mind back like she was  being pulled away.” I laid my hands on her, and we began to pray for her. We took her downstairs to our room so we could keep a close eye on her. Bianca became angry and said that this was an attack by the enemy to steal our daughter from us. I believe this to be true, especially since Pastor Eb, Pastor Percell, and I had only finished the “Shrouded In Darkness” series a few days prior.  Also, this was not the only attack; by the time the last part of our series had finished, I had only the use of one hand and one good leg due to flared arthritis within the joints. So we prayed for  Kailea again and anointed her with oil. This time we took authority and commanded the foul spirit to leave our daughter alone. I picked up my Bible and turned to Psalms 91, and began  to read it over her:

He who dwells in the secret place of the Highest Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 

2I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.” 

3Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the [a]fowler And from the perilous pestilence. 

4He shall cover you with His feathers, 

And under His wings you shall take refuge; 

His truth shall be your shield and [b]buckler. 

5You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, 

Nor of the arrow that flies by day, 

6Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, 

Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. 

7A thousand may fall at your side, 

And ten thousand at your right hand; 

But it shall not come near you.

8Only with your eyes shall you look, 

And see the reward of the wicked. 

9Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, Even the Highest, your dwelling place, 

10No evil shall befall you, 

Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; 

11For He shall give His angels charge over you,  

To keep you in all your ways.  

12 In their hands they shall [c]bear you up,  

Lest you [d]dash your foot against a stone.  

13 You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra,  

The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot. 

14 “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver  him; 

I will [e]set him on high because he has known My name. 15He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; 

I will be with him in trouble; 

I will deliver him and honor him. 

16With [f]long life I will satisfy him, 

And show him My salvation.” 

Many understand Psalms 91 to be a song of protection from pestilence, plagues, and fowlers, in other words, bad things from happening to them, but that was not the only reason I was using this Psalm.  

As I started preparing my sermon, “Shrouded In Darkness,” I  began to read the works of scholars who had a deep knowledge of the Greek and Hebrew in both the New and Old Testaments concerning demonic origins and oppression, and deliverance. What I  found amazed me and showed me how truly deep God’s Word really is and how seamlessly it weaves together.

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High:  

עליון) El Elyon) means Most High God, which is the same language found in Deuteronomy 32:8 when it says that the Highest God divided the human race into portions that were allotted to the lesser sons of God (the Bene Elohim: the watchers) while  God made Israel His portion. The Watchers fell and became hostile supernatural forces. So El Elyon is the Name of God that separates Him from the sons of God who fell, had children with the daughters of men (Genesis 6), and was worshipped among these nations. Their descendants, once they died, became disembodied spirits that could not be redeemed because of their hybrid nature and became what we know as demons today.  

3 Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the [a]fowler  And from the perilous pestilence.  

  

Pestilence in the 3rd verse is not what it seems throughout this  Psalm. Due to a missed translation by the Septuagint translators, the Hebrew word here is רֶּבֶּ ד) deber). December is actually a name  of a Canaanite deity and is used 50 times in the Bible, including  once again in verse 6 of this chapter where it says, “nor the  pestilence that stalks in darkness.”

V4 He will cover you with His Pinions (Feathers of Flight like in Isaiah 40:31), and under His wings, you will find refuge (like an Eagle protects her young). His faithfulness is a Shield and Buckler (small shield). 

This talk of God’s faithfulness and truth being a shield is very reminiscent of the language Paul uses in Ephesians 6:11-16 when talking of the Armor of God. We see another possible tie  to Ephesians 6 in verse 5 of Psalm 91, which reads, 

You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the ARROW that flies by day. 

Ephesians 6:16 says that it is with the Shield of Faith that you  will be able to extinguish the “Flaming Arrows of the evil one.” 

The ancient Canaanite deity referenced in verse 5 of Psalm 91 is, “Resheph” a deity depicted as an archer who would shoot flaming arrows at his enemies. 

“Nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.” 

The word, “destruction,” here is the Hebrew word, בֶ טֶק) Qeteb) believed arguably to be a Canaanite deity closely related to their  kind of taunting these deities in Hosea 13:14,

“I shall ransom them from the power of Sheol; I shall redeem them from Death (Mot). 

O Death (Mot), where are your plagues (Deber)? O Sheol, where is your sting (Qeteb)?  

Dr. Michael Heiser interprets this best when he says it’s like  God is saying, “Hey Mot, where’re your buddies, deber and qeteb? They weren’t too effective here, and now I’m going to  redeem the people out your hands.” 

This is the God we serve, the one who openly shames the enemy as He redeems His people. Colossians 2:15 reads, 

“He disarmed the rulers and authorities and disgraced them  publicly; He triumphed over them by Him.” 

Let’s return to Psalm 91:7-10, 

“A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. V8 You will only look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked.  V9 Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place— The Most High, who is my refuge. V10 No evil shall be  allowed to befall you; no plague will come near your tent.”

Now let’s read the part that Satan quoted to Jesus (Matthew 4), beginning with verse 11: 

“For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. V12 On their hands, they will bear you  up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.” 

Satan conveniently left out verse 13 for a reason, 

“You will tread on the lion and the adder; the young lion  and the serpent you will trample underfoot.” 

I would have left it out as well if I were him, but he had to of known that Jesus knew the next verse, but Jesus chose to let  Satan experience this first hand at the Cross, Burial, and  Resurrection. 

It has been recorded within the Dead Sea Scrolls that David wrote over 4,000 Psalms. Only 4 of them were recorded as being for the “possessed,” and Psalms 91 was found among them.  

This is why I chose this Psalm to read over to my daughter that night. Psalms 91 is not about a guarantee that you’re not going to get sick or that you’re never going to have any troubles if you read it over yourself. Psalms 91 is a reminder to the Devil and  all demonic forces that they are defeated, and my family and I 

are under my Father’s protection as long as I dwell in that Secret  Place. 

The next day after this attack, our daughter woke up and slowly returned to her normal self. I believe this was due to fervent prayer, faith in God, and the use of God’s Word to remind Satan that we dwell in the Secret Place of the Most High, which means he has no place in our lives and he is defeated. 

  

– Pastor Brandon Johnson