"the fiery darts of the wicked" (Ephesians 6:16)
As born again believers, our fight is always against the things that we cannot see with our physical eyes, but God has equipped every born again believer with the whole armour of God. There is a piece of armour in the whole armour of God that is for defending us against the "fiery darts of the wicked":
Ephesians 6:16 "Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked."
The shield of faith is our defence against the "fiery darts of the wicked", but the same word "dart" is also found in:
Proverbs 7:23 "Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life."
The main function of the liver is to protect the body from harmful toxins in the digestive tract. Notice how much the liver is shaped like a shield. The liver is the "shield" that God has put in the body of man to defend him from toxins that may enter into the body from the food and water he consumes.
The Bible compares the function of the liver to our faith in the word of God, and faith is as a shield that will defend us against the fiery darts of the wicked. What is “faith”? Where is the source of our faith? Paul tells us in this verse:
Romans 10:17 "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
The source of our faith is the word of God. Then, in another verse:
Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."
This verse tells us that faith is a “substance.” When a person hears the words of the LORD in the 66 books of the Holy Bible, and he believes them in in his heart, this substance call “faith” is actually present with him, and it functions as a shield to defend him against the “fiery darts of the wicked” (Ephesians 6:16).
Psalms 104:4 "Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire:"
Hebrews 1:7 "And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire."
These two verses connect spirits (angels) to fire. Therefore the "fiery darts" in Ephesians 6:16 are spirits that attack to undermine the spiritual defense system in a person.
Proverbs 1:23 "Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you."
Words are the physical substance of the spirit, invisible but discernible. Jesus equates his words to spirit and life in John 6:63. The substance of “the shield of faith” is the word of God. The Devil's weapons against the shield of faith are "fiery darts of the wicked", words (spirits) that work to destroy “faith”.
Mark 7:15-19 "There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man... Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats?"
The things that we eat: the food and water that come into our body through the mouth, cannot defile us. This is because God has put in us a natural defense system (the liver) to filter off the toxins so that they cannot enter into our blood, wherein is the "life of the flesh" (Leviticus 17:11).
Mark 7:20-22 "And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:"
It is the things that come out from a man which defiles him, and these are that which a man has already received in his heart. They are "words" (spirits) which are contrary to the word of God, the "fiery darts of the wicked" that have made it through the shield of faith. These are things which have entered into a man in the form of words (spirits), and as seeds, and have taken root in his heart, and so bring forth evil fruits in his life: evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. (13 things)
Mark 7:23 "All these evil things come from within, and defile the man."
These are the 13 "toxins" which entered into a man and defiles him. There is that pattern of the number 13, which is linked to:
Revelation 17:5 "And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH."
Notice “MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” (13 words) She is the “strange woman” in the book of Proverbs.
Proverbs 5:3-4 "¶ For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: 4 But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword."
Honey and the honeycomb are likened to the word of God (Psalm 19:10, 119:103; Proverbs 16:24, 24:13-14), and so is a twoedged sword (Hebrews 4:12). Oil is a reference to the Holy Spirit (1 John 2:27). This tells us that the strange woman is one that mimics or imitates after the word of God and the Holy Ghost! Referring to “MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH” (Revelation 17:5):
Revelation 18:7 "How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow."
Jeremiah 7:18 "The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger."
She is the "queen of heaven" that the children of men serve and worship instead of the one and true God. It is from this woman whose “end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword” (Proverbs 5:4) that the fiery darts of the wicked made it through the shield of faith, to destroy a person from within.