One of the great aspects of the fact that our blessings are located in the heavenly realms is that no one on earth can take them away. This was a testimony of the early church father Justin Martyr, during the times of the Roman persecution in the second century. Around the year 150 AD, Justin wrote his first apology, and in it he challenged the Roman authorities to think differently about Christians. And one thing he said that the Romans should notice is the Christian testimony in the face of tyranny and injustice, that persecution was not able to get them to deny Christ:
As for us, we reckon that no evil at all can be done to us, and you, though, yes, you can kill us, you are not able to harm us.You see, his point was that the blessings we have in the spiritual realms were simply beyond the reach of Caesar. And the joy and peace of the children of God are safe in the heavenly realms.Justin continued:
Dr. Richard D. PhillipsAnd when you hear that we are looking for a kingdom, you suppose without making inquiry that we are talking about a human kingdom, whereas we are speaking of that Kingdom which is of God. For if we were looking for a human kingdom, yes, we would deny Christ that we would not be slain. We would strive to avoid detection, that we might obtain this earthly kingdom we were seeking. But since our thoughts are not fixed on the present, we are therefore not concerned when men cut us off.1
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,