Who are the 'rulers in high places' that Les is talking about?
The “rulers in high places” are not political rulers; they are spiritual rulers in high places who have come under satanic influence. The context connects them to corruption in the high places of denominations, where, as Satan transforms himself into an angel of light, spiritual leaders can deceive.
Les explains that he is not talking about political rulers but about spiritual rulers in high places who have come under satanic influence. He illustrates this with a statement he remembers from a speaker he thinks was named Vance Havner: a pine tree always starts dying at the top, just as things begin to erode and turn corrupt in the high places of denominations. Les connects this to Satan transforming himself into an angel of light, showing that these spiritual rulers are deceptive. He then reads Ephesians 6:13 about taking the whole armor of God to withstand in the evil day.