Hey guys welcome back to Critical Thinking Alouds series on Spiritual Beings as The Bibles Main Characters. This installment is another teaching in our foundational What is the Bible series.
Content is everything and all of the information we will be covering today will be building off of prior material in this seres. If you have not had a chance to review that material yet do so first by clicking here.
How we are going to learn
In this teaching we will be looking at the topic of spiritual beings as one of the Bibles main characters through the worldview of the ancient Near Eastern biblical authors. As I have done in the past with other teachings I want to quote from scholarly sources to make my point. I do this in hope that you will see this isn’t just my interpretation of the Scriptures but that this view is steeped in acadeemia.
We will be using two amazing sources which we highly recommend.
- Faithlife Study Bible: This is an amazing resource that is free if you download the app or use it online. To download the app or use this resource online visit their website here. This resource is also available in print which you can purchase here.
- The NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible: This is my favorite resource for gaining a better understanding for the ancient Near Eastern worldview of the Biblical authors. This is available in a multitude of variations all of which you can find on our resource page here.
Let’s Critical Think Aloud!
We know What God Wants
Yahweh wants a big blended family of loyal Spiritual and Human Beings who He shares His authority with to spread His Kingdom, and He accomplishes this in the spiritual realm through His Council.
The Divine Council
Throughout this Spiritual Being series we have been using the concept of how the ancient Near Eastern cultures viewed the gods residing in a council and learning more about how this idea was not abandoned by the Israelites but transformed. This notion has been the base for our teachings about spiritual beings as one of the Bibles main characters.
Quote
Here is a quote that we have been using to help ground us in the biblical authors worldview
“The idea that the gods operated in community, however, posed serious problems for the theology of Israel, in which only one being had divine authority. This theology did not eradicate the divine council from the Israelite thinking; instead the council was transformed. Rather than being comprised of various gods, the council featured the “sons of God” over whom Yahweh presided and whose activities he delegated… These council members were not gods who had autonomous divine authority on a par with Yahweh’s, but they were spirit beings given a role in Yahweh’s governance of the world.”
The NIV Culture Backgrounds Study Bible: Article on the Divine Council on Pg. 615
Other Spiritual Beings serving on Gods Council is not in conflict with the Biblical authors ancient Near Eastern worldview. Even though they believed that other spiritual beings exist, Yahweh alone is sovereign over everything including these other deities.
Here on Critical Thinking Aloud we defined Sovereignty not as meticulous control but that of the ability to rule as one pleases.
Yahweh has seen fit to rule by sharing His authority with His Council not by control. This is how Yahweh wants to rule over His creation!
Let us not forget that any being found on God council has retained loyalty to Yahweh and serve Him in obedience. This mini series however is covering Spiritual Beings who previously held a place on God council but lost their position due to disloyalty.
Disloyal Spiritual Beings Part 3
In our previous teaching we covered The Devil, and Fallen Spiritual Beings who rebelled against God and were thrown off of His Holy Mountain. Today we want to talk about the last group of these seditious beings, The Sons of God.
In our previous teaching we mentioned how the term Elohim (god) can be a general name for all Spiritual Beings found on Gods council (click here to review that material). Every Being who resides in the Spiritual realm is an elohim. We used this mantra to help us better understand the meaning of elohim:
All Spiritual beings are elohim including Yahweh, but no other Elohim is Yahweh.
The term the Sons of Elohim is the same. It is a catch phrase for the spiritual members of Gods family. Remember by describing the disloyal members who have been kicked of Gods abode we are setting the stage for our upcoming mini series, the three dual rebellion motif of Genesis 1-11.
Back Story
From the beginning Yahweh has desired to live in community with His creation. Once sin entered into His family He was forced to engage in community with His family in a different way. Throughout the Bible although Gods desire to live in community with humans never changes because of their disobedience the way that this communion is achieved changes serval times over the coarse of the narrative.
If you are unsure how this happened trust me, we will have a much clearer picture of this as we progress though the mini series of the Dual rebellion motif and continue to unpack this concept throughout the rest of the What is the Bible Series.
As we will see in the upcoming teachings because of sin God eventual puts all the nations under the authority of loyal spiritual members of His council. His desire was for them to rule the nations as He would rule His portion.
Last Spiritual Primer
After having already seen the anointed cherubim (the devil), and those whom He entrusted to watch over humanity turncoat, we should already know what is going to happen with the beings whom God placed over the nations.
Psalm 82
1 God presides in the great assembly;
Psalms 82
he renders judgment among the “gods”:
2 “How long will you defend the unjust
and show partiality to the wicked?
3 Defend the weak and the fatherless;
uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.
4 Rescue the weak and the needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
5 “The ‘gods’ know nothing, they understand nothing.
They walk about in darkness;
all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
6 “I said, ‘You are “gods”;
you are all sons of the Most High.’
7 But you will die like mere mortals;
you will fall like every other ruler.”
8 Rise up, O God, judge the earth,
for all the nations are your inheritance.
You got it
You got it! The Bibles use of repetition really helps us to catch that these Spiritual Beings tasked with oversight of the nations also rebel. Renegade Sons of God jump at the opportunity to subvert the worship of their subjects from Yahweh to themselves.
Yahweh placed these beings over the nations, giving them an opportunity to inmate Him and as He rules His portion, Israel. He expects these beings to reflect His character while governing the nations leading them to seek and find the One True Creator God through His Holy People.
Of coarse we already see it coming a mile away and the desire to be yahweh takes hold and they lead their inheritance to worship themselves as God. As always this ends in disaster and in the end the way ward spiritual beings are judged.
Join us next week for our last part in our teaching on the Bibles Main Characters.
Peace and Blessings
Biblical Doctrine Derives From the Biblical Text
Check out this short video series on Spiritual beings by our friends over at The Bible Project by clicking here. They are amazing and super helpful to better grasp what we will be covering in this series.
Let us know your thought about our series in the comment section. If you have any topics you would like to suggest please let us know and we will add them to the list of future subjects we will covered.
Citations:
NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible Grand Rapids, Michigan USA Zondervan 2016
Call for action: Help us out by learning more
Check out the book referenced above Demons: What the Bible Really Says About the Powers of Darkness by Michael Heiser for a more in-depth study on these Spiritual Beings who were on Gods council. Get it now by clicking here.
Our Favorite Bible
U.S. Link: NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible- Hardcover Bible, Bonded Leather Bible, Bonded Leather: Thumb Index, Imitation Leather Women’s, Imitation Leather Men’s, Kindle Edition
Our Favorite Book
U.S. Supernatural: What the Bible Teaches about the Unseen World And Why It Matters- Paperback book, Kindle Edition, Audiobook
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