Cosmic Battle
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Intro
Angels and Demons are part of pop-culture. They have fallen into well-worn tropes, with spiritual beings either coming up from hell, or down from heaven.
The angels are white and winged, the demons are red and horned.
As you trace this imagery back you will see that it flows out of Christian art and theology down through the centuries.
But more than this, all across the world in almost all religions there are concepts of good and bad spirits, gods and demigods.
All cultures and religions have their ideas about an unseen spiritual world that sometimes intersects with our own.
As with all of the best mythology, somewhere these ideas find their basis in reality. Somewhere there is something real that explains why cultures and religions have all come up with similar answers to the question of supernatural phenomena.
What if I told you that the Bible gives an explanation of the spiritual world, and it’s probably not anything like what you’re expecting?
Many people have read the Bible, even several times, and they have not put the pieces together that explain the unseen realm and the cosmic war that is going on all around us.
Unless you have the ancient near-eastern wolrdview in mind as you read the Bible, you will probably miss many significant moments, or perhaps you read them, they just sounded weird so you moved on.
I want to take you on a flying overview of the Bible so that you can see what it says about the spiritual world and how it relates to our present time.
Even if you are not a believer in spiritual things, I hope that this will be an enlightening lecture that gives you insight into history and ancient literature.
There will be a time for Questions at the end, so I recommend that you write down this number and send in your questions so that we can respond to them.
In order to frame this lecture, I am going to work through the different categories of spiritual being that come up in the Bible, and we will see how each of these pieces fit together by the end.
Let us turn first to the idea of gods.
YHWH, Elohim & Bene Elohim: The LORD, Gods & Sons of God
YHWH, Elohim & Bene Elohim: The LORD, Gods & Sons of God
We often have different names for the same person or groups of people.
Sometimes we describe someone by their
relationship,
job description,
sometimes by their species and
sometimes by name.
The same person can be
“Dad”,
“accountant”,
“that man”, and
“Tom”.
In the Bible there is one particular spiritual being who is preeminent and above all the others in authority and power. He’s known by many names and titles.
By relationship he is the Father of his people,
by job description he is Adoni - the Lord
By species he is Elohim (god)
by name he is YHWH
This is the one Christians refer to when they say “God” this is who they pray to, who they obey. This is the spiritual being who created the world and is sovereign over it at every moment.
Famously this spiritual being reveals his name to the prophet Moses when he asks who he is being commissioned by. He’s told:
Exodus 3:15 (ESV)
God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘YHWH, the elohe (god) of your fathers, the elohe of Abraham, the elohe of Isaac, and the elohe of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.
This was important to clarify because in that day, the people understood that there were many elohim. They knew that there were many spirits/gods and he needed to understand who he was talking to.
So think about it like this. We have a Prime Minister and other Ministers in our parliament. There are many minsters, but there is a pre-eminent minister the “prime minister” He’s THE minister, but also one of many.
Same goes here, Elohim is a type of being. There is THE God, YHWH. He is the God of Gods, he is the creator of all that exists, but there is also other lesser elohim.
In fact elohim can be used to describe just about any disembodied spirit. YHWH does not have a body, so he is an elohim. the Prophet Samuel, when he died his sprirt was called up from the underworld and he is described as an “elohim”.
But usually, contextually speaking, in the Bible Elohim is referring to either YHWH THE Elohim, or other lesser spiritual beings who still have some power or authority.
SO, if the Christians believe and follow YHWH elohim, who are the other Elohim who show up in the bible and the ancient religions?
In the Bible, to clarify the distinction between YHWH and the others, the lesser gods are sometimes called “Sons of God”
These are the Sons of Elohim. They were with YHWH before he made the world:
Job 38:4–7 (ESV)
“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? ...who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God (bene elohim) shouted for joy?
These Sons of God show up in many places across the Bible, especially in relation to the Divine Council
The Divine Council
The Divine Council
The divine council is a place where God directs heavenly & earthly affiars. It’s kind of like a parliament. Take a look:
God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:
Shows up many places.
Prophets get to see this place
Deception of Ahab (1 Kings 22:19–23)
Job’s trial
The Sons of God were given authority over geographic places and people. They became. Princes of certain districts.
Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations; ask your father, and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you. When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind, he fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God.
The divine council is given work to do.
They did a bad job: Rebellion of the divine council.
They took worship for them self
They didn’t promote care of the vulnerable
I said, “You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you; nevertheless, like men you shall die, and fall like any prince.”
Their judgement has been announced. They will be punished.
The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.
They left their proper places and did what was evil.
This was sexual perversion and usurping God’s design.
They started fighting agaist YWHW and vying for control.
YWHW disowns the nations, and choses Israel as his own nation
Not modern Israel!
Satan, Devil & Serpent
Satan, Devil & Serpent
Shadowy figure
Deceiver: Deceived Adam & Eve to cause the fall of humanity.
Satan = Accuser. Job description, not name.
Called the devil.
Potentially one of the sons of God who lead the rebellion.
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—
He’s the “god of this world”
He’s vying for control.
Shedim: Demons
Shedim: Demons
Demons are not directly evil, but over time this is what the word has come to mean. In ancient literature demon can be just a spirit, like elohim, but, in the New Testament the word is used exclusively for evil spirits, rebellious spirits.
Nefarious Elohim or disembodied Nephilim?
Deuteronomy 32:16–17 (ESV)
They stirred him to jealousy with strange [gods]; with abominations they provoked him to anger. They sacrificed to demons (shedim) that were no gods (eloah), to gods (elohim) they had never known, to new [gods] that had come recently, whom your fathers had never dreaded.
What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons.
These demons can posess people - Speculate: they are nephilim spirits because they want a body.
These Spirits are fighting against YHWH and his rule.
Malakh, Seraphim & Cherubim: Angels & Other Spiritual Beings
Malakh, Seraphim & Cherubim: Angels & Other Spiritual Beings
Malakh / Angel means Messenger.
This is a job description - not a type of being. However it does broadly get used in the NT to refer to spiritual beings.
Cherubim and Seraphim seem to be 2 different types of elohim.
Cherubim are throne guardians
One at Eden
represented at the temple
Seen in visions of heaven
The Lexham Bible Dictionary Seraphim
SERAPHIM (שׂרפים, srpym; “burning ones”). The six-winged heavenly beings that carry the live coals and guard the throne of Yahweh in Isa 6:2.
Holy War, Cosmic Battle
Holy War, Cosmic Battle
There is a cosmic war going on for influence of humanity
Then he said to me, “Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words. The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia,
The people had been placed under the power of other Sons of God, but God had a plan to reclaim humanity, and not only that, to remake the divine council with Humans!
Jesus come to reclaim his people, and the nations. he was THE Son of God.
What did he do when he arrived?
The devil tried to win him over
He cast out demons all over the place!
He came to pay for sin, reconcile humanity with God and defeat the other spirits.
And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.
Made part of the council:
But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.
The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne.
We’re part of the fight, bringing people out of the control of the demons to eternal life in YHWH!
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Change loyalties!
Put you alligence in God.
He will accept you, take away your sin and give you freedom from demons, death and devil.
Further Information
Further Information
Locally contact Ps. Samuel Lindsay
Douglas Van Dorn - Books, podcasts & documentaries
Dr Michael Heiser - Books, podcasts & documentaries
Unseen Realm
