The Unseen Realm Recovering the Supernatural worldview of

The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural worldview of the Bible Michael Heiser Chapters 39 -40 Adult SS Class Westney Heights Baptist Church Dr. Craig Carter

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Review • For the past year we have been looking at the Divine Council in the Bible • In the OT we saw the idea of a Divine Council of created divine beings that are what we normally refer to as angels that God uses to administer creation • These powerful beings have ruling functions; they do much more than carry messages • We also saw that the coming of Jesus was the climax of a spiritual war against the rebellious & fallen spiritual beings • Jesus now rules at the right hand of the Father & is guiding his church to preach the gospel to all the nations • This morning we come to Part 8 of Heiser’s book, which deals with the future

Chapter 39 Final Verdict • “Rather than offer yet another speculative system about end times, my goal over the next three chapters is to show you how the divine council cosmicgeographical worldview we have been exploring sheds significant light on how the long war against Yahweh ends. ” (Unseen Realm, 349)

Chapter 39 Final Verdict • Prophecy consists of 2 parts: 1. A few things that we know absolutely for certain 2. Many questions about which we are unsure or have to speculate • It is not easy to discern what is the literal meaning of prophecies given in figurative language

Chapter 39 - Final Verdict • The fact that something is said in figurative language does not mean it is not referring to something literally real • Eg. If I say, “My wife is a peach” that does not mean she is literally a piece of fruit grown on the Niagara Peninsula, but it does mean she (literally) is really nice • The danger in interpreting figurative language about the future is that we do the equivalent of thinking that my statement means that my wife is good to eat! • Metaphors have a literal meaning, but that meaning must be understood correctly • Non-literal language never means nothing (eg. Genesis 1 -2)

The Divine Council in the OT • Eden: There are references to the Divine Council in Gen. 1: 26 & in the person of the Serpent, who seems to have been a disloyal council member • Babel: Yahweh dispersed the disobedient nations at Babel & turned them over to be ruled by lesser spiritual beings • It is unclear whether they were fallen already or if they fell later • Yahweh chose Israel for his own chosen nation • Sinai: After the Exodus from Egypt Yahweh makes the Israelites into a nation • Yahweh appeared in the form of the Angel of the LORD

The Divine Council in the OT • Prophets: Several of the prophets received visions in which they saw into the heavenly Divine Council & heard what was going on (eg. Isa. 6: 1 -7; Ezek. 1; Jer. 1: 21 -22) • It seems that God chooses to work through intermediaries (both angelic & human) even though he could do it all himself • Daniel: has a vision of a Divine Council scene in Dan. 7 in which the fate of the great earthly empires is decided • A parallel passage is Ps. 82 in which a decree of judgment is issued against the rebellious spiritual beings who rule the nations; they will “die like men” even though they are immortal • Isaiah: hears another judgment issued by the Council but this time it is one of comfort & hope for the people of God (Isa. 40)

The Divine Council in the NT • The gospel writers quote Isa. 40 in connection with the ministry of John the Baptist, who heralds the coming of the Messiah • The Divine Son will succeed where God’s human sons, such as the Israelite kings, failed • Yahweh’s rule comes to earth in the person of Jesus, who wages spiritual warfare against the demons & the spiritual rulers of the nations • Jesus triumphs In his death & resurrection & ascends to heaven • We live in the period of the in-gathering of the gentiles into the kingdom of God in preparation for the 2 nd Coming of Christ

The Divine Council in Revelation • When the end comes, Yahweh’s Divine Council meets again to determine the outcome of events • We see this in Rev. 4 -6, which contains many of the elements of the OT prophets’ visions of the Divine Council • The description of the cherubim (Ezek. 1 and 10) • God enthroned (Isa. 6; Ezek. 1; Dan. 7) • Multiple thrones (Dan. 7) • The gemstones, colors & sea of glass (Ezek. 1) • Divine spirits (1 Ki. 22)

The Divine Council in Revelation • The identity of the 24 elders is debated 1. They could represent the 12 priestly divisions of Israel + the 12 apostles 2. Or they could represent all glorified human believers 3. Or they could be non-human members of the Divine Council 4. They are differentiated from angels in Rev. 5 • In the future heaven & earth will come closer together; their separateness now is a result of sin • It appears that the scene is showing the replacements for the rebellious spiritual beings who now rule the nations (Isa. 24: 23)

The Divine Council in Revelation • The purpose of this Divine Council meeting is 3 -fold: 1. The exaltation of the Lamb that was slain (Rev. 4: 11; 5: 11 -12) 2. The celebration of the Lamb’s victory (Rev. 5: 1 -5) 3. The opening of the 7 Seals (Rev. 6) • This Divine Council meeting unleashes Yahweh’s final judgment on the earth described in Isa. 24: 23 & Dan. 7 • Is this referring to the Second Coming or to the First Coming?

The Divine Council in the NT • Christ was enthroned in his Ascension & the time of tribulation is going on right now as the kingdom of God expands in the world right now despite the best efforts of the Enemy to stop it • The stage is set in Rev. 4 -6 for the final confrontation between Yahweh & his people v. the powers of darkness and the humans under their control • This is still future to us • The battle rages on even though final victory for the Lamb is already decided

Chapter 40 - Foe From the North • God’s original intention was for heaven & earth to be united under his rule with angels ruling the heavenly portion & humans ruling the earthly portion • Rebellion in both realms led to a long war that will eventually result in God’s original plan being fulfilled • Earthly geography, especially in the Holy Land, symbolizes spiritual reality

Chapter 40 - Foe From the North • The cosmic-geographical worldview that emerged out of the Babel event was fundamental to the thinking of Israel • Yahweh ruled Israel & other gods ruled the nations (eg. Ruth, Naaman) • For Israel, the lands of the north were filled with supernatural danger & dread (giants, occult, serpent worship, etc. ) • When the prophets pronounced judgment on Israel, esp. from the 8 th century on, they knew that the invading armies would come from the North (Assyria, Babylon)

Chapter 40 - Foe From the North • It is ironic & significant that in the exile Israel ended up in Babylon, where the disinheriting of the nations originally occurred • It is hard to overstate the effect of the exile on Israel • It was far more than a defeat in battle; it was a crisis of faith • The destruction of Yahweh’s throne & temple was worse than the destruction of the city itself because it made Israel fear that God had broken the covenant • The Prophets, however, preached that this was not the case because the invading Babylonians were merely instruments in the hands of Yahweh

Chapter 40 - Foe From the North • The North was the area of Bashan, which contained Mount Hermon, the place where, according to Jewish tradition, the 70 Watchers had descended from heaven following their rebellion against Yahweh • It was known as the Gates of Hell (Caesarea Philippi) • Further north were Tyre & Sidon, centers of Baal worship • In the NT the Devil is referred to as Baal Zebul (Beelzebul)& he is associated with Satan, the Serpent

Chapter 40 - Foe From the North • When did the exile end? • Trick question! – the rebuilding of Jerusalem under Nehemiah & the temple did not mark the end of the exile • The nation was never really free again & the Davidic monarchy was never restored • The prophets proclaimed a hope that included much that never took place in the period from 539 BC (Cyrus’ decree) to Jesus (eg. Jer. 23: 1 -8) • Since the Jews still saw themselves as living in exile when Jesus came, this explains why the expected a Warrior-Messiah

Chapter 40 - Foe From the North • But the prophecies were fulfilled by Jesus (eg. Ezek. 37: 24 -26) • At Pentecost the Jews in Jerusalem from many nations converted to Jesus, the incarnate Yahweh, & were the means by which Yahweh would draw the elect from the nations into covenant with the Messiah • As Paul makes clear in Gal. 3, anyone who puts his faith in Jesus is a true offspring of Abraham whether Jew or Gentile

Chapter 40 - Foe From the North • In Ezek. 38 -39 the invasion of Israel by Gog, of the land of Magog, is described as coming from “the heights of the north” (38: 15; 39: 2) • Instead of focusing on the literal, geographic description, we need to think about the supernatural aspect of this • The expectation here is that the invasion would occur after the end of the exile, when the tribes had been united & dwelt in peace & safety • This would occur after the ingathering of the nations into the covenant of the Messiah • Heiser say: “The Gog invasion would be the response of the supernatural evil against the messiah & his kingdom” (365)

Chapter 40 - Foe From the North • Gog is regarded by many biblical scholars as a template for the NT figure called the Antichrist • Based on Gen. 49, many ancient Jews prior to the time of Christ believed that the antichrist figure would come from the tribe of Dan (whose tribal lands were near Bashan) • Judah is said to hold a scepter (symbol of rule) in Gen. 49: 9 -10, while Dan is said to be a serpent (!) • In Dt. 33: 22 Dan is said to be the cub of a lion, he leaps from Bashan • It is significant that Dan is omitted from the list of the tribes from which the 144, 000 believers are drawn in Rev. 7

Chapter 40 - Foe From the North • So the OT prophets in predicting the coming New Exodus that brings the exile to an end are in fact predicting the events of the First Coming of Christ, the Second Coming of Christ & the time in between in which we now live • History is moving along on 2 distinct but inter-related levels: the material & the spiritual • As the elect from all nations are gathered into the Covenant through faith in the Messiah, Satan simmers in hatefulness • At the end, just before the Second Coming, he will attack • The invasion of Israel by Babylon foreshadows this

NEXT CLASS – CHAPTERS 41 -42 • OUR NEXT CLASS WILL BE INDEC. • WE WILL LOOK AT UNSEEN REALMCH. 41 -42 • OUR TOPIC WILL BE THEBATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON