One title by which these spirit beings are occasionally referenced is the "host of heaven." The Bible clearly tells us that sin leads to death (Eze. It was this ability, combined with his arrogance and pride (cf. Yeshua's response to the Jews (which they understood) was that he was one of those divine council members. But which one? (Yoma 20a). 3. In Scripture, one of the signs of a true prophet of YHVH was being shown a vision of one of His divine council meetings. Where did they come from? 1:9); the Sadducees of Yeshua's day also rejected the existence of angels and spirits (Acts 23:8). Think of the billions of decisions, the actions and consequences that occur every day within every nation. is similar to that of the verse:  the entire host of heaven, which Hashem, your God, has apportioned to all the peoples ([Deu.] Also on certain days after the festival [i.e., Passover] there appeared a thing so marvelous as to be beyond belief, but that it was related by many that saw it in their own eyes. Who has wrought desolations in the earth. The God of individuals is the God also of nations; the law of righteousness which applies to individuals applies also to nations; and nations are accountable to God, and must be judged by Him just as surely as individuals. The virtually unanimous opinion of antiquity was that these were some of the same angelic "sons of God" that had been present during the creation (Gen. 1:26; Job 38:7). 3:20). document.write('' + anchorText + ''); Asaph ends the psalm by exhorting YHVH to judge the earth and its divine rulers, because all nations truly belong to Him and not to them. Etheridge). This means of forgiveness was something the other 70 nations did not have. Then Yeshua asked the Jews, "Why do you say I'm blaspheming just because I've proclaimed myself to be a Son of God, when the Father Himself in the Scripture calls the members of the divine council "gods" ('elohim)?" Therefore He brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or infirm; He gave them all into his hand.read more.All the articles of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king and of his officers, he brought them all to Babylon. Gabriel tells Daniel that God's message to him might not have been delivered except for the help of Michael, here called "one of the chief princes." I also will no longer drive out before them any of the nations which Joshua left when he died, in order to test Israel by them, whether they will keep the way of the. Just as an actual serpent crawls on its belly along the ground, Satan was removed from his position in heaven as an "anointed cherub who covered" the throne of YHVH with his wings (Eze. This anointed Son of God was one of the exalted 'elohim that served on the divine council, the one that YHVH assigned to rule over His portion, the nation of Israel (Deu. ©2021 The Holy Scriptures reveal a fantastic tale of powerful spirit beings that have been and continue to be intimately involved in directing and governing the affairs of mankind. The doors of the holy place abruptly opened, a superhuman voice was heard to declare that the gods were leaving it, and in the same instant came the rushing tumult of their departure. 3. (p. 243, vol. 1:24) and tells us that the Almighty Father used him as His "master worker" (Pro. The prodigy might seem fabulous were it not related by those who saw it, and were not the calamities which followed deserving of such signs. God of all nations Lord of creation It’s in the bonds of love we meet We come together at Your feet. 8, sec. The sons of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they did not depart from them until the Lord removed Israel from His sight, as He spoke through all His servants the prophets. (Daniel 10:13, John Gill, Exposition of the Bible), Michael, he who is like God, sometimes appears to signify the Messiah, at other times the highest or chief archangel. The Māori version was written by T H Smith in 1878 and is not a direct translation of the original English lyrics penned by Thomas Bracken in 1875. “He makes the nations great, then destroys them; He enlarges the nations, then leads them away. 82:1). He said that he had already told them he was the Messiah, and they had not believed him (v. 25a). Based on Yeshua's answer to the Jews, why were they planning to stone him? Let's allow the Jews themselves to define for us what they took Yeshua's claim to be: According to the Jews' own words, they understood that Yeshua was claiming to be an 'elohim, one of the divine sons of God. 4:10), and similar officials may have existed also in early Israel (cf. How did they receive their authority to rule? The original legends show that Tartarus was used only to confine those who were considered dangerous to the Olympian gods. [In Time of Trouble—National.] 35-36). However, Gabriel was impeded for three weeks because "the prince of the kingdom of Persia" contested God's purpose to enlighten Daniel (and through him, us). 8, sec. The phrase at that time, probably includes all the time of Christ, from his first, to his last coming. 5. The Gods of the Nations: A Study in Ancient Near Eastern National Theology 10:13) on the divine council who is said to be the prince over the people of Israel (Dan. 22-23). Few people placed a sinister interpretation upon this. Josephus is not the only historian who records this celestial war. 7, p. 763, Ramban Commentary on the Torah). The mighty angel Gabriel was sent from heaven by YHVH to give Daniel understanding of what would happen to his people the Jews "in the end of days" (v. 14, Heb. Therefore, Yeshua was elevated above his "companions," the other members of the divine council. (bk. If the angelic "morning stars" (Job 38:7), including the preincarnate Messiah (cf. Verse 5 contains two citations from the Old Testament which confirm the sure nature of God's promise to His "Anointed" that He would establish him as king over the entire earth. 5, ch. Was he one of the 70 ruling angels? Romans 13:1-7 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. (bk. (vol. At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon went up to Jerusalem, and the city came under siege. . 4, Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible), 1. 22:6-10) (p. 914. Here is a version of the New Zealand National Anthem in Māori – It is commonly heard before the English version at most national and international events now.. God of Nations at Thy feet, In the bonds of love we meet, Hear our voices, we entreat, God defend our free land. . Let's first look at what the apostle Peter said about the angels imprisoned there: In Greek mythology, the poet Hesiod said that Tartarus was where the Titans, the first pantheon of Greek gods, were imprisoned after their defeat by the Olympian gods. This time, the issue was man's rebellion at the Tower of Babel: The "us" in verse 7 is the same group of beney ha'elohim that God had earlier spoken to in Genesis 1:26 and 3:22, as Targum Pseudo-Jonathan again shows: And the Lord was revealed to punish them for the work of the city and the tower which the sons of men builded. (Deu. These "gods" were essentially interchangeable with the "host of heaven" assigned to them; worship of one was considered to be worship of both. 5, Ecclesiastical History). Even some of the Jewish kings bowed down to them and honored them: YHVH warned the Jews where worshiping these foreign gods would finally lead: Finally YHVH punished their rebellion and fulfilled His warnings to Israel. Only later did Tartarus also evolve into a place of punishment. Here, the form 'aretz refers to the earth as a whole, while 'eretz speaks just of the dry land. Isaiah 44:8 Through stammering lips and a foreign tongue. Psalm 135:15,18 The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men's hands…. 10:21; 12:1). But this is not the last the Bible has to say about these fallen angels. In a modern context, the term of a "national god" addresses the emergence of national churches within Christianity. He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth;He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two;He burns the chariots with fire. X. However, Israel was provided a way to have their sins removed once per year, on the Day of Atonement (i.e., Yom Kippur). In the following passage of Scripture, the prophet Micaiah describes a vision he saw of a heavenly council meeting called by YHVH to bring about the death of Israel's King Ahab: From this passage, it is clear that "all the host of heaven" standing before YHVH's throne in this meeting of the divine council were in service to Him. Satan's sin in the Garden was the first time that the powerful ruling angels went contrary to God's instructions, but it certainly was not the last. From Josephus' 1st-century history, we have record of a heavenly battle that took place in the skies over Jerusalem in the Spring of 66 CE: Also on certain days after the festival [i.e., Passover] there appeared a thing so marvelous as to be beyond belief, but that it was related by many that saw it in their own eyes. (vol. The picture portrayed by this brief account is one of spirit beings exercising authority over the nations they have been given to rule. Before the setting of the sun there were seen chariots driven across the sky, and hosts of armed men setting themselves in order of battle, and surrounding the cities. The next verse of the quotation confirms this identification. For before the setting of the sun chariots and armed troops were seen throughout the whole region in mid-air, wheeling through the clouds and encircling the cities. This is primarily because it is considered a foundational doctrine of the Jehovah's Witnesses denomination, which most Christians deem to be a cult. For the children - The meaning seems to be, as after the death of Antiochus the Jews had some deliverance, so there will be yet a greater deliverance to the people of God, when, Michael, he who is like God, sometimes appears to signify the Messiah. Let's look more closely at the Greek word hen. 28:14; cf. He all along showed this friendship in the upper world; the angels knew it; but now Michael shall stand up in his providence, and work deliverance for the Jews, when he sees that their power is gone, Deut. x. - Cindy Ruakere sings 'God Defend New Zealand' - New Zealand's National Anthem. (p. 191, translated and with commentary by Martin Abegg Jr., Peter Flint & Eugene Ulrich). Although the timing is subject to conjecture, it seems likely that Satan and the ruling princes rebelled against this new order shortly before the siege and destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 CE: Regarding this heavenly battle described in Revelation 12, several ancient historians record what certainly could have been man's view of it. I've put the English version at the top - we us We come together at Your feet. As Satan's temptation of Yeshua shows (Matt. This understanding of the "image" is described in Harper's Bible Commentary on verse 26: The context suggests that humanity is the image of God in the dominion it exercises over the rest of creation; ancient Near Eastern parallels suggest that "image of God" is a royal designation, emphasizing the godlike nature of the ruling monarch. Commandments of the unformed world commenced ( vv, to his last coming spiritual warfare against enemy nations was uncommon. 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