The Age of the Machine

If Tolkien were alive today, I imagine he’d shake his head at the world we’ve built and maybe even sigh a little. Few voices have seen modern life as clearly as his. Behind the Elves, Hobbits, and walking trees was more than fantasy; it was a moral vision. Tolkien was warning us about what happens when human will reaches for control instead of communion.

When he spoke of the Machine, he wasn’t thinking about cogs and gears. He meant something deeper: that restless urge in us to make the world bend faster to our desires. It’s the craving for power that, as he once wrote, “makes the will more quickly effective.” It’s the instinct to dominate creation rather than delight in it, to manipulate what was meant to be received as a gift.

Nearly seventy years after The Lord of the Rings, his fears have taken digital form. The furnaces of Isengard have become server farms and data centers. The Machine hums quietly in our pockets, in algorithms, automation, and artificial intelligence. It promises knowledge without wisdom, speed without rest, and progress without purpose. Humanity’s reach has never been longer, yet our roots have rarely felt shallower.

When optimization becomes our liturgy, incarnation starts to feel unnecessary.

The Speed of Life

We rarely notice it, but the world has picked up an almost unbearable pace. Everything hums and buzzes all the time. News breaks before it’s even verified. Emails multiply while we sleep. Our devices promise connection, but most of the time they keep us performing—always producing, never pausing. It’s as if slowing down has become a kind of sin.

Sociologists call it acceleration. Tolkien would have called it the work of the Machine. Because speed, left unchecked, has a way of hollowing the soul. It leaves us efficient but empty, connected but lonely. The algorithms that shape our days reward reaction more than reflection. We trade presence for performance and mistake motion for meaning.

Earlier this year, I decided to test that pace in my own life. I downgraded my iPhone to an old-fashioned “dumb phone.” No apps. No notifications. No endless scroll. Just calls and texts. At first, it felt like stepping off a moving walkway while everyone else kept rushing past. But then something started to shift. The silence that felt awkward at first began to sound a lot like peace. I looked up more. I noticed small things again—trees, faces, pauses in conversation. I started to feel present in moments that used to blur by. What had felt like loss began to feel like life.

Tolkien’s Shire was a protest against that kind of hurry. It offered a vision of life that moved at the speed of roots and rivers. Hobbits didn’t need the world to spin faster; they needed time for a second breakfast and a quiet walk home. Their way of life wasn’t laziness. It was sanity. They cared for what was near, tended what was living, and left enough margin to sing about it.

Maybe that’s part of our invitation too—to slow the tempo back down to something more human and more holy. Because hurry is a poor substitute for hope.

Artificial Intelligence and the Loss of the Human

Enter artificial intelligence—the latest and loudest promise of progress. It can think faster, write cleaner, and process more than we ever could. And yet, for all its brilliance, something in us still hesitates. Deep down, we know that what makes us human isn’t efficiency or information. It’s soul.

AI is the newest face of Tolkien’s Machine—that quiet hunger to make the will “more quickly effective.” It’s power wrapped in convenience, productivity disguised as progress. And like the One Ring, it whispers the same old temptation: you could do more, know more, control more—if only you’d wear me for a while. But every time someone does, something of their humanity slips away.

What we create has a way of re-creating us. The tools meant to serve us start shaping what we notice, how we think, even how we love. And in all our striving to build intelligence, we risk losing wisdom. Psalm 8 reminds us that our greatness isn’t self-made; it’s given. “You have made him a little lower than God and crowned him with glory and honor.” That’s the balance—dust and dignity, creature and crown.

Artificial intelligence can imitate thought, but not awe. It can echo our voices, but not our breath. It can generate words, but never worship. It can expand our reach, but it can’t teach us to love. And maybe that’s the question of our time: in our rush to build thinking machines, will we remember what it means to be living souls?

The Theology of Limits

From the very first pages of Scripture, God builds rhythm into creation—light and darkness, work and rest, sound and silence. Every living thing moves within a pattern of boundaries. And it’s no accident that the very first temptation in Eden was to step past one of those boundaries: “You will be like God.” That same lie still whispers through our age of endless innovation.

But limits aren’t curses. They’re the contours of blessing. The Sabbath, for example, is God’s gentle reminder that we are not machines. We are image-bearers, yes—but also dust-bearers. We need sleep, seasons, and silence. Rest isn’t a sign of weakness. It’s obedience. It’s our way of saying, “I am not the Creator; I’m His creature.”

Jesus lived within those holy limits. He didn’t rush. He walked. He withdrew to pray. He allowed Himself to hunger, to grow tired, to weep. The infinite Word chose to move at the pace of a human heartbeat. That truth alone should humble every dream of transcendence that forgets the gift of being finite.

A theology of limits is really a theology of love. Love always chooses to be bound for the sake of another. God’s power isn’t shown through constant expansion, but through incarnation—through being contained in flesh for our redemption. The cross, in that sense, is the ultimate limit, freely embraced.

So whenever a tool—digital or otherwise—promises boundless scale, the question for the Christian is simple: will this stretch me beyond love’s limits, or help me live within them?

That’s the lesson our modern world keeps forgetting. When we lose our sense of limits, we lose our sense of wonder. When everything becomes possible, nothing feels precious. Boundaries remind us what’s sacred. They’re not fences keeping us from joy; they’re the frame that gives joy its shape.

Reclaiming the Human Pace

If the theology of limits teaches us why we should slow down, the art of living slowly teaches us how. Tolkien gives us a glimpse of this in the rhythm of the Shire. It’s not that Hobbits rejected progress; they simply remembered what progress was for. Their days were filled with meals, stories, gardens, songs, and friendships. Their world moved at the speed of conversation, not computation. It was a simple life, but never a shallow one.

In our hurried age, recovering that kind of pace almost feels rebellious. The world tells us that worth is found in productivity and that attention is a kind of currency. We’re trained to believe that faster is always better, that the next app or update will finally streamline the soul. But the truth is, the soul doesn’t run on gigabytes. It grows best in silence, stillness, and slow attention.

Psalm 8 reminds us that before David ever lifted a sword or built a kingdom, he looked up. “When I consider your heavens…” he wrote. Awe came before action. Wonder shaped his work. That’s the rhythm of a faithful life—not speed, but sight.

Maybe that’s what God is calling us back to: the human pace. The quiet, steady rhythm of walking with Him in the cool of the day. For me, it began when I switched back to that old “dumb phone.” I wanted my attention to heal, to retrain my soul to listen again. It’s a small thing, but it helped me rediscover that peace doesn’t come through optimization—it comes through presence.

These kinds of practices aren’t nostalgic; they’re defiant in the best way. Every small, quiet choice becomes a way of pushing back against the Machine and saying, “I’m still human. I still have time for wonder.”

In the end, the goal isn’t to escape technology, but to keep it in its proper place—to remember that tools were made to serve the soul, not to swallow it.

Counsel for the Present Age

So how do we live faithfully in a world that never stops humming? How do we keep our hearts human when everything around us keeps speeding up, getting louder, and stretching our souls thin? Scripture doesn’t give us a formula, but it does show us a way—a slower, saner rhythm for a world running on fumes.

1. Recover Wonder

Before you scroll, look up. Before you speak, listen. David began with awe: “When I look at your heavens…” (Psalm 8:3). Wonder is the first act of worship and the first step toward wisdom. It pulls us out of anxiety and back into gratitude. Let your gaze direct the algorithms, not the other way around.

2. Honor the Body

We’re not minds floating through data—we’re dust and breath. Read from a real page. Take a walk. Share a meal. Touch the world God made. The incarnation wasn’t a metaphor; it was God’s declaration that matter matters.

3. Keep Sabbath Seriously

The digital age runs on constant access, but discipleship still runs on rest. Sabbath isn’t a quaint idea—it’s a command to stop producing and start receiving. Turn off the notifications. Let your attention breathe. For me, learning to rest became its own kind of rebellion against the idol of efficiency.

4. Cultivate Craft

As the new year approaches, find something to learn—something that takes time. Commit to a craft that resists the instant. Write by hand. Learn an instrument. Plant something and watch it grow. In a world of automation, craftsmanship retrains us in patience and care. It reminds us that good things take time and that creating is still an act of worship. Use AI as a tool, but never as a substitute for the slow work that shapes your soul.

5. Measure Progress by Love, Not Speed

Paul said it best: “If I have all knowledge but have not love, I am nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:2). Wisdom isn’t about how much we know, but how well we love. The fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience—will never trend online, but they’ll last forever. If a technology multiplies output but drains patience, it’s probably working against your sanctification.

This is the kind of counsel Tolkien would have approved of—a return to the ordinary, to the rhythms of reality that move at the speed of grace. It isn’t anti-technology. It’s pro-humanity. It’s remembering that our worth is never found in how quickly we can make things happen, but in how faithfully we reflect the image of the One who made us.

The Majesty and the Machine

Psalm 8 begins and ends the same way:

“O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth.”

That’s no accident. The psalm opens with awe and closes with it, like bookends on a life rightly ordered. Between those two lines lies everything that makes us human—the wonder and the work, the limits and the love, the dust and the dignity. Maybe that’s the posture our generation most needs to recover.

Tolkien understood that the real danger of the Machine wasn’t technology itself, but what it does to the soul when we stop seeing the world as gift. When we try to master what was meant to be received, the enchantment fades, and we lose the music of creation. But when we live as sub-creators—humble stewards who make and mend in step with the Maker—the world becomes alive again with meaning.

Our task, then, isn’t to run from the digital or curse the modern world. It’s to live within it as people who remember who we are. We can use AI without bowing to it, hold our tools without letting them hold us. We are not algorithms; we are image-bearers. We are not producers; we are priests of creation. We were never meant to outpace God, but to walk with Him in the cool of the day. Perhaps holiness in this age will look less like speed and more like stillness. Less like mastery and more like mercy. Less like endless noise and more like quiet wonder.

Tolkien once said that all stories are echoes of a far greater Story. Maybe our calling, here in the midst of the Machine, is to make sure our lives echo the right one—the story where love wins, where limits are blessed, and where the name of the Lord remains majestic in all the earth.

I’m excited to announce the release of Episode #22 of the Entangled Kingdoms podcast! In this episode, we dive deep into the portrayal of Satan in the New Testament's General Epistles. We…

• Explore how Peter, James, John, and Jude depict Satan and spiritual warfare

• Uncover the transformative power of being born of God and its impact on our relationship with Satan

• Gain insights into the reality of spiritual battles and the importance of vigilance

• Discover the assurance of victory through Christ in the face of spiritual opposition

Whether you're a long-time believer or new to the faith, this episode offers valuable insights into the nature of spiritual conflict and our position in Christ.

Join the Conversation:

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this episode! Share your insights, questions, or personal experiences related to the topic on our social media platforms or at www.entangledkingdoms.com!

Tune in now and join us as we continue to untangle the kingdoms and discover how to live in light of the gospel of Jesus Christ!

Resources

Articles:

• “How Did Evil Begin” by John Piper @ Desiring God

• “Where Did Satan Come From” by Mike McKinley @ The Good Book Co.

• “The Absence of Satan in the Old Testament” by Dr. Michael Heiser @ Naked Bible Blog

Videos:

• “The Satan and Demons” by the BibleProject

• “The Satan and Demons Question/Response” by the BibleProject

• “Is the Fall of Satan really described in the Bible?” by Honest Answers @ Southern Seminary

• “The Case for Satan” by Desiring God

Podcasts:

• “Evil and Satan” with The Naked Bible Podcast

• “Satan vs Jesus” with The After Class Podcast

• “Satan Unveiled” with The After Class Podcast

• “Satan” with The Dig Bible Podcast

Books:

• Satan and the Problem of Evil: From the Bible to the Early Church Fathers by Dr. Archie T. Wright

• Demons: What the Bible Really Says About the Powers of Darkness by Dr. Michael S. Heiser

• The Satan: How God’s Executioner Became the Enemy by Ryan Stokes

• An Introduction to Second Temple Judaism by Dr. Lester L. Grabbe

Stay tuned for our next episode, where we'll explore Satan in Paul's Epistles!

I’m excited to announce the release of Episode 21 of the Entangled Kingdoms podcast, titled "Denizens of Darkness Part 6: Satan in The New Testament". Join me as we begin a survey into the New Testament understanding of Satan.

In this episode, we explore:

• Various passages in the Gospels where Jesus engages with Satan and teaches about spiritual warfare.

• The importance of vigilance, prayer, and faith in overcoming the influence of the kingdom of darkness.

• The continuity and expansion of the understanding of Satan in the New Testament compared to Jewish beliefs during that time.

• The authority of Jesus and the need to live in light of the gospel.

Listen to Episode 21 now and join us on this journey through the Entangled Kingdoms!

Episode Resources

Articles:

• How Did Evil Begin - John Piper @ Desiring God

• Where Did Satan Come From - Mike McKinley @ The Good Book Co.

• The Absence of Satan in the Old Testament by Dr. Michael Heiser @ Naked Bible Blog

Videos:

• The Satan and Demons by the BibleProject

• The Satan and Demons Question/Response by the BibleProject

• Is the Fall of Satan really described in the Bible? by Honest Answers @ Southern Seminary

• The Case for Satan by Desiring God

Podcasts:

• Evil and Satan - The Naked Bible Podcast

• Satan vs Jesus- The After Class Podcast

• Satan Unveiled - The After Class Podcast

• Satan - The Dig Bible Podcast

Books:

• Satan and the Problem of Evil: From the Bible to the Early Church Fathers by Dr. Archie T. Wright

• Demons: What the Bible Really Says About the Powers of Darkness by Dr. Michael S. Heiser

• The Satan: How God’s Executioner Became the Enemy by Ryan Stokes

• An Introduction to Second Temple Judaism by Dr. Lester L. Grabbe

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Here we go! We continue our look at the development of a doctrine of Satan, picking up by looking at 2nd Temple Jewish influences on those living at the time of Jesus, including his disciples and NT writers. I’ve included links to some primary sources down below and would just simply caution you to exercise great judgment. Protestants do not consider these canonical writings for good reason, however they still provide us an important framework for understanding the worldviews of our NT writers, and as such are important to read and be somewhat familiar with. We can rest easy, though, knowing that what YHWH has intended for us to learn and know about the Enemy, Satan, we can learn in our Bibles.

That said, I’m going to continue to ask that we allow our understanding of these topics to be shaped as we follow each domino as it falls in the Bible, through history. In other words, let’s connect the dots and follow the progression of God’s revelation of these truths, just as the biblical authors themselves experienced it.

I would also encourage everyone to check out the other resources below for further, personal study. As always, I’d love to hear your feedback! Let me know your thoughts by dropping a comment using the button below. Also, be sure to follow the Entangled Kingdoms Facebook page. And of course…share the podcast!

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Articles:

• “What Are the Deuterocanonical Books of the Bible?”

• “Pseudepigrapha”

• Read Pseudepigrapha and Apocrypha online

Books:

• Huge list of curated books by Southeastern Baptist Seminary on 2nd Temple writings

• Satan and the Problem of Evil: From the Bible to the Early Church Fathers by Dr. Archie T. Wright

• An Introduction to Second Temple Judaism by Dr. Lester L. Grabbe

Videos:

Long time, no see! I pray that this episode makes up for the silence over the last couple months of holidays and the new year starting. I will say this…this episode is a doozy! So buckle up!

In this episode we are continuing to trace the development of the biblical authors understanding of “ha satan” and how, by the time of the NT, we have a singular figure known as Satan. This development doesn’t happen over night and is shaped by the experiences of the Israelites in captivity. Just as God uses our circumstances even today to teach and sanctify us, so He does with His people during this time period we’re looking at.

I’m going to continue to ask that we allow our understanding of these topics to be shaped as we follow each domino as it falls in the Bible, through history. In other words, let’s connect the dots and follow the progression of God’s revelation of these truths, just as the biblical authors themselves experienced it.

I would also encourage everyone to check out the resources below for further, personal study. As always, I’d love to hear your feedback! Let me know your thoughts by dropping a comment using the button below. Also, be sure to follow the Entangled Kingdoms Facebook page. And of course…share the podcast!

Leave a comment

Share

Articles:

• "Satan" - from Strong's Dictionary

• "The Enuma Elish" - the Babylonian creation myth

• “Zoroastrianism” - the ancient, Persian religion

• “Ancient Jewish History: The Birth and Evolution of Judaism”

Books:

• The World Around the Old Testament, editors Bill Arnold and Brent Strawn

• Satan and the Problem of Evil: From the Bible to the Early Church Fathers by Dr. Archie T. Wright

• The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible by Dr. Michael Heiser

Videos:

Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.

-Dietrich Bonhoeffer

The next podcast is coming soon, but in the meantime, I wanted to share some scriptures with you.

As the Bible has a voice concerning the topics we’re beginning to address, it is worthwhile to have it setting in the back of our minds so that the Holy Spirit can use it to stoke and preemptively guide our thinking. This is especially true as we meditate on the nature of our Enemy and the accomplishments of Jesus.

This is important for us, because as you’ll see shortly, you and I have a responsibility to respond to what Jesus has done by faithfully proclaiming Truth.

Before I share these scriptures with you, keep in mind what we have seen already on these last few episodes: the Enemy, as an adversary of YHWH, represents a clear dichotomy for us. On one hand we have the way of YHWH, marked by order (function), peace, holiness, goodness, and righteousness. On the other hand, we see pride, disorder (function), chaos, evil and destruction.

An important leg of our journey towards untangling the kingdoms is seeking to understand these various dichotomies and their relationships with our world. In fact, this is at the core mission of this podcast and why I felt called to start it.

We will continue to cover plenty of scripture on our podcast but there is such breadth to cover that it will be very difficult to approach every passage with any sort of depth. The verses presented here are just a small sampling of what God’s Word says concerning these topics. Prayerfully read through these verses and passages and let the Holy Spirit help inform your heart and your thinking about the war being waged between YHWH and His Son Jesus against the powers of evil.

Introduction finished! Let’s take a bit of a systematic approach in this blog post!

Evil

Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever -Genesis 3:22

There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to Him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that run swiftly to evil, a false witness who gives false testimony, and one who stirs up discord among brothers. -Proverbs 6:16-19

The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? -Jeremiah 17:9

For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, all sexual immorality, theft, lying, and slander. -Matthew 15:19, see also Mark 7:20-23

This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. -John 3:19

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh craves what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are opposed to each other, so that you do not do what you want. -Galatians 5:16-17

For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world. -1 John 2:16

Enemy, His Seed, and Deceptive Work

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. -Genesis 3:15

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil....the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. “All this I will give You,” he said, “if You will fall down and worship me.” -Matthew 4:1, 8

You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell? -Matthew 23:33

You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. -John 8:44

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. -John 10:10

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. -2 Corinthians 4:3-4

Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their actions. -2 Corinthians 11:14-15

You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil–the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. -Ephesians 2:2

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. -Ephesians 6:12

Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour -1 Peter 5:8

Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. -1 John 3:8

We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. -1 John 5:19

I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. -Revelation 2:9, see also Revelation 3:9 for “synagogue of Satan”

Jesus Messiah and His Gospel Victory

I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. -Genesis 3:15

I will proclaim the decree spoken to Me by the LORD: “You are My Son; today I have become Your Father. Ask Me, and I will make the nations Your inheritance, the ends of the earth Your possession. You will break them with an iron scepter; You will shatter them like pottery. -Psalm 2:7-9

I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. -Daniel 7:13-14

But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. -Isaiah 53:5

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. -John 14:6

For if, when we were enemies of God, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life! -Romans 5:10

But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. -2 Corinthians 2:14

He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins....Once you were alienated from God and were hostile in your minds, engaging in evil deeds. But now He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy, unblemished, and blameless in His presence -Colossians 1:13-14, 21-22

See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, which are based on human tradition and the spiritual forces of the world rather than on Christ. For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity dwells in bodily form. And you have been made complete in Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority. -Colossians 2:8-10

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. -1 John 1:9

For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. -1 John 5:4

And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. -Revelation 12:9

And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, into which the beast and the false prophet had already been thrown. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.....Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death—the lake of fire. And if anyone was found whose name was not written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. -Revelation 20:10, 14

But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death. -Revelation 21:8

Behold, I am coming soon, and My reward is with Me, to give to each one according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” -Revelation 22:12-13

Truth and Action

You shall not hate your brother in your heart….

• but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him (ESV)

• but you must surely reprove your fellow citizen, so that you do not incur sin on account of him (NET)

• Directly rebuke your neighbor, so that you will not incur guilt on account of him (BSB)

• Confront people directly so you will not be held guilty for their sin (NLT)

…..you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord. - Leviticus 19:17-18

Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name. - Psalm 86:11

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. -Psalm 119:105

Lying lips are detestable to the LORD, but those who deal faithfully are His delight. -Proverbs 12:22

Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. -Proverbs 30:5

And whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear this command behind you: “This is the way. Walk in it.” -Isaiah 30:21

These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another; render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace. -Zechariah 8:16

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” -John 8:31-32

Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth. -John 17:17

I am sending you to them to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’ -Acts 26:17b-18

For though we live in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh. The weapons of our warfare are not the weapons of the world. Instead, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We tear down arguments and every presumption set up against the knowledge of God; and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. -2 Corinthians 10:3-5

Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. -Ephesians 4:25

Have no fellowship with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. -Ephesians 5:11

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore take up the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground, and having done everything, to stand. -Ephesians 6:10-13

We proclaim Him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I also labor, striving with all His energy working powerfully within me. -Colossians 1:28-29

You, however, have observed my teaching, my conduct, my purpose, my faith, my patience, my love, my perseverance, my persecutions, and the sufferings that came upon me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. What persecutions I endured! Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. Indeed, all who desire to live godly lives in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil men and imposters go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in the things you have learned and firmly believed, since you know from whom you have learned them. From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work. -2 Timothy 3:10-17

Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and encourage with every form of patient instruction. -2 Timothy 4:2

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. -James 4:7

Little children, let us love not in word and speech, but in action and truth. -1 John 3:18

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world. -1 John 4:1

To close, simply thanks for reading this, or at least scrolling to the end! As I mentioned earlier, seeking to understand these various dichotomies and their relationships with our world is at the core mission of this podcast. I do not know about you, but I do not want to court obscurity to seek safety. If standing for truth and for Jesus Christ brings criticism or worse, suffering, so be it. May YHWH find us standing firm in our faith, sure in our victory, and bold in our proclamation of the gospel of Jesus and TRUTH!

-jer

This episode continues our series on the denizens of the kingdom of darkness! We are picking up on the title or descriptor “ha satan” in the Old Testament and developing our understanding of Satan, the chief rebel and enemy of YHWH. I’m going to ask that we continue to allow our understanding of these topics to be shaped as we follow each domino as it falls in the Bible. In other words, let’s connect the dots, following the progression of God’s revelation of these truths, just as the biblical authors themselves did.

I would also encourage everyone to check out the resources below for further, personal study. As always, I’d love to hear your feedback! Let me know your thoughts by dropping a comment using the button below. Also, be sure to follow the Entangled Kingdoms Facebook page. And of course…share the podcast!

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Media:

Articles:

• "Satan" in Strong's Dictionary

• "The Story of Job" by Dr. Tim Mackie, The BibleProject

Books:

• Satan and the Problem of Evil: From the Bible to the Early Church Fathers by Dr. Archie T. Wright

• The Satan: How God's Executioner Became the Enemy by Ryan Stokes

• The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible by Dr. Michael Heiser

Hello everyone! We continue our journey of surveying the denizens of the kingdom of darkness which began with the nameless “serpent” in Genesis 3. In today’s episode we will finish that conversation by tracing the “serpent” theme through the rest of scripture. These podcasts aren’t in depth studies, for that I would suggest you visit and utilize some of the additional resources linked below in these show notes.

To prepare you for where we’re going today, I would encourage you to read Psalm 74:12-19. It reads:

12 Yet God my King is from of old,
    working salvation in the midst of the earth.
13 You divided the sea by your might;
    you broke the heads of the sea monsters on the waters.
14 You crushed the heads of Leviathan;
    you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.
15 You split open springs and brooks;
    you dried up ever-flowing streams.
16 Yours is the day, yours also the night;
    you have established the heavenly lights and the sun.
17 You have fixed all the boundaries of the earth;
    you have made summer and winter.

18 Remember this, O Lord, how the enemy scoffs,
    and a foolish people reviles your name.
19 Do not deliver the soul of your dove to the wild beasts;
    do not forget the life of your poor forever.

Coming out of today’s podcast we’ll continue to flesh out our understanding of the chief Enemy, Satan. Here is a brief preview of the next few episodes:

1. In our next episode, we’ll cover the idea of Satan as “accuser” or “adversary”.

2. After that, we’ll cover the other rebel elohim found working with the Enemy:

   1. “fallen” angels / some “Watchers”

   2. Psalm 82 and national gods

   3. evil spirits and unclean spirits

   4. shades and Rephaim spirits

   5. the word and history of “daimonion”, where we get “demons

3. We’ll end this series by looking at the physical rebels working with the Enemy, the Nephilim.

And of course, once we finish this series, we’ll turn our attention to YHWH’s kingdom! As always, the goal for these podcasts is to develop a biblical understanding of the spiritual world that surrounds and involves us (whether we realize it or not!).

As always, I’d love to hear your feedback, so be sure to follow the Facebook page or email your thoughts or questions to jeremie@entangledkingdoms.com!

Videos:

Articles:

• "Dragon" from "Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible"

• "Leviathan" from "Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible"

• “Fearful Symmetry: The Relationship Between Leviathan And Yahweh As Seen Through The Lens of Monster Studies”

• “The Negative Motif of the Sea in the Old Testament”

Books:

• Worship of the Serpent: Traced Throughout the World by John Bathurst Deane

• Satan and the Problem of Evil: From the Bible to the Early Church Fathers by Dr. Archie T. Wright

• The Lost World of Adam and Eve: Genesis 2-3 and the Human Origins Debate by Dr. John H. Walton

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So it begins!! Over the next few episodes we will be diving into the various denizens of the kingdom of darkness. Who will we find lurking there? Well to start this series off, we will be looking at the “nacash” of Genesis 3. Though we will not have time in this one episode to trace the “serpent” from Genesis to Revelation, we’ll at least get a start on him. This episode will introduce the figure and we will discuss many of the qualities Moses ascribes of him, including the new ones given to him during the curse.

And yes, we all know him by his name “Satan” but keep in mind that it is not until much, much later in biblical history that the name “Satan” is given to this serpent figure we see in Genesis. That’s something John does in the book of Revelation, which we will discuss in our next episode. For now, I would encourage you to listen to this episode with fresh ears (eyes? or mind?) and let us see what we can start to learn about the “nacash”!

Videos:

Podcasts:

• Snake in the Throne Room - BibleProject

• Moses and the Bronze Serpent - NakedBible Podcast

Articles:

• "Dragon" from "Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible"

• "Leviathan" from "Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible"

• “Origins of Serpent Worship”

Books:

• Worship of the Serpent: Traced Throughout the World by John Bathurst Deane

• Satan and the Problem of Evil: From the Bible to the Early Church Fathers by Dr. Archie T. Wright

• The Lost World of Adam and Eve: Genesis 2-3 and the Human Origins Debate by Dr. John H. Walton

Hello EKers! Hope your summer is going well! I pray you are your families are finding ways to cool off this summer and stay safe.

In this episode of the podcast we spend a few minutes recapping where we’ve been and I wanted to circle back to the importance of understanding context. Also, we pick up where we left off in our look at the Tower of Babel rebellion by looking at more of Deuteronomy 32.

A couple times in the podcast I mention this blog post from earlier this year, so be sure to check it out too!

Entangled Kingdoms

What does Moses and Plato have in common?

Covered this in the latest podcast (Episode 11), but wanted to share here as well. Unfortunately there wasn’t time in the podcast to cover all of Deuteronomy 32, so I wanted to highlight more of what the Bible says on the matter of these rebel members of the divine council that were responsible for the nations of the wor…

Read more

4 years ago · 2 likes · Jeremie Wade

Resources

Video

Articles

• Deuteronomy 32 and the Sons of God - Dr. Michael Heiser

• Putting the Gods in Their Place - John Piper

Books

• Gospel-Centered Hermeneutics: Foundations and Principles of Evangelical Biblical Interpretation - Graeme Goldsworthy

• The Gods of the Nations: A Study in Ancient Near Eastern National Theology - Dr. Daniel Block

June turned out to be a pretty busy month as I’ve had the enjoyable opportunity to discuss YHWH with my church, teaching one of our Sunday morning studies. Our topic? The Shema and the complexities of the Trinity. Here are my notes and PowerPoints for the classes if you would like to look into it yourself sometime! I have not yet taught Part 3 but look forward to doing so in the future.

Studies on YHWH Part 1 - Discovering the Trinity

Studies On Yhwh Part 1 Discovering The Trinity

375KB ∙ PDF file

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Discovering The Trinity

9.06MB ∙ PDF file

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Download

Studies on YHWH Part 2 - Jesus in the Old Testament: A Survey of the Angel of the LORD

Studies On Yhwh Part 2 Jesus In The Old Testamenta Survey Of The Angel Of The Lord

628KB ∙ PDF file

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Angel Of The Lord

6.19MB ∙ PDF file

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Download

Studies on YHWH Part 3 - Roles of the Trinity at Creation

Studies On Yhwh Part 3 Roles Of The Trinity In Creation

417KB ∙ PDF file

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Trinity At Creation

6.54MB ∙ PDF file

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“The ziggurat was the most dominant buildings of the temple complex, so it is no surprise that it draws the attention of the author of Genesis. In summary, the project is a temple complex featuring a ziggurat, which was designed to make it convenient for the god to come down to his temple, bless his people, and receive their worship. This understanding of ziggurats makes an important point drawn from the ancient Near Eastern context to clarify the biblical text: the tower of Babel was not built for people to go up, but for the god to come down.” - John H. Walton, Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament: Introducing the Conceptual World of the Hebrew Bible

Morning everyone! I hope you are ready because this episode dives into the events surrounding chapters 10 and 11 in Genesis. I’m sure you know the story of the “Tower of Babel” but what is its significance? Why did mankind seek to build this tower? What was their motivations? How does the rebellion continue between YHWH’s earthy and heavenly families? Well, hopefully today’s episode will shed some light on these questions and more!

To dive into more, I’d recommend the below resources!

Video:

Articles:

• “Nimrod Before and After the Bible”

• “Xelua, Aztec History”

Books:

• “The Gods of the Nations: Studies in Ancient Near Eastern National Theology” by Dr. Daniel Block

• “The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible” by Dr. Michael Heiser

• “Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament: Introducing the Conceptual World of the Hebrew Bible” by Dr. John Walton

• “The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament”

• “Myths and Legends of Babylonia and Assyria” by Lewis Spence

• “The Chaldean Account of Genesis” by George Smith

Sharing some source material for an upcoming podcast. I posted a while back about this particular part of most ancient cultures worldview. We’ll discuss when and why it shifted, but note what Scripture says and what various cultures thought, including the early church fathers.

According to most English translations, God set the boundaries of the nations according to the “number of the children of Israel” (Deut. 32:8). The Septuagint, however, states that he set the boundaries according to the “number of the angels of God.” Based on that Scripture, together with passages from Ezekiel, Daniel, and other Scriptures, the early Christians believed that each nation is subject to the oversight of one of the angels.

“When the Most High divided the nations, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the nations according to the number of the angels of God.” - Deut. 32:8 (LXX).

See also Psalm 82, Deut 4, Genesis 10 (list of 70 nations), and Paul, in Acts 17:24-29.

CHURCH FATHERS:

“He set the boundaries of the nations according to the numbers of the children of Israel.” … Having said this, I added: “The Seventy have translated it, ‘He set the boundaries of the nations according to the number of the angels of God.’ ” - Justin Martyr (c. 160, E), 1.265.

“He set the boundaries of the nations after the number of the angels of God.” However, the people who believe in God are not now under the power of angels, but under the Lord’s [rule]. “For His people Jacob were made the portion of the Lord.” - Irenaeus (c. 180, E/W), 1.434.

“Regiments of angels are distributed over the nations and cities.” - Clement of Alexandria (c. 195, E), 2.517.

“By an ancient and divine order, the angels are distributed among the nations.” -Clement of Alexandria (c. 195, E), 2.524.

“Moreover, other nations are called a part of the angels. This is because “when the Most High divided the nations and dispersed the sons of Adam, He fixed the boundaries of the nations according to the number of the angels of God.” - Origen (c. 225, E), 4.241.

“Our prophet of God and His genuine servant Moses, in his song in the Book of Deuteronomy, makes a statement regarding the portioning out of the earth in the following terms: ‘When the Most High divided the nations, when He dispersed the sons of Adam, he set the boundaries of the people according to the number of the angels of God. And the Lord’s portion was His people, Jacob.’” - Origen (c. 248, E), 4.555.

“All the people upon the earth are to be regarded as having originally used one divine language. As long as they lived harmoniously together, they were preserved in the use of this divine language. They remained without moving from the east, as long as they were imbued with the sentiments of the light.… [After the confusion of languages,] each one was handed over … to angels of character more or less severe … until the peoples had paid the penalty for their brash deeds. The angels imprinted on each his native language. And they were conducted by those angels to the different parts of the earth according to their deserts. For example, some were taken to a region of burning heat. Others, to a country that chastises its inhabitants by its cold. Again, others, to a land exceedingly difficult to cultivate.… Those who preserved their original language continued … in possession of the east and of their eastern language. Take note that these people alone became the portion of the Lord. And His people were called Jacob and Israel.… These alone were governed by an [angelic] ruler who did not receive those who were placed under him for the purpose of punishment—as was the case with the others.” -Origen (c. 248, E), 4.556.

“To every nation is sent an angel, as the Law says: ‘He determined them by the number of the angels of God,’ until the number of the saints should be filled up. They do not overstep their boundaries, because in the end they shall come with the Antichrist.” - Victorinus (c. 280, W), 7.352; see also 5.500, 5.627.

PAGAN WORLDVIEW:

“In the days of old the gods had the whole earth distributed among them by allotment. There was no quarrelling; for you cannot rightly suppose that the gods did not know what was proper for each of them to have, or, knowing this, that they would seek to procure for themselves by contention that which more properly belonged to others. They all of them by just apportionment obtained what they wanted, and peopled their own districts; and when they had peopled them they tended us, their nurselings and possessions, as shepherds tend their flocks, excepting only that they did not use blows or bodily force, as shepherds do, but governed us like pilots from the stern of the vessel, which is an easy way of guiding animals, holding our souls by the rudder of persuasion according to their own pleasure;-thus did they guide all mortal creatures. Now different gods had their allotments in different places which they set in order.” - Plato, Critias

JEWISH SOURCES:

Pesikta Rabbati 36.1:

"The Holy One, blessed be he, contemplated the Messiah and his works before the world was created, and then hid away his Messiah under his throne of glory until the generation in which he will appear.

Satan said before the Holy One, ‘Rav shel olam, for whom is the light which is put away under your throne of glory?’

He replied, ‘For him who will turn you back and put you to utter shame.’

Satan said, ‘Rav shel olam, show him to me.’

He replied, ‘Come and see him.’

And when he saw him, Satan shook, and he fell upon his face and said, ‘Surely this is Messiah who will cause me AND ALL THE PRINCES OF THE NATIONS to be swallowed up in Gehenna, as it is said, He will swallow up death for ever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces’(Isa. 25.)

In that hour THE PRINCES OF THE NATIONS, [THE TUTELARY DEITIES] in agitation, will say to him, ‘Rav shel olam, who is this through whose power we are to be swallowed up? What is his name? What kind of a being is he?’

The Holy One, blessed be he, will reply, ‘He is the Messiah and his name is Ephraim Messiah Tsidqi, who will raise up himself and raise up his generation, and who will give light to the eyes of Israel and deliver his people.

Targum Pseudo-Jonathan:

Genesis 11 - And the Lord said to the seventy angels which stand before Him, Come, we will descend and will there commingle their language, that a man shall not understand the speech of his neighbour.

Deut 32 - When the Most High made allotment of the world unto the nations which proceeded from the sons of Noach, in the separation of the writings and languages of the children of men at the time of the division, He cast the lot among the seventy angels, the princes of the nations with whom is the revelation to oversee the city, even at that time He established the limits of the nations according to the sum of the number of the seventy souls of Israel who went down into Mizraim

Philo’s Special Laws III:

(13) Some persons have conceived that the sun, and the moon, and the other stars are independent gods, to whom they have attributed the causes of all things that exist. But Moses was well aware that the world was created, and was like a very large city, having rulers and subjects in it; the rulers being all the bodies which are in heaven, such as planets and fixed stars; 

(14) and the subjects being all the natures beneath the moon, hovering in the air and adjacent to the earth. But that the rulers aforesaid are not independent and absolute, but are the viceroys of one supreme Being, the Father of all, in imitation of whom they administer with propriety and success the charge committed to their care, as he also presides over all created things in strict accordance with justice and with law. Others, on the contrary, who have not discovered the supreme Governor, who thus rules everything, have attributed the causes of the different things which exist in the world to the subordinate powers, as if they had brought them to pass by their own independent act. (15) But the most sacred lawgiver changes their ignorance into knowledge, speaking in the following manner: "Thou shalt not, when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, and all the host of heaven, be led astray and fall down and worship Them."{3}{#de 4:19.} With great felicity and propriety has he here called the reception of these bodies as gods, an error;

(16) for they who see that the different seasons of the year owe their existence to the advances and retreats of the sun, in which periods also the generation of animals, and plants, and fruits, are perfected according to well-defined times, and who see also that the moon is the servant and successor of the sun, taking that care and superintendence of the world by night which the sun takes by day; and also that the other stars, in accordance with their sympathy with things on earth, labour continually and do ten thousand things which contribute to the duration of the existing state of things, have been led into an inextricable error, imagining that these bodies are the only gods. 

(17) But if they had taken pains to travel along the straight and true road, they would soon have known that just as the outward sense is the subordinate minister of the mind, so in the same manner all the objects of the outward senses are servants of that which is appreciable only by intellect, being well contented if they can attain to the second place in honour.

(18) But it is altogether ridiculous to imagine that the mind, which is the smallest thing in us, being in fact invisible, is the ruler of those organs which belong to the external senses, but that the greatest and most perfect ruler of the whole universe is not the King of kings; that the being who sees, is not the ruler of those who do not see.

(19) We must, therefore, look on all those bodies in the heaven, which the outward sense regards as gods, not as independent rulers, since they are assigned the work of lieutenants, being by their intrinsic nature responsible to a higher power, but by reason of their virtue not actually called to render in an account of their doings.

(20) So that, transcending all visible essence by means of our reason, let us press forward to the honour of that everlasting and invisible Being who can be comprehended and appreciated by the mind alone; who is not only the God of all gods, whether appreciable only by the intellect or visible to the outward senses, but is also the creator of them all. And if any one gives up the service due to the everlasting and uncreated God, transferring it to any more modern and created being, let him be set down as mad and as liable to the charge of the greatest impiety.

Jubilees 15:30-32:

He chose Israel to be His people.

And He sanctified it, and gathered it from amongst all the children of men; for there are many nations and many peoples, and all are His, and over all hath He placed spirits in authority to lead them astray from Him.

But over Israel He did not appoint any angel or spirit, for He alone is their ruler, and He will preserve them and require them at the hand of His angels and His spirits, and at the hand of all His powers in order that He may preserve them and bless them, and that they may be His and He may be theirs from henceforth for ever.

11QMelchizedek (11q13):

11QMelch II... And concerning that which He said, In [this] year ofJubilee [each of you shall return to his property (Lev. xxv, 13); and likewise, And this is the manner of release:] every creditor shall release that which he has lent [to his neighbour. He shall not exact it of his neighbour and his brother], for God's release [has been proclaimed] (Deut. xv, 2). [And it will be proclaimed at] the end of days concerning the captives as [He said, To proclaim liberty to the captives (Isa. lxi, 1). Its interpretation is that He] will assign them to the Sons of Heaven and to the inheritance of Melchizedek; f[or He will cast] their [lot] amid the po[rtions of Melchize]dek, who will return them there and will proclaim to them liberty, forgiving them [the wrong-doings] of all their iniquities. And this thing will [occur] in the first week of the Jubilee that follows the nine Jubilees. And the Day of Atonement is the e[nd of the] tenth [Ju]bilee, when all the Sons of [Light] and the men of the lot of Mel[chi]zedek will be atoned for. [And] a statute concerns them [to prov]ide them with their rewards. For this is the moment of the Year of Grace for Melchizedek. [And h]e will, by his strength, judge the holy ones of God, executing judgement as it is written concerning him in the Songs of David, who said, ELOHIM has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgement (Psalms lxxxii, 1). And it was concerning him that he said, (Let the assembly of the peoples) return to the height above them; EL (god) will judge the peoples (Psalms vii, 7-8). As for that which he s[aid, Howlong will you] judge unjustly and showpartiality to the wicked? Selah (Psalms lxxxii, 2), its interpretation concerns Belial and the spirits of his lot [who] rebelled by turning away from the precepts of God to ... And Melchizedek will avenge the vengeance of the judgements of God... and he will drag [them from the hand of] Belial and from the hand of all the sp[irits of] his [lot].And all the 'gods [of Justice'] will come to his aid [to] attend to the de[struction] of Belial. And the height is ... all the sons of God... this ... This is the day of [Peace/Salvation] concerning which [God] spoke [through Isa]iah the prophet, who said, [How] beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who proclaims peace, who brings good news, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion: Your ELOHIM [reigns] (Isa. lii, 7). Its interpretation; the mountains are the prophets... and the messenger is the Anointed one of the spirit, concerning whom Dan[iel] said, [Until an anointed one, a prince (Dan. ix, 25)] ... [And he who brings] good [news] , who proclaims [salvation]: it is concerning him that it is written... [To comfort all who mourn, to grant to those who mourn in Zion] (Isa. lxi, 2-3). To comfort [those who mourn: its interpretation], to make them understand all the ages of t[ime] ... In truth ... will turn away from Belial... by the judgement[s] of God, as it is written concerning him, [who says to Zion] ; your ELOHIM reigns. Zion is ..., those who uphold the Covenant, who turn from walking [in] the way of the people. And your ELOHIM is [Melchizedek, who will save them from] the hand of Belial. As for that which He said, Then you shall send abroad the trump[et in] all the land (Lev. xxv, 9)

“We need to be good listeners, to listen to the biblical authors on their own terms.” - Dr. Tim Mackie

This episode was a long time coming, and just skims the surface of this particular topic. I’m sure we’ll revisit some of this in the future, but for more information covered, I'd point you to the following resources:

Online Articles:

• "Who Are the Nephilim and What Is Their Origin?”

• "On the Origin of Watchers: A Comparative Study of the Antediluvian Wisdom in Mesopotamian and Jewish Traditions"

• “The sons of God, the Nephilim, and the Mesopotamian Apkallu”

Books:

• “The Origin of Evil Spirits: The Reception of Genesis 6:1-4 in Early Jewish Literature” by Dr. Archie Wright

• “Demons and Spirits in Biblical Theology: Reading the Biblical Text in Its Cultural and Literary Context” by Dr. John Walton

• “Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament: Introducing the Conceptual World of the Hebrew Bible” by Dr. John Walton

• “Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia: An Illustrated Dictionary” by Jeremy Black and Anthony Green

Videos:

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Today’s Episode

New episode is out! I want to thank you for listening, and I doubly-appreciate those who have been giving feedback. I'd love to hear your thoughts, so feel free to leave a comment here on Substack or over on Facebook. You can follow along over on Instagram as well! Be sure to share the podcast, too, if you've enjoyed it so far!

In today's episode we do a quick recap of where we've been and begin shifting gears. The podcast, at its heart, is a podcast concerning spiritual warfare and I don't know about you, but I know for much of my journey with Christ I have given woefully too little thought behind many of these issues. So I hope these podcasts are helping frame your understanding the nature of creation.

Today's episode also begins a conversation concerning the rebellion that creation - both divine and human - have participated in. We start with Genesis 3 today and in our next episode we'll cover additional scripture.

For more information covered, I'd point you to the following resources:

Books

• The Origin of Evil Spirits: The Reception of Genesis 6:1-4 in Early Jewish Literature by Dr. Archie Wright

• Demons and Spirits in Biblical Theology: Reading the Biblical Text in Its Cultural and Literary Context by Dr. John Walton

• Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament: Introducing the Conceptual World of the Hebrew Bible by Dr. John Walton

• The Unseen Realm by Dr. Michael Heiser

Videos

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I covered this in the latest podcast (Episode 11), but wanted to share here as well. Unfortunately there wasn’t time in the podcast to cover all of Deuteronomy 32, so I wanted to highlight more of what the Bible says on the matter of these rebel members of the divine council that were responsible for the nations of the world. Let’s read some scripture together!

Deut. 8:19

And if you forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish. 

and

Deut. 32:7-8

7 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. 8 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.

In verse 8, Moses is referring to the story from Genesis 10 and 11, the Table of Nations and the Tower of Babel incursion. 

Deut. 32:9-12, 15-18

9 But the Lord's portion is his people, Jacob his allotted heritage. 10 “He found him in a desert land, and in the howling waste of the wilderness; he encircled him, he cared for him, he kept him as the apple of his eye. 11 Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that flutters over its young, spreading out its wings, catching them, bearing them on its pinions, 12 the Lord alone guided him, no foreign god was with him.

…..

15 “But Jeshurun grew fat, and kicked; you grew fat, stout, and sleek; then he forsook God who made him and scoffed at the Rock of his salvation. 16 They stirred him to jealousy with strange gods; with abominations they provoked him to anger. 17 They sacrificed to demons that were no gods, to gods they had never known, to new gods that had come recently, whom your fathers had never dreaded. 18 You were unmindful of the Rock that bore you, and you forgot the God who gave you birth.

Plato 

In his dialogues, Plato addresses what they know of these “gods.”

And again later…

So essentially what we have is at the Tower of Babel, YHWH divides the nations, gives the gods of the nations certain allotment of territory to govern and influence for good. However, this is not what happens. Instead they set up their own systems of government and worship. Having joined the kingdom of darkness, God condemns them, as seen in Psalm 82. 

Psalm 82

1 God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:

God calls his heavenly assembly together, all the other elohim charged with ruling the nations. 

2 “How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked?

He calls them out for misbehaving and misrepresenting Himself. 

3 Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.

4 Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”

He tells them what they SHOULD have been doing the whole time: pursuing righteousness and justice.

5 They have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

They all have joined in with the darkness and so here comes judgment!

6 I said, “You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you;

7 nevertheless, like men you shall die, and fall like any prince.”

Judgment and sentencing, these rebel elohim over the nations will die and lose their power, authority to rule and will be doomed to die like mortal men.

8 Arise, O God, judge the earth; for you shall inherit all the nations!

Call from the psalmist to YHWH to reclaim the nations that He had given over to the sons of God as their inheritance. YHWH’s plans for the nations are also forecasted in a Messianic psalm, Psalm 2. It also shows what God is going to do with the nations: he’s given them over to his son, Jesus. 

Reclaiming the Nations from the Enemy

Psalm 2: 7-12

7 I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son;  today I have begotten you. 8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. 9 You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.” 10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. 11 Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

And guess what? Paul and the NT writers also pick this idea up of reclaiming the nations for God, that was essentially Jesus’ mission….take back the nations from these gods and bring about God’s kingdom. Here is a small sampling:

Mark 11:17

And as He taught them, He said, ‘Is it not written: “My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations“ (Isaiah 56:7)

Matthew 28:19

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit..

Acts 13:47

For this is what the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’

Romans 16:26

“..but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey him

Revelation 5:9

“And they sang a new song: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.'”

And Paul in Acts 17, the sermon he delivers at Mars Hill in Athens,

Acts 17:22 - 31

22 So Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I see that you are very religious in all respects. 23 For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore, what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. 24 The God who made the world and everything that is in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made by hands; 25 nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; 26 and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, 27 that they would seek God, if perhaps they might feel around for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; 28 for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His descendants.’29 Therefore, since we are the descendants of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by human skill and thought. 30 So having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now proclaiming to mankind that all people everywhere are to repent, 31 because He has set a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all people by raising Him from the dead.”

Notice Paul’s shared worldview with Moses? YHWH is Creator and above any other god. The nations were drawn by YHWH and it was YHWH’s hope for them to still find himself (“feel around and find Him”). To top it off the men also seemed to have understood what it meant to be image-bearers. But whereas they looked to created idols that bore resemblance to the gods of the nations, disciples bear resemblance to YHWH Himself, seen in the person of Jesus Christ.

2 Cor. 3:18

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

We are also now called sons of God ourselves, and co-heirs with Christ.

Romans 8:14, 16

For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God….The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God

Galatians 3:26

For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

1 John 3:1 

Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knows us not, because it knew him not.

We’ll share in reigning and ruling the nations (as God intended for us in the garden).

Revelation 2:26–27, cf: Ps. 2:6-7

He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, TO HIM I WILL GIVE AUTHORITY OVER THE NATIONS; AND HE SHALL RULE THEM WITH A ROD OF IRON, AS THE VESSELS OF THE POTTER ARE BROKEN TO PIECES, as I also have received authority from My Father.

There’s a reclamation project going on and we are all called to be a part of it. 

Matthew 28:16-20

16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

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Our next episode is out, and it's a doozy. There is much to cover as we begin to dive into the two kingdoms. We continue to bridge the conversation by discussing the elohim present with God with him in the heavenly realm. We've talked about their creation and we’ve talked about the term “elohim” itself, but this episode dives a bit more into their purpose and some of their function in creation.

As we get more into the two Kingdoms we will be going into greater detail into their denizens. But here is where they all get their start....as members of God's heavenly assembly. They are tasked with worshipping, obeying and carrying out God's design for them. Unfortunately, as with mankind, some rebelled, as you'll see today. Which will lead us into our next series of podcasts on the Kingdom of Darkness.

In today's episode, though, we look at a few passages of scripture, but I'd draw your focus to two primary places of study: Psalm 82 and Deuteronomy 32. I didn't have time to address everything in the podcast, so i wanted to take a minute to address a textual issue you may run across while studying Deuteronomy 32 in particular. In Verse 8, depending on which translation you have, it may read "sons of Israel." Translations that use this reading are basing that on newer Hebrew texts, however the oldest texts we have all indicate the reading the ESV chooses, and that is "sons of God." The Septuagint, which Jesus and the apostles also used, favored this as well. It wasn't until the Jews adopted the Masoretic Text hundreds of years later that their tradition begin employing the "sons of Israel" reading, and in my opinion, this was likely due to the wide adoption of the Septuagint by the growing Christian church. In general, when you are translating ancient texts, we want to prefer the texts that are closest to the original authorship, which the Septuagint and Dead Sea Scrolls provide us here with this particular passage. Too, just contextually “sons of Israel” makes no sense seeing as how Israel did not exist when YHWH divided mankind.

For further study on the Divine Council there are plenty of academic papers available for free online, but I'd simply start with these provided below. Keep in mind that each of these podcasts will be building upon one another, so we’ll be addressing these topics and those tangental to it in the future.

Videos:

Web Links:

• John Piper on Psalm 82 and the gods

• A brief academic paper by Dr. Michael Heiser

• BibleProject’s study notes on Spiritual Beings (including the Divine Council topic)

Books:

• Unseen Realm by Dr. Michael Heiser

• Gods of the Nations by Dr. Daniel Block

I’m still regaining lung strength and capacity, as you can probably tell in the recording. I’m pacing to post a new episode every two weeks for the next month or two until the lungs decide to play nicely. Appreciate your continued prayers. Also, more importantly, I appreciate you taking the time to listen and join me in this journey of studying the Entangled Kingdoms!

-Jer

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Thanks again everyone for your prayers and for your patience. December and January have been quite the blur! But here we are, with tornados and covid behind us. What’s ahead of us? Well, following our conversations about world-views and about creation we now turn our attention specifically to the two realms and the kingdoms. Where to start? I think a great place to start is to piggy-back off our last podcast concerning the spiritual realm and the creation of spiritual beings.

You’ve probably noticed that I reference these spiritual beings as “elohim” - a word that most Christians consider simply a name for God. This is for good reason, but as you’ll see in today’s episode, this understanding risks being woefully inadequate and downplays the existence of other spiritual beings. This conversation about “elohim” will help begin to inform our understanding of their roles, and their activities in the two kingdoms (the Kingdom of Light, and the Kingdom of Darkness).

This podcast is an introduction to these topics, so I would highly encourage looking at these additional resources for further study:

• BibleProject Podcast - “God” - first few episodes in particular

• BibleProject Video Series: Spiritual Beings

• “Unseen Realm” written by Dr. Michael Heiser - written by an evangelical OT theologian; it can be a bit academic, but there’s another book called “Supernatural” that’s for laymen

• Dr. Michael Heiser’s website - links to academic papers, his podcast, blog posts, etc. To get a taste of his work, you can read this post by him over on the LOGOS website - https://blog.logos.com/who-are-elohim/

The next episode we will dive deeper specifically into the Divine Council idea and look at passages like Psalm 82, Job 1 and 2, etc.

Then, we begin a new series of podcasts hitting on these topics, centered on the various elohim of the Kingdom of Darkness:

• The Enemy, “the Satan”, the dragon, etc

• The Fallen “Sons of God”, Genesis 6, Deut 32, the gods of the nations

• Demons and Evil Spirits, their creation, role, etc

After these topics, we’ll turn to the Kingdom of Light:

• YHWH revisited, His desires and covenant demands

• The “Two Powers in Heaven” - The Angel of the Lord, binitarianism in Judaism and the foundation of the Trinity in the NT

• Jesus, the promised messiah

• The Holy Spirit, our counselor

Looking forward to also inviting others into the conversation. Between these episodes, I’ll be recording and posting conversations with other pastors and friends about navigating some of these topics as well as just pursuing Christ in daily living.

Now for a little “elohim” humor….

Bear with me, this is long but I’d ask that you please read to the end.

Today is January 3rd, the birthday of one of my favorite authors and arguably one of the most influential writers to ever set pen to paper. John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892 – 1973) was an English author, philologist and poet. Tolkien was best known for his fantasy creations of Middle-Earth – he wrote The Hobbit, and the epic trilogy ‘The Lord of the Rings’, giving birth to a new genre of fantasy.

“Fantasy.” Did you balk when you first read that word just now? Does it bring to mind childish things? Or perhaps even the stigma of “nerd” or “geek”? Does the thought of using imagination - a skill and delight becoming quite extinct in the technological age - seem something left to undignified or immature folk?

Do not disregard the importance of fantasy. Particularly to the Christian.

“Although now long estranged, Man is not wholly lost nor wholly changed. Dis-graced he may be, yet is not de-throned, and keeps the rags of lordship once he owned: Man, Sub-creator, the refracted Light through whom is splintered from a single White to many hues, and endlessly combined in living shapes that move from mind to mind. Though all the crannies of the world we filled with Elves and Goblins, though we dared to build Gods and their houses out of dark and light, and sowed the seed of dragons- 'twas our right (used or misused). That right has not decayed: we make still by the law in which we're made.

Fantasy remains a human right: we make in our measure and in our derivative mode, because we are made: and not only made, but made in the image and likeness of a Maker.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, Tolkien On Fairy-stories

Using our imaginations and acting as “sub-creators” is a part of being human, of being made in the likeness of our Creator. “We make still by the law in which we're made,” meaning that you and I are called, just as J.R.R. Tolkien expressed in his writings, to give life to those things within us that seek to bring beauty or truth to the world around us (the Primary World). Recombining elements of reality in new ways (“art”) create a sort of Secondary World. Yes, it is a dim reflection, but it still acts as an apologetic in itself, pointing us to the realities and truths of OUR Creator, OUR world.

So on today, January 3rd I’d like to celebrate the man who, for me, taught that the use of imagination is not for children alone, nor is it for nerds, geeks or fans of “fantasy.” Imagination is what gives the Christian the ability to envision an eternal future with our Creator, with Jesus. Imagination feeds our hearts the fuel of God’s promises, empowering us to live hope-filled lives. It gives us the ability to see a life free from the stronghold of sin that entangles. What we cannot see with our eyes, we can see with our imaginations, and this is infinitely more valuable than physical sight.

Imagination, like most things, is like a muscle that grows wimpish with lack of use. So in 2022, along with your holy habits, I’d encourage you to give your imaginations a daily injection. Pick up a book, listen to good music, grab a pencil and sketch, learn to play an instrument. Let your imagination take you somewhere new. Let it CREATE something new and in doing so embrace your call as image-bearer!

Sorry for the silence everyone. Things have been quite busy! As you know Bowling Green and the surrounding areas were hit by storms and tornados in KY a week ago. I’d ask that you pray for those affected - those who lost their lives and material belongings.

For those impacted and for anyone looking to volunteer or donate, please visit https://www.wearebgstrong.com/.

I’ve had the honor of working with Living Hope Baptist Church in coordinating the relief efforts focused on debris clean-up and volunteer mobilization. It’s humbling seeing so many people love on this city. The city of Bowling Green has so many wonderful folks who have helped, from it’s own citizens to those who have traveled hundreds of miles, reminding me of Paul’s encouragement to us in his letter to the Philippians. Philippians 2:3-4 reads, “Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

The podcast will return in January. In the meantime, enjoy your time over the holidays and remember that this life we’ve been given is not for the pursuit of personal needs or desires alone, but to be spent helping, serving, loving and sacrificing for others. Ask YHWH how 2022 can be best spent looking out for the interests of others.