Principalities, Powers and Rulers — Part 2 | Michael Heiser

The biblical text presents the Lord as a great God and king above other beings, which implies those other beings—referred to as gods or Elohim—are real but inferior. Paul, for example, believed demons were real and cited Deuteronomy 32, where these demons are called Elohim, underscoring their reality. The biblical writers did not deny the existence of other gods; rather, they distinguished the God of Israel as supreme among real, lesser supernatural entities. Psalm 86:8 and Psalm 95 emphasise that God’s supremacy is meaningful only if these other gods exist as real beings, otherwise the comparisons fall flat. The Israelites’ history, as recounted in Deuteronomy 32, shows them sacrificing to these other "demons" or gods, which are territorial beings with power, distinct from the true God. Paul’s letters reinforce this, warning against participating in rituals for these demons, indicating their reality. However, the biblical writers did not attribute to these other Elohim the unique qualities of the God of Israel, who alone is eternal and sovereign. The term Elohim was used more broadly for divine beings, not implying equality with the one true God. The challenge for modern readers is to adjust their understanding of "god" away from a fixed set of unique attributes to the text’s perspective, which acknowledges multiple real supernatural beings but holds the God of Israel as supreme. This requires setting aside traditional theological assumptions to embrace the biblical witness as it stands. The tension arises because Western Christian thought often equates "God" with one set of unique divine attributes, whereas the biblical text uses Elohim in a more complex and nuanced way to describe various beings of differing status and power. Accepting this textual reality helps clarify passages like Deuteronomy 32 and Paul’s writings without denigrating scripture or evangelical faith . #psalms #Theology #Monotheism #SonsOfGod #BibleStudy #Spirituality #Faith#AncientAliens #Elohim #DivineCouncil #Psalm82 #Theology #Monotheism #SonsOfGod #BibleStudy #Spirituality #Faith #AncientAliens #Elohim #DivineCouncil