Supernatural Session 17

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Doyle Walker

Supernatural • Sermon • Submitted 5 years ago • Presented 5 years ago • 28:17

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Penetrating into Canaan and establishing itself as an independent state didn’t solve the problem of cosmic geography for Israel. If anything, it sharpened the conflict. Not only was Israel surrounded by hostile nations and their gods, but there were also pockets of divine resistance from within.

In the last chapter, we saw how the Old Testament presents the messiah by hiding him in plain sight. The key to God’s plan to restore Eden and redeem humanity was for the messiah, Jesus, to die on the cross and then rise from the dead.

The period of the judges and the monarchy form a tale of military and spiritual struggle. On the ground, the Israelites were still hamstrung by the presence of the vestiges of the Rephaim/Nephilim who had escaped annihilation in the conquest and by incursions from enemies on the peripheries. Toward the end of the last chapter I briefly noted , which informed us that the eradication of the Anakim had not been total. The writer of Joshua noted in that passage that some Anakim were known to live in cities that would later become cities of the Philistines—Israel’s chief enemy during the united monarchy. Spiritually, these conflicts had high stakes, as they signaled the infiltration of other gods siphoning off Israelite worshipers into their own cults. Since believing loyalty to Yahweh was foundational to Yahweh’s protection and remaining in the land, the spiritual battle was just as much a threat as the physical one.

Only by becoming a man could God ensure that a human king from the line of David would rule over his people without falling into sin and straying spiritually. Only if that king died in the place of his people and rose from the dead could God rightly judge sin and provide salvation all at the same time. Only by the messiah’s death and resurrection would fallen people still have a place in God’s family council, ruling in that renewed Edenic kingdom, as originally planned.

The books of Judges, Samuel, and Kings clearly describe the military conflict. That’s the one that’s easy to see through modern eyes and with a modern worldview. But beneath the surface there’s a war of a different nature raging. We’ll cover a few examples in this chapter.

But think about all that required: Jesus had to somehow make sure the supernatural powers of darkness manipulated men to kill him—without understanding what they were really doing. As Paul had said to the Corinthians (), if they really knew what the results were going to be, they never would have crucified the Lord.

HOLY GROUND

The life and ministry of Jesus may make more sense when viewed against that backdrop. It’s easy for readers of the New Testament, for instance, to get the impression that Jesus’ ministry leading up to the cross was somewhat random. After all, the Gospels don’t always present the same episodes—for example, the birth of Jesus is found in only two of them (Matthew and Luke), and only one mentions the wise men (). Sometimes scenes appear in a slightly different order in different gospels. But those acts of Jesus recorded in the Gospels leading up to the crucifixion—healing the sick, preaching about the kingdom of God, forgiving sinners, confronting hypocrisy‌—were more than the random acts of a traveling wise man who occasionally did miraculous things. There’s more going on in the gospel stories than meets the eye. There’s an important subtext to what Jesus was doing.

When Moses was told to construct the tabernacle and its equipment, the Bible tells us that God revealed a pattern for doing so (“And you will erect the tabernacle according to its plan, which you have been shown on the mountain”—). Earlier, in chapter 22, we discussed how the tabernacle description aligned with divine abodes of other gods, namely from Ugarit. We need to revisit the tabernacle here, since its history prepares us for the more permanent temple—the place where the Name would dwell.

Outwitting Evil

The implication of God having Moses follow a divine pattern is that the tabernacle tent structure on earth was to be a copy of the heavenly tent—as in heaven, so on earth. The heavenly tent prototype was the heavens themselves, as tells us (“He is the one who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; the one who stretches out the heavens like a veil and spreads them out like a tent to live in”). In other words, the heavens and earth were conceived of as Yahweh’s true tabernacle or temple. The earthly dwelling place erected by the Israelites mimicked the grand habitation of the cosmos.

The event that marked the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry was his baptism. It was there that God publicly identified Jesus as his Son (), and there that John the Baptist identified him as the one who “takes away the sin of the world” (). When we read those words from John, we think immediately about the crucifixion. But John’s disciples weren’t thinking about that. Frankly, no one was. When, close to the end of his ministry—over three years after his baptism—Jesus began to speak of his death, his own disciples rejected the idea (; ). The last thing they expected to hear from their Lord was that he was going to die soon. That was crazy talk. They didn’t understand Jesus’ death on the cross had been the plan from the beginning. Why didn’t they? Because, as we discussed in the previous chapter, the plan wasn’t presented in the Old Testament with open clarity.

The tabernacle was not only the abode of Yahweh; it was also his throne room. Yahweh sits above the circle of the earth, in his heavenly tent, on his throne above the waters that are above “the firmament,” and rests his feet on the earth (“Thus says the Lord: ‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool’ ”— esv).3 The ark of the covenant was there, the sacred object associated with Yahweh’s presence—his Name.

After Jesus’ baptism, he was driven into the wilderness by the Spirit to confront Satan (; ; ). That the Devil came to tempt Jesus tells us Satan knew who Jesus was—he was the messiah on a mission to re-install God’s “home rule” on earth. After all, the “anointed one” (messiah) would be a king in the line of David. Satan, the “ruler of this world” (), understood Jesus would set his sights on Satan’s dominion‌—the nations God had cast aside at the Tower of Babel before creating Israel (; ).

The tabernacle traveled with Israel during the entire journey to the promised land. Once Israel penetrated the land, the ark of the covenant (and therefore the tabernacle structure) was situated at Bethel (), a name that means “house of God.” You know Bethel by now. It was the place where Jacob had his encounter with Yahweh and the angels of his council atop the “ladder” (i.e., a ziggurat; ). It was the place where the “angels of God” appeared to him again when he was fleeing from Esau, his brother (32:1–5). It was the place where Jacob built an altar and a pillar to commemorate the appearance of the visible Yahweh (31:13; cf. 35:1–7).

Most of us recall the scene between Jesus and Satan. Satan tempted Jesus three times (). Satan’s third strategy for getting Jesus to violate his relationship with God was to offer the Son of God the nations of the world (), the very thing he presumed Jesus had come to reclaim:

Sometime later the tabernacle moved from Bethel to Shiloh. Once that move occurred, it was said that the “house of God” was Shiloh (; ; ). The Old Testament indicates that Shiloh became the place of sacrifice (; ). At Shiloh we see the boy Samuel encounter the physicalized Yahweh, the Word ().

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” ()

Eli the priest later foolishly sent the ark of the covenant out to battle, and it fell into the hands of the Philistines, who took it to Ashdod and installed it in the temple of their god, Dagon. In a fascinating (and funny) incident of cosmic geography, Yahweh’s presence destroyed the statue of Dagon. describes the reaction of the Philistine priests: “Therefore the priests of Dagon and all who come into the house of Dagon do not tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod until this very day.” This threshold was now Yahweh’s geography—they dared not walk on it.

Satan’s proposal was a clever altering of God’s plan. It would produce the result God desired—retrieval of the nations he had disinherited from being his people. Mission accomplished. All Jesus had to do was worship Satan instead of God.

Eventually the ark was brought to Jerusalem. At first, David placed it in a temporary tent he had made for it (; ), under the assumption that he was going to build a temple for it.

Satan’s offer reveals that he hadn’t yet realized God’s plan required Jesus’ death. Jesus didn’t tip him off, either. He didn’t explain his refusal. He simply told Satan to get lost. God would take back what was his when and how he wanted. The mission of Jesus wasn’t just about ruling all the nations. It was about rebuilding a family. Including in that family people from all nations, not just Israel, meant that sin must be atoned for. As he’d originally planned, God’s rule would involve his children. The cross was essential to redeeming humanity and therefore to putting God’s plan into place. Jesus wasn’t going to be tricked—but the Devil would be, in due time.

Like the tabernacle, the temple contains striking imagery associated with Eden. Eden was a lush garden and a holy mountain. The tabernacle’s tent enclosure contained furnishings and decorations that evoked Edenic imagery.9 All of these motifs—tent, mountain, garden—come together in the temple, the fixed place where Yahweh was considered to dwell and order the earth and the heavens with his council.

A Taste of Eden

THE TEMPLE AS COSMIC TENT DWELLING

Immediately after the temptation in the desert, Jesus did two things: called his first disciples (Peter, Andrew, James, and John) and healed a demon-possessed man (; ). Both the calling of disciples and healing continued, forming the beginning of a pattern. As he called more disciples, he gave them power to cast out demons and heal people of every disease, handicap, and condition ().

Jesus initially called twelve disciples. The number isn’t accidental. It corresponds to the twelve tribes of Israel. Jesus began the kingdom plan with Israel in view. They are, after all, God’s portion, chosen above all the other nations (). Paul would later view the spread of the gospel the same way—start with the Jews, then go to the Gentiles ().

Recall that within the tabernacle was another building, completely covered with curtains, called the holy place. This room was divided in two by a veil, behind which was the holy of holies, the room that contained the ark ().

Jesus didn’t stop with the Twelve. In he commissioned seventy more people to heal and cast out demons (, , ). That number wasn’t accidental. It’s the number of nations listed in —the nations God cast aside at the Tower of Babel event and placed under the dominion of lesser gods (; ). Some translations have seventy-two, rather than seventy, in these verses. That’s because some ancient manuscripts of the Old Testament present the names of the nations in in such a way that they add up to seventy-two. Either way, the point is the same—the sending of these men corresponds to the number of the nations in . Just as the calling of the Twelve was a sign that the kingdom had come to Israel, so the sending of the seventy signaled that the kingdom would take back the nations.

📷

When the seventy return () Jesus’ response is telling: “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven” (). The messaging is dramatic: The great reversal was underway. Satan would no longer have any claim over humanity once people belonged to Jesus. His access to God to “accuse believers” ( gnt) was over. He was a prosecutor without a case.

The inside of the temple also had this same type of inner room arrangement.

Come and Get Me

After three years of preaching about the coming kingdom of God, showing people God’s love, and demonstrating what life in an Edenic world would look like, Jesus began to prepare for the end—for his real purpose.

There was one major difference, though, between the inner sanctum of the temple and that of the tabernacle. The inner area of the temple had two giant cherubim in it, standing side by side, the tips of their wings stretching across to touch each other, like so:

Just before what would become his final journey to Jerusalem, Jesus took the disciples to the far north of Israel. He needed to provoke the crucifixion. He couldn’t have picked a better place to throw down the gauntlet to the supernatural powers.

Jesus brought the disciples to a place called Caesarea Philippi. But that was its Roman name. In Old Testament times the region was called Bashan. We’ve talked about it before, in chapter 9. Bashan was considered the gateway to the realm of the dead—the gates of hell. Caesarea Philippi is situated at the foot of Mount Hermon, the place where, in Jewish thinking, the sons of God came to earth in the rebellion described in . In a nutshell, in Old Testament times Bashan and Hermon were ground zero for the evil cosmic powers.

The effect of this was that the cherubim wings formed the seat of a throne for Yahweh, and the ark was his footstool. The width and height dimensions between the cherubim can accommodate the size of the tented holy of holies. This has led some scholars to theorize that the tented holy of holies was moved inside the temple, erected under and between the cherubim. In the temple, the imagery of Yahweh on his throne and “living” in the ancient tent were both preserved.11

It was at this place that Jesus asked his well-known question, “Who do you say that I am?” (). Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (v. 16). Jesus commended him and added:

THE TEMPLE AS COSMIC MOUNTAIN AND GARDEN

Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (vv. 17–18)

The Temple of Yahweh in Israel was naturally associated with a cosmic mountain dwelling like Sinai because it was situated in Jerusalem on Mount Zion, the new Sinai. makes this quite clear:

The identification of the “rock” Jesus referred to has been debated for centuries. The key to understanding the term is the area’s geography. Caesarea Philippi sits in the far northern region of Bashan. In Old Testament times, this area was thought to contain gateways to the realm of the dead. Caesarea Philippi sits at the foot of a mountain. The “rock” is that mountain. The “gates of hell” marks the very place where Jesus and his disciples were standing.

1 Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised

Jesus was challenging the powers of darkness. At the fall, humanity lost eternal life with God and earned instead a fate of death and eternal separation from God. The lord of the dead—the Serpent, known as Satan and the Devil—had claim over humanity. Every human would join him in the realm of the dead. But God had other ideas. The secret plan to send Jesus to pay the penalty for humanity’s sin would be a frontal assault on the gates of hell. The lord of the dead and his forces would not be able to withstand the kingdom of God. In essence, in that passage in , Jesus goes to the Devil’s front door and challenges his claim. Jesus wanted to provoke Satan. Why? Because it was time for Jesus to die to propel God’s secret plan into motion.

in the city of our God!

As if that verbal challenge wasn’t enough, Jesus went one step further. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all agree that the next event in the ministry of Jesus was the transfiguration. reads:

His holy mountain, 2 beautiful in elevation,

Six days later Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John, and led them up a high mountain, where they were alone. As they looked on, a change came over Jesus, and his clothes became shining white—whiter than anyone in the world could wash them. Then the three disciples saw Elijah and Moses talking with Jesus. Peter spoke up and said to Jesus, “Teacher, how good it is that we are here! We will make three tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He and the others were so frightened that he did not know what to say. Then a cloud appeared and covered them with its shadow, and a voice came from the cloud, “This is my own dear Son—listen to him!” They took a quick look around but did not see anyone else; only Jesus was with them. (gnt)

is the joy of all the earth,

The transfiguration takes place on Mount Hermon. Jesus picked this very spot to reveal to Peter, James, and John exactly who he was—the embodied glory of God. He was putting Satan and the powers of darkness on notice: I’ve come to earth to take back what is mine. The kingdom of God is at hand. In effect: “I’m here—now do something about it.”

Mount Zion, in the far north [Lit.: heights of the north],

It’s no accident that immediately after the transfiguration Jesus turned toward Jerusalem and began telling his disciples he was going to die there. They didn’t want to hear it. But Jesus had baited Satan and the rest of the evil powers into action. There would be a sense of urgency to get rid of him. And that’s just what Jesus wanted. His death was the key to everything.

the city of the great King ( esv).

Why This Matters

(esv) echoes the same notion: “Thus says the Lord: I have returned to Zion and will dwell [literally, “will tabernacle”; shakan] in the midst of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts, the holy mountain.”

Jesus’ ministry was intentional. He had a clear view of his role in reviving the kingdom of God on earth so it would progress until the day he returned, a day that would usher in a global Eden.

As anyone who has been to Jerusalem knows, Mount Zion isn’t much of a mountain. It certainly isn’t located in the geographical north—it’s actually in the southern part of the country. So what’s meant by “the heights of the north”?

Our lives are not as pivotal as his, but each of us, like the disciples, has a true role to fulfill. We need to live as if we believe that. Believers brought into God’s family council are brought in to be not observers but participants ().

This description would be a familiar one to Israel’s pagan neighbors, particularly at Ugarit. It’s actually taken out of their literature. The “heights of the north” (Ugaritic: “the heights of tsaphon”) is the place where Baal lived and, supposedly, ran the cosmos at the behest of the high god El and the divine council. The psalmist is stealing glory from Baal, restoring it to the One to whom it rightfully belongs—Yahweh. It’s a theological and literary slap in the face, another polemic.

Among the intentions of Jesus was to show people what Eden had been like, and what life with God would be. In God’s family and God’s rule, there will be no disease and physical imperfection. There will also be no hostile powers. God’s ultimate kingdom is bigger than a garden, wider than Israel. The kingdom will be global. It will include all nations. And it will be everything Eden was—heaven on earth.

This explains why the description sounds odd in terms of Jerusalem’s actual geography. This is why Isaiah and Micah used phrases like “the mountain of the house of Yahweh” (; ). The description is designed to make a theological point, not a geographical one. Zion is the center of the cosmos, and Yahweh and his council are its king and administrators, not Baal.

Our task is to imitate Jesus. We can, like him, care for both body and soul of our fellow imagers, leading them to faith in the King and strengthening their resolve to be loyal to him. It doesn’t necessarily take supernatural power to “bind up the brokenhearted” and “proclaim liberty to the captives” in the steps of the messiah (), but these are supernatural acts at the core. They demand resistance to darkness and strategic vision. No act of kindness will fail to be used by the Spirit to direct someone’s heart. No articulation of the gospel will be fruitless. Jesus’ kindness was congruent with his message. Neither diminished the other. This is a pattern any believer can imitate—and it is the job description for kingdom vision.

The temple is also the Edenic garden, full of lush vegetation and animals. The description of the temple’s construction in is explicit in this regard. Flowers, palm trees, gourds, cypress trees, cherubim, lions, and pomegranates all adorn the temple via its carved architectural features.

Last, we are reminded again that intelligent evil not only has limitations, but it is vulnerable to kingdom vision and action. Jesus is already seated “at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him” (). We are “already but not yet” co-rulers with him (; ; ; ). The gates of hell will not withstand the progression and completion of the Church as God’s kingdom on earth. The decision to participate in the great reversal is ours.[1]

In Ezekiel’s vision of the new temple (), he saw a temple built on a high mountain (40:2), whose courts were decorated with palm trees (40:31–34). The interior was decorated with more palm trees and cherubim (41:17–20.). Ezekiel’s temple-garden was well watered, like Eden, since a river flowed from it that supernaturally gave life to everything else (47:1–12).

In Israel’s theology, Eden, the tabernacle, Sinai, and the temple were equally the abode of Yahweh and his council. The Israelites who had the tabernacle and the temple were constantly reminded of the fact that they had the God of the cosmic mountain and the cosmic garden living in their midst, and if they obeyed him, Zion would become the kingdom domain of Yahweh, which would serve as the place to which he would regather the disinherited nations cast aside at Babel to himself. puts it well:

[1] Heiser, M. S. (2015). Supernatural: What the Bible Teaches about the Unseen World—And Why It Matters. (D. Lambert, Ed.) (pp. 107–116). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

1 It shall come to pass in the latter days

that the mountain of the house of the Lord

shall be established as the highest of the mountains,

and it shall be lifted up above the hills;

and peoples shall flow to it,

2 and many nations shall come, and say:

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,

to the house of the God of Jacob,

that he may teach us his ways

and that we may walk in his paths.”

For out of Zion shall go forth the law,

and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem ( esv).

UNHOLY GROUND

In stark contrast to the temple, the place in Israel’s cosmic-geographical thinking where heaven and earth intersected, there were sinister places within Canaan that became associated with the powers of darkness, specifically the vestiges of the Rephaim/Nephilim bloodlines.

In our earlier discussion of the conquest we came across the Rephaim. The Rephaim were giants. Deuteronomy informed us that the Anakim were considered Rephaim (), as were the Zamzummim (). Og of Bashan “was left from the remnant of the Rephaim” (), so that “Bashan was called the land of the Rephaim” ().

tells us that the conquest had failed to eliminate all the Anakim, that some remained in the Philistine cities of Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod. The Rephaim presence persisted in the land until the time of David. The giant Goliath, who came from Gath (, ), was a descendant of the refugee Anakim/Rephaim. He had brothers, too, as we learn in :

4 And after this there arose a war in Gezer with the Philistines. Then Sibbecai the Hushathite struck down Sippai, one of the descendants of the Rephaim. And they were subdued. 5 And again there was war with the Philistines. And Elhanan son of Jair struck down Lahmi, the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam. 6 And again there was war in Gath. And there was a very tall man there, and he had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in all. He himself was also a descendant of the Rephaim. 7 And he taunted Israel, but Jehonathan son of Shimea, brother of David, struck him down. 8 These were born to the giants in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants (vv. 4–8).

The Rephaim of the Transjordan in the days of Moses were associated not only with Bashan but also Ashtaroth and Edrei, two cities that, in the literature of Ugarit, were considered as marking the gateway to the underworld. In David’s time, the Rephaim were also associated with death in a more peripheral, but conceptually similar, way.

There are nearly ten references in the Old Testament to a place known as the Valley of the Rephaim. On several occasions the Philistines are described as camped there (, ; ). and 18:16 tell us that the Valley of the Rephaim adjoined another valley—the Valley of Hinnom, also known as the Valley of the Son of Hinnom. In Hebrew “Valley of Hinnom” is ge hinnom, a phrase from which the name gehenna derives.

In New Testament times, gehenna had become a designation for the fiery realm of the dead—hell or Hades. The history of the Valley of Hinnom no doubt was part of the reason for this conception. The translated meaning of ge hinnom in Hebrew is most likely “valley of wailing,” an understandable description given the child sacrifice that took place there. The Valley of Hinnom was the place where King Ahaz and King Manasseh sacrificed their own sons as burnt offerings to Molech (; ). These sacrifices took place at ritual centers called topheth (“burning place”), and later the Valley of Hinnom became referred to by the place name Tophet (; ).

The meaning and identity of Molech (Hebrew consonants, m-l-k) is hotly debated by scholars. It is hard to see one clear association, however, as coincidental. Molech’s name appears in two snake charms from Ugarit in connection with the city of Ashtaroth (Ugaritic: ʿ ṯṯrt), the place known from the biblical accounts about Og (; ; ). Another Ugaritic text puts the god Rpu, the patron deity of the Rephaim, in Ashtaroth as well. These texts at the very least inform us that there was a close religious association between Molech and the Rephaim. This makes sense in light of the geographical relationship between the Valley of the Rephaim and the Valley of Hinnom in the Old Testament.

What’s particularly fascinating—or disturbing—is that the location of these valleys is directly adjacent to the southern side of Jerusalem, Mount Zion, the place of Yahweh’s presence in his temple.

THE SPIRITUAL VALLEY

These examples are just a sampling of the cosmic-geographical worldview of the biblical writers and their times. Spiritual conflict lurks behind a wide range of Old Testament episodes and practices. The conflict between the powers of darkness and the presence of Yahweh was an ever-present part of life for the ancient Israelite. Unfortunately, the biblical record is riddled with examples of Israelites being seduced by or embracing those powers.

Israel enjoyed a united monarchy—meaning that all twelve tribes were united under one king—through the reigns of Saul, David, and Solomon. The enterprise began poorly. The Israelites’ demand for a king () was not a call for someone who would administer righteousness within the country and bring stability. Rather, it was a rejection of Yahweh’s ability to fight for his obedient people (). The divine warrior of the exodus and wars against the Anakim had been cast aside for—ironically—the tallest person on the Israelite side (). “Make us a king like the other nations!” God gave them what they asked for, and they paid the price.

Eventually the kingdom solidified under David, the man after God’s own heart. In fact, God had picked him out specifically for the task () and validated his status with a victory over a Rephaim giant (Goliath) in single combat. God went so far as to initiate a covenant with David, declaring that only David’s descendants would be legitimate heirs of his kingship ().

That succession lasted one generation, through the kingship of Solomon. Once Solomon was gone, the kingdom split into two kingdoms: Israel (ten tribes) to the north and Judah (two tribes), with its capital in Jerusalem. It was only a matter of time before each of them succumbed to idolatrous disloyalty to Yahweh. In the northern kingdom, it happened immediately. Jeroboam, Israel’s first rebel king, made a rebuilt Shechem his first capital city (). Shechem had been the place where Joshua had gathered Israel before his death to dedicate the nation to finishing the conquest and remaining pure before Yahweh (). Jeroboam set up cult centers () for Baal worship in two places to mark the extent of his realm: Dan (which was in the region of Bashan, close to Mount Hermon) and Bethel (the place where Yahweh had appeared to the patriarchs). The symbolism of spiritual warfare in these decisions was palpable. No one faithful to Yahweh would have missed their intended contempt. Ten of Israel’s tribes were now under the dominion of other gods. Yahweh would destroy Israel in 722 via the Assyrian Empire.

Judah, the southern kingdom, ostensibly loyal to David and Yahweh, would also fail. They too would have kings who turned from Yahweh. The Davidic dynasty eventually collapsed and Judah’s people were sent into exile in—of all places—Babylon.

We mustn’t conclude that God didn’t try to turn the hearts of his people back to himself. That’s precisely why he raised up prophets—after they had met with him and his council.[1]

[1] Heiser, M. S. (2015). The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible (First Edition, pp. 221–231). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

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