spiritual beings
What do angels and demons, as well as Satan, have in common? They are all biblical spiritual beings you'll encounter in the Bible, reflecting the Elohim concept.
Spiritual Beings
In the opening pages of the Bible, God creates two overlapping realms, the heavens and the earth, which is where the drama of the biblical storyline unfolds. Many of us are familiar with the earthly drama, where humans are given a wonderful garden to rule on God’s behalf but lose access to this paradise due to a foolish rebellion. However, the biblical authors also want us to recognize another set of characters: the inhabitants of the heavenly realm, including angels and demons, who are intricately involved in this earthly story.
For various reasons, many modern readers of the Bible overlook these biblical spiritual beings or struggle to understand their significance. Our contemporary portrayals of angels and demons often stem from deep misunderstandings of what the biblical authors convey about these creatures. The Elohim concept reflects the importance of these spiritual beings in the biblical narrative, which is precisely what this video series aims to explore.
complex, but part of the unified narrative of the bible
Once we rediscover how the biblical authors viewed the world, we can begin to understand the storyline of the rebellious spiritual beings, including angels and demons, that are at work behind human rebellion. This also enriches our understanding of the role of humans as the 'image of God' and connects with the Elohim concept, highlighting God’s plan to exalt humanity to rule over a unified heaven and earth. It is this exalted role that humanity forfeits in its rebellion and that is recovered in the story of Jesus, the first human elevated to rule over heaven and earth as God intended.
In this series, we’re going to profile all of the biblical spiritual beings, explore how they fit into the worldview of the biblical authors, and examine their roles in the larger storyline of the Bible. So let’s engage our minds in learning and processing mode and dive in together!
Spiritual Beings Series
Elohim
Did you know that the biblical word for God, Elohim, is actually a title and not a name? And did you know that "Elohim" can refer to other spiritual beings as well as to the creator God? In this video, we explore the biblical terminology for spiritual beings and how this helps us understand what the Bible means when it says that “God is one.”
the divine council
What on earth is the divine council? Well, for starters, it’s not on earth! This biblical phrase describes the concept of spiritual powers that God created to have authority alongside humans... until everyone rebels and creates huge problems that only Jesus can resolve. We dig into all of this and more in episode three of our Spiritual Beings series.
angels & cherubim
Did you know that angels in the Bible don’t have wings? Or that cherubim are not cute, chubby babies? In this video, we explore the biblical portrayals of angels and cherubim to understand just who they are and what role they play in the story of the Bible.
Angel of the Lord
The Angel of the Lord is one of the most fascinating spiritual beings in the Hebrew Scriptures. Every time this figure appears, he’s depicted as if he is God, but also an angel sent by God. In this video, we explore this paradoxical character and discover how he prepares us for the grand claims that will be made about Jesus in the New Testament.
the satan & demons
The storyline of the Bible presents a populated spiritual world, full of creatures who are in rebellion against their Creator, just like humans. For lots of fascinating reasons, our modern conceptions of the Satan and demons are based on serious misunderstandings of the Bible. So let’s go back to the book of Genesis and start over as we learn about the powers of spiritual evil in the story of the Bible.
the new humanity
In the opening pages of the Bible, God appoints humans to rule the world on his behalf. But when they rebel, the biblical story leads us on a search for a new humanity that will be God’s faithful partners, forever. This is the plot conflict of the biblical story that leads to Jesus, and we explore it in this final video of our Spiritual Being series.