Two hours of a theologically in-depth discussion about the Best-selling Biblical Fiction series Chronicles of the Apocalypse.
We talked about my personal testimony in apologetics and how it applies to eschatology and the End Times.
An excellent introduction to partial preterism and the prophecies of the Bible.
These posts are all excerpted from my newest booklet, Psalm 82: The Divine Council of the Gods, the Judgment of the Watchers and the Inheritance of the Nations. You can buy the booklet here.
In my past two posts (1 and 2), I examined Psalm 82 to discover that it talks about God having a heavenly host of divine beings around his throne that counsel with him and carry out his judgments or decisions. They are called “holy ones” (Deut 33:2-3; Jude 14), heavenly host (1King 22:19) the divine council (Psa 82:1), and the Sons of God (Job 5:1; 15:15).
Then I showed how God had separated the seventy Gentile nations at Babel, placing them under the authority of fallen Sons of God, now also called Watchers (Dan 4:13, 17), who were supposed to rule with justice, but instead ruled unjustly and in darkness. This resulted in their punishment.
It is that punishment that I would like to now try to understand from the text.
I believe the Watcher’s punishment is loss of both their immortality and their inheritance of nations at Babel. And I will argue that this was accomplished in the first century complex of events of Messiah’s death, resurrection, ascension and arrival of God’s kingdom. Let’s take another look at Psalm 82 to get a good reminder of the narrative.
Psalm 82:1–8
1 God has taken his place in the divine council;
in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:2 “How long will you judge unjustly
and show partiality to the wicked? Selah3 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.”5 They have neither knowledge nor understanding,
they walk about in darkness;
all the foundations of the earth are shaken.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.”8 Arise, O God, judge the earth;
for you shall inherit all the nations!
The first aspect of God’s judgment upon the gods of the nations is in verses 6 and 7. Apparently, their punishment is the loss of immortality, resulting in death like mortal humans. Though they were gods with divine immortality, they will now die like men.
The question is, what is this death? Is it literal or metaphorical? If it is literal, then the text indicates that the immortal Watchers would lose their immortality and die just like earthly princes. It seems to be a humiliation of the heavenly princes who would otherwise survive their earthly princes’ demise. But in this case, the gods are being stripped of their immortality and thus, their divinity. Death does not become divine beings. So death would be a most serious punishment for such a creature.
But what does this death consist of? Do they die and go to Hades? Do they simply cease to exist? It is at this point that the silence of the biblical text tempts us to speculate. But there is a place to find legitimate information that is better than mere speculation. Keep reading to see what that is… Continue reading
These posts are all excerpted from my newest booklet, Psalm 82: The Divine Council of the Gods, the Judgment of the Watchers and the Inheritance of the Nations. You can buy the booklet here.
In part one, I defined the biblical motif of Christus Victor as Christ’s victory over the spiritual powers who ruled sinful mankind. I defined the divine council biblically as an assembly of gods, called “Sons of God,” “holy ones,” and “heavenly host” who surround Yahweh, engage in legal counsel with him and carry out his decisions.
But the next question is, how did man come under the rule and authority of these gods, these divine beings from Yahweh’s heavenly host?
I am using Psalm 82 as a portal into this fascinating storyline of the Bible. So let’s take a look again at what it says.
Psalm 82:1–8
1 God has taken his place in the divine council;
in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:2 “How long will you judge unjustly
and show partiality to the wicked? Selah3 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.”
So we see that for some reason, God has given some of these members from his divine council a responsibility to rule over mankind on earth. Where did this come from? Why would God do such a thing? Isn’t God alone the judge of all the earth? And why is he blaming failure to rule on divine beings? Does that make them fallen angels?
To answer those questions, we need to go back to the beginning. Not Genesis 1, but rather, the beginning of the allotment of the nations to the gods. Back to the Tower of Babel. But rather than going straight to Genesis 11, that tells the story of Babel, we need to read what Moses reveals about Babel in Deuteronomy 32… Continue reading
By Brian Godawa
I am going to post a series of five posts over the next month or so about Psalm 82. As I have been writing my novels, I realized that this is a key Scripture in dealing with the activity and fate of the Watchers over the nations. Since these Watchers are my main villains in my novel series, I need to lay out my Scriptural interpretation to justify why my narrative follows the course it does.
These posts are all excerpted from my newest booklet, Psalm 82: The Divine Council of the Gods, the Judgment of the Watchers and the Inheritance of the Nations. You can buy the booklet here.
One of the most intriguing storylines of the Bible is that of Christ’s victory over the powers. When I discovered it, it changed my life. It inspired me to write a series of twelve biblical novels that incarnate that story unlike anything done before (Chronicles of the Nephilim and Chronicles of the Apocalypse).
But what exactly is this messianic cosmic battle and how does it affect us? It is sometimes named Christus Victor, and consists of the idea that mankind’s Fall in the Garden resulted in a sinfulness of humanity that was so entrenched against God, that it led to universal idolatry as embodied in the tower of Babel story (Gen 11). As a result of man’s incorrigible evil, God placed all of the nations and their lands under the authority of other spiritual powers, but kept one people and their land for his own: Israel. Those Gentile nations and their gods would be at war with the promised messianic seed of Israel. But in the fullness of time, Messiah would arrive, overcome those spiritual powers of the nations and take back rule of the earth in the kingdom of God.
Psalm 82 is a doorway into the Christus Victor narrative because it summarizes the three-act structure of that messianic story of allotment, judgment and inheritance. Here is the full text of the Psalm in all its simple and concise glory:
Psalm 82:1–8
1 God has taken his place in the divine council;
in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:2 “How long will you judge unjustly
and show partiality to the wicked? Selah3 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.”5 They have neither knowledge nor understanding,
they walk about in darkness;
all the foundations of the earth are shaken.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.”8 Arise, O God, judge the earth;
for you shall inherit all the nations!
Much scholarly debate has occurred over the identity of these “gods” of the divine council. Are they human judges who merely represent divine justice or are they actual divine beings? I am convinced that they are Yahweh’s heavenly host of divine beings surrounding his throne, referred to with the technical term, “Sons of God.” Here’s why… Continue reading
The true story of the first deployment of a special forces team in Afghanistan after 9/11. A mere 12 American soldiers, led by a captain without field experience, join local forces to take down a major Taliban target.
I wrote a post on war movies a decade ago, wherein I argued that their themes often reflect current political attitudes of the era — or at least of Hollywood in that era. This isn’t absolute. There is some diversity of views, but there are also clear patterns.
In the 1940s and 50s, war movies tended to support the narrative that war is glory. Killing Nazis after all is a glorious good thing. World War II was indisputably righteous war. There were some “war is hell” themes, but it was a hell worth fighting.
Then in the 60s and 70s the Hollywood slogan became, “war is insanity,” because of the politics of Vietnam. Movies from Dr. Strangelove to Apocalypse Now reinforced that anti-establishment narrative. Sure, there were always some exceptions, but it wasn’t until Saving Private Ryan that war movies could be heroic and patriotic again.
But Ryan started a new kind of diluted patriotism, with a shift away from the higher cause of one’s country to the individualistic commitment to one’s fighting buddies, the man next to you, became your purpose, not the flag. The patriotic value of a higher cause faded into the background of relativistic rejection of transcendent causes. It was a movie version of being against war, but “supporting the soldiers.” Even good war movies like We Were Soldiers and Blackhawk Down suffered from this myopic individualism.
In recent years, Hollywood has tried to cast the American military as a tool of a nationalistic imperialistic military industrial complex of sadistic corrupt leaders and poor sucker soldier pawns destroyed by PTSD. Witness movies like Redacted, Lions for Lambs, War Machine, In the Valley of Elah, all failures because Americans don’t believe the Lie.
But recently, with American Sniper, Hacksaw Ridge, Dunkirk, 13 Hours, and now 12 Strong, we have a resurgence of a more nuanced balance of just war theory. These movies deal honestly with the imperfections of humanity, but focus on a return to an understanding of righteous violence and the transcendence of a higher cause of fighting for freedom and one’s country again.
They do not shy from showing the truth that even though we are morally obligated to kill evil men and evil communities bent on destruction and murder, it is not without collateral damage on the human psyche of those involved. But these movies affirm that the noble cause of one’s country, the higher purpose of freedom and justice, is a price worth paying to protect the innocent.
Of course, these were all elementary ideas of yesteryear. But in today’s climate of American self-hating War on Masculinity, and left wing postcolonial Marxist university theories indoctrinating the youth from high school on, those elementary truths are now a sort of profound divine revelation into a world of darkness.
Not to mention how the notion of confronting widespread Islamic imperialism and oppression around the world has become a No-No for Left Wing Hollywood, bent as it is on hating Judeo-Christian western civilization.
But there are exceptions. Thank God. Hollywood may be dominated by Anti-American regressives, but it is not monolithic. There is a resistance within. Truth does get released at times. There are individuals who do not follow the herd off the cliff of left wing delusion.
12 Strong is a rare example of that unleashed truth.
It is a return to masculine righteousness in the face of worldwide Islamic evil.
And boy, do we need this right now. Not just because of the war on masculinity that wants to turn all men into women because of the evil excess of the Harvey Weinsteins of the world, but because of our culture’s cowering to Islamic supremacy. You know, criticism of Islam is “Islamophobia,” and Feminist submission to Islamic oppression of women.
12 Strong is a battle movie, plain and simple. Lots of gun battles, soldiers’ comaraderie, and strategy meetings of generals over maps discussing the odds. And cool action sequences of modern soldiers on horseback in rugged terrain shooting automatic rifles. In other words, a classic war movie about a small unit of American soldiers fighting the real enemy that exists in this world, with grit, honor and duty.
We see the captain taking the lead in battle, men considering it an honor to do a mission that they will most likely not survive, and all of them doing it for their loved ones and their country. Yeah, that’s right, the country that too much of Hollywood considers a shithole.
Well, not this time. Thanks, producer Jerry Bruckheimer, director Nicolai Fuglsig, writers Ted Tally, Peter Craig, and the cast for your courage.
The heart and soul of this story is justice, as embodied in the simple talisman of a piece of twisted melted metal from the Twin Towers that a general gives the captain of the unit, played brilliantly by Chris Hemsworth.
At the end of the story, after conquering the enemy, the captain buries that piece of metal into the dirt of Afghanistan as a spiritual homing beacon for justice.
But as one of the soldiers says at the end, “We won the battle. We still gotta win the war.” And that is a near impossible war to win in the Afghan “graveyard of empires.” A land where the Afghan warrior tells them, “There is no right choice. Today, you are my ally, tomorrow, you are my enemy.” It is a complex world that illustrates just how difficult it is to win over entrenched evil. Just how impossible are the odds.
But impossible odds are precisely what are overcome in this true story of 12 Strong men, exemplars of the masculine righteousness that is needed to save the world. The impossible can be done when you fight evil for a just cause.
And yes, the price is worth it.
It’s something left wingers and feminist man-haters completely miss with their propaganda of how “white male privilege” is the root of all evil. When they try to deconstruct masculinity into toxicity, when they try to argue that it is men who cause the wars and violence in the world, they suppress the truth that it is also men who stop all the wars and violence in the world. Righteous, masculine men of strength.
And that is what we need more of. 12 Strong is an antidote to the toxic anti-masculinity of the left wing social engineering that is seeking to sissify our culture.
Watch it. Be strong.
If you haven’t discovered the amazing historical spiritual war of the series Chronicles of the Apocalypse, you can now get the first two books for 30% Off on Kindle only.
I had a great interview with Joshua Wisely on Eschaton podcast. Here is what he wrote:
Brian Godawa returns to the show to continue a fascinating discussion we had earlier this year about Preterism and the likelihood that the majority of “end times” prophecies mentioned in the Book of Revelation, which millions of people around the world expect to be fulfilled in the future, have already been realized in the past. And if that’s not enough to pique your interest, there’s more!
We also talk about the mysterious entities known as “The Watchers” or “The Sons of God”, who are mentioned in mythological texts throughout the ancient Middle East and Mesopotamia. We try to gain a better understanding of the role they played in ancient cosmology and whether or not they have any influence in the world today.
Additionally, we get Brian’s perspective on whether or not prophecies can have a “double fulfillment” or if history shows us that they’re always one and done. Then, to round out the episode, he shares his thoughts on the identity of the “two witnesses” mentioned in chapter 11 of the Book of Revelation. It’s an interpretation that I had never heard before and one that you’ll want to chew on for a while!
Chronicles of the Nephilim (and now its sequel series, Chronicles of the Apocalypse) has virtually monopolized the Biblical Fiction category on Amazon for a few years now.
It’s shocking. I honestly never thought this would happen.
Christians are more open-minded to the imagination than ever before.
And they want more stories of “meaty faith” not just happy talk “Christian Living” milk.
This is muscular Christianity.
Take a look at the Top Ten List.
I was interviewed on Church and Other Drugs podcast.
We talked about how the Book of Revelation was fulfilled in the first century and my how my Chronicles of the Nephilim fit in with my new Chronicles of the Apocalypse.
Revelation is about how Messiah wins back the territories given at Babel, and judges first century Israel for rejecting him.
My interview starts around 14:00 in.
Limited Time Offer. Only 99¢. Historical fantasy novel on Kindle. By best-selling Christian author Brian Godawa & Marvel Studios Visual Director Charlie Wen.
An ancient Greek warrior sails to the mysterious land of China to capture a dragon. But what he finds is a mad emperor, Nephilim giants and angelic Watchers in a supernatural battle for control. Reveals the Biblical connection of China to the Tower of Babel.