(reflective music) - [Man] God gives us a new
identity as His children. We belong with Him as he intended. (reflective music) The Bible says we will one day replace the rebellious sons
of God in His divine council. (reflective music) He also gives us a mission. We're here to grow God's family. (reflective music) - We're gonna go on a fascinating journey. We'll explore some strange passages. We'll re-examine some familiar ones with meanings hidden in plain sight. We'll look at the Bible through the supernatural
world view of it's writers. By the time we're done, you'll never be able to look at your Bible the same way again. There's a lot to be seen when it comes to the unseen realm. (reflective music) - The Bible asks us to believe a lot of strange things
about the spiritual world. At first we might be
tempted to ignore them but if we say we believe the Bible, we can't avoid these concepts. Much of what we think we
know about the spirit world isn't true. It's been filtered down through centuries of church tradition. Angels do not have wings. Demons don't have horns or tails. And for the biblical writers, the unseen realm was home to
more than angels and demons. There were other bigger players. So do you believe what's in your Bible? - The rock accessory of Philippi might be the most imposing
rock face in Israel. Imagine standing in front
of the 500 foot wide face and hearing Jesus' words, "Upon this rock I will build my church." This is the place where Jesus
and his disciples stood. The scene of Peter's confession. And when Jesus added,
"And the gates of Hell "will not be able to
withstand the church." He knew what he was talking about. - Gates to Hell? Really? The authors of scripture believed the gods of
the nations were real. Look at Psalm 82 carefully. - [Narrator] "God stands
in the divine assembly, "He administers judgment
in the midst of the gods." - When you really look at
Psalm 82:1 it's kinda shocking, but there it is plain as day. God presides over an assembly of gods that He calls His sons. We're just not used to
thinking of the heavenly host in those terms, but that's what the Hebrew text says. Psalm 89 says the same thing about God's council in the heavens. - [Narrator] "A God feared greatly "in the council of the holy ones." - The Hebrew word translated
gods in Psalm 82 is Elohim. Now most of the time it
should be translated as "God", but sometimes it's plural, and Psalm 82:1 has both. The problem for us is that we think this is a problem for
monotheism, but it's not. We're taught to associate
the letters G, O, and D with a specific set of unique attributes. That's why putting an S on
the end makes us queasy, but the word Elohim is not about
a set of unique attributes. The Bible itself tells us that. (reflective music) - Elohim is simply a word used to describe a supernatural being. It says nothing, nothing about attributes. That's why the biblical
writers used Elohim for other spirit beings besides God. It's used for the gods of the nations, it's used for demons,
it's used for angels, even the disembodied human dead. However, Yahweh is one of those Elohim and no other Elohim is like Him. I repeat, no other Elohim is like Him. The Bible describes Him in unique ways. There is only one of Him. One of Him. Existing as three persons:
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And He is the creator of all other Elohim. (reflective music) - Psalm 82 places the
heavenly host in a council. That term is appropriate because these beings participate
in God's rule of the world. Now certainly God doesn't need their help, but He lets them participate. Consider the strange story that the prophet Micaiah gave to the
wicked Israelite King, Ahab. - [Narrator] "Therefore,
hear the word of Yahweh. "I saw Yahweh sitting on His throne "with all the hosts of
heaven standing beside Him "from His right hand
and from His left hand. "And Yahweh said, "Who will entice Ahab "so that he will go up and
fall at Ramoth-Gilead?" "Then this one was saying one thing "and the other one was saying another. "Then a spirit came out and
stood before Yahweh and said, "I will entice him." "and Yahweh said to him, "How?" "He said, "I will go out
and I will be a false spirit "in the mouth of all his prophets." "And He said, "You shall
entice and succeed, "go out and do so." "So then, see that Yahweh
has placed a false spirit "in the mouth of all these your prophets, "and Yahweh has spoken
disaster concerning you." - Did you catch where the
Bible asked you to believe? God meets with His heavenly host to decide what happens on earth. These beings, the gods of the council, are spirits, not people or idols. (reflective music) - Remember, Yahweh, the God
of Israel, is an Elohim, a spirit being, but no
other Elohim is Him. He is one of a kind. He is the true God, with a capitol G. He alone is the perfect sovereign creator. He is the Most High God. Psalm 82:6 says God has sons, "sons of the Most High" is the phrase. - [Narrator] "I have said, "You are gods, and sons of
the Most High, all of you." - Who are these sons of God? It sounds odd. What about Jesus? How can there be all
these other sons of God? The answer is found in
verses like John 3:16, where Jesus is described
as the unique son of God. Some translations say "only begotten" but the word actually means
unique, one of a kind. How is Jesus unique? The New Testament says he is God, the one uncreated God in the flesh. None of the other sons of
God fit that description. (reflective music) - The sons of God language
made sense to ancient people. God was King and Kings assign
their sons high-ranking jobs in their government. So it is in the unseen realm. It's important because the
sonship language reminds us that God wants a family. His family extends to
both the unseen world and to Earth, and those two
families come together in Eden. (reflective music) - God addressed His council when He created the first man and woman. The council was already there. - [Narrator] "So God created
humankind in His image, "in the likeness of God He created him, "male and female He created them." - God told His heavenly family
He wanted to create humanity. Now people often think God
addressed the other members of the trinity, but that is not the case. The other members of the trinity are co-equal and co-omniscient. God wouldn't need to tell them anything. God speaks to His heavenly host here. Job 38 tells us the sons of God were present at the creation. - [Narrator] "Where were you "at my laying the foundation of the earth? "When the morning stars
were singing together "and all of the sons of
God shouted for joy?" (reflective music) - The image of God concept
helps us to understand how humans and the heavenly
host are both like God. Both of God's families represent Him. The supernatural sons of God represent Him in the unseen realm, and
we represent God on earth. (reflective music) - How do we represent God? We saw how divine beings
participate in God's rule. God created humans to
participate in His plan to make the earth all He envisioned and to enjoy it with Him. - Imaging God is a
status we have on earth, not a specific ability. We bear that status from the moment of conception until death. To be human is to image God, but God also shares
His attributes with us. Beginning with Adam and Eve, we were supposed to take care
of creation and develop it. God wanted the whole
earth to be like Eden. (reflective music) - The knowledge that all humans
are representatives of God prompts us to see all
human life as sacred. It leaves no room for racism. Injustice has no place and the abuse of power at
home, at work, or in government cannot be justified. (reflective music) - Obviously the world isn't like Eden. People don't treat each other
as equal imagers of God. Not even close. What happened? The answer lies in God's
decision to share His attributes with both His supernatural
and human children. Now one of those attributes
is freedom, or free will. It is freedom not mere intelligence that allows for meaningful choices. God didn't program His
children like robots. If he did, we wouldn't truly be like Him. Having freedom meant God's
children might choose to rebel. And that's what happened. - Remember, we don't
have God's perfect nature even though both humans and
the heavenly sons of God represent Him in their respective realm. God tells us in Job 15 that He
doesn't trust His holy ones, He knows they can fail. - [Narrator] "Look, He does
not trust His holy ones, "and the heavens are
not clean in His eyes." - Eden was the home and
headquarters of God. His supernatural and earthly
families resided there. God wanted them to image
Him in their own ways. Heaven and Earth, blended
together into one family, but one family member
didn't like that idea. (hissing) - We've all heard about
the serpent in Eden, but why a serpent? What's that supposed to tell us? Ancient people knew how to
take this scene but we don't. We assume the serpent is merely an animal, his form is important but the
story is not about zoology. The story is about a
supernatural rebellion. Isaiah alludes to that rebellion. - [Narrator] "I will raise up my throne "above the stars of God "and I will sit on the
mountain of assembly "I will make myself like the Most High." - Isaiah is talking about the
sons of God in the assembly. Just like Job, he refers to them as stars. They were present before Eden. Ezekiel 28 mentions the
rebellion in Eden as well. In Ezekiel's case, a guardian cherub gets kicked out of Eden. - [Narrator] "You were an
anointed guardian cherub, "and I placed you on God's holy mountain, "you walked in the midst
of stones of fire." - Ancient Mesopotamia tablets talk about cherub throne guardians and describe them as snakes and dragons. The serpent of Eden was
actually a supernatural being whose job was to guard God's throne. An ancient person would've known the scene was about a rebel
in the divine council. - Like the supernatural rebel, Adam and Eve rebelled too. Eden was lost, the rebel
security guard was cast down. He brought death to earth,
now everyone would die. He became Lord of the Dead. Since everyone would die,
humanity would be his. (dramatic music) Now most people know the
basics of that story. Christian's believe it's why
the world is the way it is. But that's actually incomplete. What happened in Eden was just
the first of three reasons why there's so much evil
and death in the world. There were actually two more
supernatural rebellions. (dramatic music) - Genesis 6 describes the
second supernatural rebellion. Some of the sons of God,
members of the heavenly council, transgressed the boundary
between Heaven and Earth. (reflective music) - [Narrator] "The sons of God "saw the daughters of humankind, "that they were beautiful. "The Nephilim were upon
the earth in those days, "and also afterward, when the sons of God "went into the daughters of humankind, "and they bore children to them." - Both Peter and Jude reference this story in the New Testament. - [Narrator] "God did not
spare the angels who sinned, "but held them captive in
Tartarus with chains of darkness "and handed them over
to be kept for judgment, "and did not spare the ancient
world, but preserved Noah." - Jude also tells us about
the judgment of these angels. - [Narrator] "The angels who did not keep "to their own domain "but deserted their proper dwelling place, "he has kept in eternal
bonds under deep gloom "for the judgment of the great day." - Both of these writers understood that Genesis 6 recorded the
second supernatural rebellion. The fallen sons of God
were sent to Tartarus for their transgression. Tartarus is a Greek word
for the realm of the dead, what we think of as Hell. They'd stay there until
the day of the Lord, at the end of days. A term like fallen angels
makes us think of demons like the ones Jesus cast out, but the rebels of
Genesis 6 are imprisoned, so they can't be the
demons Jesus encountered. So where did they come from? The answer lies in the offspring produced by the forbidden union, between the sons of God
and the women in Genesis 6. Those offspring were
known as the Nephilim. They were giants. Their descendants became the giant clans Moses and Joshua battled. - [Narrator] "The Nephilim
were upon the earth "in those days, and also afterward." - In the books of numbers and Deuteronomy, we learned about the giants
Moses and Joshua ran into. They not only descended from the Nephilim but they are called by
other names like Anakim and the Rephaim, that
last name stands out. Several Bible passages
describe the dead spirits of the Rephaim in the realm of the dead, again what we would think of as Hell. - Extra biblical Jewish
writers believed that demons, like those described in the gospels, were disembodied spirits of the giants. They'd base this on the
Bible's mention of dead Rephaim in the underworld. Jewish books like First Enoch and the Book of the Giants
from the Dead Sea Scrolls make that point explicitly. (reflective music) - If demons come from dead giants, what happened to the giants? Believe it or not, the answer comes from
a very familiar story. (dramatic music) God told Joshua to
destroy entire populations in the land of Canaan, but if you read the
conquest account closely, the losses he places where God told Joshua "only drive them out, not kill them." Now this seems inconsistent, however when you understand
the supernatural rationale for what God wanted Joshua to
do, things become more clear. - It's fascinating to discover that the conquest actually
began with the giants. Moses initially sent
12 spies into the land. They reported about the
places they had visited and where they saw the giant, Anakim. 10 of the 12 spies convinced
the rest of the people they could not win against the Anakim. God judged Israel with
40 years of wandering. Notice that the giants were a focal point from the very beginning
of the conquest effort. - At the end of the 40 years, God took Israel up through
the East side of the Jordan. He told them not to bother
the people of Moab and Ammon, since the giant clans in those lands had already been removed
by the people of Isa, relatives of the Israelites. (reflective music) God sent Moses and Joshua to Bashan, the realm of Og, King of the Amorites. Og was a giant, the last of the Rephaim. The prophet Amos described them. - [Narrator] "I destroyed
the Amorite before them, "who was as tall as cedars "and was as strong as the oaks." - The point is that once all the giants from the other side of
the Jordan were removed, Joshua could take the people into Canaan. Joshua took the Israelites into the land. It's important to notice that the places that were designated
for total destruction correspond to the places
where the giants were seen. The giant descendants of the Nephilim were the real targets of the killing. Many people died because
the Anakim lived among them, but the descendants of the
Nephilim were the lethal threat. - The Nephilim and their descendants were from the divine
rebellion of Genesis 6. They had been raised up
by supernatural rebels to oppose God and destroy His people. Now in this light, the
conquest, spiritual warfare, laid out on earth. Either God's people, Israel, would survive or be annihilated. The story is cast as an
epic battle of good and evil in both the spiritual and earthly sense. Joshua could drive out people, but the descendants of the
Nephilim had to be eliminated. (reflective music) This is why when Joshua
defined victory in the conquest he said "There are no
more Anakim in the land." The only ones left went
to the Philistine cities. One of those cities was Gath, the home of Goliath and his brothers, and eventually David
would complete the task of eliminating the
descendants of the Nephilim. - The conquest is ultimately about God protecting His own children against a cosmically empowered threat, bent on stopping Yahweh
from re-establishing Eden. - God's original program
was for Adam and Eve to spread Eden throughout the earth. All people were to be God's people. The whole earth was to be God's domain, but that gets ruined and destroyed, but God never gives up
on His original plan. God called the people to
Himself the nation of Israel. Yahweh wanted a land
to restart a new Eden, and the Anakim, descendants of rival gods, would stop at nothing to prevent that. - The first two spiritual
rebellions produced Satan, the giants, and the
demons who came from them, but there was one more ancient
rebellion looming ahead. This one would produce
another set of bad guys and change the entire landscape of God's relationship with humanity. But ultimately, they
would become the catalyst for God's redemption plan. - [Narrator] "Come, let
us build ourselves a city "and a tower whose top
reaches to the heavens. "And Yahweh said, "Come, let us go down "and confuse their language there, "so that they will not understand
each other's language." "Therefore its name was called Babel." - Now this is a really familiar story, but less familiar is how the
story is told in Deuteronomy. - [Narrator] "When the Most
High apportioned the nations, "at his dividing up the sons of humankind, "he fixed the boundaries of the peoples, "according to the number
of the sons of God. "For Yahweh's portion was his people, "Jacob the share of his inheritance." - When was humanity divided into nations? That was at Babel. God allotted the nations to the members of His divine council. The Bible says this is why the ancient nations worshiped other gods. God decided to let the
members of His divine council govern the other nations in response to humanities
rebellion at Babel. - But the gods of the nations
failed to rule justly. God chastises them in Psalm 82. - [Narrator] "God stands
in the divine assembly; "He administers judgment
in the midst of the gods. "How long will you judge unjustly "and show favoritism to the wicked?" - Then God pronounces a judgment on them. - [Narrator] "I have said, "You are gods, "and sons of the Most High, all of you. "However, you will die like men, "and you will fall like
one of the princes." - The gods will be judged,
punished, and will die. It's startling to read these things. God is so angry with His
corrupt heavenly sons that He condemns them. Some passages in the prophets place the fulfillment of this punishment in the end times at the day of the Lord. - [Narrator] "For the anger of Yahweh "is against all the nations, "and His wrath is against all their host "all the host of heaven shall rot. "All their host shall wither. "On that day: Yahweh will
punish the host of heaven "in heaven, and the kings
of the earth on the earth." - This situation is at the heart of what scholars call cosmic geography. It's the idea that the
nations around Israel were under the dominion
of other hostile gods. Those nations and their gods surrounded the holy ground of Israel, Yahweh's portion of the earth. (reflective music) The Book of Daniel picks up on that idea. It discloses that supernatural beings govern individual nations. In other words, evil intelligences influence the geopolitics
of those nations. - [Narrator] "But the prince
of the kingdom of Persia "stood before me for 21 days. "And look, Michael, one
of the chief princes, "came to assist me." - Each of these nations
has a supernatural prince, a term that means ruler. - [Narrator] "Now I return "to fight against the prince of Persia, "and look, the prince of Javan will come. "And there is not one who contends with me "against these beings "except Michael, your prince." - Michael is the guardian of Israel. The big picture reveals that there is an unseen spiritual conflict behind the empires of the earth. (reflective music) - Second Kings 5 illustrates
the idea of holy ground well. In that story, Naaman, a
military commander from Syria visits Israel in search
of the prophet Elijah. To his surprise and joy, Elijah heals him of leprosy, but afterward he makes a really interesting request of Elijah. - [Narrator] "Then Naaman said, "If not, then please let a load of soil "on a pair of mules be
given to your servants, "for your servants will never
again bring a burnt offering "and sacrifice to other gods, "but only to Yahweh." - Naaman asked Elijah
for dirt from Israel. Why? Because now he worshiped Yahweh. He wanted holy ground to worship on. (reflective music) Cosmic geography is something
we see a lot of in the Bible. It's about holy ground, a place for Yahweh to dwell
with His people, just like Eden. Do we realize how dramatic the
judgment at Babel really was? When it was over, God had no
relationship with humanity. But God still wanted a family and He already had a
plan to fix that problem. He'd begin with one man, named Abraham. - The Bible recounts many stories of God speaking from heaven. But God did something more dramatic when it came to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He appeared as a man. Both Genesis and Acts will tell us God came to Abraham in a vision. Visions are things you see. The Old Testament often
describes God in visible terms. Standing, sitting, walking. Invisible voices don't stand,
sit, and walk, do they? God appears as a man in the Old Testament, most often as the angel of the lord. Jacob first encountered Yahweh at Bethel, a man who was more than
what he appeared to be wrestled him there. That man was described
by the prophet Josiah as an angel and an Elohim. That's why the angel
of the lord could say, "I am the god of Bethel." That's amazing. An angel refers to himself as God. But even more startling
is the quote in Genesis 48 where Jacob blesses Joseph's
children before he dies. - [Narrator] "The God
before whom my fathers, "Abraham and Isaac, walked, "The God who shepherded me
all my life unto this day, "The angel who redeemed me from all evil, "may he bless the boys." - Jacob's prayer has three lines. "May the God before
whom my fathers walked." "May the God who shepherded me." And in the third line, where we expect him to mention God again, he swaps in, "May the angel
who redeemed me from harm." And then he asks, "May he bless the boys." Not may they bless the boys,
but "May he bless the boys." That's what the Hebrew text says. Jacob identified the angel with God. Genesis intentionally draws a parallel between the identity of the
angel of the lord and Yahweh. But it goes even deeper. Two other concepts are
associated with the angel. They are the word and the name. - [Narrator] "Look, I am about
to send an angel before you "to guard you on the way "to bring you to the place
that I have prepared. "Do not rebel against him, "because he will not
forgive your transgression, "for my name is in him." - When God tells Moses
his name is in the angel, he's telling Moses that
He is in the angel. The angel here possesses
the power to forgive sin, something only God can do. When Yahweh says He put
His name in the angel, He's referring to His own presence. It sounds odd, but sometimes the name is actually described as a person. - [Narrator] "Look! "The name of Yahweh comes from afar, "burning with His anger
and heaviness of cloud." - The Bible does that because
the name can be a person. Even today observant Jews who don't want to pronounce God's name will refer to God himself as HaShem. That's Hebrew for the name. This reminds us of the burning bush where God reveals His name. Exodus 3 says both God and
the angel were in that bush. - [Narrator] "And Moses
came to the mountain "and the angel of Yahweh appeared to him "in a flame of fire from
the midst of a bush. "And Yahweh saw that
he turned aside to see "and God called to him from
the midst of the bush." - Yahweh reveals His name to
Moses at the burning bush. Jesus revealed it as well. - [Narrator] "I have revealed your name." - Of course the Jews
already knew God's name, it was in their Bible. Jesus was saying he had
manifested God to them. If they had seen him, they had seen God. God's appearance as a
man in the Old Testament prepared people to receive
God as man in Jesus. (reflective music) - On their way to the promise land, God gave Israel the law. But obedience to the law wasn't how Israelites obtained salvation. It was how they showed loyalty to Yahweh. It would help them to live in harmony with God and each other. Salvation in the Bible is
the same in either testament. Israelites had to believe
God was the God of all gods. He made them to be with Him as His family because He loved them. They needed to refuse to
worship any other god. - Salvation today and in the New Testament makes the same demand in a different way. We must believe that the god of all gods came to earth as a man in Jesus Christ. We must believe that He loved us enough to die on the cross so that we could be in
God's family forever. And we must put our faith in
Christ alone and no other God. (reflective music) - The law taught people
how to approach God. God is holy and the space
He occupies is sacred. Sacred space is physical space, set apart and dedicated to
the use and service of God. - [Man] The Mosaic law comprises 613 laws. Many of them sound quite strange. You couldn't eat shellfish or combine different kinds
of material in clothing. There was an entire litany of clean and unclean animals and behaviors. - These laws were about ritual purity. They taught people the space
occupied by God's presence was different than their living space. - [Man] Cosmic geography
encompasses sacred space. The most holy part of the land
was where God's presence was. Certain laws alerted an Israelite to the idea that Yahweh's
living space was special. Sacrifices reminded
the Israelite's of this and also purified sacred space and objects so God's people could worship Him. - Sacred space encompasses more than the purification
of physical things. It distinguishes between
the holy and the normal. It even marked the unholy territory outside of Yahweh's land. (dramatic music) - In Israel's world, sacred space reminded Israelite's of Eden. It was the place where God lived and where He desired humans to live. The design of the golden lamp stand in the holy place of the tabernacle was a reminder of the tree of life. God's throne room. The Holy of Holies, where the Ark of the Covenant
was marked off by a veil. The Ark's lid functioned
as a throne for God. This echoes God's presence in Eden. - Over the Ark sat two cherubim, just as cherubim guarded
the entrance to Eden. Lush decorations of vegetation,
flowers, palm trees, lions and pomegranates
filled the tabernacle. They reminded the Israelite's
of God's first abode on earth, the garden of Eden. - You might wonder how
cosmic geography worked before Israel got into the land. The Israelite camp was holy ground. Outside the camp was the domain of the lesser gods from Babel. (dramatic music) - Think about it. While Israel was traveling
to the promise land, they were not yet in Yahweh's
portion of the earth. Laws about sacred space taught Israelites that
Yahweh's people were sacred. Their home was sacred and that other nations
were estranged from God. (dramatic music) - If the Israelite camp in the wilderness was considered holy, outside
the camp was unholy ground. The annual Day of Atonement
ceremony illustrated this point. (dramatic music) - Two goats were involved in the ceremony. One goat was sacrificed, but one was not. The one sacrificed was for the lord. The one left alive was for Azazel. - [Narrator] "Then Aaron shall
cast lots for the two goats: "one lot for Yahweh and one for Azazel. "But he must present alive before Yahweh "the goat on which the lot for Azazel fell "to make atonement for himself, "to send it away into
the desert to Azazel." (reflective music) - The crucifixion of Jesus paralleled the Day of Atonement ceremony. His cross was placed outside the city, away from the temple area,
which was holy ground. (dramatic music) Jesus bore the sins of the
world outside holy ground. (dramatic music) - Why didn't the powers of darkness understand what would happen at the cross? Well, Paul gives us some insight into the way God shrouded His plan for redemption in mystery. - [Narrator] "We speak
the hidden wisdom of God "in a mystery, which God predestined "before the ages for our glory, "which none of the
rulers of this age knew. "For if they had known it, "they would not have
crucified the Lord of glory." - Do you realize what Paul is saying here? If the forces of spiritual darkness had understood Jesus was
coming to give his life as a sacrifice for sin, they never would have had him killed. - Even the disciples didn't
understand why Jesus had come. Consider how they responded
to Jesus when he told them he was going to Jerusalem to die. They were shocked. Peter even rebuked Jesus. - [Narrator] "And Peter took him aside "and began to rebuke him, saying, "God forbid, Lord! "This will never happen to you! "But he turned around and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan!" - Jesus would have none of it. Jesus was on a divine secret mission. - The Old Testament leaves clues scattered throughout dozens
of places about God's plan, but it doesn't spell it
all out in one place. God didn't want the powers
of darkness to know the plan. The intelligent supernatural evil beings knew that the prophesied
Son of David had arrived. Matthew records an encounter. - [Narrator] "Two demon-possessed men "coming from among the tombs met him, "they cried out, saying, "What do you have to
do with us, Son of God? "Have you come here to
torment us before the time?" - They recognized Jesus, but
their words never indicate that they understood what Jesus was up to. (reflective music) The forces of darkness were duped into conspiring to kill Jesus. It was a divinely designed misdirection. - Intelligent evil. Satan, demons, the lesser
gods, do not know everything. Only God is all knowing,
and He is on our side. (reflective music) - Why did Jesus have to die? Why would God plan such a thing? So that His children
would have eternal life. That's what Eden was supposed to be. The first supernatural rebellion in Eden brought death into God's world. Everyone was destined to end
up in the realm of the dead, where the serpent was cast down. - Death had to be overcome. That means resurrection, but you can't have a
resurrection without a death. - Jesus knew what had to be done. He volunteered for that role. He would die in our place,
rise again, and overcome death. God wants us to believe in His plan. He never gave up on including
humans in His family. That's why Jesus came. There was no plan B. - [Narrator] "But as many as received him, "to those who believe in his name, "he gave to them authority
to become children of God." (dramatic music) - It's easy to get the impression that Jesus' ministry
leading up to the cross was somewhat random, but
there's an important subtext to what Jesus was doing. He was outwitting the evil one. Jesus drew the battle
lines when he declared. - [Narrator] "Now is the
judgment of this world! "Now the ruler of this
world will be thrown out! "And I, when I am lifted
up from the earth, "will draw all people to myself." - Satan is the ruler of this world. He's also very clever. Satan knew that Jesus wanted
as many people as possible to be part of God's family and kingdom. So he offered Jesus all
the kingdoms of the world. There was just one catch. - [Narrator] "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, "I will give to you all these things, "if you will fall down and worship me." - There's no clearer
example of cosmic conflict. Satan's offer to Jesus was real. The thought of Jesus, Yahweh in the flesh, prostrate, worshiping at
his feet is his dream. He's the ultimate megalomaniac. Jesus told Satan to get lost. He knew something Satan didn't, that he was going to
die and then rise again to liberate anyone who
believes in him from death. God and His son already had a plan to bring people into God's family, one that didn't involve worshiping Satan. - When Jesus had his
confrontation with Satan, he didn't reveal God's plan. That plan was to reclaim
the nations of the world allotted to lesser gods at Babel. Jesus didn't even tell his disciples until a very specific incident. Remember that huge rock we saw earlier? It's time to talk about
what happened there. - Jesus brought his disciples to a place called Caesarea Philippi,
named after Caesar and Herod Philip. That was the Roman name. It's in an area known in
the Old Testament as Bashan. Canaanites believed
Bashan contained gateways to the underworld, the gates of Hell, but in New Testament times,
it had been the city of Pan, Paneas, one of the Decapolis cities and Pan's cave was also known as a gateway to the underworld. But why did Jesus bring them there? Because the implicit
message when Peter confessed Jesus to be the messiah,
the Son of God was, Jesus is the real Messiah, the Son of God and these statues and that emperor are so not the sons of God. - Caesarea Philippi was also located at the base of Mount Hermon. In some of the Dead Sea
Scrolls from Jesus' day, Mount Hermon was the place
where the fallen sons of God descended to earth before the flood. Bashan and Hermon were ground zero for the cosmic evil powers. Jesus was standing at Satan's front door when he announced the gates of Hell would not withstand the church. - In this place Jesus asked Peter, "Who do you say I am?" And Peter answered. - [Narrator] "You are the Christ, "the Son of the living God!" - Jesus commended Peter and declared. - [Narrator] "I also say
to you that you are Peter, "and on this rock I will build my church, "and the gates of Hades
will not overpower it!" - The identification of this rock has been debated for a very long time. The area's geography is the key to understanding this passage. - Eventually this place
became known as Pan's Grotto. The god Pan was represented with horns, a goat's beard, a crooked
nose, pointed ears, a tail and goat's feet. That's why the early church described the devil in those ways. In a few days Jesus would
take three disciples with him up into Mount Hermon and put
the entire spiritual world on notice with the transfiguration. - [Narrator] "Jesus took
along Peter and James and John "and led them to a high
mountain by themselves alone. "And he was transfigured before them. "And a cloud came, overshadowing them, "and a voice came from the cloud, "This is my beloved Son. "Listen to him!" - Right after Jesus did these things at the gates of Hell on Mount Hermon, he began to teach his disciples that he needed to go to Jerusalem to die. The thought panicked them,
they didn't understand. But Jesus knew it was time
to fulfill God's plan. (dramatic music) - A week later Jesus arrived in Jerusalem for his triumphal entry. Jesus' provocations of
the supernatural powers led to the devil striking back. Satan entered Judas, whose
betrayal in the garden led to Jesus' trial. He stood accused before
the high priest, Caiaphas, who demanded that he defend himself. - [Narrator] "The high priest said to him, "I put you under oath by the living God, "that you tell us if you are
the Christ, the Son of God!" (reflective music) - Jesus' answer sounds evasive to us, even cryptic, he replied. - [Narrator] "You have said it. "But I tell you, from now on
you will see the Son of Man "sitting at the right hand of the Power "and coming on the clouds of heaven." - Caiaphas burst into a rage. He tore his robe saying,
"He has blasphemed!" But why did Caiaphas think
the reply was blasphemy? Jesus had quoted an Old Testament passage that Caiaphas knew very well. - [Narrator] "Ancient of Days sat; "his clothing was like white snow "and the hair of his
head was like pure wool. "And look, with the clouds of heaven "one like a son of man was coming, "and he came to the Ancient of Days, "and was presented before him. "And to him was given dominion
and glory and kingship." (reflective music) - Why was it so shocking
to hear Jesus claim that he was the one coming on the clouds? Because everywhere else
in the Old Testament, that expression was used
only of God himself. For instance, in Psalm 104
Yahweh, the God of Israel, "makes the clouds his chariot." (reflective music) But Daniel 7 is an exception. God was already in the scene, he's the Ancient of Days
seated on his throne. That means the one coming on the clouds was a different person. (reflective music) The scene has God in human form twice. He is the seated Ancient of Days, and you would also expect God to be the one coming on the clouds because that is a title for Him. Because of this scene,
ancient Jewish theology had a doctrine called "The
Two Powers in Heaven." They actually identified two
Yahweh figures in this scene. Jesus claimed to be one of them, the son of man riding on the clouds. (reflective music) - Jesus' claim to be God was enough for the priest to declare
that he should die, and die he did. Psalm 22 gives us a glimpse
of the suffering messiah on the cross. - [Narrator] "All who see me mock me. "They open wide their lips; "they shake the head, saying: "He trusts Yahweh. "Let him rescue him. "Many bulls have encircled me; "mighty bulls of Bashan
have surrounded me. "They open their mouth against me "like a lion tearing and roaring. "I am poured out like water, "and all my bones are out of joint. "My heart is like wax; "it is melted within me." (reflective music) - The creepy part is the description of the mighty bulls of Bashan. Remember that Bashan
was known as ground zero to demonic gods and the realm of the dead. The area was a leading center
for the worship of Baal, symbolized by bulls and cows. Mighty bulls of Bashan refers to demons and the powers of darkness. - C.S. Lewis captured
the force of the Psalm in "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe." No one can forget when
Aslan surrenders his life to the hordes of the White Witch
and dies on the stone table but just as Aslan
outsmarted the White Witch, so too Jesus turned this apparent defeat into the greatest triumph of all time. - Jesus triumphed over death. He was granted authority over all things. Satan has no claim over God's people. Jesus conquered death
through his resurrection. (triumphant music) - In the Book of Acts, the Holy Spirit explodes onto the scene with his arrival at Pentecost. It's a familiar story to Christians. There's more there than you first realize. - [Narrator] "Suddenly a sound
like a violent rushing wind "came from heaven and
filled the whole house "where they were sitting. "And divided tongues like
fire appeared to them "and rested on each one of them. "And they were all filled
with the Holy Spirit "and began to speak in other languages." - The Old Testament
associates the arrival of God with fire and a violent wind. Ezekiel 1 is a good example. - [Narrator] "The heavens were opened, "and I saw visions of God. "A storm wind was coming from
the north, a great cloud, "and fire flashing back and forth." - The spirit of God enabled
the Jewish followers of Jesus to speak in the languages of the surrounding nations
enslaved by enemy gods. (mysterious music) God was reversing the judgment at Babel. Part of that judgment had been
the confusion of languages to divide nations. The Spirit was supernaturally
overcoming that obstacle, but there's more going on. Pentecost was a slap in the
face to the gods of the nations. Their authority had been nullified. God was going to take the nations back. God gave the risen Jesus all the authority he
had once given to them. This is why the Great Commission
begins the way it does. - [Narrator] "All authority
in heaven and on earth "has been given to me. "Therefore, go and make
disciples of all the nations." - The nations listed in Acts 2 cover all of the geography associated with the
disinherited nations from Babel. Pentecost sent the message that God was reclaiming those nations. They could once again be
included in His family. (dramatic music) - The apostle Paul often
talked about the evil entities whose domains he violated
in the wake of Pentecost. He understood the Old
Testament's cosmic geography. - Paul lists rulers and
principalities, authorities, powers, dominions, lords, and thrones. All of these terms indicate
geographical rulership. They reflect how the Old Testament depicts the relationship of
the unseen and the seen worlds. Paul was the apostle to the gentiles. He knew that he was up against
the old gods of the nations, allotted to people excluded
from God's family back at Babel. - Paul says something
in the Book of Romans that helps us see that
what happened at Babel influenced the way he
thought about his mission. - [Narrator] "Therefore,
after I have accomplished this "and sealed this fruit
for delivery to them, "I will depart by way of you for Spain." - Why did Paul care
about getting to Spain? On the one hand, some think it's the
only disinherited nation not mentioned in the Book of Acts. The land of Tarshish. Clement, the early church father from the end of the first century AD says that Paul went to
the limits of the west in order to reach the
full scope of gentiles in the Roman Empire. - [Narrator] "Having taught
righteousness to the whole world "and having come to the
limits of the west." - In other words, Jonah went to Tarshish to get away from proclaiming
to gentiles in Nineveh. Paul went to Spain to reach the gentiles at the end of the earth
called the Roman Empire. - God knew that the Great Commission was bigger than just Paul could imagine. It falls to us to bring the gospel to the outermost parts of the earth. - Paul had a supernatural
view of his own life. He viewed himself as set apart. As an instrument for God's use. We have the same task of invading the demonic
strongholds of this world with the message of the
love of Jesus Christ. - Remember our discussion
of holy and unholy ground? You might wonder where
God's presence is today. And sure, the Bible teaches
us God is everywhere, but it actually marks his
presence more specifically. (reflective music) - Paul writes that God
is specifically present within each believer. In other words, every
believer is sacred space. (reflective music) - God was present in the temple. Today the same is true wherever
believers gather as a group. The Bible says the people of God are collectively God's temple. - [Narrator] "You are fellow
citizens of the saints "and members of the household of God, "built on the foundation of
the apostles and prophets. "You also are built up together "into a dwelling place
of God in the Spirit." - Together we are God's temple. The special place where
God's Spirit resides. Wherever believers gather, the spiritual ground we occupy is sanctified amid the powers of darkness. - Believe it or not, baptism is a declaration
of spiritual warfare. Peter explains that idea
in a perplexing passage. It's odd to us, but people in Peter's day would've known just what to do with it. - [Narrator] "For Christ
also suffered once for sins, "being put to death in the flesh, "but made alive in the spirit, "in which also he went "and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, "who were formerly disobedient, "when the patience of God
waited in the days of Noah. "Corresponding to this,
baptism now saves you. "An appeal to God for a good conscience, "through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, "who is at the right hand of God. "With angels and authorities and powers "having been subjected to him." - At first glance,
Noah, a good conscience. Spirits in prison, baptism,
angels, authorities, and powers seem to have little to do with each other and baptism can't save us. Believing in Jesus saves us. What's going on here? (reflective music) - To understand what
Peter wants to say here, we have to understand
that like Paul used Adam as an analogy for Jesus
in some of his teaching, Peter uses Enoch. - [Narrator] "And Enoch walked with God "and he was no more, for God took him." - We don't learn much about
Enoch in the Old Testament, just three verses. He walked with God after living 365 years and God took him to heaven. That makes it hard to
see much of an analogy, but we have to remember
that New Testament writers read other books besides
the Old Testament, and one of those books
is called First Enoch. (reflective music) First Enoch isn't inspired, but biblical writers quote
from some uninspired books they knew their readers
were familiar with. Those familiar books helped
them make their points. That's what Peter is
doing in first Peter 3. - The book of First Enoch
says the fallen sons of God were imprisoned after they rebelled. Peter's second Epistle
mentions those rebels being held in chains of gloomy darkness. In First Enoch, the fallen sons of God ask Enoch to see if
God would forgive them, since Enoch had God's favor, they thought it was worth a try. In First Enoch, God rejects
the plea of the fallen angels after Enoch reports to him. He sends Enoch down into the abyss, he descends to the spirits in
prison to announce their doom. That's the point of analogy for Peter. Just as Enoch descended
to the fallen spirits, so Jesus descended into the same realm to proclaim something to them. What did he proclaim? They thought that since Jesus
was in the realm of the dead they had won. Jesus told them they were wrong, and he rose on the third day to prove it. They were still doomed. - But how does this connect to baptism and a good conscience? - An appeal to God for a good conscience in First Peter 3 means a sincere pledge. In essence, baptism was a loyalty oath and repeated the message Enoch and then Jesus gave to the
demonic powers and anyone present of just whose side of the
spiritual war you were on. (reflective music) - That's why baptism is an
instrument of spiritual warfare. Whether we realize it or not, we're being watched by both
sides of the supernatural war. (reflective music) - [Narrator] "That through these "you may become sharers
of the divine nature "after escaping from the
corruption that is in the world." - Being partakers of the divine nature means we will be like God. We will have a body like Jesus
did after the resurrection. We will have eternal life and with the loyal members
of the heavenly host, we will be in God's family
and worship him forever. God will succeed in uniting His divine and human family for eternity, but the most amazing part
of being in God's family is how Jesus, the unique
Son of God, sees us. When Jesus became a man, he was made for a short time a
little lower than the angels. Listen to the writer to the Hebrews. - [Narrator] "But now we do not yet see "all things subjected to
him, but we see Jesus, "for a short time made
lower than the angels, "so that apart from God
he might taste death "on behalf of everyone." - Because God became man in Jesus, his mortal followers will become like him. And members of God's family. We are Jesus' siblings and
the fruit of his ministry. - [Narrator] "He is not
ashamed to call them brothers, "saying, "I will proclaim
your name to my brothers; "in the midst of the assembly
I will sing in praise of you. "And again, "Behold, I and the
children God has given me." - It's stunning that Jesus is not ashamed to call mere mortals his
brothers and sisters. In fact, in the presence
of the divine council, he revels in introducing
God to us and us to God. - [Man] Consider the reason that Paul gives for our glorification. - [Narrator] "Because
those whom he foreknew, "he also predestined to be conformed "to the image of his Son, "so that he should be the
firstborn among many brothers." - The exaltation of Jesus is the reason for our glorification. He is the firstborn, or the head, the one who receives the
inheritance among many brothers. John puts this even more succinctly. - [Narrator] "We will be like him." - That's our future. But what about now? Sometimes when we hear
that we'll be like Jesus, we process it only in
terms of being less bad, but our eternal destiny
doesn't hinge on merit. That turns grace into duty. That's just bad theology. The Bible teaches salvation
is not of works but of grace. God loves us and wants to
give us everlasting life if we will only believe in it. - Until that day, God wants us to tell the epic story of His war
against supernatural rebellion, to help Him release those still held captive by
unseen powers of darkness. (reflective music) - Well it's pretty obvious
we're not living in Eden today. The world is full of darkness, but supernatural evil has no claim on us. Jesus is ruling at the right hand of God. We are sacred space, since
God's Spirit dwells in us, but we await the lord's
return to transform the earth. As theologists like to say,
the kingdom is here already, but not yet. (reflective music) - The already but not yet paradox is an important biblical idea. On the already side of things, God gives us a new
identity as His children. We belong with Him as He intended. He also gives us a mission. We're here to grow God's family. (reflective music) The not yet part of our
mission is what we often miss. The Bible says we will one day replace the rebellious sons of
God in His divine council. Consider what Paul says. - [Narrator] "Do you not know
that we will judge angels?" - The Book of Revelation
promises believers a future where we will rule with
Christ over the nations. - [Narrator] "Hold fast to
what you have until I come. "And the one who conquers "and who keeps my works until the end, "I will give him authority
over the nations, "and I will give him the morning star." - Think about it. Believers will be granted
authority over the nations. Who rules the nations now? The fallen sons of God. We're going to replace them and rule with our Father in a new world. But what do we make of the
gift of the morning star? In the ancient world, stars were associated with divine beings. The morning star is symbolic
of the reign of the messiah. - Jesus is the morning star. That's a title for the ruling messiah. - [Narrator] "I, Jesus, am the root "and the descendant of David, "the bright morning star." - Incredibly, we share the morning star. We share the messiah's
rule in the new earth. Elsewhere in the Book of Revelation, Jesus shares his throne with us. - [Narrator] "Behold, I
stand at the door and knock! "If anyone hears my
voice and opens the door, "indeed I will come in
to him and dine with him, "and he with me. "The one who conquers, I will grant to him "to sit down with me on my throne, "as I also have conquered and
have sat down with my Father "on his throne." (reflective music) - God and man will be
reunited in fellowship. The dominion of the world will return to its proper sovereign. Heaven will return to earth. Eden will be restored. God created us to be in His family and to enjoy His world with Him. Despite all the darkness
in the world, we still can. We need only to turn to
Him and believe His plan. (triumphant music) (reflective music)
