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Foreign welcome to Project 1 8. My name is Scott. I'm going to be your host today. Thank you so much for joining us. I hope that you are doing well, that you have some encouraging things that are going on in life right now. I'm excited for our episode today because today we are going to be returning to our discussion about supernatural beings that are found in the Bible. And by way of reminder, when I use the word supernatural, mainly what I'm talking about is creatures and locations that are unseen. Like, for example, we refer to the Bible as one book, but it's also a collection of about 66 individual writings. And when you begin to understand and read through each of these individual writings, they all seem to discuss the existence of a place that we can't sense empirically. It's beyond our five senses. For the most part, humans don't touch it or see it, hear from it or interact with it in a tangible, tactile way. Like, we can't break a chunk of this place off and put it under a microscope. But yet that doesn't mean that it isn't just as real as the earthly world that we live in. And because of the reality of its existence, we need to understand what happens there. So we also learned that from COVID to cover of the Bible. And there are very real inhabitants in this place. These creatures have the ability to interact with people and actually influence humanity. They remain largely unseen. But the scriptures also provide us with insight to their behavior, describing both positive and negative ways that they influence humanity and the roles that they play in God's kingdom plan. I think it's helpful for me to think of it this, like, supernatural place and its occupants, not so much as a location with GPS coordinates, but rather more like a space that's all around us. Some of these creatures are actually named in the Bible, too. We have examples like Michael, who's called an archangel in Jude 1:9. We have Gabriel, who's another angel that's mentioned in Daniel and the Book of Luke. There is also the original rebellious supernatural being that most of us know referred to in the Book of Revelation as the great dragon, the ancient serpent, the devil. And he's given the title of the Satan, which means he's the adversary or the accuser. The original Garden of Eden mentioned in Genesis. In fact, the very first book of the Bible was a visible confluence of both these heavenly and these earthly realms. And it was likely a place where both humans and supernatural beings cohabitated. That's why Eve wasn't surprised to hear from a divine Serpent like being. There may have been many such creatures in the mountaintop garden. God Himself is also in this supernatural place, just like he is here. This unseen place is sustained by him, just like our visible world is sustained by Him. Theologians use the word transcendence to describe the way that God is fundamentally distinct from and yet superior to all of his creation. And yet he also has this attribute that we know that is called imminence, which means that he is very present and involved in his creation. We can certainly do an entire episode on God's attributes soon as well, but for our conversation about all these supernatural beings specifically, we'll just start with the assumption that they are lesser created creatures with unique abilities and they play a huge role in our lives. And all of that happens under the watchful eye of the Lord. So let me just put a plug in here also at this point that upcoming on August 17th, 2025, depending on when you're listening to this podcast, at 6:00 in the evening, my friend Brian and I are hosting a seminar specifically focusing on some of these supernatural beings and that are called in the Scriptures the Nephilim. And we're also going to be recording that seminar on this podcast. Brian is one of the pastors that I serve with here, and I'm really excited that you all get to meet him. He has an amazing gift of understanding and communicating the Scriptures. And you're going to be blessed and you're going to enjoy the simple way that he'll help us grasp what the Bible says about these Nephilim. And he's our lead pastor here at gbc. And if you find this subject matter intriguing, I mean, you're definitely going to want to absolutely catch that upcoming episode. It will be available as all of these current and latest episodes that we're doing now are on our YouTube channel. And you can find us there as well. You could connect with us super easy just by clicking through the link that's in the podcast description. And we would love to have you join us for that evening as we talk about what we who the Nephilim are and go into those details. All right, for today, then, let's just go ahead and jump into this subject by talking about something that's known by theologians as cosmic geography. This is something I started to scratch the surface on a little bit in episode eight. But now I want to pull that thread even farther today and unravel a bit of the mystery of Genesis, chapter 10 and 11 and talk about how those verses relate specifically to the Day of Pentecost in Acts chapter two. And hopefully then as we dig into all the cosmology of the Bible, we'll be left with an even deeper understanding of the beauty of the Gospel as we begin to comprehend the strategic way that Jesus's death impacts every last people group on earth today. I hope that we walk away after this episode really more passionate about who he is. So let's go ahead to the very first book of the Bible, which is called Genesis. And we'll start at chapters 10 and 11. And by way of context and reference there as we're jumping in here, we are looking at what we called the third major rebellion in ancient history. By way of review, we said the first original rebellion of the supernatural being identified as the serpent in Genesis 3 and Revelation 12 is where he deceived Adam and Eve into rebelling against God in the Garden of Eden. And after that we looked at the Watcher rebellion that's recorded in Genesis chapter six, where we discovered that some very powerful supernatural beings rebelled against God. They embodied themselves on Earth and ultimately had sexual relations with human women. When this happened, they produced a progeny of offspring that became known as the Giants, or the Nephilim. This rebellion had more than physical consequences of producing these powerful men of old, also that they're called in Genesis 6. 4. This rebellion was also used as an opportunity for the dark rebellious creatures to effectively teach humanity how to sin in even greater ways than before. That's the thought behind Genesis 6. 5, where we read when the Lord saw the human wickedness was widespread on the Earth and that every inclination of the human mind was nothing but evil all the time, he passes judgment on the Earth in the form of a massive flood to destroy the Nephilim and the rebellious humans as well. So think of it this way. If Satan used that second great rebellion in an attempt to create a race of creatures in his image, God surely ended it with the Flood and the subsequent giant battles that happened in the Joshua campaigns and in the Davidic kingdom. We find ourselves then now, as we jump back into Genesis, at the scene of the third great rebellion, which is known as the Tower of Babel. This major rebellion is similar to the others in that it too is an effort by humanity to throw off the reign of God, re reject his repeated mandate to image him by spreading throughout the Earth, he says, both at Eden and after the Flood, he says, be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. You can find that in Genesis 1:28 and 9. 7. It's the record of the Hubris of mankind to become their own gods. Listen to their ancient game plan. Actually as recorded in Genesis 11:4. Here's what they say there. They said, come, let's build ourselves a city and a tower with its top to the sky. Let's make a name for ourselves, otherwise we'll be scattered throughout the earth. Did you catch it? I mean, what they wanted was the exact opposite of what God wanted. They refused to make Yahweh flourish in the earth by choosing to remain on a mountain of their own making, defining what is right and wrong by their own standards, which by the way, always results in tragedy, violence and death. So God, understanding the suffering that would ensue from their decision, consults with his divine counsel and lays out a merciful plan of action. His plan gives them actually what they want. They want a life without direct involvement from Him. I mean, let's pick it up In Genesis chapter 11, verses 7 to 9 in here's what he says to them. And again, this is a conversation that takes place between him and his divine assembly. He said, come, let's go down there and confuse their language so that they will not understand one another's speech. So from there the Lord scattered them throughout the earth and they stopped building the city, therefore it was called Babylon. And there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth. And from there the Lord scattered them throughout the earth. And from that day forth then we know that the geographical region of the original Tower of Babel would always serve as a pin on a map for like a ground zero location for God's unseen and human enemies to operate. It would be the future location in fact of the city of Babylon, which even to this day that that word Babylon is synonymous with a mindset characterized by self reliance, pride and a disregard for God's authority. The result of God's scattering actions in Genesis 11 are recorded for us in Genesis 10. These two chapters do not appear in chronological order in our modern Bibles. Genesis 10 is what we refer to as the table of nations, which lists the nations of the dispersal event of Genesis chapter 11, which we know as the Tower of Babel. And what at first may seem like a boring list of places is actually a very significant window into the supernatural arena. And it also unveils a bit of the strategy behind the great commission of Jesus. And we know that's in Matthew 28, verses 18 to 20. We know that there it says, all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Okay, stay with me then on this. Now, to link the Babel story to the day of Pentecost and to the Great Commission, we'll need to go ahead and get into the books of Deuteronomy and Psalms for just a little bit. Let me start then by going to the book of deuteronomy in chapter 32. We're going to start in verses 8 and 9. These verses were written after the nation of Israel was formed, but they refer back to the Tower of Babel event. Have that in mind as we read them and see how this makes sense. Then, when the Most High gave the nations their inheritance and divided the human race, he set the boundaries of the people according to the number of the angels of God. But the Lord's portion, His people, Jacob, which is the nation of Israel, is his own inheritance. Now, you may have a translation of the Bible that reads the people of Israel instead of the angels of God. If you do, I would just take a second and challenge that translation a bit, simply because Israel wasn't a nation yet at the time of the Tower of Babel, and it would be impossible to set the boundaries of the people according to the number of people. And in a nation that doesn't yet exist, that just doesn't make sense. In fact, both the Septuagint, which is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament that was around in the time of Jesus, Jesus quotes it, as well as one of the Dead Sea Scroll Dead Sea scroll manuscripts. Both of those provide the more reliable translation of sons of God or sons of angels, which supports also what we read in Psalm 82. Now, in Psalm 82, we seem to have an account of the aftermath of the Tower of Babel. Here's what we read there again, keeping that event within our mind as we read through these verses. God stands in the midst of his divine assembly. He pronounces judgment against the gods. How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Provide justice for the needy and the fatherless? Uphold the rights of the oppressed and and the destitute. Rescue the poor and the needy, Save them from the power of the wicked. They do not know or understand. They wander in darkness. All the foundations of the earth are shaken. You are gods. You are all sons of the Most High. However, you will die like humans and fall like any other ruler. Rise up, God, and judge the earth, for all the nations belong to you. All right, end of the of the reading there. But here's what we read about Heavenly Scene where God is standing in the assembly of the lesser. Elohim is the Hebrew word. And he's pronouncing judgment against another group of supernatural beings which are also called Elohim because they fail to govern their people with justice and mercy. And because of that, they are found guilty by God, the one true judge of the earth and of all the nations. And the sentence is severe that they're going to have to endure. They are now condemned, and they will ultimately die like human beings. According to verse 7, that is the result of the nations being turned over in Deuteronomy 32. Psalm 82 and Deuteronomy 32 are both referring to the Babel rebellion of Genesis. Chapter 11. Deuteronomy 32 sets the backdrop for everything that happens in the rest of the Bible story. To put it simply. And I'm not trying to be irreverent here, but just to help us understand, when humanity rebels at the Babel event, God says, okay, fine, if you don't want to follow me directly, if you don't want to go forth, multiply and image me in the rest of the world, then the nations will be governed by lesser divine beings that I've created. These lesser Elohim will rule over you. They will govern you. And I will make my own nation to represent me, and I will be their God, and they will be my people, and they will fulfill my desire to go forth and flourish in the world, showing every other nation who I am. But then what happens tragically after that, though, is that these governing supernatural beings fail. They go rogue. As babysitters, they accept worship from their people. They lead the nations into violence, chaos, and death. And that battle between the supernatural entities that have rebelled as they govern the nations and the one true God becomes the backdrop of the biblical narrative. And it also becomes the foundation for much of the spiritual warfare that we face today. Like, for example, when Yahweh frees the Israelites from Egypt, he declares a war of plagues that are a direct assault against the gods, these lesser Elohims of the Egyptians, and he defeats them. I mean, see if some of these verses that we go through here a second more are more clearly understood with this supernatural cosmic geography type of WorldView. From Deuteronomy 32. Let's go to Exodus 12. In Exodus 12, it says this. I will pass through the land of Egypt that night and strike down the firstborn male in the land of Egypt, both people and animals. I am the Lord, I will execute judgment against all of the gods of Egypt. This is confirmed in numbers 33, 4. Meanwhile, the Egyptians were burying every firstborn male that the Lord has struck down among them, for the Lord had executed judgment against all their gods. Now when Israel lights, they finally get free and they're wandering through the desert. The. The lines of distinction and worship are drawn clearly between Yahweh and these supernatural beings, these lesser Elohims. Exodus 6 talks about this. He says, I will take you as my people, and I will be your God. You will know that I, the Lord, your God, and the one who brought you out of forced labor of the Egyptians. This is confirmed in Deuteronomy 8 as well. If you ever forget the Lord your God and follow the other gods to serve them and bow and worship to them, I testify against you today that you will certainly perish. Ultimately, when Israel fails to fulfill the mandate to flourish and image God to the rest of the world, it's because they side with these lesser supernatural beings and they begin to worship them. Deuteronomy 29, for example, is one of the many portions of the Bible that describe this rebellion and their failure. Here we read the people will answer. It is because they abandoned the covenant of the Lord, the God of their ancestors which had made them. When he brought them out of the land of Egypt, they began to serve other gods, bowing and worship to gods they had not known, gods that the Lord had not permitted them to worship. Therefore, the Lord's anger burned against this land and he brought out every curse written in this book on it. The Lord uprooted them from their land in his anger, rage and intense wrath, and threw them into another land where they are today. Okay, here's the point. These gods that are mentioned all throughout the Old Testament were real, supernatural, created beings. Let me pause right here and encourage you with a couple of thoughts. I mean, I understand that much, if not all of this may hit you in a way that. That you've never thought about before, that it might be something that takes a couple of minutes to process and think through and go through the scriptures. The good news is, however, that the story doesn't end there. When Jesus comes to Earth 400 years later, he comes to fulfill the prophecies, to bless all of the nations of the world. You see, God made a promise when he called Israel to be his people. He promised that they would be the nations through which a son would be born who would reclaim every one of the lost nations surrendered at Babel and defeat every lesser God. We first Read about this promise in Genesis chapter 12, verse 3. It says, I will bless those who bless you. I will curse anyone who treats you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you. The birth of Jesus was the death knell for all these lesser Elohim. They knew their time was approaching its end, their defeat was imminent, and the capital punishment of Psalm 82 was assured. That's why Psalm 110 is one of the most quoted psalms in all of the New Testament. This psalm talks about the victory of Jesus over these enemies, these other lesser created beings. The New Testament describes both the current situation that we find ourselves in today and and the ending of the story with which these supernatural rebellions in the Old Testament started. This is the delect declaration of the Lord. This is what Psalm 110 says. This is the declaration of the Lord. Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. Look, there is so much death and continuity to the Scriptures, it goes well beyond the capacity of a podcast. But I hope if nothing else, we're beginning to have a deeper amazement of who Jesus is. Like, think about it for a minute and we'll circle back to focus on Acts 2 in the next podcast that we do on the subject. Acts chapter two and the day of Pentecost is a reversal of the Babylonian rebellion. Instead of nations being scattered, we have representatives from all of those same nations in the room. When the Spirit arrives. Instead of multiple languages creating confusion, we have the Gospel being supernaturally understood in each language and in each dialect of the people in that room. We'll talk about the fact that the nation of Tarshish that's mentioned in Genesis chapter 10 in the table of nations is the farther most western place that's mentioned there. And then there's this interesting thing that we're going to find about the Apostle Paul who was the apostle to the Gentiles or, or all these non Jewish nations that he's dead set to get to Spain. And we're going to see that Spain is the modern day location of ancient Tarshish. So yeah, it's really cool stuff going on here and we're going to dive into it and I hope you can join us for that conversation. But for today then, let me just wrap up everything that I've been talking about by encouraging you along a couple lines. I want you first of all to connect directly with us if you have questions about supernatural beings or other things that are going on in your life. We want to again, be a safe place and a resource for you that helps you process whatever challenges and celebrations that you face. By understanding what God reveals to us about himself in the Bible, we want to be able to help you understand these things. And they're, they're really fascinating and yet they take a lot of focus sometimes. So I just want to encourage you that the results of all of this are that we can trust even more in who Jesus is when we understand what he's doing as part of his game plan, that now we have a role to play in recapturing some of these nations, some of these things that have gone rogue for so many years. Now we are told that we get to be able to go as part of his kingdom plan and recapture some of these places for him. And, and then when that fullness of the Gentiles happens, we'll talk about that in the next episode. Then Jesus is going to begin to usher in the next phase of the, our historical context and the rest of the things that go on for eternity. And so it's really exciting to see that. But for today, I just want to thank you all for joining us. I hope you've been encouraged a little bit. God bless. Take good care. I hope I see you on the next episode.