WEEK TWO

Book Reading:  Supernatural, Chapters 3-4
Heritage Sermon:  Sunday, March 20 (watch here)

Jesus taught us to pray “on earth as it is in Heaven” (Matthew 6:10). This is one of the times it is revealed that God desires our earthly realm to function the same as the heavenly. But what does that mean?

God uses two major metaphors to help us understand the structure of the heavenly realm and how that also applies to our identity as believers on earth.

In the spiritual realm, God is King. All heavenly beings pale in comparison to His power and glory. Angels are so mighty and intimidating that humans fear for their life in their presence¹, and yet, angels are among the lowest ranking — they simply play the role of messengers!²

On earth, God calls His body of believers to work and live as representatives of His kingdom:

We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us (2 Corinthians 5:20).

“The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you” (Jesus in Luke 17:20-21).

From the very beginning, Kingdom work means: Having AUTHORITY to ADVANCE the Kingdom...

God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground” (Genesis 1:28).

“I will make you like My signet ring, for I have chosen you,” declares the Lord Almighty (Haggai 2:23).

Note: A ring signifies the passing of authority. Pharaoh gave one to Joseph (Genesis 41:42), King Xerxes gave one to Mordecai (Esther 8:2), and the father of the prodigal son places one of his son’s finger promptly upon his return (Luke 15:22).

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. 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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20).

In the heavenly realm, God also refers to His kingdom workers as family members³. Likewise, He graciously uses the family metaphor to describe the kind of relationship we have with Him on earth:

• “I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty” (2 Corinthians 6:18).
• “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known” (1 John 3:1-2).
• “The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship” (Romans 8:15).
• “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials” (1 Peter 1:3-6).

OK, so this is when our desire to have a neat and tidy, comfortable Bible story gets really stretched. In Chapter 4 of Supernatural, Heiser references a rather “weird” passage found in Genesis 6:

When human beings began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.”

The Nephilim were on the earth in those days — and also afterward — when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown (Genesis 6:1-4).

This takes us on a wild theological ride that has fascinated and puzzled scholars for centuries. The Bible seems to be letting us know that in the early days, some of the rebellious elohim from the spiritual realm actually crossed over to the earthly realm because they were so enamored by the beauty of earthly women. This would lead to offspring on earth known as Nephilim. Nephilim stood out among all other humans on earth. They were giant-sized, and potentially had abilities and knowledge that were superhuman. It’s no wonder they became extremely influential on earth. Another example of the Bible referencing the Nephilim is found in Numbers 13 when the Lord has Moses send men to spy on the land of Canaan to report on what they see. This was their report:

“We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them” (Numbers 13:31-33).

While the Bible doesn’t specifically say that Goliath was a Nephilim, it is certainly a very real possibility and could explain why David’s men would go on to slay Goliath’s brothers (2 Samuel 21:15-22).

This is where we want to pause and just have fun pondering some of the possibilities presented by this epic account. Clearly there was a time when these half-elohim, half-human giants lived among us, and they were revered for obvious reasons. But Heiser points out another possibility that is worth considering. An ancient, extra-biblical writing that some of the New Testament writers reference — 1 Enoch — suggests that these entities shared divine knowledge with human beings. Ultimately this may have been an attempt to lead people away from God, seeking to be worshiped themselves. Could this possibly explain some of the remarkable ancient architectural and technological feats, and also explain the origin of some of the ancient false religions?

These questions can make the imagination run wild, but let’s make this very relevant to today:

In chapter 4 of Supernatural, Heiser makes a profound statement: “Foreknowledge doesn’t require predestination” (page 43). The goal of this final section is not to revisit the centuries-old debate of predestination vs. free will. Rather, it is to offer you HOPE.

Heiser references an exchange between God and David from
1 Samuel 23:10-12...

Then David prayed, “O Lord, God of Israel, I have heard that Saul is planning to come and destroy Keilah because I am here. Will the leaders of Keilah betray me to him? And will Saul actually come as I have heard? O Lord, God of Israel, please tell me.”

And the Lord said, “He will come.”

Again David asked, “Will the leaders of Keilah betray me and my men to Saul?” And the Lord replied, “Yes, they will betray you.”

God — knowing the beginning, middle and end and every variable in between — was letting David know that, if he didn’t leave, he would be captured and betrayed. Wisely, David left!

We can take great comfort in our God — the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End — Who sees the future and Who loves us enough to warn us when we are heading into harm’s way. This should also serve as great hope to each of us that the path we are currently on doesn’t have to be a death sentence on our future.

• Your marriage may be headed toward divorce, but it doesn’t have to!
• Your son or daughter may be headed toward a life of rebellion or addiction, but they don’t have to!
• A prison sentence doesn’t mean your heart has to be incarcerated!
• That physical limitation doesn’t put a limit on the difference you can make in God’s kingdom!
• Those wounds from yesterday don’t have to deliver pain tomorrow!
• A disease that is going to take your life doesn’t mean that your life is ending — it really just begins in the presence of the Father!

That lying voice inside might keep telling you that destruction is on the horizon, but God ALWAYS has another path!

Take time to pray for each other and the circumstances you are all facing in life. Even be bold enough to ask God to give you a word of encouragement to share with someone in your group. This is something the bible calls “prophecy”.

“But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort” (1 Corinthians 14:3).

Pray earnestly and sincerely for one another by faith. If someone in your group is musical, you might even consider ending your session with a song.

Now get ready for Week #3. Next week we will look at a major showdown between God and some heavenly and earthly rebels. It has a consequence that still affects the world today. But wait until you see how God causes the enemy’s plan to backfire!!!

Note to Group Leaders
Thank you for your willingness to walk with others in discipleship. We are here for you whenever you need us. We are praying for you and cheering for you. One tool we want to offer: ESPN.
Each time you gather together, make a point to:

E: Encourage (offer words of hope to everyone in your group)
S: Scripture (always let God's Word be your guide)
P: Prayer (prayer changes the atmosphere - we encourage you to begin and end your time together in prayer)
N: Next Step (if anyone is facing a particularly difficult circumstance in life, we have many Next Step tools available for you)

Reach out anytime:
Chrissie Forehand (Small Groups Pastor):

Or send a note to:
Brian Lassetter (Discipleship Pastor):