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Lesson 1
Introduction to the Divine Council
Section 1. The Divine Council Worldview: Structure of the Unseen Realm
[The lecture hall is buzzing with the low hum of freshman students settling in. Dr. Ari Levitt enters from the side door. He wears a bright blue kippa and carries a battered leather satchel and a travel mug. He places a heavy, well-worn JPS Tanakh—the Hebrew Bible, a tan leather-covered Complete Jewish Bible, and a nearly-new English Standard Version on the lectern next to a thick stack of typed notes. He adjusts his kippah, takes a slow, deliberate sip from his mug, and scans the room. He waits for total silence before speaking. He looks out at the students with a serious but engaging expression.]
[Dr. Levitt begins:] Boker tov, class. Good morning. Welcome to Remnant Theology 101.
In this course, you may note that I often repeat myself. I want you to know that just because I’m considerably older than you, that doesn’t mean I’m getting senile. [class twitters] The information that you are going to hear in this course is almost certainly going to challenge most of what you have been taught your whole life in Sunday school. Some of it is going to be so foreign to you that it sounds like science fiction. In many cases, we are going to be learning what amounts to a whole new theological language.
When I repeat myself, it is because that particular bit of information probably counters what you have learned, so it needs to be reinforced in your thinking if you are going to receive maximum benefit from the course.
We are embarking on a journey this semester titled “Remnant Theology: The Exodus from Babylon.” But before we can understand what we are exiting from, we have to understand where we actually are—cosmically speaking. We cannot deconstruct the confusion of Babylon until we reconstruct the clarity of the biblical worldview.
Before digging into the theology that we are after, we must first take a close look at our source material. We’ve discussed the idea of removing our 21st-century glasses when studying the Scriptures. Now we need to replace those glasses with the same glasses that were worn by the men who penned the Tanakh and the Apostolic Scriptures — the glasses of the Divine Council Worldview.
While we will be considering some modern academic works in this course, our primary source will be the Bible as it was originally written, not as it has come to be filtered through the movements that we discussed a few minutes ago. We’re going to try to decode that worldview as if it were a message from the invisible realm that has been intentionally obscured by layers of religious tradition. We need to peel back those layers to get to what lies hidden in the original text. Let’s begin with a review of where our Bible came from and the formation of the Biblical Canon.
Formation of the Biblical Canon
The Bible that we are used to reading, no matter what popular translation, is essentially a Roman construct that—for the most part—has been thoroughly stripped of its Hebrew ethnicity. Of all the ancient Jewish religious writings, only 66 of them were chosen to be included in this particular collection.
As a side note, it may interest you to know, there are other faith traditions that have a significantly different collection of books in their Bible, and you can find that on the Major Canons handout that were on your desks when you came in.
It is of critical importance that we understand that the Bible that we now have, all 66 books of it, is a collection of thoroughly Jewish scrolls that were all written by Jews, in the Jewish language, from a Jewish place, to and for Jewish readers.
Hebrew Canon formation occurred within Jewish communities in Judea and the wider diaspora, not at a single council, but in a multi-stage process. The Hebrew Bible is divided into three sections: the Torah, the five books of Moses, the Nevi’im, or Prophets, and the Ketuvim, or Writings. Together they are known by the acronym T-N-K—the first letter of the name of each section—and pronounced Tanakh.
The Torah was likely fixed as the word of God by the time of Ezra and Nehemiah around 400 BCE, the collection of the Nevi’im was settled upon by about 200 BCE, but the collection of the Ketuvim was still fluid in the first century BCE with books like Esther, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs still debated, but likely stabilized by the second century CE. After the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, during the rise of the Pharisaic/rabbinic movement, Judaism was defining itself over against the Yeshua movement, the Samaritans, and the Hellenistic Jewish groups that were using the Septuagint, which contained what we now call the Apocrypha.
Between 100 and 200 CE Rabbinic Judaism increasingly asserted that Prophecy ended with Ezra, so only books written before Ezra’s time were canonical. It would seem, in my opinion, that this was decided specifically so the Apocrypha and Apostolic Writings, all of which were written after 400 CE, would simply be defined as “not Scripture.” You can refer to the class handout on Canon Boundaries for more details.
So now that we have an idea of how the documents that we consider Scripture were selected, we need to dig into what we are not taught about the worldview of the Jews who penned those documents.
I usually refer to the God of Israel as HaShem, Hebrew for “the Name,” simply out of respect for the “unspeakable” Holy Name of the Creator.
Most of us have been taught a version of the spiritual world that is, frankly, flat. We think of HaShem at the top, angels (who are basically just shiny humans with wings) in the middle, and us at the bottom. But the biblical authors—Moses, David, Isaiah, Paul (or Rebbe Sha’ul)—they didn’t see a flat world. They saw a busy, populated, hierarchical cosmos. They lived in what we call the “Divine Council Worldview.”
If you do not get this, you will not get Genesis 6. You won’t understand why HaShem judges the “gods” in Psalm 82. You certainly won’t understand what Paul means when he talks about “principalities and powers.” So today, we are going to define our terms. Specifically, we are first going to recover the biblical definition of the word Elohim.
Defining Our Terms: What is an Elohim?
[Dr. Levitt continues:] Turn with me to Psalm 82. [He opens his E.S.V. Bible and adjusts his glasses.]
Reading from the English Standard Version, verse 1 says: “God [Elohim] has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods [elohim] He holds judgment.”
Now, look at that closely. You have Elohim, with the singular verb “standing” in the midst of elohim (plural). If you grew up in a standard monotheistic church, your brain might be itching right now. You might be thinking, “Wait, Dr. Levitt, are there other gods? Is the Bible teaching polytheism?”
The answer is a resounding no, but the reason is linguistic, not just theological.
In our Western minds, when we see the word “God” with a capital G, we think of a specific set of attributes: Omniscient, Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Eternal, Creator. We treat “God” as a proper noun that describes what He is. But to a biblical writer, Elohim is not a set of attributes. It is a term of location or residence.
An elohim is simply any entity that resides in the spiritual realm. That is why the Bible uses the word elohim to describe:
• Adonai (The God of Israel)—obviously. We refer to Him as Adonai, the Hebrew word for Lord, in deference to our tradition of not speaking His Covenant Name.
• The gods of the nations (foreign deities).
• Angels and Demons (Spirit beings).
• Even the disembodied dead (like Samuel in 1 Samuel 28, where the medium sees an elohim coming up out of the earth).
Think of it this way. If I say, “New Yorker,” does that tell you if the person is good or bad? Does it tell you if they are powerful or weak? No. It tells you where they live. It tells you their domain.
Adonai is an elohim because He lives in the invisible spirit realm. But He is species-unique. There is no one like Him. He is the Uncreated Creator. The other elohim—the council members, the angels, the spirits—are created beings. They are elohim by residence, but they are not Ha-Elohim (The God—ha is the Hebrew definite article the) by nature.
So, when we talk about the Divine Council, we are not talking about a pantheon of equal gods. We are talking about a Monarchy. We are talking about a King and His administration.
The Cosmic Hierarchy: Job Descriptions in the Unseen Realm
[Dr. Levitt continues.] Why does this administration exist? Because HaShem wanted a family.
Genesis 1 and 2 are not just about manufacturing rocks and trees. They are about expanding the “Family Business.” HaShem is essentially (that is, by His very essence) self-sufficient. He doesn’t need a council. He doesn’t need us. But He wanted “imagers.” He wanted beings who would reflect His nature and participate in His governance.
So, He created the Spiritual Family first. In the Hebrew Bible, the high-ranking members of this family are called the Benéi Elohim—the “Sons of God.”
Job 38:7 tells us that when the foundations of the earth were laid, “the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God [benéi Elohim] shouted for joy.” They were there before us. They were the first imagers.
Now, we need to correct some vocabulary. When the Tanakh was being translated into the Greek Septuagint, there were no words in the Greek vocabulary for all of the various “species” of spirit beings, so they threw all the “white hat” spirit beings into the ἄγγελοι (angeloi, angels) bucket and all the “black hat” spirit beings into the δαιμόνια (daimonia, demons) bucket. But in Hebrew, the terminology is functional.
Let’s break down the hierarchy of the Unseen Realm.
1. The Benéi Elohim (Sons of
God). These are the high-ranking members of the spiritual family,
often referred to as the
Divine Council. Their primary role is
“cosmic governance” and managing the “family business.” They participate
in decision-making and carry out the administration of the cosmos under
HaShem’s authority.
Following the Babel rebellion—which we will discuss in depth in a few
weeks—specific benéi Elohim were assigned to govern the 70
disinherited nations of the earth (Deuteronomy 32:8). They were intended
to be stewards or placeholders. Spoiler alert: they rebelled and became
the corrupt “gods of the nations” (Psalm 82).
2. The Malakim (Angels). While we often use “angel” as a blanket term for all spirits, technically, malak is a job description, not a “species.” The word literally means “messenger.” Their primary function is to facilitate communication between the spiritual and physical realms and to carry out specific directives or errands for the Council. They are the “rank-and-file” spiritual host. They run errands. They deliver mail.
3. The Cherubim (pronounced kerubim) and Seraphim. These are specialized entities often associated with the direct presence of HaShem.
• Cherubim: Their function is that of throne guardians or security. They guard sacred space (like the Garden of Eden) and flank HaShem’s throne. They are often depicted as composite creatures (lion, ox, eagle, man).
• Seraphim: Meaning “burning ones,” their primary function is maintaining ritual purity and proclaiming the holiness of the Creator (Isaiah 6).
4. Ha-Satan (The Adversary) In the Tanakh, the term satan often appears with the definite article (ha-satan), indicating it is a title or office rather than a proper name. (We say “Bob,” not “the Bob.”) This entity acts as a prosecutor or cosmic intelligence officer. As seen in Job 1, the function of the satan is to roam the earth, investigate the loyalty of HaShem’s subjects, and bring charges or accusations against them in the Heavenly Court.
[Dr. Levitt pauses to write “DEMONS ≠ FALLEN ANGELS” on the board. He turns toward the class and continues.]
A quick but crucial distinction: In this theology, Demons (Shedim) are not fallen angels. The fallen Benéi Elohim (Watchers) are imprisoned in the Abyss (Tartarus). Demons are the disembodied spirits of the dead Nephilim (the hybrid giants destroyed in the Flood). Because they are hybrids, they seek embodiment to recover their physical sensation. Their “job” is harassment.
The Family Business and the Image of God
[Dr. Levitt continues.] HaShem created this hierarchy to run the cosmos. But HaShem didn’t stop with the spirit realm. He created a physical realm—Earth. And He places a new kind of imager there: Humans.
Genesis 1:26 says, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.”
HaShem isn’t so vain that He needs to use the “royal we.” So, who is the “us”? He is talking to the Council. He is saying, “Team, we are expanding the operation. You image me up here; they are going to image me down there.”
This was the original Edenic vision. Heaven and Earth were meant to overlap. The Benéi Elohim and the Humans were meant to be one giant, blended family, ruling and reigning together under the authority of Adonai.
The Prime Directive: The Shema
[Dr. Levitt continues.] Before we move on, we must understand the “Prime Directive.”
If there are many elohim—many spiritual powers, some of whom eventually rebelled and became the “gods of the nations”—does that mean we honor them? Does that mean we hedge our bets? Absolutely not. The distinctive mark of the Remnant, from Abraham to the Netzarim to us today, is the Shema.
“Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Echad. Hear, O Israel: Adonai our God, Adonai is One.” (Deut. 6:4).
The Shema functions as a spiritual “Prime Directive” by serving as the absolute standard of exclusive loyalty to Adonai within a worldview that acknowledges the existence of other spiritual powers.
We do not deny the existence of other spiritual beings—that is the error of modern materialism. We deny their authority over us. We deny them worship. This is the difference between monotheism (as the West defines it—”only one god exists”) and the biblical worldview, which says, “There is only one Species-Unique Creator, and He alone is worthy of worship, regardless of how many rebels set up thrones in the high places.”
The Shema is a declaration of loyalty, not just arithmetic. It is the boundary against syncretism. It acts as a daily reminder that the believer is not a slave to the imperial/pagan economy or its deities.
[Dr. Levitt turns to the whiteboard and writes “ELOHIM” in large, block Hebrew letters, then transliterates it in English underneath. He turns to the class and speaks.]
Let’s do a bit of review and then we’ll discuss some key terms in more detail. Let’s look at Psalm 82 in the ESV again.
[The sound of rustling pages fills the room. Dr. Levitt opens his own Bible to the passage, then continues.]
Look at Verse 1: “God [Elohim] has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods [elohim] He holds judgment.”
Remember we said that to a biblical writer, Elohim is not a set of attributes. It is a term of location or residence.
[Dr. Levitt taps the word on the board. He turns back toward the class and continues.]
An elohim is simply any entity that resides in the spiritual realm. That is the definition. It is a place-of-residence term. That is why the Bible uses the word elohim to describe a variety of beings who are clearly not the Creator.
Let’s look at the data. If you were to do a word search in the Hebrew Bible, you would find elohim used for five or six distinct categories of beings.
1. Adonai (The God of Israel). Obviously, Adonai is referred to as Elohim thousands of times. He is the Elohim of elohim.
2. The Gods of the Nations. Foreign deities (Benéi Elohim or Watchers) like Ba’al, Molech, and Ashtoreth are called elohim. In 1 Kings 11:33, for example, Ashtoreth is called the elohim (goddess) of the Sidonians. Now, you might say, “Well, those are false gods.” But the biblical writers treat them as real spiritual entities who have seduced the nations. They are members of the spiritual realm. Speaking of Ashtoreth, here we see a Watcher who came to mate with human women and produce offspring, now “identifying” as female. His worship was—and still is—all about gender confusion. Just look around you! It is evident that he is still alive and well on planet earth.
3. Angels. In Genesis 35:7, it says God appeared to Jacob at Bethel. The word there is plural—elohim. It refers back to the vision of the ladder where angels were ascending and descending. The beings in the spiritual realm are categorized as elohim.
4. Demons (Shedim). Turn to Deuteronomy 32:17. This is a crucial verse for our worldview. It says, “They sacrificed to demons [shedim] that were no gods, to gods [elohim] they had never known.” Here, the text explicitly calls demons elohim. Now, if elohim means “omnipotent creator,” this verse is a theological disaster. But if elohim means “resident of the spirit world,” it makes perfect sense. Demons live in the spirit world; therefore, they are elohim. Reading this quickly in our English translations, it appears that they were sacrificing to demons who were gods. I think it’s more likely that what is meant here is that they sacrificed not only to shedim but also to the Benéi Elohim. But that’s really a difference without a distinction.
5. The Disembodied Human Dead. This is the one that usually shocks people. Turn to 1 Samuel 28. This is the story of Saul, his Hebrew name was Sha’ul, and the medium (or “witch”) of Endor. Sha’ul asks her to call up the spirit of the prophet Samuel. When she sees the spirit ascending out of the earth, she screams. Sha’ul asks her, “What do you see?” And what does she say? “I see a god [elohim] coming up out of the earth.” Who comes up? It’s Samuel. It’s not God the Father. It’s not a demon. It is the disembodied spirit of a human prophet. Yet the text calls him an elohim.
[Dr. Levitt walks around to the front of the lectern and sits on the front edge of his desk to engage the students directly. He continues.]
Now, think about that. Why is Samuel called an elohim? Is he omnipotent? No. Is he the Creator? No. Is he the God of Israel? Absolutely not. He is called an elohim because, at that moment, he is a disembodied resident of the spiritual realm. He has passed over from our realm (the terrestrial) to that realm (the celestial/spiritual).
So, here is the analogy I want you to write down. It will save you a lot of headaches. Again, think of the word Elohim like the word “New Yorker.”
If I say, “I met a New Yorker today,” what do you know about that person? Do you know if they are good or bad? No. Do you know if they are powerful or weak? No. Do you know if they are the Mayor or a hot dog vendor? No. All you know is where they live. You know their domain.
The spiritual world is a location. It is a realm. Anyone who lives there is, by definition, an elohim. Adonai is an elohim because He lives in the invisible spirit realm. But—and this is the vital distinction—He is species-unique.
[He writes “SPECIES UNIQUE” on the board, then continues.]
There is no one like Him. He is the Uncreated Creator. All other elohim—the council members, the angels, the spirits, the demons, the disembodied dead—are created beings. They are elohim by residence, but they are not Ha-Elohim (The God) by nature.
So, when we talk about the Divine Council, we are not talking about a pantheon of equal gods like Zeus and Apollo fighting for scraps. We are talking about a Monarchy. We are talking about a King and His administration. Adonai is the King. The other elohim are His staff.
This solves the problem of “monotheism.” We have been taught that monotheism means “only one god exists.” But the biblical writers didn’t believe that. They believed in many elohim, but only one Adonai. They believed in a populated spiritual world, but they gave their worship and allegiance solely to the Uncreated One.
Again, remember that the “Prime Directive” of our biblical faith is the Shema: “Hear O Israel, Adonai our God, Adonai is One.” This isn’t a math equation proving that only one being exists. It is a declaration of loyalty. In a world full of spiritual powers (elohim), our loyalty belongs to Adonai alone.
[Dr. Levitt checks his watch.]
Now, why does this matter? Why spend all this time defining one Hebrew word? Because if you don’t understand that elohim is a group term, you will be confused when you read Genesis 6, Psalm 82, or even the Apostolic Writings. When Psalm 82 says God judges the “gods,” He isn’t judging idols of wood and stone. You don’t put a statue on trial. He is judging real, sentient, spiritual beings who failed in their administration, and who are alive and working their evil on planet Earth today! When the Apostolic Writings talks about “Principalities and Powers,” it is talking about these other elohim who are currently in rebellion.
So, at least for the rest of this semester, when you see the word “God” in your English Bible, I want you to pause. Ask yourself: Is this referring to the Creator, or is it referring to a member of His council? Is it referring to the unique King, or one of His subjects?
Section 3. Divine Council Structure and Job Functions
[Dr. Levitt returns to the whiteboard and draws a large triangle. Inside the triangle at the top he writes the Tetragrammaton (יהוה YHVH). Below that, he writes “BENEI ELOHIM.” Below that, “MALAMIM” and “CHERUBIM / SERAPHIM.” Off to the side, outside the triangle, he writes “SHEDIM / DEMONS.” He taps the board with a marker and turns to face the class.]
So let’s continue our journey into the world of the Bible—not the world you think you know from modern tradition, but the world as the ancient authors actually saw it. We just did the heavy lifting of defining our terms. We established that Elohim is not a name; it is a place-of-residence term. It describes a zip code, not a specific set of attributes. Adonai is an elohim, and Samuel’s disembodied spirit is an elohim. They are both residents of the spiritual realm, but Adonai is species-unique. He is the Uncreated Creator. Everyone else is staff.
Now, if God has a staff, if He has an entourage, the next logical question is: What do they do? Do they just float around on clouds playing harps? Do they all look like Renaissance paintings of babies with wings?
The answer, emphatically, is no. The Unseen Realm is a bureaucracy. It is an administration. And like any administration, there is a hierarchy, and there are specific job descriptions. If you don’t understand the org chart of the cosmos, you won’t understand the rebellion that broke it, or the Messiah’s mission to fix it.
So, let’s look at the job functions of the Divine Council.
The CEO: The Uncreated King
[Dr. Levitt continues.] We start at the top. [He taps the tetragrammaton.] HaShem. Adonai. The Most High (Elyon).
In the Divine Council worldview, He is not just a member of the Council; He is the Creator of the Council. He is the CEO who owns the company. He drafts the agenda. He issues the decrees.
Now, does He need a council? No. He is omnipotent. He is self-sufficient. But He wants a family. He wants a “Family Business.” Just as He created humans to image Him on earth, He created a spiritual family to image Him in the heavens. He allows them to participate in governance. We see this clearly in 1 Kings 22, where God asks His council, “Who will go and entice Ahab?” He lets them propose solutions. He delegates. But make no mistake: He is the only one who is uncreated.
Upper Management: The Benéi Elohim (Sons of God)
[Dr. Levitt continues.] Directly under the King, (he turns to the board and taps “Benéi Elohim”) we have the high-ranking administrators. In Hebrew, these are the Benéi Elohim—the “sons of God.”
Please, erase the Sunday School idea that “sons of God” refers to the line of Seth or just really pious humans. In the Ancient Near East, and in the text of Job 38:7, the “sons of God” are the celestial beings who were present before the foundations of the earth were laid. They shouted for joy when God created the physical world.
Job Description: Cosmic Governance. Their job is not just to deliver messages. Their job is to rule. They are decision-makers. They function as the Divine Council.
When we get to Deuteronomy 32:8—which we will unpack in detail when we discuss the Babel Rebellion—we see their specific assignment. When God disinherited the nations at Babel, He assigned them according to the number of the Benéi Elohim. These beings were put in charge of the nations. They were supposed to be regional managers, shepherding the nations until the time of reclamation.
Instead, as we see in Psalm 82, they went rogue. They accepted worship for themselves. They became the “gods of the nations”—Ba’al, Molech, Zeus, Marduk. They are the “principalities and powers” Paul warns us about. They are the corrupt middle management that set themselves up as owners.
So, when you see Benéi Elohim, think: High-ranking, governing authority, part of the Divine Family structure.
The Support Staff: The Malakim (Angels)
[Dr. Levitt continues.] Next on the chart, we have the term most of you use for everything: Angels. In Hebrew, the word is Malakim. [He turns and taps “Malakim.”] In Greek, Angelos. Both words mean the exact same thing: Messenger.
Job Description: Communication and Courier Service “Angel” is not a species; it is a job description. Malakim are the rank-and-file personnel. They run errands. They deliver messages to prophets. They handle logistics.
When you see an angel in Scripture, they usually look like men. They don’t have wings. They don’t glow unless the glory of God is reflecting off them. They are the couriers between the spiritual and physical realms. While the Benéi Elohim are sitting in council making decisions with God, the Malakim are the ones dispatched to tell humanity what those decisions are.
Security Detail: Cherubim and Seraphim
[Dr. Levitt continues.] Now, if you want wings and weird appearances, this is where you look. (Again he turns and taps the diagram.) The Cherubim and Seraphim.
These are not cute, chubby babies on Valentine’s cards. The biblical descriptions of these beings are terrifying.
· Cherubim: These are Throne Guardians. Their job is security. You see them in Eden, guarding the way to the Tree of Life with a flaming sword. You see them in Ezekiel 1, carrying the portable throne of Adonai. They are hybrid creatures—lion, ox, eagle, man. In the Ancient Near East, throne guardians were always composite creatures because they represented the mastery of all domains of life. They mark the boundary between the holy and the profane.
• Seraphim: We see these in Isaiah 6. The word Saraph means “burning one.” It is also the Hebrew noun for “serpent” or “cobra.” These are fiery, serpentine beings that surround the throne, crying “Holy, Holy, Holy.” Their job is Ritual Purity. They maintain the holiness of the immediate presence of God.
So, Cherubim and Seraphim are the Secret Service. They protect the King and the integrity of His space.
The Prosecutor: Ha-Satan
[Dr. Levitt continues.] Now we need to address a specific office that often gets confused for a proper name.
In the Hebrew Bible, particularly in Job 1 and Zechariah 3, we see a figure called ha-satan. The word satan means “Adversary” or “Accuser.” The ha is the definite article “the.”
Job Description: Cosmic Intelligence and Prosecution
In the Tanakh, “the satan” is a function. He acts as a prosecuting attorney within the Divine Council. His job is to roam the earth (Job 1:7), investigate the loyalty of God’s subjects, and bring charges against them if they fail.
He checks the books. He asks, “Is Job really loyal, or does he just like your money?” In Zechariah 3, he stands ready to accuse Joshua the High Priest.
Now, obviously, in the Apostolic Writings, this figure is identified with the ultimate rebel, the Serpent, the Devil. But structurally, within the Council, the role of the satan is to challenge the integrity of God’s human family. That is why the legal victory of the Cross is so important—it disbars the prosecutor. It strips him of his legal standing to accuse you.
The Freelancers of Chaos: Demons (Shedim)
[Dr. Levitt continues.] Finally, we get to the bottom of the org chart. The Demons.
[Dr. Levitt points to the words “Shedim/Demons” written off to the side.]
I want you to listen closely because this is where 90% of modern Christians get it wrong. In the Second Temple Jewish worldview—the worldview of Jesus and the Apostles— demons are not fallen angels. Fallen angels (the rebellious Watchers of Genesis 6), at least most of them, are imprisoned in the Abyss (Tartarus). They are locked up in chains.
Origin: Demons (or Shedim) are the disembodied spirits of the Nephilim. Remember Genesis 6? The rebellious Sons of God mixed with human women and produced giants—the Nephilim. These were hybrids. Unauthorized mixtures of spirit and flesh. When the Flood came, the bodies of the giants died. But what happens to a hybrid spirit? It can’t go to heaven—it’s not an angel. It can’t go to the human afterlife—it’s not fully human.
Job Description: Harassment and Embodiment.
They are trapped here. They roam the earth, restless, seeking a body to inhabit because they seek to recover the physical sensation they lost. Their “job,” if you can call it that, is chaos. They harass humanity. They seek to possess. They are the foot soldiers of the kingdom of darkness, but they are distinct from the high-ranking principalities (the gods of the nations).
Conclusion: The War for the Cosmos
[Dr. Levitt continues.] So, when we step back, what do we see? We don’t see a flat world with God and a choir. We see a complex, populated, hierarchical administration.
We see a King (HaShem). We see a governing board (Benéi Elohim)—many of whom have rebelled and are currently occupying the nations. We see messengers (Malakim). We see guardians (Cherubim). We see a prosecutor (the satan). And we see the spirits of the dead nephilim (Demons) infesting the ground level.
Why does this matter? Because the Gospel is not just about you being forgiven. The Gospel is about the restoration of the family business.
When Yeshua comes, He is coming to fire the corrupt managers of Psalm 82. He is coming to displace the powers of darkness. And the amazing part of Remnant Theology is this: He is recruiting you to fill the vacancies.
Rebbe Sha’ul says in 1 Corinthians 6:3, “Do you not know that we will judge angels?” That’s Council language. You are being groomed to take your seat in the reconstituted Divine Council, to rule and reign with the Messiah over the nations that are being reclaimed.
Next session we’re going to look at how this administration fell apart in the “Three Great Rebellions.” But for now, you really need to understand your destiny as a blood-bought disciple of Yeshua: You are not just saved from hell; you are hired for governance.
Section 4. The Family Business: Spiritual and Physical Imagers
[Dr. Levitt turns to the whiteboard and erases everything but the word “ELOHIM” written in block letters at the top. He turns and adjusts his kippah.]
OK. Let’s continue our deep dive into the “Divine Council Worldview.” We’ve done the hard work of redefining our vocabulary. We stripped away the Western, post-Enlightenment definition of elohim and recovered the ancient Near Eastern, biblical definition. We established that elohim is a place-of-residence term, not a set of attributes. It describes where a being lives—the spiritual realm—not necessarily who they are in terms of rank or power.
Now we are going to answer the question: Why?
Why does Adonai, the Uncreated Creator, the Species-Unique God of Israel, have an entourage? Why does He have a Council? Why does He have us?
To understand this, you have to understand the heart of the biblical narrative. It is not about a lonely God who needed servants to fetch His slippers. It is about a Father who wanted a family.
To help us understand God’s Family Business, we are going to look at the two branches of this family: the Spiritual Imagers (the Benéi Elohim) and the Physical Imagers (Humanity). And we are going to see how the original plan—the Edenic Vision—was for these two families to function as one.
The Motivation: Why Create?
[Dr. Levitt continues.] Let’s start with a theological premise. HaShem is self-sufficient. He needs nothing. He has no lack. If He were alone, He would be perfectly content within the fellowship of the Godhead.
So, why create anything? Why create seraphim? Why create humans? Why create mosquitos? (Well, maybe we’ll ask Him that one later).
The answer is love. God wanted to share existence. He wanted to share His authority. He wanted to share His rule. He decided to create beings that were like Him—sentient, rational, relational beings—and bring them into what we can functionally call the “Family Business.”
And like any good CEO who is also a Father, He set up an administration.
The Spiritual Branch: The Benéi Elohim
[Dr. Levitt continues.] Let’s look at the first branch of the family. The Spiritual Imagers.
Turn with me to Job 38. This is a courtroom scene where God is interrogating Job. God is asking Job where he was when the universe was constructed.
Verse 4: “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding.”
Verse 7: “When the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God [benéi Elohim] shouted for joy?”
Notice the timing. The benéi Elohim were already there when the foundations of the earth were laid. That means they were created before the physical world. They were created before the space/time continuum. They are the older siblings. They are watching the construction of the physical universe, and they are shouting for joy.
Who are they? These are the members of the Divine Council. As we discussed, they are elohim (spirit beings), but their rank is “Sons.” This is family language. In the Ancient Near East, and in the biblical text, “sonship” implies participation in the estate. It implies inheritance. It implies governance.
These beings were created to image God in the spiritual realm. They were created to participate in His rule.
Now, I know some of you are thinking, “Dr. Levitt, I thought God did everything Himself. Doesn’t the Bible say He created the heavens and the earth alone?”
Yes, He is the sole Creator. He is the architect. But does a King run a Kingdom by himself? No. He delegates.
Look at 1 Kings 22. We have the prophet Micaiah seeing a vision of the Throne Room. Adonai is seated on His throne, and the “host of heaven” is standing on His right and left. In verse 20 HaShem asks a question: “Who will entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?”
Now, think about that. Does God not know how to entice Ahab? Is He stumped? Is He scratching His beard thinking, “I’m out of ideas, guys, help me out”? Of course not. He is Omniscient.
So why ask? Because He wants their participation. He respects their intelligence. He treats them as meaningful partners in the administration of history. And he wants someone to volunteer. One spirit says one thing, another says another. Finally, a spirit comes forward with a plan involving a lying spirit in the mouths of the prophets. God says, “You will succeed. Go and do it.” Or as Jean-Luc Picard would say, “Make it so.” (Yes, Dr. Sawyer is a Trekkie. He has been since he watched the very first Star Trek episode in the enlisted barracks at US Naval Hospital Guam in 1966.)
This is the Family Business in action. God decrees the end (Ahab dies), but He allows His Council to determine the means. He shares the governance.
The Physical Branch: Humanity and the Image of God
[Dr. Levitt continues.] Now, let’s move to the physical branch. Us.
Turn to Genesis 1:26. This is a verse you have heard a thousand times, but I want you to hear it today with the ears of an ancient Israelite.
“Then God [Elohim] said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.’”
The “Us” Who is the “Us”? For centuries, Christians have tried to shoehorn the Trinity into this verse. They say, “This is the Father talking to the Son and the Spirit.” Now, hear me clearly: I believe in the Godhead. I believe in the Father, Son, and Spirit. But that is not what is happening in Genesis 1:26.
If you read this in its ancient context, God is speaking to His Council. He is speaking to the benéi Elohim we just saw in Job 38. He is saying to the heavenly host: “Team, we are expanding the operation. You image me up here in the spiritual realm; now we are going to create a new kind of being to image me down there in the physical realm.”
The Meaning of “Image” (Tzelem). This brings us to one of the most important theological concepts in this course: the Imago Dei—the Image of God.
Most of you have been taught that the “Image of God” is a set of attributes. You’ve been told it means we have a soul, or we have reason, or we have emotions, or we have a conscience. The problem with defining the Image as an attribute is that you run into ethical walls. If the Image of God is “intelligence,” what about a baby with severe brain damage? Is he less made in the Image of God? If the Image of God is “consciousness,” what about a fetus?
The biblical definition of “Image” is not substantive (what we are made of) or attributive (what we can do). It is functional. It is a status.
The Hebrew word is tzelem. In the ancient world, a king would place a tzelem—a statue or an idol—of himself in a territory he conquered. That statue told everyone: “This is the King’s domain. He rules here.”
Humans are the living tzelem of Adonai. We are His statues. We are His proxies. We were placed on Earth to function as God’s representatives. To look at Adam was to see God’s authority on Earth.
Dr. Michael Heiser, whose work we reference often in this course, explains it using Hebrew grammar. The preposition “in the image” (b’tzelem) can be translated “as the image.” Think of it this way: If I say, “I work in accounting,” I mean I work as an accountant. We were not made with the image; we were made as the image.
The Mandate. What is the job of the physical imager? Genesis 1:28: “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion.”
God wanted the Human family to take the order, beauty, and holiness of Eden and spread it. He wanted us to extend the borders of the Garden until the whole earth was the Kingdom of God.
The Intersection: The Edenic Vision
[Dr. Levitt continues.] So, we have a Spiritual Family (the Council) and a Physical Family (Humans). Where do they meet? Eden.
We tend to think of Eden as just a nice farm. But in the ancient worldview, Eden was the Cosmic Mountain. It was the headquarters of the Family Business. It was the place where the Spiritual Realm and the Physical Realm overlapped.
In Eden, Adam and Eve walked physically with Adonai. But they also interacted with the Nachash (the Serpent), who was a member of the benéi Elohim (a throne guardian). This tells us that originally, there was no veil. There was no separation. Humans and Divine beings were meant to coexist. We were meant to be a blended family.
We see this reflected later in the design of the Tabernacle and the Temple. Why were there cherubim embroidered on the curtains? Why were there palm trees and flowers carved into the walls? Because the Temple was a micro-Eden. It was a place where humans (priests) and divine beings (cherubim) served the King together.
The “Council” Language in the Apostolic Writings. This helps us understand our destiny. Why do the Apostolic Writings use such high language for believers?
• Rebbe Sha'ul calls us “ambassadors” (2 Cor. 5:20).
• Yochanan (John) calls us “children of God” (1 John 3:1). Think of this very carefully: if he originally penned this letter in Hebrew, as I believe he did, he would have written “benéi Elohim.” I seriously doubt that is an accident!
• Yeshua says we will “judge angels” (1 Cor. 6:3).
• Revelation says we will “rule the nations” (Rev. 2:26).
Do you see it? We are being recruited back into the Family Business. We are being trained to take our seats in the Divine Council as human benéi Elohim alongside our elder brothers the spirit benéi Elohim. Specifically, we are being trained to replace the members of the Spiritual Family who rebelled.
[Dr. Levitt pauses and walks to the whiteboard. He writes: “REPLACEMENT THEOLOGY” then draws a line through it. He then writes: “DISPLACEMENT THEOLOGY.” He turns toward the class and continues teaching.]
We often hear about “Replacement Theology” in terms of the Church replacing Israel. That is unbiblical nonsense; I call it open heresy. But there is a biblical displacement. When the benéi Elohim rebelled (which we will cover next session), they vacated their positions of authority. Psalm 82 says they will “die like men.” Who is going to fill those empty seats? You are.
The glorification of the believer—what the Eastern Church calls Theosis—is not just about glowing in the dark or floating on clouds. It is about being made fit to rule. It is about becoming a “partaker of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4) so that we can function in the Cosmic Administration.
The Risk of the Family
[Dr. Levitt continues.] Now, we have to ask a hard question. If God is so smart, why did this go so wrong? Why do we have Satan? Why do we have the Watchers? Why do we have sin?
It comes back to the definition of “Imager.” To image God, you must have Free Will. God is free. If He created robots who were programmed to obey, they would not be imagers. They would be toasters. Useful, but not family.
By creating beings with genuine freedom—both spiritual and physical—God took a risk. He allowed for the possibility of rebellion. He allowed for the possibility that His staff would try to seize the company. And because He is omniscient, He knew it would happen.
And that, of course, is exactly what happened. The “Babylonian Taproot” we are going to be talking about in this course is essentially the story of the rebellious staff members (the fallen benéi Elohim) setting up a rival corporation and trying to steal the market share (humanity) from the Creator.
Conclusion: The Restoration
[Dr. Levitt continues.] The story of the Bible is not just God saving individual souls. It is God reclaiming His corporate headquarters. It is the story of the Father sending the Unique Son (Yeshua) to defeat the rebellious sons, redeem the human sons, and restore the Family Business.
When we talk about “Exiting Babylon,” we are talking about quitting the rival corporation. We are talking about handing in our resignation to the “gods of the nations” and coming back to work for the True King.
On Wednesday, we are going to look at the “Three Great Rebellions”—Eden, the Flood, and Babel. We are going to see exactly how the spiritual family broke bad, and how they dragged humanity down with them.
But for today, leave with this thought: You were made for more than just surviving. You were made for governance. You were made to image the Creator of the Universe. Act like it.
See you on Wednesday.
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ANXIOUSLY WATCHING FOR MASHIACH’S RETURN,
SPEEDILY AND IN OUR DAY. MARANA, TA!
