Reading our NT incorrectly! (w/o the Divine Council worldview)
Once one begins to read their Bible with a "Divine Council Worldview", interestingly the way Second Temple Judaism and the Early Christians read their Bibles, you begin 'to see' things you missed. According to Dr. Michael Heiser, "The term divine council is used by Hebrew and Semitics scholars to refer to the heavenly host, the pantheon of divine beings who administer the affairs of the cosmos. All ancient Mediterranean cultures had some conception of a divine council. The divine council of Israelite religion, known primarily through the psalms, was distinct in important ways."
And once we have this 'worldview' as our background, NT verses that seemed nonsensical at worst and redundant at best, now become clear. Let¹s look at Colossians 1 where this becomes apparent.
I had ALWAYS assumed that 'the saints' that Paul addresses in verses 2, 4 and 12 and 26 were a reference to Christian believers in the Church. BUT we need to take another look.
The reference 'holy ones' which is most commonly translated 'saints' is NOT a reference to Christian believers! It is a reference to the divine beings (non-fallen sons of God and angels), members of the Divine Council, from the OT.
Colossians 1
v. 2 to the saints and faithful brethren/brothers in Christ (KJV, NASB, ESV) - At least the NASB provides a note providing the literal translation - "holy ones"
NIV - 'to God¹s Holy People, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ' - A COMPLETELY MISGUIDED translation! Because the translators ASSUME that the 2 groups are the same, they don't even put the 'and' between them but simply a comma!
Colossians 1:2 makes no sense if the 'holy ones' are people - it becomes redundant. Paul is writing to 'christians' (saints) AND 'christians' (faithful brothers and sisters in Christ). Of course for the Orthodox and Catholics, this reading might make sense as they have 'saints' and normal Christian believers in 2 separate categories. But for any Protestant, the reading makes no sense.
The word translated 'saints' literally means - 'holy ones' - and all throughout the OT this ('holy ones') is a direct reference to the members of God's Divine Council (Psalm 82). The same word used to translate the Hebrew word for 'holy ones' into Greek in the LXX/Septuagint is the same Greek word used here.
So in other words, a 1st century reading of Colossians would understand that Paul is addressing BOTH the ANGELIC/Divine Council members AND the HUMAN Christian believers in Colossians 1:2 - not simply the later group.
And now v. 12 also makes sense - when we were brought into God¹s eternal family in Christ we were 'enabled' to share in the inheritance OF THE DIVINE COUNCIL! From mortality to immortality!
v. 12 "giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in 'the saints' (holy ones) inheritance in the light".
Finally Colossians 1:12 makes sense and we can understand it the way Paul's hearers would have understood it!
Check out Dr. Heiser¹s podcast on Colossians 1 - http://www.nakedbiblepodcast.com/naked-bible-226-colossians-11-13/
And once we have this 'worldview' as our background, NT verses that seemed nonsensical at worst and redundant at best, now become clear. Let¹s look at Colossians 1 where this becomes apparent.
I had ALWAYS assumed that 'the saints' that Paul addresses in verses 2, 4 and 12 and 26 were a reference to Christian believers in the Church. BUT we need to take another look.
The reference 'holy ones' which is most commonly translated 'saints' is NOT a reference to Christian believers! It is a reference to the divine beings (non-fallen sons of God and angels), members of the Divine Council, from the OT.
Colossians 1
v. 2 to the saints and faithful brethren/brothers in Christ (KJV, NASB, ESV) - At least the NASB provides a note providing the literal translation - "holy ones"
NIV - 'to God¹s Holy People, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ' - A COMPLETELY MISGUIDED translation! Because the translators ASSUME that the 2 groups are the same, they don't even put the 'and' between them but simply a comma!
Colossians 1:2 makes no sense if the 'holy ones' are people - it becomes redundant. Paul is writing to 'christians' (saints) AND 'christians' (faithful brothers and sisters in Christ). Of course for the Orthodox and Catholics, this reading might make sense as they have 'saints' and normal Christian believers in 2 separate categories. But for any Protestant, the reading makes no sense.
The word translated 'saints' literally means - 'holy ones' - and all throughout the OT this ('holy ones') is a direct reference to the members of God's Divine Council (Psalm 82). The same word used to translate the Hebrew word for 'holy ones' into Greek in the LXX/Septuagint is the same Greek word used here.
So in other words, a 1st century reading of Colossians would understand that Paul is addressing BOTH the ANGELIC/Divine Council members AND the HUMAN Christian believers in Colossians 1:2 - not simply the later group.
And now v. 12 also makes sense - when we were brought into God¹s eternal family in Christ we were 'enabled' to share in the inheritance OF THE DIVINE COUNCIL! From mortality to immortality!
v. 12 "giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in 'the saints' (holy ones) inheritance in the light".
Finally Colossians 1:12 makes sense and we can understand it the way Paul's hearers would have understood it!
Check out Dr. Heiser¹s podcast on Colossians 1 - http://www.nakedbiblepodcast.com/naked-bible-226-colossians-11-13/
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