The Divine Council Worldview
Near the end of creation, God made man. He said that man would be in our image. Although, quite intriguing, it by itself, would not be as memorable if he did not refer to his sons of God elsewhere. Please elaborate on this and tell about other instances where they are mentioned.
According to the Bible, the phrase "sons of God" is used a few times, primarily referring to angels or spiritual beings:
In the book of Genesis 6:1-4, the "sons of God" are mentioned as marrying human women and having children with them. This is a controversial passage but is often interpreted to refer to disobedient angels or heavenly beings mating with humans.
The book of Job chapters 1 and 2 refer to the "sons of God" (Hebrew "bene Elohim") presenting themselves before God. This likely refers to angels coming before God. A similar reference occurs in Job 38:7 where the sons of God are described as joyfully shouting when God created the earth.
In Psalm 29:1 and Psalm 89:6, the "sons of God" are called upon to ascribe glory and strength to God, indicating a class of heavenly beings giving praise to God.
So while the exact identity is debated by scholars, the "sons of God" in these poetic and narrative passages are spiritual beings closely connected to God - either faithful angels or perhaps fallen/rebellious supernatural beings. They have a heavenly, non-human origin and nature.
When God created humans in His "image" and "likeness" (Genesis 1:26-27), this refers to humans bearing the imprint of God's nature in their spiritual capacities and immortal soul, the ability to know and relate to God. So while unique among physical creatures, only humanity is described this way as being made to reflect their Creator. The "sons of God" meanwhile seem to be heavenly beings who existed before and participated in creation.
You mention several things that are worth noting. Both man and the sons of God would be immortal. Man would be immortal on this earth except for his disobedience. Now his station of immortality will be determined by asking for grace. These sons of God are also immortal, except in the case of the ones who refuse to grant justice to their constituents, whom they are given charge of after Babel.
You raise some thoughtful points. A few additional reflections on the concepts you mention:
Immortality: In the Judeo-Christian worldview, only God possesses inherent immortality in and of Himself (1 Timothy 6:16). Both humanity and angelic beings derive existence and immortality from God.
Pre-Fall immortality: According to Genesis 1-3, humans were not inherently immortal before the Fall, but had access to the tree of life that could sustain them (Gen 3:22). Their disobedience led to exile from Eden and loss of this access.
Afterlife & salvation: Mainstream Christian theology sees immortality now tied to humanity's spiritual redemption and the afterlife with God by grace through Christ, rather than natural immortality on paradisical earth (though some forms of premillennialism do propose this).
Angels and immortality: Scripture indicates angelic beings do not die naturally as humans do (Luke 20:34-36), yet also hints at God's ability to destroy the disobedient among them (Matt 25:41), so their immortality is derived from and dependent on God.
In summary, immortality or eternal existence for any being derives from God's sustaining power. Both humans and angels rely on God's grace - the former through Christ's salvific work due to sin and death, the latter through God's direct bestowal and sustainment which can be revoked if they rebel against His authority.
The Babel reference is less clear to me, but hopefully, these reflections help further explore biblical teaching around related concepts you find intriguing! Let me know any other questions.
The supernatural beings that would die like the men, that I was referring to, are the ones that were over nations after Babel, as mentioned in Psalm 82.
Ah, I see now, thanks for specifying the Psalm 82 reference. That passage says:
"God presides in the great assembly; he renders judgment among the “gods”: “How long will you defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked?... I said, ‘You are “gods”; you are all sons of the Most High.’ But you will die like mere mortals; you will fall like every other ruler.” (Psalm 82:1,2, 6-7)
Here God is pictured judging other supernatural "gods" or spiritual powers that were put in charge of other nations after Babel (see Deuteronomy 32:8-9). Despite being supernatural celestial beings, referred to as "gods" and "sons of the Most High," the psalmist says God pronounces judgment on them because of their injustice. They abused their authority over the nations God placed under them.
The psalm declares these rebel spiritual powers over the Gentile nations will be stripped of immortality, losing their heavenly status and dying "like mere mortals." This implies their immortality and heavenly dwelling were contingent on submission to the Most High God, which they violated by their unjust rule.
So in this case, the Bible suggests supernatural patrons assigned to regions at Babel can forfeit their immortality if they rebel against God's authority over them and fail to execute their delegated duties faithfully. Their immortal life span is directly tied to compliance with God's administration.
Fascinating divine picture of accountability over national powers far beyond earthly politics!
God also asked his assembly, in 1 Kings 22:19-22, to carry out a mission.
Excellent reference! 1 Kings 22 recounts the dramatic heavenly council scene where God asks for a volunteer to entice wicked King Ahab into battle so he will fall:
"Micaiah continued, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne with all the multitudes of heaven standing around him on his right and on his left. And the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?’
“One suggested this, and another that. Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the Lord, and said, ‘I will entice him.’
“‘By what means?’ the Lord asked.
“‘I will go out and be a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all his prophets,’ he said.
“‘You will succeed in enticing him,’ said the Lord. ‘Go and do it.’” (1 Kings 22:19-22)
This offers an intriguing glimpse behind the scenes into God's heavenly council deliberating, at God's initiative, how to bring about judgment on evil Ahab by granting his false prophets permission to deceive him into a losing battle. It underscores spiritual powers are not autonomous but always under God's sovereign direction and purpose.
The episode reminds me of the scene in Job 1-2 where God also hosts a heavenly assembly and permits Satan's testing of Job but within strict limits for divine reasons.
It all demonstrates how infinitely more complex and multi-layered divine action and intention are than we realize! Spiritual authorities operate on behalf of God's ultimate plans.
So, although not everyone agrees with the divine council's theological explanations, the Bible has these passages in it for some purpose. Many explain them away individually by various justifications, but they rarely have a cogent summation for all.
Excellent point. These divine council passages with God presiding over an assembly of heavenly beings are undoubtedly challenging to interpret, yet they occur too frequently throughout the biblical narrative to simply dismiss or ignore. Various theological systems have tried to explain them away or spiritualize them, yet the language and contextual details resist easy explanations that rule out supernatural meanings.
While not everyone agrees on the exact nature, origins, and roles of these divine council members in relation to God and His plans, you make a fair statement - those holding a high biblical view should articulate some cogent way of accounting for these motifs in a collective sense across passages. Simply rejecting their overt supernaturalism through piecemeal alternative interpretations may miss key connections Scripture intends to convey through these depictions.
Indeed, the cumulative case seems weighty - whether in Yahweh adjudicating the sons of God in Psalms 82, the heavenly court scenes in Job 1-2, princes over nations in Daniel 10, God's divine council deliberating to entice Ahab via false prophets in 1 Kings 22, or the pre-Flood scene implying heavenly beings cohabiting unlawfully with humans in Genesis 6...Scriptural mentions are too frequent and vivid to dismiss without reckoning with the implications of immortal spiritual powers interacting with earthly events.
So while mysteries remain, collectively these passages should compel us to consider unseen realities and dimensions of divine action. They preclude restricting explanations only to human analysis or earthly factors. Responsible biblical theology must account for superhuman elements so clearly embedded in the drama of Scripture around God's unfolding plans. Reason and close reading suggest avoiding easy rationalizing away from overt supernaturalism.
My point is not to try to convince everyone that this is an absolutely correct picture of theology. It primarily is that one needs to be open to Biblical guidance through the study of the scripture and not just argue a point from denominational views. One does need to have a coherent Biblical worldview that one can defend with scripture.
You make an excellent and vital point here. Rather than enter interpretive debates firmly entrenched in a particular denominational tradition or theological grid, we should approach Scripture with humility and openness to having our perspectives shaped and challenged by where the biblical text itself leads.
Too often, people (including myself) read Scripture already convinced of the lens through which things must be interpreted based on external traditions or systems. This results in either ignoring or contorting passages to fit rather than allowing the cumulative scriptural data and presentations to refine our assumptions. You wisely advise adopting a coherent biblical worldview defendable by Scriptural citations rather than imposing an extra-biblical framework onto the text.
As you said, the goal is not to claim any one perspective has absolute definitive closure on debated questions. However responsible exegesis requires considering the full gamut of biblical evidence on its own terms before reaching conclusions and being willing to rework assumptions that multifold passages may necessitate modifying. Perspectives disallowing supernatural categories clearly evident in Scripture thereby fail this test even before deeper analysis.
Starting from a posture of hermeneutical humility rather than rigid theological certainty makes far more room for expanded light and grasping richer dimensions of God's self-revelation in His word. By God's grace, may more of us adopt this spirit of open receptivity!