Troublesome Topic: BIBLE PASSAGES ABOUT THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD
There can only be one true authority figure. There is always one higher, until you get to the highest source of authority, and there can only be one at the top (in the case of Christianity, that One is made up of Three entities that function in perfect unity. It is a mystery, an enigma. But we should not expect the Creator God to easily fit in our understanding.) If there is a God who created all things outside Himself, that God is naturally the highest authority figure.
Also. Authority is granted; if it is claimed or stolen, it is not true authority; it is manipulation.
If, and I repeat if, the Nephilim were part of a council of the gods, they would have to be granted authority by the highest authority (which Heiser says they were). If they disobeyed the highest authority, they would be punished severely, not allowed the opportunity to continue resisting (Heiser says they were not punished).
Dear reader, if you have been pulled away from reading the Bible by reading popular notions about the Nephilim, the Book of Enoch and the council of the gods, I encourage you to get back into the Bible. See what God says about Himself. Do a search in the Bible for all the verses that address or demonstrate that God is sovereign over all.
There are many such verses about God’s sovereignty. Here are only a few of them. You will find many, many more if you do a thorough search.
Deut 4:35 Besides Him there is no other
Deut 4:39 There is no other.
Job 42:2 I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. ESV
Psalm 115:3 Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases. ESV
Is 17:7
Is 37:20 that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the LORD. ESV
See Is 40:14 Whom did he consult,
and who made him understand?
Who taught him the path of justice,
and taught him knowledge,
and showed him the way of understanding? ESV
See also Is 40:vv. 5, 12-13, 25-26, 28.
Is 41:1-9, 12-14, 18-29
Isaiah 43:10-12
10 That you may know and believe me
and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed,
nor shall there be any after me. ESV
11 I, I am the Lord,
and besides me there is no savior.
12 “I, not some foreign god among you.”
Does this mean foreign gods are real? No, he just said in verse 10 they are not real. This is typical of the way the Bible addresses this issue. The statements about God’s sovereignty and unique power and position are clear; the statements about other gods are simply addressing the beliefs of others. As if the true God were saying, “Despite what you believe, here is the truth.”
Is 44:6&8
Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel
and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:
“I am the first and I am the last;
besides me there is no god.
Who is like me? Let him proclaim it.
Let him declare and set it before me,
since I appointed an ancient people.
Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen.
Fear not, nor be afraid;
have I not told you from of old and declared it?
And you are my witnesses!
Is there a God besides me?
There is no Rock; I know not any.” ESV
See also Is 44 vv. 19-20.
Is 45:5-8
I am the Lord, and there is no other,
besides me there is no God;
I equip you, though you do not know me,
that people may know, from the rising of the sun
and from the west, that there is none besides me;
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
I form light and create darkness;
I make well-being and create calamity;
I am the Lord, who does all these things.
… I the Lord have created it (the earth). ESV
See also Is 45 vv. 11, 14, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24.
Is 46: 2, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11,
Jer 16:19-20
Lam 3:37-39
Rom 13:1 Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which is from God. The authorities that exist have been appointed by God. (Berean standard Bible)
The book of Revelation is also full of many exclamations of God’s unique authority.
In reality, there are many parts of the Bible that clearly indicate the divinity of Jesus. In contrast there is nothing in it that clearly points to the Nephilim (or their spirits) being deity, only a questionable interpretation of one verse, and that interpretation stems from a few pseudepigraphical books (such as 1 Enoch) that are known to be unreliable because they contain much spurious material.
For the next lesson go to CONFUSION ABOUT SATAN AND THE SERPENT.