THE DIVINE COUNCIL—LITERAL OR FIGURATIVE?

 

God has taken his place in the divine council;
in the midst of the gods he holds judgment. (Psalm 82:1)

How are we to understand this “divine council” where He reprimands the unrighteous “gods?” Is there literally a council into which God the Father enters? This seems  unlikely for several reasons. Paul wrote:

•    [God] alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. (1 Timothy 6:16)

Besides, the Creator is a Spirit, and there is no room that could contain Him. Does this suggest that this council was not a literal council? Perhaps! It is especially important to recognize that figurative—non-literal—language is used throughout the Bible. Here is another example of this even within Psalm 82:

•    …they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken. (Psalm 82:5)

Surely, the judges do not walk in literal darkness but in spiritual blindness, the result of their rebellion against God.

Likewise, the rock foundations of the earth are not literally shaken by the rebellion of the judges. It is their relationship with their Maker that is shaken.  And the result?  Disorder.

Jesus used figurative language more than anyone. For example, He likened Himself to a door to illustrate a point:

•    “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.”(John 10:1-9)

Jesus wasn’t suggesting that He swung on hinges or was made of wood. Instead, He was providing a graphic illustration: He is the doorway to salvation.

There is another council in the Book of Job. The sons of God (probably angels) enter God’s presence (literally?), along with the devil where God provoked him to discuss the righteousness of Job. However, in another passage of Scripture, our righteous God had revealed that He would not accompany His chosen people as they made their way to the promised land, because He would be compelled to destroy them because of their sinfulness:

•    “I will send an angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey, but I will not go up among you, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.” (Exodus 33:2-3)

Would Satan have had the courage to enter the presence of God? Unlikely! How much sooner would God the Father have destroyed Satan!

There are other reasons that should compel us to regard these councils as non-literal. On two occasions, Paul had mentioned turning unrepentant sinners over to Satan. Did this require an actual, physical meeting between Paul and Satan?

1.    …faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme. (1 Timothy 1:19-20)

Did Paul have a conversation with Satan to discuss the fate of these two unrepentant sinners?  Would he have enlisted Satan: “Satan, I got a job for you?” Instead, we are to have no dealings with Satan. Rather, we must flee from this adversary of our soul.

2.    When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. (1 Corinthians 5:4-5)

While Paul’s goal was godly—the salvation of sinners—the devil’s goal was their damnation. How then could the two parties ever come to agreement? This would preclude an actual meeting or council between the two. Therefore, I think that a non-literal interpretation is necessary so that it coincides with the Scriptures.
 
When the Church excommunicates the unrepentant—the very thing that Paul had asked the Corinthian church to do—those recalcitrant souls become fair-game for Satan. How? Jesus explained that excommunication has a heavenly component:

•    “Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 18:18-19)

If God withdraws His protection, then the unrepentant have no shield against the forces of evil. If such a person persists in refusing to repent, as Jesus had taught, their condition then becomes worse than it had been before:

•    “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation.” (Matthew 12:43–45)

Why should this be? Believers have a miraculous effect on those around them.  Therefore, Paul gives for his counsel against divorcing an unbelieving spouse:

•    If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. (1 Corinthians 7:13-14)

It is the glory of God to make His children and His Church His conduits of blessing to those with whom we are connected! Consequently, our children are blessed. In fact, the whole world is blessed by our presence in it. We can see this clearly in the promises that God made to the Patriarchs:    

•    Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:1-3)

Since we are children of Abraham and because of our faith in Christ, “all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”  Conduits of blessing—that’s what we are.

The very opposite thing happens to those who disconnect themselves from the blessings of our loving and just God. For, just as manifold blessings come through those who walk by faith, those who are disconnected through excommunication become targets of evil. In fact, according to the Abrahamic Covenant cited above, they are cursed: “…and him who dishonors you I will curse.” This does not require a literal divine council. Instead, God is able to guide the unrepentant, according to their chosen course of action, to do His will.

This same principle seems to be reflected in the account of the death of the evil king of Israel, Ahab. He had surrounded himself with prophets who only told him what he wanted to hear. However, he was pressured to also consult a true prophet of God:

•    And Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing beside him on his right hand and on his left; and the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-Gilead?’ And one said one thing, and another said another. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, saying, ‘I will entice him.’ And the Lord said to him, ‘By what means?’ And he said, ‘I will go out, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And he said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do so.’ Now therefore behold, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the Lord has declared disaster for you.” (1 Kings 22:19–23)

Although this account proved accurate regarding the forthcoming events, was it literally true or was this vision seen and communicated in a non-literal way so that mere humans could understand it? Had God actually summoned a divine council to solicit the advice and assistance of questionable angelic beings? I think that if we intend to remain consistent with the rest of the Bible, we should opt, once again, for the figurative interpretation.

We shouldn't automatically opt for a figurative interpretation. However, when a literal interpretation violates the Scriptures, the figurative should be considered.