Which came first, Spirit or Body?
In common with understanding of its time, Hebrews, (alongside Sumerians, Canaanites and Babylonians), believed a spiritual Creator-God first created spiritual beings who would later inhabit the physical realm. We can trace this debate back to the rise of the world’s academic institutions, (Egypt, and, Ur of the Chaldeans in Babylon), when people first asked, ‘Did the spiritual domain conceive the physical or is the spiritual realm a result physical interaction’? World consensus then concluded, spiritual precedes the physical because material needs motivation and life which spiritual attributes possess. That conclusion would not change for many thousands of years.24 What has changed, however, is the concept associated with the term, ‘Spiritual’.
Between the lines of these early myths, we can conclude most of the world believed that the physical realm would remain, ‘without form and void’, unless it became motivated or stirred up by a spiritual power. Material, of itself, is inanimate, it has no purpose, no direction, no motivation, no energy. It cannot drive change in itself. Power for the physical to form shape and order, comes from the spiritual world. The nature of the physical realm cannot help itself. But it needs to be shaped and ordered, else it will remain chaos. Plato propagated and enlarged the theory that everything must start as an idea. Darwin suggested species change by the motivation of survival,25 But I cannot ascertain if he still regarded motivation as anything other than spiritual.
Who’s Who in the Spiritual Hierarchy
Finally, in the introduction, we define some terms.
Modern concepts bear little resemblance to early civilization world concepts. Fanciful imagination, superstition, and medieval art, have contributed to the ridicule of spiritual understandings from that age. We cannot know how the spirit world functions. Depending on your theological stance, we can only find out about the Spiritual Realm by ‘Revelation or Extrapolation’, in the given texts and cuneiforms.
What is the Divine Council?
This term is not exclusively Scriptural. It is used in ancient Hebrew, Babylonian, and Egyptian records to refer to the heavenly host. They meet to administer affairs of the cosmos. In Scripture, it is mainly, but not exclusively, found in the Psalms,
God has taken his place in the divine council.26
The divine council appears to be part of the ‘Elohim’, another term that needs clarifying before we finish building this picture.
Who are The Elohim?
Elohim is not exclusively reserved for God. Yahweh is Elohim, but no other gods are Yahweh. In this Psalm, God, [Elohim singular form] takes his place among the gods [Elohim plural form] as supreme judge and arbitrator:
God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment.27
This council met several times throughout the Old-Testament: Once, to decide the fate of Ahab;28 Later, To decide the fate of the nations;29 and again to decide the punishment for Nebuchadnezzar’s rebellious pride.30 The Council may advise, request, or suggest, but can not take unilateral action. Yahweh takes and pronounces the final decision after consultation with the Counsel.
Daniel was told to deliver, ‘the decree of the ‘Most-High’, after being visited by ‘a Watcher’. He is told to deliver the message on behalf of ‘the watcher’s council’. But he must declare it as, ‘the decree of the most high’ 31
I saw in the visions when upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher and a holy one [angel] came down from heaven…this is the interpretation, O king, and it is the decree of the Most High, which is come upon my lord the king:32
Besides these councils, others described as Elohim are: The gods of foreign nations,33 Ancestors (or souls), 34 and Angels of the Lord .35
Who are the Watchers?
Watchers, appear mainly in the book of Daniel and the books of Enoch. And it usually appears in parts of The Bible translated from Aramaic. It mainly describes angels on their way to pass on a message to, or observe kingdom behaviour in, the physical realm. Daniel mentions them three times.36
In the books of Enoch, ‘Watchers’ appear more than one-hundred times. They appear as Angel, but not always obedient angels. In a parallel passage to Genesis-six,37 they are also referred to as, ‘sons of God’, who possessed humans, causing them to take certain human females, producing Nephilim, (Giants).
“It came to pass in those days that the children of men multiplied and beautiful and fair daughters were born unto them. The angels, the sons of the heaven, saw and lusted after them, and said to one another, “Come, let us choose wives from among the children of men and beget children.” And their leader, Semyaza, said to them, “I am afraid that you will not truly agree to do this deed, and I alone will have to pay the penalty of this great sin.” They all answered him saying, “We should all swear to bind ourselves by a mutual oath not to abandon this plan, but to do this thing.” So all together they bound themselves by an oath. There were two hundred, total, that descended in the days of Jared upon Ardis, the summit of Mount Hermon. They called it Mount Hermon, because they had sworn and bound themselves by oath upon it. These are the names of their leaders: Semyaza, their leader, Arakibal, Rameel, Akibeel, Tamiel, Ramuel, Danel, Ezeqeel, Barakel, Asael, Armaros, Batraal, Ananel, Zavebe, Samsapeel, Satarel, Turel, Yomyael, Sariel. These leaders led the rest of the two hundred angels.”38
What are Seraphim:?
The Seraphim are an inner order of angels sometimes called ‘the burning ones’ or ‘The shining ones’. Whenever these are mentioned in scripture they surround the Throne of Yahweh as guards.39
What are Cherubim?
Far from chubby babies in diapers, these are guards with swords. For example, They stood guard at the East gate of Eden after Adam and Eve were expelled, lest they returned to eat from the ‘Tree of Life’. 40
What are Dynamis?
In scripture, these are spirits of motivation and Action. These powers are dynamite.41 In the New-Testament, it is mainly translated as ‘powers’.
Where do they fit by domain?
Common to hierarchical views held by all world kingdom of the age:
Highest-orders consisted of: Seraphim, Cherubim, and Thrones;
Middle-orders: Dominions, Virtues, and Powers;
Lowest-orders : Principalities, Archangels, Angels and Humans.
What is an Idea?
Common to all early concepts of an idea, an idea includes determining the purpose, the process, and the final outcome of the project. In everyday life, the person with the idea owns the project. In Sumerian and Hebrew minds, The god with the idea sees the idea from start to finish, determining its purpose, its progression, its sustainment, and its fulfilment. Early Greeks in particular thought, the god with the idea puts himself into it. That is why the god of each planet attributed the name and personalty, to the planets. The idea also gave the god powers to see the future, to determine the future and to determine the rules and perimeters of the idea’s creation. This notion is not so strange to the novelist, who determines everything in a novel, nor is it strange to: designers, builders, or artist who, see the end from the beginning and determine the means of getting there.
Who are Awmar-Elohim and Ruach-Elohim?
In early Hebrew and Babylonian writings, wind, spirit, soul, and breath are intertwined. So, the meaning of these words is subject to, and qualified by, the immediate context. Awmar is the ‘exhaled breath’, of speaking. Early writers would understand, the Awmar embodies the soul and spirit in a word.42 That needs some help to understand in today’s language.
Major-General Barker walked on the parade ground, where troops were milling around in chaos. With one bark from the Major, ‘Attention!’, the parade ground became straight lines of evenly spaced squadies. It as more than breath that came forth from Barker: authority, emotion, desire, requirement, direction, intention, motivation, respect, order, anticipation and more, embodied itself in one word, ‘Attention!’ and transferred into the troops. 43
Ruach44 with a small ‘r’, refers to a life force, the life force that animates angels, demons, and even human souls. Matter cannot exist on its own, it needs some life force to animate it. Ruach-Elohym, with a capital, refers to the Spirit of God that was released at creation to enable matter to live. In scripture, Ruach does not act of his own accord, He waits for Awmar-Elohim to speak. In Genesis-one, he is found brooding or hovering over Chaos until Awmah-Elohym says, ‘let there be light’ or ‘Let the waters divide’, then he acts. In the New-Testament, Jesus says:
I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper to be with you forever.45
We might say, when Barker barked, Ruach responded over the troops, so, as one they stood to attention.
Perhaps more common today :
The team-captain shouted, ‘Goal!’, and the ruach of the crowd erupted.
Hebrew Theologians, see this one God, performing three actions in creation. Later theologians introduced the Trinity, One God with three distinct roles in creation. The Father, (Yahweh-Elohym)46, communicated the idea, from within himself via the Word , (Awmah-Elohym)47. On hearing the instruction of God, the Spirit of God, (Ruach-Elohym), caused the material realm to come to order.48
An English Problem
One problem comes in the term Kingdom. In English, having had a vast empire, we think of a realm. A realm maps out a space with boundaries, Its rule rules from a place. Somewhere in a land or empire, a king or queen has a palace. Hebrew thinking does not think of a place but a time. The height of Israel's kingdom refers to the reign of David. It is the Time when David reigned. It is not the extent of his realm. English can confuse the concept of kingdom if it is not qualified. ‘During the kingdom of David- [reign/time], Moabites revolted against David’s kingdom [realm/place]’.
One other ‘English’ clarification. Throughout this book, ‘the Kingdom of Heaven’ and, ‘the Kingdom of God’, refer to the same thing49. Matthew, mainly uses, ‘Heaven’ because he is writing to Jews, and Jews prefer not to refer to G_d by name, lest they blaspheme. To most hearers of Scriptural times, God has a kingdom in Heaven already, and his purpose for creation was to replicate it in the physical realm also.
I think we are now ready to move on.
24 These early universities are not to be dismissed. Trigonometry , planetary movements and many other basic laws are still the bedrock of understanding today
25 Motivation being a Spiritual attribute.
26 Psalm 82:
27 Psalm 82:1
28 1 Kings 22:19-23
29 Daniel 7:9-10
30 Dan 4:13
31 Dan 4:24
32 Dan 4:13 -24
33 1 Kings 11:33
34 1 Sam 28:13
35 Gen 35:7
36 Daniel 4:13, 17 and 23
37 Genesis-6:1–4
38 1 Enoch 6:1-8
39 Isaiah :6: 2-7 and Revelation 4:8.
40 Genesis 3: 24 see also Ezekiel 10: 14, Psalm 80: 1.
41 Derived from the same Greek word translated dynamite.
42 New-Testament Greek equivalent is ‘LOGOS’
43 Tales to tell my grandchildren : Brian E R Limmer.
44 Pneuma in the New-Testament
45 John 14: 16.
46 having the idea, God has sovereign rights.
47 Later translated into Greek as ‘Logos’ ‘The word became flesh’ John 1: ff
48 Later being sent to renew communications to all who enter the Kingdom-of-God; Acts 1: 8
49 I recognize and respect some who regard them as different. But for the purposes of the book, ‘As in heaven so on earth’, implies the two are meant to become one. There are differences, such as Matthew 22: 30, but that may refer to future time and not the objective of ‘your kingdom come on earth as it is in Heaven’.