Lucifer, the Elohim, the Divine Council, and the Watchers
There Really Is a Supernatural World in the Bible
On the previous page we established several things directly from the biblical text.
God created mankind.
Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 describe the same human creation from different perspectives.
Adam is “the first man” and is “of the earth” (1 Corinthians 15:45–47).
The Bible does not say Adam was a fallen heavenly being placed into a physical body.
Genesis does not say the serpent fathered Cain.
But several questions remain.
The Bible certainly speaks of heavenly beings.
It speaks of elohim other than Yahweh.
It describes “sons of God.”
Psalm 82 pictures God standing in a heavenly assembly.
Genesis 6 contains one of the strangest episodes in the Old Testament.
Jude speaks of angels who “kept not their first estate.”
And then there is Satan.
Was his original name Lucifer?
Was he once one of the elohim?
Did he lead a rebellion in heaven?
Were human beings involved in that rebellion?
Did fallen heavenly beings become mankind?
And does the Book of Enoch reveal the part of the story that Genesis left out?
Those are legitimate questions.
But once again our method will be simple:
What does the text actually say?
1. Does the Bible Call Satan “Lucifer”?
Most of us have heard the story.
Lucifer was once a beautiful and powerful angel in heaven. Pride entered his heart. He attempted to exalt himself above God. He rebelled, was thrown from heaven, became Satan, and took a third of the angels with him.
But where does the Bible actually tell that story?
The word Lucifer appears in Isaiah 14:12 in the King James Version:
“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!”
That sounds very much like a name.
But the Hebrew text does not contain a proper name equivalent to our English name “Lucifer.”
The expression is helel ben-shachar.
It means something along the lines of:
shining one, son of the dawn
or
morning star, son of the dawn.
“Lucifer” came into English through the Latin tradition. The Latin word lucifer meant light-bearer or morning star.
Over time it became treated as a personal name for Satan.
But that raises an important question:
Who is Isaiah actually talking about?
2. Read Isaiah 14 Before Verse 12
Isaiah tells us.
“Thou shalt take up this proverb against the king of Babylon...”
— Isaiah 14:4
The subject is the king of Babylon.
The chapter describes an arrogant ruler who oppressed nations and imagined himself almost godlike.
Then comes the famous language:
“For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God...”
— Isaiah 14:13
And:
“I will be like the most High.”
— Isaiah 14:14
But his pride ends in humiliation:
“Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.”
— Isaiah 14:15
That certainly sounds like the kind of pride we associate with Satan.
Perhaps Isaiah deliberately describes the earthly king in language drawn from a larger cosmic rebellion.
That possibility should not simply be dismissed.
But neither should we change Isaiah's own introduction.
Isaiah says he is speaking against the king of Babylon.
Therefore we should distinguish between two statements:
“Isaiah 14 uses language that may remind us of Satan.”
and:
“Isaiah 14 explicitly tells us Satan's original name was Lucifer and gives us the history of his rebellion.”
The first can be argued.
The second says more than the passage itself says.
3. What About Ezekiel 28?
Ezekiel presents us with a similar problem.
The chapter begins with:
“The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus...”
— Ezekiel 28:1–2
Later Ezekiel takes up a lamentation:
“Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus...”
— Ezekiel 28:12
But then the language becomes extraordinary:
“Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God...”
— Ezekiel 28:13
Then:
“Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth...”
— Ezekiel 28:14
And:
“Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.”
— Ezekiel 28:15
It is easy to understand why generations of Christians have seen Satan in this passage.
Eden.
A cherub.
Beauty.
Pride.
Sin.
Expulsion.
There may indeed be intentional cosmic imagery behind Ezekiel's description of the king of Tyre.
But once again:
What does the text explicitly identify?
The king of Tyre.
We should therefore be cautious about taking every detail addressed to that king and turning it into a biography of Satan.
The passage may illuminate Satan.
It may employ an older heavenly-rebellion picture.
It may compare the king with a glorious Edenic being who fell through pride.
But those possibilities must be distinguished from what Ezekiel actually states.
4. Then What Do We Know About Satan?
Quite a lot.
We do not need to construct a speculative biography to establish Satan's reality.
Jesus calls him:
“a murderer from the beginning”
and:
“a liar, and the father of it.”
— John 8:44
He is called:
the tempter — Matthew 4:3
the wicked one — Matthew 13:19
the devil — Matthew 4:1
Satan — Mark 1:13
the god of this world — 2 Corinthians 4:4
the prince of the power of the air — Ephesians 2:2
the great dragon — Revelation 12:9
and:
“that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan”
— Revelation 12:9
Scripture leaves no doubt that Satan is real and that he opposes God.
But notice something else.
Satan is never the Creator.
He deceives God's creatures.
He tempts God's creatures.
He accuses God's people.
He opposes God's purposes.
But he remains a creature under God's authority.
5. Did Jesus See Satan Fall From Heaven?
Jesus said:
“I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.”
— Luke 10:18
That sounds important.
But notice the context.
Jesus had sent out the seventy.
They returned excited:
“Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.”
— Luke 10:17
Jesus responds:
“I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.”
Jesus may be describing Satan's defeat taking place through the advance of God's kingdom.
The demons are being driven back.
Satan's authority is collapsing.
The statement certainly demonstrates Satan's downfall.
But Jesus does not say:
“I am now telling you what happened before Genesis 1.”
Again, context must control our conclusions.
6. What About the Dragon and One-Third of the Stars?
Revelation 12 describes:
“a great red dragon”
whose:
“tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth.”
— Revelation 12:3–4
Later John identifies the dragon:
“that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan...”
— Revelation 12:9
This is probably where the familiar statement that Satan took one-third of the angels with him originates.
That interpretation may be correct if the stars represent angels.
But Revelation is an apocalyptic book filled with symbols.
We should therefore say what John says before saying more than John says.
John sees a dragon.
Its tail sweeps away a third of the stars.
The dragon is identified as Satan.
Whether this vision is intended to provide a numerical history of Satan's original rebellion is another question.
And Revelation itself tells us that these things were signified—communicated through signs (Revelation 1:1).
We should read the imagery accordingly.
7. What Is the Divine Council?
Now we come to an idea that may sound strange to many Christians but is genuinely present in the Old Testament.
Psalm 82 begins:
“God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods.”
— Psalm 82:1
The Hebrew uses elohim in both places.
We could represent the surprising wording this way:
Elohim stands in the assembly and judges among the elohim.
How can that be?
The answer is that the word elohim does not always identify Yahweh.
Context tells us which elohim is being discussed.
The first Elohim in Psalm 82 is clearly the supreme Judge.
The others are being judged by Him.
They are not His equals.
They are accountable to Him.
That alone shows why saying:
“Elohim is plural, therefore there are many creator gods”
does not work.
The same word can be used for beings who are obviously not equal in authority, nature, or position.
8. We See Something Similar in 1 Kings
The prophet Micaiah says:
“I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him...”
— 1 Kings 22:19
Then a discussion takes place in the heavenly court.
Job gives us another picture:
“Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.”
— Job 1:6
These passages reveal something important.
The biblical writers were perfectly comfortable describing God surrounded by heavenly beings.
That does not threaten biblical monotheism.
A king can have a court without the members of his court becoming kings equal to him.
Likewise, God's heavenly council does not make its members co-creators with God.
9. Michael Heiser Was Right to Draw Attention to This
Modern readers have often overlooked these passages.
The late Old Testament scholar Michael Heiser did a great deal to bring the biblical divine-council material to popular attention.
His basic observation deserves to be taken seriously:
The Old Testament supernatural world is often more populated than modern Western Christians imagine.
There are heavenly beings.
Some are described as elohim.
There is a heavenly council.
There are rebellious spiritual powers.
Genesis 6 may involve supernatural beings.
Psalm 82 should not simply be explained away because its language makes us uncomfortable.
Those observations can help us read the Old Testament in its ancient setting.
But here is the important point:
Accepting those observations does not require us to accept every modern theory built from them.
Recognizing heavenly elohim does not mean those elohim created mankind.
Recognizing a divine council does not mean mankind consists of fallen council members.
Recognizing supernatural beings in Genesis 6 does not mean Adam was one of them.
Recognizing spiritual rebellion does not mean physical human existence is imprisonment.
We must not make a scholar responsible for conclusions he did not establish.
10. What About Psalm 82: “Ye Are Gods”?
Psalm 82 contains another startling statement:
“I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.”
— Psalm 82:6
Jesus quotes this verse in John 10:34:
“Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?”
That has led to many interpretations.
Some understand Psalm 82 as speaking of human judges.
Others understand the elohim as heavenly members of God's council.
There are arguments for both approaches, although the divine-council interpretation has strong parallels elsewhere in the Old Testament.
But whichever interpretation we adopt, one fact remains obvious:
These elohim are not Yahweh.
God judges them.
They are accountable to Him.
Psalm 82 ends:
“Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations.”
— Psalm 82:8
There is one supreme Judge.
11. Now Return to Genesis 6
Genesis 6 says:
“The sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives...”
— Genesis 6:2
As we said on the previous page, the heavenly-being interpretation is ancient and deserves serious consideration.
Job uses “sons of God” for heavenly beings.
Second Peter says:
“God spared not the angels that sinned...”
— 2 Peter 2:4
Jude writes:
“And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation...”
— Jude 6
Jude then immediately mentions sexual immorality in Sodom and Gomorrah.
This combination has led many interpreters—ancient and modern—to connect Jude and 2 Peter with Genesis 6.
That connection is quite possible.
But notice again what it would establish.
Some heavenly beings rebelled against God's appointed order.
It would not establish that all humans were previously heavenly beings.
Those are two entirely different claims.
12. The Watchers and the Book of Enoch
This brings us to 1 Enoch.
First Enoch expands the Genesis 6 story dramatically.
It calls the rebellious heavenly beings Watchers.
They descend to earth.
They take women.
Giants result.
They teach humanity forbidden knowledge.
Violence and corruption spread.
God judges them.
This literature is extremely valuable for understanding how some Jews before and around the time of the New Testament understood Genesis 6.
And the New Testament clearly knows traditions found in this literature.
Jude 14–15 even contains a prophecy attributed to Enoch that closely parallels 1 Enoch.
That matters.
But we must be precise about what it means.
Quoting a statement found in a book does not automatically make the entire book Scripture.
Paul quotes Greek poets.
That does not make those poets inspired prophets.
Jude can use a true statement known from Enochic tradition without requiring Christians to accept every statement in 1 Enoch as God's revelation.
Historical background can illuminate Scripture.
It cannot replace Scripture.
13. Could Enoch Contain True Ancient Traditions?
Certainly.
We should not swing to the opposite extreme and say:
“It isn't in our Bible, therefore everything in it must be false.”
That does not follow either.
Ancient writings can preserve genuine historical memories, interpretations, traditions, and ideas.
They can also expand stories far beyond what the biblical text says.
So our question is not:
Is Enoch good or bad?
Our question is:
What authority should Enoch have when we interpret Scripture?
The safest answer is:
Scripture interprets Scripture.
Other ancient literature can help us understand the world in which Scripture was written.
But it cannot be allowed to supply an entirely new theology that Scripture itself never teaches.
14. What About Daniel 2:43?
Another unusual passage sometimes enters this discussion.
Daniel describes the final stage of Nebuchadnezzar's statue:
“And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men...”
— Daniel 2:43
The phrase:
“they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men”
has led some readers to ask:
Who are “they”?
Could these be nonhuman beings attempting to mix themselves with humanity?
That sounds intriguing.
But look at Daniel's interpretation as a whole.
The statue represents successive kingdoms.
Daniel explains:
“And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided...”
— Daniel 2:41
Then:
“the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.”
— Daniel 2:42
Verse 43 continues the description of that divided kingdom.
The immediate subject is political kingdoms, strength, weakness, alliances, and failure to remain united.
Nothing in the passage explicitly mentions angels, Watchers, demons, genetics, or hybrid humans.
Again:
An intriguing possibility is not the same thing as an exegetical conclusion.
15. There Is a Pattern Developing
Notice what can happen.
We begin with a genuine biblical fact:
Elohim can refer to heavenly beings.
Then another:
The Bible describes a divine council.
Then another:
Genesis 6 may describe heavenly beings taking human women.
Then another:
Jude knows traditions associated with Enoch.
Then another:
Satan is a real supernatural enemy.
Every one of those statements may be defensible.
But then connections are added:
Therefore Adam was originally an elohim.
Therefore humans existed before their physical birth.
Therefore physical bodies are prisons.
Therefore Genesis 1 humanity and Genesis 2 Adam belong to different creations.
Therefore Cain was Satan's biological child.
Therefore Daniel describes supernatural beings genetically mixing with humans.
But those conclusions do not automatically follow from the earlier facts.
This is where Bible study can quietly become something else.
Individual texts are no longer determining the doctrine.
A system has begun determining what the individual texts must mean.
That is exactly the danger of eisegesis.
16. How Can We Tell When That Has Happened?
Here is a useful test.
Take away the proposed system.
Then read each passage to someone who has never heard the system.
Would that person naturally discover the same teaching?
Would Genesis 2:7 make him conclude Adam was previously a heavenly being?
Would Genesis 4:1 make him conclude Satan fathered Cain?
Would Daniel 2 make him conclude nonhuman beings were genetically mixing with mankind?
Would Isaiah 14 make him conclude that “Lucifer” was Satan's original proper name without first being taught that interpretation?
If the doctrine only becomes visible after someone supplies the system, we should be careful.
That does not automatically make it wrong.
But it means the system must be demonstrated rather than assumed.
17. Satan's Oldest Trick Is Not Creation—It Is Deception
Genesis introduces the serpent with a question:
“Yea, hath God said...?”
— Genesis 3:1
Then:
“Ye shall not surely die.”
— Genesis 3:4
Jesus describes the devil:
“When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.”
— John 8:44
Paul warns that:
“Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.”
— 2 Corinthians 11:14
And Revelation calls him:
“the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world.”
— Revelation 12:9
The Bible therefore gives us every reason to take spiritual deception seriously.
But that warning cuts both ways.
It does not mean:
“Anything unusual must be Satanic.”
Nor does it mean:
“Anything traditional must be true.”
It means:
Test everything by what God has revealed.
18. The “Last Days” Began Long Ago
Sometimes unusual teachings are supported by saying that we are now in the “last days” and therefore hidden knowledge is finally being uncovered.
But the New Testament already placed its first readers in the last days.
Peter said at Pentecost:
“This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel...in the last days...”
— Acts 2:16–17
Hebrews says:
“God...hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son.”
— Hebrews 1:1–2
John wrote:
“Little children, it is the last time...”
— 1 John 2:18
The last days did not begin with the Internet.
They did not begin when somebody discovered an unusual translation.
They began with the fulfillment centered in Christ.
And notice Hebrews carefully.
In these last days God has:
“spoken unto us by his Son.”
That should tell us where our attention belongs.
19. What Did Jesus Say About Hidden Truth?
Jesus did reveal mysteries.
But He did not teach that salvation depended upon discovering our forgotten identity as heavenly beings.
His message was public:
“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”
— Mark 1:15
After His resurrection He commanded:
“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations...”
— Matthew 28:19
Paul summarized the gospel around the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ:
“Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures...he was buried...he rose again the third day...”
— 1 Corinthians 15:3–4
Christian salvation is not presented as discovering a secret account of our existence before birth.
It centers upon what God has done in Christ.
20. The Creator-Creature Line Must Remain Clear
This may be the most important point in both studies.
The Bible contains a complicated supernatural world.
But one dividing line remains remarkably clear:
GOD CREATES.
EVERYTHING ELSE IS CREATED.
John says of Christ:
“All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.”
— John 1:3
Paul includes the heavenly world:
“For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible...”
— Colossians 1:16
Then he specifies:
“whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers...”
Whatever supernatural beings we encounter—
angels,
cherubim,
sons of God,
elohim,
principalities,
powers,
Watchers,
or Satan himself—
they do not cross that line.
They are not the Creator.
21. There Is Another Serious Problem
If mankind consists of divine beings who fell from heaven and were placed into physical bodies, we should expect Jesus and the apostles to tell us so.
Think how important that would be.
It would explain who we are.
Why we are here.
Why we have bodies.
Why we sin.
Why we die.
And what salvation means.
Yet when Paul explains mankind's problem in Romans, he begins with human rebellion against the Creator.
When he explains death, he takes us to Adam.
When he explains resurrection, he contrasts the earthly Adam with Christ from heaven.
When Jesus explains marriage, He takes us to Genesis 1 and Genesis 2.
When Luke traces humanity backward, he arrives at Adam.
When the gospel is preached in Acts, nobody tells sinners:
“You are actually fallen heavenly beings who need to remember who you really are.”
Instead:
“Repent...”
— Acts 2:38
and:
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ...”
— Acts 16:31
That silence becomes significant when the proposed teaching is supposed to explain the entire human condition.
22. So What Can We Safely Say?
We can say more about the supernatural world than many Christians have sometimes realized.
There are heavenly beings.
The Old Testament can call beings other than Yahweh elohim.
God is pictured with a heavenly council.
Some heavenly beings rebelled.
Genesis 6 may very well describe a supernatural rebellion involving heavenly beings and human women.
Jewish literature such as 1 Enoch shows that this interpretation was ancient.
Jude demonstrates familiarity with Enochic tradition.
Satan is a real spiritual adversary and deceiver.
None of that threatens biblical faith.
But we cannot therefore say, without additional biblical evidence:
The Elohim created humanity.
Adam was a fallen Elohim.
Human beings existed as heavenly spirits before birth.
Physical bodies are prisons for fallen divine beings.
The serpent biologically fathered Cain.
Genesis describes two unrelated human creations.
Daniel 2 describes supernatural genetic hybridization.
Those claims require evidence of their own.
23. The Most Dangerous Word May Be “Therefore”
This is worth remembering.
A teacher can give us five true facts and then connect them with:
“Therefore...”
The facts may be correct.
The conclusion may not be.
So whenever we hear:
Elohim can be plural...THEREFORE...
There is a divine council...THEREFORE...
Genesis 6 may involve angels...THEREFORE...
Jude quotes Enoch...THEREFORE...
stop at the word:
THEREFORE.
Ask:
Does the conclusion actually follow from the evidence?
That little question can save us from a great deal of confusion.
24. And We Must Apply the Same Rule to Tradition
There is another side to this.
We should not criticize a new teaching for going beyond Scripture while allowing our traditional teaching to do exactly the same thing.
If the Bible does not actually say Satan's original proper name was Lucifer, we should admit it.
If Isaiah 14 explicitly addresses the king of Babylon, we should say so.
If Ezekiel 28 explicitly addresses the ruler of Tyre, we should say so.
If Genesis 6 may involve heavenly beings, we should not reject that possibility simply because our church never taught it.
If Psalm 82 describes a genuine heavenly council, we should let it.
TEXT B4 TRADITION must work both ways.
Tradition does not get a free pass merely because it is our tradition.
Neither does a new interpretation get a free pass merely because it challenges tradition.
Both go back to the text.
25. Read First. Conclude Later.
There really is more going on in the Bible's supernatural world than many of us may have noticed.
That discovery can be fascinating.
It can make passages we once skipped come alive.
But fascination is not exegesis.
Ancient does not mean inspired.
Hidden does not mean true.
Unusual does not mean profound.
Traditional does not mean biblical.
And knowing a few Hebrew words does not settle an argument.
So read Psalm 82.
Read Genesis 6.
Read Job 1.
Read Isaiah 14.
Read Ezekiel 28.
Read Daniel 2.
Read Jude.
Read 2 Peter.
Read Revelation 12.
Read 1 Enoch too, if you want to understand the ancient background.
But then come back and ask:
WHAT DOES SCRIPTURE ACTUALLY REQUIRE ME TO BELIEVE?
There is one Creator.
There is a real supernatural world.
There was real rebellion.
There is a real Satan.
There is real deception.
But there is also a real Christ.
And the Bible's story does not end with discovering who the elohim were.
It ends with the victory of the One through whom all things were created.
“For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible...”
— Colossians 1:16
That includes the supernatural world.
That includes us.
And that keeps the Creator where Scripture puts Him:
above everything He created.
TEXT B4 TRADITION
Read First. Conclude Later.
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