Who Were The Nephilim? Part 6 - Who Are The Holy Ones In Jude?

It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold the Lord comes with ten thousand of his holy ones, to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” Jude 14-15

This is part six of an ongoing series, to start at the beginning click here: Who Were The Nephilim Part 1

In many ways this a bit of a footnote in our journey, but I wanted to include it for two reasons:

1. It demonstrates the honored role that humanity plays in God’s divine plan, and we can all use a reminder on that one.

2. We can begin to see how the roles of humanity and the angelic are intricately woven together throughout the Bible, today, and will be in the future.

Too often we tend to view the supernatural elements of the Bible as something foreign and completely distinct from our earthly existence. The idea that miracles and divine proclamations seem to have little to do with the day to day drudgery of life, but the Bible reveals that such a view is flawed. And if we stop examine even the most basic elements of our faith, we cannot avoid the fact that our identities are based upon God’s supernatural intervention in time and space in the person Jesus. Without his supernatural birth, life, death, and resurrection, there would be no such thing as Christianity. So why then do we arbitrarily chose to ignore other supernatural aspects of what God has declared is true?

Stop and reread the opening passage above. What do you envision? If you said, “God returning in glory surrounded by his holy retinue of angels”, then you and I have that in common. I think that is the natural response, but what if our vision is too small? What if God has more in mind? What if his divine plan includes you? Includes me? Rather mind blowing, isn’t it?

And what if I am not just blowing smoke up your skirt? Well, I don’t think that I am. Allow me to demonstrate.

The word for “Holy Ones” in Jude is hagioi. In most other places that this word is used in the Christian Scriptures (New Testament) it is translated as saints. You can see that in Acts 9, Romans 15, 1 Corinthians 1:2, 6:2, 2 Corinthians 9:1,12; Ephesians 3:8,18; Philippians 1:1 – I could go on, but I think you get the idea. It is easy to see how these two terms virtually interchangeable in the context of the Christian Scriptures, and almost always refers to people. Case closed, right?

No, wrong. We have to bear in mind that we are dealing with a New Testament writer quoting an Old Testament phrase. So we need to go back to the Hebrew Scriptures and see how the phrase was used in its original context. (PSA: A text without a context is a pretext! Always, always, always keep the words and phrases within their proper context to understand the proper meaning and application. Anything less is proof-texting and fraudulent!)

In the last installment, I showed how this phrase was used there in Deuteronomy 33:2. The root for the Hebrew word found in this verse is kodesh. If we look up the definition of this word in the Brown Driver Briggs Hebrew Lexicon we will find that one of its definitions is saint, but this is still not digging deep enough. We need to look at how the word is used so that we can keep it in proper context.

Let the heavens praise your wonders, O LORD, your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones! For who in the skies can be compared to the LORD? Who among the heavenly beings is like the LORD, a God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones, and awesome above all who are around him? Psalms 89:5-7

Behold, God puts no trust in his holy ones, and heavens are not pure in his sight. Job 15:15

Then I heard a holy one speaking and another holy one said to the one who spoke, “For how long is the vision concerning the regular burnt offering, the transgression that makes desolate, and the giving over of the sanctuary and host to be trampled underfoot?” Daniel 8:13

If we take time to look at these verses, and particularly if you go back and read the rest of the chapters where they are found, you are going to see that these are all events that occur in heaven. The Psalms passage is quite explicit, as is the passage from Job, and when you realize that the passage in
Daniel is taken from a one of his prophetic visions where he sees into the heavenly realm then I think it becomes pretty obvious that we are not talking about humans in any of them. The writers are making direct references to angels.

Does this mean that the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures conflict? Only if we stop our investigation there. Let’s look at a few more passages. 

Until the Ancient of Days came and judgement was given for the saints (holy ones) of the Most High, and time came when the saints (holy ones) possessed the Kingdom. Daniel 7:22

As for the saints (holy ones) in the land, they are the excellent one, in whom is all my delight. Psalms 16:3

Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints (holy ones) for those who fear him have no lack! Psalms 34:9

The passages above refer to groups of people, but we also find it used of individuals.

And Moses heard it, he fell on his face, and he said to Korah and all his company, “In the morning the LORD will show who is his, who is holy, and will bring him near to him.” Numbers 16: 4,5

And she said to her husband, “Behold, now, I know that this is a holy man of God who is continually passing our way.” 2 King 4:9

When the men in camp were jealous of Moses and Aaron, the holy ones of the LORD, the earth opened up and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram. Psalms 106: 16,17

And this is just scratching the surface. We could spend days looking up passages that talk about the nature and expression of holiness and who is qualified to be a Holy One. If we did that it would be abundantly clear that a Holy One is anyone who has set his life apart in service to the Lord – angel or human. For it not our holiness that qualifies us, but rather the holiness of the God we serve sanctifying our existence.

What I find fascinating about the references above, and throughout the Bible, is the Holy Ones are frequently tied to the idea of judgment and vengeance on those who are, as Jude puts it, “grumblers, malcontents, following their own lustful desires; they are loud mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage”, (Jude 16). We know that God will use his angels when he exacts judgment, that is clear in Daniel, Ezekiel, and Revelation, but we often overlook the fact that we are a part of this future reality. And the judgment in which we will help enact is not reserved for humanity alone, but rather includes the angels who rebelled. Find that hard to believe? Check out these passages:

God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment. How long will judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked. They have neither knowledge or understanding, they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken. I said, “You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you; nevertheless, like men you shall die, and fall like any prince.” Arise, O God, judge the earth for you shall inherit all the nations. Psalms 82

Or do you not know that the saints (holy ones) will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life! 1 Corinthians 6:2,3

The one who conquers and keeps my works to the end, to him I will give authority over nations, and he rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken into pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. Revelation 2: 26,27 

And this brings us back to Genesis 6 and our original question: who are the Nephilim? A question that we began to explore by establishing the identity of the Sons of God as angels who had taken wives from among humanity, and in doing so left their proper habitation. And our conclusions are strengthened through the proper understanding of who the Holy Ones are and what our role shall be in the time to come.

The identity of the Holy Ones is only a mystery if we bifurcate the natural from the supernatural. If we believe there is some great divide between physical fact and divine truth. To do so creates a false dichotomy that leaves us floundering the midst of creation, never really knowing our place, and discounting the plans that God has for us. We were never meant to live apart from or in ignorance of purpose and destiny that our Creator has for us, and the results of living in such way leaves us with tepid visions of eternity where we sit around strumming harps all day, with the placid faces of drugged cows, and being nothing more to God than ego stroking pets. Is it any wonder our faith fails to excite any longer? For who would wish for such an existence? Why wouldn’t the debauchery of hell as portrayed in today’s culture being far more alluring?

The Bible never presents a world in which spiritual is some distant hope or illusion. The spiritual, the supernatural, woven into the fabric of the universe, and we have been called to our God ordained places as his Holy Ones, here in this moment so that we might be prepared for eternity. And we take our place by walking the steps of Lord Jesus Christ, walking in compassion, love, and kindness, by standing against injustice, and extending hope to those around us. The time for judgment has not come, and for that we should be grateful, using each day to declare the wonders of God who loves us so much that he calls us children and invites to be an active part of what he is doing now and in the future. This knowledge should inspire us to live more holy lives and empower us to be faithful in the endeavor. For the strength and vitality of our faith is found not in intellectual assent and dull reason, but in the life giving presence of a Holy God.

Part Seven of our series: http://misdirectedmusings.blogspot.com/2016/09/who-were-nephilim-part-7-peter-jude-and.html

Stirring the Pot - A response to the objections on yesterday's post

Well, it seems that yesterday’s post caused as bit of a stir. Not that you would know it by the comments, for it seems that most of those who objected to what I had to say preferred to do so in phone calls and private messages. And since all the objections were pretty much in the same vein, I decided against individual responses and to address them here.

The objection went like this:

Corrective prophetic words have no place in the New Testament Church. They are restricted to the Old Testament.

The funny thing is that no one, not a single person offered up any Scriptural support for this idea. I was told that they had received a different message from leadership, books, and other believers – but did I mention that no one offered me a single passage? In case you didn’t guess, that’s kind of a big deal to me.

So not being above reproach or correction, I decided to do a little research. I mean I would really love for this to be right. Do you know how much weight it would take off my shoulders? How much responsibility I would be absolved of? There is nothing but good things in it for me if this is true. All I needed was one passage confirming what has become a popular notion in today’s church.

Here is what I found:

1 Corinthian 12, 13, and 14

I read through the passages carefully, trying to find where and how the use of corrective words in the New Testament church was forbidden. I read them again. And again. I even stop typing, right here > < to read them yet again, because if you know me, you will know that I hate being wrong. This doesn’t mean that I am never wrong. It just means I will avoid it at all costs.

The only verse that I can see that might be interpreted as a prohibition against corrective words is 1 Corinthians 14: 3 –

One the other hand the one who prophesies speaks to the people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. 

Alright, let’s look at the words here, but let’s do it backwards.

Consolation is defined as comfort received by a person after a loss or disappointment by the writers of the Oxford Dictionary and Merriam Webster says pretty much the same thing, something that makes a person feel less sadness, disappointment, etc. Encouragement is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as the action of giving someone support, confidence, or hope. Merriam Webster gets a little more generous in its definition - the act of making something more appealing or more likely to happen; something that makes someone more determined, hopeful, or confident; and something that makes someone more likely to do something.

So far this all falls in line with what I have been told by concerned reader, but here is where things get interesting. Upbuilding is usually translated as edification or strengthening. Merriam Webster defines edification as teaching someone in way that builds strength or character. Oxford defines it as the instruction or improvement of a person morally or intellectually. This is where we put on our thinking caps and consider the fact that teaching and instruction are corrective by nature. The fact that Paul chose to include this word in addition to the words we see as kind and gentle, tells us that he intended for us to have a balanced view of prophecy that functions within the tension of discipline and grace.

Now, I know that no sound theological argument hinges on a single verse or word, and it was pointed out to me that all of my examples from yesterday’s post were from the Old Testament. So allow me to present two examples of corrective, even harsh prophetic words from the New Testament:

Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.  And Simon answered, “Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.” (Acts 8:22-24 ESV)

But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.” (Acts 5:3-4 ESV) Emphasis added.

In each of these cases, Paul and Peter speak what the Holy Spirit has revealed to them in the hearts and minds of these men. Each instance is a demonstration of a prophetic word given that was not kind or gentle but corrective and, dare I say, a pronouncement of judgment.

We should also not overlook the fact that by relegating corrective words of prophecy to the Old Testament we are invalidating the writing of the New Testament. Revelation is blatantly a prophetic word and full of correction. Paul’s letter also full of correction, warning, and frequently describing consequences of persistent sin in the life of a believer – consequences that should be enacted within the church and consequences that will be enacted by God.

Furthermore, the distinction between Old and New Testament is flawed because it is not merely a distinction between one set of texts and another, it is distinction that we have tried to impose upon God. Declaring God to be changing and capricious in his dealing with humanity as the God of the Old Testament is all judgment and wrath, while Jesus is love and kindness, and when taken to an extreme this leads us to deny Jesus declaration that he and the Father are one. The New Testament is not a new covenant, but rather a continuation and manifestation of the original covenant given to Abraham, renewed at Sinai, confirmed in Acts, and celebrated by Peter that Abraham’s children would become a blessing to the world and priests to all nations. (Genesis 12:1-3, Exodus 19:5-6, Acts 1:8, 1 Peter 2:9).

Correction is part of being in this family faith – giving it and receiving it. There is just no way around it. I wish there were. I would love to be able to tell everyone who felt so obligated to correct me, either for yesterday’s post or for other legitimate reasons, to go jump the lake. I wish I could avoid the responsibility for acting when called, but no serious study of the prophets, be it Old Testament or New, allows us the luxury of believing that this is a matter of choice or personal desire. It is not a position of power but one of humility and perfect awareness of one’s own weakness. Moses declares, Jeremiah laments, Jonah ran from it, and Paul wrote of it – each one decrying the necessity of confrontation even as they walked towards it. They knew that leaving sin unaddressed and unchecked would only cripple the individual believer and ultimately the body as a whole.