The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible

by Michael S. Heiser

We’re more interested in the theological messaging. In terms of biblical theology, the imagery has a distinct meaning. God is starting his intended Edenic rule with Israel. Israel will have a single earthly leader (eventually the messianic king, the ultimate offspring of Eve) and a council of seventy. The number telegraphs that, as the kingdom of God is re-established on earth, the seventy nations will be reclaimed, a process that began with the ministry of Jesus and will continue to the end of days.4 The ultimate outcome of the reclaiming of the nations under Yahweh is suggested in passages that transparently relate to the divine council. Loyal members of Yahweh’s council are themselves referred to as his elders in Isaiah 24:23, the context of which is clearly eschatological: 21 “On that day the LORD will punish the host of heaven, in heaven, and the kings of the earth, on the earth.… 23 Then the moon will be confounded and the sun ashamed, for the LORD of hosts reigns on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and his glory will be before his elders”(Isa 24:21, 23 ESV).5 That setting makes sense, given the divine council scene of Revelation 4–5, where the twenty-four elders surround God’s throne.6 The teaching point is profound: The corrupt sons of God who currently dominate the nations will be replaced by loyal members of God’s family.