by Brian Godawa
Deut. 4:19-20
And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, things that the Lord your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven. But the LORD has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be a people of his own inheritance, as you are this day.
Deut. 29:24-26
“All the nations will say, ‘Why has the LORD done thus to this land? Why this great outburst of anger?’ “Then men will say, ‘Because they forsook the covenant of the LORD, the God of their fathers, which He made with them when He brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods whom they have not known and whom He had not allotted to them.
Here again, we see a description of the “allotment” of the host of heaven to the pagan nations along with the allotment of Israel to Yahweh as his inheritance. The gentile nations are allotted to the sons of God/heavenly host/false gods of the land, while Israel is allotted to Yahweh and Yahweh allotted to Israel.
But notice in this passage, there is an equivalency of the sun, moon and stars with the host of heaven, a term used interchangeably with the Sons of God.[xx] The sun, moon, and stars were worshipped as gods, and Yahweh is saying that these gods are the ones allotted to the nations. So, this is not a holy host of heaven, but an unholy host of heaven. These sons of God are not in God’s heavenly court, they are evil fallen beings from that divine council.
The demonic reality of pagan gods is expressed further down in the same Deuteronomy chapter 32. The false gods were demons, real spiritual beings that had fallen from God’s divine council:
Deut. 32:16-17
They stirred him to jealousy with strange gods; with abominations they provoked him to anger. They sacrificed to demons that were no gods, to gods they had never known, to new gods that had come recently, whom your fathers had never dreaded.
Second Temple Jewish literature and legend is not Scripture, but it certainly shows a paradigm that lines up with this Biblical notion of God allotting pagan nations to geographical territories ruled over by sons of God as their deities. A perusal of some of these passages sheds more light on this paradigm:
Ginzberg’s Legends of the Jews
It was on this occasion that God and the seventy angels that surround His throne cast lots concerning the various nations. Each angel received a nation, and Israel fell to the lot of God. To every nation a peculiar language was assigned, Hebrew being reserved for Israel.[xxi]
Jubilees 15:30-32
But he chose Israel that they might be a people for himself. And he sanctified them and gathered them from all of the sons of man because (there are) many nations and many people, and they all belong to him, but over all of them he caused spirits to rule so that they might lead them astray from following him. But over Israel he did not cause any angel or spirit to rule because he alone is their ruler and he will protect them and he will seek for them at the hand of his angels and at the hand of his spirits and at the hand of all of his authorities so that he might guard them and bless them and they might be his and he might be theirs henceforth and forever.[xxii]
Targum Jonathan, Deuteronomy 32, Section LIII
When the Most High made allotment of the world unto the nations which proceeded from the sons of Noach [Noah], in the separation of the writings and languages of the children of men at the time of the division, He cast the lot among the seventy angels, the princes of the nations with whom is the revelation to oversee the city.[xxiii]
Philo, On the Posterity of Cain and His Exile 25.89
The Most High, when he divided the nations, dispersed the sons of Adam, and fixed the boundaries of the nations according to the number of the angels of God. And the portion of the Lord was his people Jacob, the limitation of the inheritance of Israel.”[xxiv]
Now, when we take a look at Psalm 82, an otherwise confusing passage becomes crystal clear in its context of the Tower of Babel, the Dispersion, and the Allotment of gods and nations.
Psalm 82:1–8
1 God has taken his place in the divine council;
in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:
2 “How long will you judge unjustly
and show partiality to the wicked? Selah
3 Give justice to the weak and the fatherless;
maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.
4 Rescue the weak and the needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
5 They have neither knowledge nor understanding,
they walk about in darkness;
all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
6 I said, “You are gods,
sons of the Most High, all of you;
7 nevertheless, like men you shall die,
and fall like any prince.”
8 Arise, O God, judge the earth;
for you shall inherit all the nations!
Many Christians try to interpret this passage as if it were talking about human judges over Israel being punished for not meting out justice. But in its ancient Near Eastern context we can see that God is talking to the supernatural Sons of God (“sons of the Most High”), who were allotted the gentile nations to rule over them being judged for their failure to rule morally. And then the writer says that Yahweh will inherit those nations, a reference to the Gospel where all the pagan nations would be allowed to come under God’s rule through faith in Jesus Christ.
In a very real sense, the Gospel breaks the power of false gods over the gentile nations and brings them into the fold of God’s people along with believing Jews. God will inherit the nations who were once under the allotment and inheritance of the pagan gods.
The event of Pentecost that occurs in Acts 2, where a diversity of gentile tongues proclaimed “the mighty works of God,” is a theological reversal of Babel by the Holy Spirit. At Babel, God confused their languages, and dispersed the peoples, placing them under the authority of sons of God as their deities. God “gave them over” to their wickedness. With the arrival of Messiah, the Gospel liberates those gentile nations from their bondage to be drawn back and become united as one in Christ through faith. The power of the false gods over the gentile nations is broken.
Thus the apostle Paul can preach to his gentile pagans,
Acts 17:26–31
“And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us…
The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”
About the Author
Brian Godawa is the screenwriter for the award-winning feature film, To End All Wars, starring Kiefer Sutherland. It was awarded the Commander in Chief Medal of Service, Honor and Pride by the Veterans of Foreign Wars, won the first Heartland Film Festival by storm, and showcased the Cannes Film Festival Cinema for Peace.
He also co-wrote Alleged, starring Brian Dennehy as Clarence Darrow and Fred Thompson as William Jennings Bryan. He previously adapted to film the bestselling supernatural thriller novel The Visitation by author Frank Peretti for Ralph Winter (X-Men, Wolverine), and wrote and directed Wall of Separation, a PBS documentary, and Lines That Divide, a documentary on stem cell research.
Mr. Godawa’s scripts have won multiple awards in respected screenplay competitions, and his articles on movies and philosophy have been published around the world. He has traveled around the United States teaching on movies, worldviews, and culture to colleges, churches and community groups.
His book, Hollywood Worldviews: Watching
Films with Wisdom and Discernment has been released in a revised edition from InterVarsity Press. His book Word Pictures: Knowing God Through Story and Imagination (IVP) addresses the power of image and story in the pages of the Bible to transform the Christian life.
Find out more about his other books, lecture tapes and dvds for sale at his website www.godawa.com.
Abraham Allegiant is 4th in a Series!
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Enoch Primordial is one chapter of the series saga Chronicles of the Nephilim that charts the rise and fall of the Nephilim and just what their place is in the evil plans of the fallen sons of God called, “The Watchers.”
Book 1, Noah Primeval, reveals the hero’s journey of Noah that leads to God’s first act of justice against this diabolical plan of the Watchers: The Deluge.
The Prequel, or Lost Book 2, Enoch Primordial tells the forgotten story of the original descent of the Watchers on Mount Hermon and their introduction of the Nephilim into the created order.
Book 3, Gilgamesh Immortal tells the story of the first Giant King after the Flood, Gilgamesh of Uruk and his epic search for eternal life.
Read the rest of the series to discover just how far the Seed of the Serpent will go in its war on the Seed of Eve.
Books by Brian Godawa
Hollywood Worldviews: Watching Films with Wisdom and Discernment
By Brian Godawa
With the sensibilities of an award-winning Hollywood screenwriter and the sensitivities of a thoughtful Christian, Brian Godawa guides us through the place of redemption in film, the "tricks of the trade" that screenwriters use to communicate their worldview through their stories, and the mental and spiritual discipline required for watching movies. Hollywood Worldviews helps us enter a dialogue with Hollywood that leads to a happier ending, one that keeps us aware of our culture and awake to our faith.
Endorsements:
“Provocative and challenging. Even when I find myself disagreeing with Brian Godawa in his evaluation of a particular film, his cinematé and sophisticated point of view command attention.”
— Michael Medved, Film critic and author of Hollywood Versus America.
“Brian’s analysis is insightful and stimulating. Our Biblical values are colliding with worldviews in the movies, and Brian shows us why. Those values are also illuminated by intersecting with movies, and I find that especially exciting. We might even understand the Bible with more insight from seeing these connections.”
— Ralph Winter, Producer X-Men 2, Planet of the Apes, X-Men
Word Pictures: Knowing God Through Story and Imagination
By Brian Godawa
In his refreshing and challenging book, Godawa helps you break free from the spiritual suffocation of heady faith. Without negating the importance of reason and doctrine, Godawa challenges you to move from understanding the Bible “literally” to “literarily” by exploring the poetry, parables and metaphors found in God's Word. Weaving historical insight, pop culture and personal narrative throughout, Godawa reveals the importance God places on imagination and creativity in the Scriptures, and provides a biblical foundation for Christians to pursue image, beauty, wonder and mystery in their faith.
Endorsements:
“Brian Godawa is that rare breed—a philosopher/artist—who opens our eyes to the aesthetic dimension of spirituality. Cogently argued and fun to read, Godawa shows convincingly that God interacts with us as whole persons, not only through didactic teaching but also through metaphor, symbol, and sacrament.”
— Nancy R. Pearcey,
Author, Total Truth: Liberating Christianity from its Cultural Captivity
“A spirited and balanced defense of the imagination as a potential conveyer of truth. There is a lot of good literary theory in the book, as well as an autobiographical story line. The thoroughness of research makes the book a triumph of scholarship as well.”
— Leland Ryken, Clyde S. Kilby Professor of English, Wheaton College, Illinois
Author, The Christian Imagination: The Practice of Faith in Literature & Writing.
To order books and products by Brian Godawa,
as well as FREE articles, just go to the STORE at:
www.godawa.com
Movies by Brian Godawa
To End All Wars
Written by Brian Godawa
A true story about Allied P.O.W.s who endure harsh treatment at the hands of their Japanese captors during World War II while they are forced to build a railroad through the Burmese jungle.
Alleged
Written by Fred Foote and Brian Godawa
Alleged is a romantic drama based on events using both historical and fictional elements occurring behind the scenes and outside the courtroom of the famous Scopes “Monkey Trial” of 1925.
The Visitation
Written by Brian Godawa
Based on the bestseller by Frank Peretti
Peretti’s supernatural thriller tells the story of a mysterious stranger (Edward Furlong) and his three associates, who arrive in a small town and perform miracles on those who would follow. Who is this charismatic drifter the townspeople have chosen to follow? Is he the true messiah, a false prophet or something far more sinister?
Change Your Life!
Written by Adam Christing and Brian Godawa
Adam Christing hosts this hilarious mockumentary following a group of six average Americans pursuing the American dream: Get Rich Quick! And they’re going to do it through multi-level marketing. Super Success guru, Simon Martinez and his wife, Melinda (played by Hollywood stars Tony Plana and Ada Maris) are coming to town with their marketing strategy of how to make money, hosted at the big convention called Successpo!
Documentaries by Brian Godawa
Lines That Divide
Written and Directed by Brian Godawa
Stem cell research: A potential miracle cure for diseases or a form of biological colonialism? The debate still rages over this controversial science. Supporters argue that it is our moral duty to pursue scientific progress that provides healing hope for humanity. Detractors argue that the ends don't justify the means in harvesting some human life to save others. This documentary seeks to educate the public on the scientific basics of stem cell research and the moral issues surrounding it as we enter the 21st century.
Wall of Separation
Written and Directed by Brian Godawa
The “wall of separation” is a metaphor deeply embedded in the American consciousness, and an idea that continues to cause deep controversy within the country. In this historical documentary, Godawa takes a look at what the Founding Fathers intended when they framed the Constitution and wrote the First Amendment religion clauses. Were they trying to create a Christian nation, a secular paradise, or something in between?
To order these movies and other books and products by Brian Godawa, as well as FREE articles, just go to the STORE at:
www.godawa.com
Audio Lectures by Brian Godawa
Brian has spoken around the world on the topic of movies, worldviews, and faith. Now you can purchase some of his presentations on downloadable MP3 directly from his website, www.godawa.com! Here are a sample of presentations:
Art, Movies & Worldviews
6-Lecture Series by Brian Godawa
1. The Church and the Arts: Friends or Foes?
2. From Bezalel to Jesus: Art in the Bible
3. Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang: Sex & Violence in the Movies
4. That’s More Than Entertainment!: Redemption in the Movies
5. Following Your Heart: Existentialism in the Movies
6. Losing Our Grip on Reality: Postmodernism in the Movies
Screenwriting for Christians
A 9-Lecture Series by Brian Godawa
Brian teaches the ba
sic elements of storytelling used in writing screenplays from a Christian worldview, complete with examples and analysis of movies that illustrate the lessons. Comes with 30 pages of Student Handouts so you can follow along and take the class on tape! This was taught at YWAM's University of the Nations.
1. Introduction/ Sex & Violence & the Bible
2. Christian writer
3. Basic Structure/ Premise/Theme
4. Premise/Theme Part 2
5. Character
6. Plot
7. Scene
8. The Business and the Life of the Writer
9. Analysis of first 10 pages of “The Sixth Sense”
Storytelling, Worldviews & Persuasion
2 Lectures by Brian Godawa
Part 1: Incarnation
The modern Christian exclusive concentration on logic, precision and rationality has missed a fuller Biblical approach. In the Scriptures, truth and persuasion are mediated through imagination and storytelling as well. Brian addresses the power of incarnation used in Biblical storytelling and imagery. Examples from film clips are used to illustrate.