I love Mike he's a great guy.
Quoting: Anonymous Coward 45958835 What impresses me about him is that he doesn't let his personal preferences blind him to other interpretations or rule them out.
I'm listening to his C2C interview right now, and one question was about Bible prophecy. He made the points that prophecy is deliberately cryptic, and that one's interpretation always depends upon certain foundational assumptions. So while he has his personal views, he allows that other views about prophecy are possible and shouldn't be summarily dismissed.
I've listened to Mike for quite a long time. One place he won't go is the recognition that Jesus was one of these ruling angels (the one to whom God delegated rule of ancient Israel). Jesus himself says this in John 10:22-39, when he quotes Psalm 82:6 in verse 34 and calls himself the "Son of God" in verse 36. Here is the entire Psalm, which is a condemnation of the gods of the nations:
PSALM 82:1 A Psalm of Asaph. 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! (ESV)
The writer of Hebrews (quoting from Psalm 45) also states that Jesus was among this group of ruling angels and because of his obedience (contrasted with their disobedience), he was elevated above the other 70 gods/Watchers/Archons:
HEBREWS 1:8 But of the Son He says, "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.
9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore
God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions." (ESV)
Those "companions" were the ruling angels, the "gods" of the nations spoken of by Paul:
EPHESIANS 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against
the rulers, against
the authorities, against
the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against
the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (ESV)
When stripped of human tradition, the Bible tells an amazing story about what's really going on in this world...
