Is Psalm 82 a "key" that unlocks a mystery?

Introduction

Romans 13 is a biblical truth teaching that human governments have been ordained by God. God desires order in society rather than chaos, and because of sin, chaos would reign (Genesis 4-11). Thus, as a part of his plan for the redemption of humanity, and until he consummates the end of time, God has ordained governments to exercise authority for a time. In contrast, Revelation 13 is a different biblical truth (given via an apocalyptic/symbolic metaphor) which teaches that government becomes (may become/often becomes??) a beast compelling worship of evil (a dragon symbol) and the government wages war with the saints of God (citizens within those human societies who have been saved through faith in Messiah Jesus, and who wish to be faithful to God).

Can these two biblical metaphors be reconciled? (Is government a beast or a God-ordained mediator of order?) If we reconcile Romans 13 and Revelation 13, what might be the basis of this reconciliation?

In this post, I want to examine each passage and see what each teaches (Revelation 13 is a little more difficult because there is no general agreement regarding its meaning). Can we understand how Christians living, "these last days" (Hebrews 1:2) might orient our lives and our faith as regards human governments (and there are various human governments: those that are accommodating of persons of Christian faith, those that are neutral to Christian faith, and those that are hostile to Christian faith).

I have mentioned in several posts that I now memorize Psalms as a meditative discipline. I am just finishing Psalm 82, and while walking the dog and rehearsing the Psalm in my head, I had an epiphany (I have no idea why during this walk, the Romans 13/Revelation 13 conundrum came to mind. However, the difficulty of living between Romans 13 and Revelation 13 has long been a matter for my contemplation. My epiphany is thus: Is it possible that the Psalm most associated with the concept of the "Divine Council Worldview," Psalm 82, provides insight into our current situation, living in the last days? I believe that this Psalm might be a key to unlocking the mystery of how Christians can live under the authority of human government while also having Christ and Christ's Kingdom as our ultimate authority. We can be citizens of a human government (whether that government is hostile, neutral, or accommodating to our faith), and know that God ordains human government as a means of controlling or mitigating worldly chaos (He has an ultimate plan for ultimate redemption, but in the time until His plan comes to fruition, governments function to control chaos. This can be applied to even unjust governments, as when Paul wrote Romans 13, Nero was Emperor of Rome; the same Nero who persecuted Christians and very likely ended Paul's life.

Although God sanctions Governments for control of chaos as a "temporary measure," it can also be true that those governments may be greedy, selfish, ambitious, and partial to wickedness. God even uses wicked governments (i.e. Assyria, Babylon, Rome, etc.) as a means to carry out His will. God has used wicked governments to bring judgment upon his own people. We can know these governments are operating within His control, though they may be corrupt. So we cry out,

Rise up, O God, judge the earth,
    for all the nations belong to you! (Psalm 82:8)

Credit to the Divine Council Worldview

The concept of the Divine Council Worldview belongs to an Old Testament scholar named Michael Heiser. He has written several books. I will highlight the two I have read: The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible, and The Bible Unfiltered: Approaching Scripture on its Own Terms. He also had a podcast, The Naked Bible Podcast, which ran for some years up until he died in 2023, but which can still be found at http://nakedbiblepodcast.com. For an introduction to this concept, watch the videos on this page: https://nakedbiblepodcast.com/newstarthere/ (if you are not familiar with the divine council worldview, then these videos are a must-watch). I am not endorsing all of Heiser's views (I don't know them all). However, I must say that his concepts make sense of contradictions and mysteries in the normal Protestant/Evangelical approach to scripture.

The Divine Council Worldview and the Romans 13/Revelation 13 Context

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore, whoever resists authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct but to bad. Do you wish to have no fear of the authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive its approval, for it is God’s agent for your good. But if you do what is wrong, you should be afraid, for the authority does not bear the sword in vain! It is the agent of God to execute wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore, one must be subject, not only because of wrath but also because of conscience. For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s agents, busy with this very thing. Pay to all what is due them: taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due. Romans 13:1-7

We live in a context where God (through His agents, through His sovereignty, through means which we understand so very little) has ordained that the government context in which we live is under His power. He knows governments are often wicked. As He did with the Satan in the book of Job, He sets constraints beyond which they cannot act. Our job is to live for the Kingdom of God in the governmental situation in which we live, and we must never mistake which citizenship holds our ultimate loyalty. It may be that in a context in which the government is accommodating to the Christian faith is the more difficult place for the Christian. We may be in danger of confusing or conflating eternal/heavenly citizenship loyalty with temporal/earthly citizenship loyalty.

Governments must not be the ultimate citizenship loyalty for any Christian. Government leaders may be Christians, and we seek to support or uphold those Christians in government. We may prefer the policies of one candidate/one party over another. We may share goals with certain governmental office holders who seek our support and our vote. Supporting governmental or political leaders may be aligned with Christian values for a time (politics and political "sides" are not permanent).

Politics is not the Kingdom of God. God's Kingdom is advanced when His people are loyal to Him alone. No vote in any election has ever advanced the Kingdom of God, even when voting for a clear moral issue. Voting and politics do not advance the Kingdom of God. God's Kingdom is invisible or upside down (these metaphors have been used by others to describe how God's Kingdom is here and now, yet not one with what we see in this world).

And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, and on its horns were ten diadems, and on its heads were blasphemous names. And the beast that I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. And the dragon gave it his power and his throne and great authority. One of its heads seemed to have received a death blow, but its fatal wound had been healed. In amazement the whole earth followed the beast. They worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?”

The beast was given a mouth speaking arrogant and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. It opened its mouth to speak blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. Also, it was allowed to wage war on the saints and to conquer them. It was given authority over every tribe and people and language and nation, and all the inhabitants of the earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb that was slaughtered.

Let anyone who has an ear listen:

If you are to be taken captive,
    into captivity you go;
if you kill with the sword,
    with the sword you must be killed.

Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints. Revelation 13:1-10.

Sometimes, the government is not neutral or accommodating to Christian faith, but it is actually hostile. Consider this: sometimes, a government that had been accommodating to the faith changes and becomes neutral or even hostile. A state may claim to be friendly to the faith while, in actuality, it is hostile, or may turn hostile. There is no guarantee as to the continued state of the governmental/faith relationship. This is why an ultimate Kingdom of God focus is essential. It is through loyalty to the true God/"the Most High" that we advance the Kingdom. He is the ultimate one to whom even governments will one day give account. Faith is not just simple belief (it begins there, yes, but it does not end there). Genuine faith is loyalty; loyalty without any competition. In the first-century Roman Empire, when one said, "Jesus is Lord," it was a revolutionary statement; it meant that Caesar was not Lord. It is through loyalty that we advance the Kingdom of God. No earthly state can deserve our loyalty (Or, perhaps, our ultimate loyalty. I confess some difficulty with wording here. I wish to leave room for one to present oneself as a faithful citizen, but also to clearly demonstrate that there is no competition for ultimate loyalty to the True Savior of the world).

God has taken his place in the divine council;
    in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:
“How long will you judge unjustly
    and show partiality to the wicked? Selah
Give justice to the weak and the orphan;
    maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute.
Rescue the weak and the needy;
    deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”

They have neither knowledge nor understanding;
    they walk around in darkness;
    all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

I say, “You are gods,
    children of the Most High, all of you;
nevertheless, you shall die like mortals
    and fall like any prince.”

Rise up, O God, judge the earth,
    for all the nations belong to you! Psalm 82:1-8

Summing This all Up

A Christian's allegiance must always be to our Savior, Jesus Christ, the Eternal Second Person of the Trinity, the Messiah of Israel. Our allegiance must always be to Him and Him alone. Allegiance to a state may begin to appear to be or become a competing allegiance. This is dangerous. It’s dangerous because the states are as gods. The nations had been given over to their gods post-Tower of Babel. God used the lesser gods (elohim) to establish order over chaos; this was a "temporary measure" while He established His own nation and time to work His plan through that nation. The beginnings of God's work of redeeming all nations began in Genesis 12. This was immediately after He gave the nations over to lesser elohim in Genesis 11. Actually, we meet Terah, Abraham's father, at the end of Genesis 11 (vv27ff). The story seems to be telling us that this was His plan all along to bring salvation to all nations. Isaiah 49:6, "I will give you [Israel] as a light to the nations that my salvation may reach the ends of the earth." God's redemptive work began in Abram [who becomes Abraham], continued through Isaac, Jacob [who becomes Israel], the children of Israel who become Israel the nation: God's priestly people, mediators of God (and God's forgiveness/salvation).

Only Israel was a special nation in God's eyes (and their specialty was in God's working through them to bring salvation to all). Allegiance (perhaps I should say, too much allegiance or a competing allegiance) to any nation is a form of idolatry. Why? Because, "they have neither knowledge nor understanding; they walk in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken." Ultimately, all the lesser gods (nations) "will die like mortals and fall like any prince."

Thus, living between Romans 13 and Revelation 13 is living as God's priests (as was the mission of the nation of Israel**). We mediate between God and the people who also live in the nations that serve as lesser gods (nations). If our allegiances become entangled with any earthly nation, we are flirting with idolatry. This is why I strongly object to any church placing the American flag in the front/on the platform of the place of worship. My own church does this, and I am grieved that I am a part of a people who claim sole allegiance to Jesus, but this ongoing idolatry ought to be removed from our place of worship (See my related post here: https://listed.to/@Qoheleth/65406/flags-in-the-church-is-this-unintended-idolatry).

**As a footnote here. There has long been a debate about whether the Church replaces Israel. Reformed Theology says yes -- Israel is no more, and the Church is the new people of God. Dispensational Theology says no; the Church is temporary, and in the end times, Israel comes back into focus in God's plan (Daniel's last week; see Daniel chapter 9), which was put off until the last days. Here, I am guilty of oversimplifying, and I am speaking only in terms of today's evangelical divisions. This oversimplification fails to take the full historical view necessary to give justice to this issue. However, I risk this gross oversimplification to say this: both sides are wrong. Israel, as a nation, was not replaced by the Church. Israel was expanded. Now, Gentiles and Jews -- both through Messiah Jesus and only through Messiah Jesus -- are God's priestly mediators. The True Israelite (Jew) is saved through faith in Messiah Jesus (same method of salvation for all). This is why it is important to speak of the Gospel as the finished work God began in Israel. Now, however, I've exceeded what I can explain in this limited footnote. See NT Wright, Paul and the Faithfulness of God.