Can Christians Speculate about the Lord’s Divine Council?

Vivian Bricker

The Lord's divine council is hinted at in various passages of the Bible; however, two passages stand out in comparison to the others. Job 1:6 and Daniel 4:17 are two key verses that talk about the Lord's divine council.

While we are not given exact details, we can speculate as to the aspects surrounding the Lord's divine council.

It is never good to say something about the Bible unless you know it is 100% true; therefore, it is important to note that the discussion surrounding the Lord's divine council is purely speculative.

Context of Job 1:6

"One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them" (Job 1:6). From Job 1:6, we are given a glimpse of the Lord's divine council.

Within the context of this verse from the Book of Job, we see the angels coming in and out of the presence of God as He gives them their orders. At least during the time of Job, Satan was allowed to go in the presence of the Lord.

It should be noted that Satan could never just go into the presence of the Lord on his own accord. Rather, Satan could only go in the presence of the Lord if the Lord commanded him to come.

In the same way, Satan can only go into the Lord's presence today if he is commanded to. While we don't know if Satan still goes into God's presence, we do know that he can only go there if God calls him to come.

Nonetheless, through Job 1:6, we see that the angels can go into the Lord's divine council. It is plausible that God does have a huge courtroom or a large room of some kind where He carries out His divine plans. He can bring angels, demons, or Satan in as He wishes.

Despite Satan and the demons being evil and fallen, God can still use them. Moreover, God still has ultimate power over them because He is the Creator of all things. Within the divine council of the Lord, He most likely discusses topics such as what He needs the angels to do.

It could be that there are several hundreds of these discussions going on each day. It is good not to be dogmatic on these matters since we cannot know for certain; however, we can know that the divine council of the Lord is very important.

Given the fact that the angels come and stand before God at the Lord's divine council, we can know that it is something that all angels have to attend. Since angels are fully devoted to God and choose not to rebel against Satan, they always follow what God says.

It is possible during the Lord's divine council that He tells His angels what to do in order to protect His children. Angels are involved in the lives of human beings, yet we might not always be aware of their presence.

God sends angels to keep us safe. The angels: however, are not the ones to be praised. Rather, only God should be praised as He is the One who sends the angels to do His will.

We might never know during this life how many times God sent His angels to protect us on our journey through life. God might tell us one day or He might allow us to simply praise Him without knowing the thousands of times His angels came to help us by His command.

Context of Daniel 4:17

"The decision is announced by messengers, the holy ones declare the verdict, so that the living may know that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes and sets over them the lowliest of people" (Daniel 4:17).

This passage is another passage of the Bible that hints at the Lord's divine council. Through this verse, we can speculate that the Lord's divine council is once again associated with His angels.

The New International Version translates the word to "messengers;" however, messengers can also refer to angels.

When Daniel 4:17 says that the decision is announced by messengers, it means God's decisions are announced by His angels. The angels announce His decisions in order that the living (mankind) would know that God is sovereign over all the kingdoms of the world.

God chooses to give kingdoms to people as well as He chooses to take away these kingdoms and give them to someone else.

As was the case in Daniel's lifetime, King Nebuchadnezzar is cursed because of his actions and has to wander around as a wild animal until he proclaims God as Most High.

Prior to being struck with this curse, King Nebuchadnezzar made himself out to be the "most high" and downplayed God. In other words, he saw himself as God and wouldn't accept Daniel's teachings of the true God whom he served.

Due to King Nebuchadnezzar's lack of faith and failure to acknowledge God, he lost his sanity and later lost the kingdom to Persia. King Darius takes control after King Nebuchadnezzar, and Persia becomes the largest empire instead of Babylon.

Within Daniel 4:17, we can also see the importance God places on the lowliest of people. He can take the great kingdoms and give them to the lowly people who are nothing in the eyes of the world. We see this to be true in the person of David.

He was the youngest of his family and was the shepherd. David had no chance of becoming anything, yet with God, he became a great king. We might not associate these things with the Lord's divine council, but we must.

Why Does This Matter?

It is conversations such as these that go on within the Lord's divine council. After God makes His decisions, the angels proclaim them in order for mankind to praise Him.

While none of us have ever stood in the Lord's divine council, we know it is a real place in which weighty decisions are made.

God is the One who makes these decisions; therefore, we can trust what He says. We are not involved with these decisions, yet it is reasonable to conclude that each of us has been spoken of at one of these divine councils.

Within the matter of salvation, the angels would have shouted for joy that another person came to accept the Lord. Since the angels celebrate this and God is overjoyed when this happens, we know we are on His mind and every part of our day matters to Him.

In addition to every person being spoken of during one of these divine councils, we can also know the events of all time have also been discussed, not to mention the future events of eschatology.

There will be a day in the future when we will know the true answer behind the Lord's divine council, but for now, we are left to speculate and wonder. 

While we cannot know for certain until we are with Christ, we can know that Job 1:6 and Daniel 4:17 make compelling arguments for what happens during the Lord's divine council. There is not much spoken of concerning this topic, yet it is something we need to be aware of.

For further reading:

Why Did Angels and Satan Present Themselves Before the Lord?

Does the Bible Show an Angel Hierarchy?

What Does the Bible Say about the Watchman on the Wall?

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Vivian Bricker obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Ministry, followed by a Master of Arts with an emphasis in theology. She loves all things theology, mission work, and helping others learn about Jesus. Find more of her content at Cultivate: https://cultivatechristianity.wordpress.com/

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