1 Corinthians 15:1-22
John 3:16; Matthew 26:57-22; Daniel 7:9-14;
Exodus 4:21-23; Matthew 27:35-46;
Psalm 22:1; 7; 17-18; Psalm 22:12-13
Ephesians 4:4-10; Colossians 2:15; Colossians 1:15-20
Michael Heiser “Unseen Realm”
“Israel (corporately) is referred to as God’s servant in
Isaiah 41:8-9; 44:1-2; 45:4; 49:3. Like Adam, Israel transgressions lead to exile from the place where the divine presence resided. The result is suffering – many times over – under foreign powers and wicked kings. Eventually Israel is exiled and ceases to exist as a nation. But the prophets foretold Israel’s resurrection, most vividly through the vision of the dry bones in Ezekiel 37. The nation is reborn after the exile in the form of the returning inhabitants of Judah from Babylon. Not only were Adam, Moses, and Israel (corporately) God’s servant, but King David was Yahweh’s servant, as were other godly kings. One particular “branch” or offshoot from the tribe of Judah and David’s line would be the individual servant God would use to bring salvation to Israel.”
“We know that Bashan carries a lot of theological baggage. It was the Old Testament version of the gates of hell, the gateway to the underworld realm of the dead.
It was known as ‘the place of the serpent’ outside the Bible. It is Associated with Mount Hermon, the place where Jews believed the rebellious sons of God from Genesis 6:1-4 descended. Simply put, if you wanted to conjure up images of the demonic and death, you’d refer to Bashan. If it’s true that elements of Psalm 22 prefigure the crucifixion, it makes sense that a reference to Bashan would be part of that. Bashan symbolizes unholy ground.
“When Paul quotes Psalm 68:18 in Ephesians 4:8, he does so thinking of Jesus. Part of the confusion over how to interpret what Paul is saying is that so many commentators have assumed that captives are being liberated in Ephesians 4. That isn’t the case. That idea would flatly contradict the well-understood Old Testament imagery. There is no liberation; THERE IS CONQUEST. Paul’s words identify Jesus with Yahweh. In Psalm 68:18 it was Yahweh who is described as the conqueror of the demonic stronghold. For Paul it is Jesus, the incarnate second Yahweh, surrounded by the demonic ELOHIM, “bulls of Bashan,’ fulfilling the imagery of Psalm 68.”