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This doctrine will no doubt shock some Christians who are not aware of these Biblical truths, because they have been taught all their lives by organized religion that Jesus is the only son of God. However, that simply is not true, and this fact is clearly born out in the Scriptures. Jesus is not the only son of God. As I first explained fifteen years ago in the series entitled "Is Jesus the Only Begotten Son of God?", what He is, is the only-begotten son of God. In other words, He is the only son of God who was born in the flesh of an earthly woman. It is for this reason that He is both the Son of Man and the Son of God. If you doubt that this is so, then simply examine both the Old and the New Testaments, and see how the three words "beget", "begat" and "begotten" are used. They all refer to childbirth in the flesh.

Later, these very same three words also refer to spiritual rebirth as well, which is what happens when we choose to accept Christ and become born-again "sons of God" in John 1:12, as we see by these verses:

"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:"


"Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit."


"It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life."


Clearly then, not only are there other sons of God already existing in the Heavenly Realm, but Jesus is the Son of God on Earth, and we too become sons of God through our faith in Jesus Christ. As a result, in a very true sense of the word, we become Jesus' spiritual brethren. Not only that, but as you will see in a moment, we will each inherit a spiritual body which is similar to His body. Furthermore, one of these days, we too will be elevated to the Heavenly Realm, and we will become sons of God in the fullest sense of the word. We will become a part of the "congregation of the mighty". As I point out in other articles, there are several mentions of these Angelic sons of God in the Old Testament. Consider the following verses and let their truth sink into your mind and heart:

"And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown."


"Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them."


"Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD."


"Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?"


To reiterate, while I may be mistaken, it seems to me that if God the Father would refer to any of His creations as "gods" and "children of the most High", as we see in Psalm 82:6, it would certainly be to the spiritual sons of God which He created before He brought the physical realm into existence. As the previous verses that are found in the Book of Job seem to indicate, those Angelic Beings were firsthand witnesses to those amazing events. It is no wonder then that the Lord informs the Patriarch Job that they just "shouted for joy" when they beheld what God had just created through His very own Son, Jesus Christ. Now wouldn't you likewise be totally awestruck to behold God in the very Act of Creation? That God the Father created all things by the hand of Jesus Christ is made evident to us by verses such as the following:

"But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him."


"And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:"


"For by him [by Jesus] were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist."


"God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;"


Please notice that in the previous set of verses concerning Jesus, we are told that "he is before all things", and that God has appointed Jesus "heir of all things". You see, as I explain in the aforementioned series, because Jesus was so willing to leave the Heavenly Realm, and come to the Earth and take on the form of lowly human flesh, and eventually be slain like a sacrificial animal for the sins of the world, God the Father has highly exalted Him above His spiritual brethren; that is, the other sons of God. Jesus now occupies a unique position in the Heavenly Realm at His own Father's right hand. He was willing to make a great Sacrifice of Love, and by so doing, God the Father honored Him by making Jesus His very own heir. This amazing truth is firmly established by additional verses, such as the following:

"The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins."


"For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God."


"Which he [God the Father] wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all."


"And being found in fashion as a man, he [Jesus] humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."


"Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us."


"If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God."


"Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high . . . But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?"


"Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;"


"But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;"


"Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."


"Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him."


We have all read wonderful stories or watched movies where the king's son must prove himself to his father before his father will trust him with the all-important job of running the kingdom. Thus, the son dons his armor, and along with his fellow compatriots marches off to war to fight battles for some worthy and righteous cause. Having defeated the wicked enemies who sought to destroy the kingdom, the son returns home to praise, accolades and admiration. However, more importantly, having proven himself to be a strong man, a worthy soldier, a fierce leader and a loyal subject of the kingdom, the kingly father recognizes his son's worth and crowns him prince and heir to the kingdom. But that is not all. Let's not forget that the prince also gets the girl.

While what I have just described for you is obviously very fictional in nature, in a way, that is exactly what Jesus did for us. He willingly left His comfortable position in the Kingdom of Heaven and came to Earth in order to fight against Satan, death and hell. He fought to the death, even giving His own life, so that we -- Satan's human prisoners -- could be freed from death and hell. Having achieved His primary objective, His Father raised Him up and He returned to the wonderful Kingdom from whence He had come, where He in fact was crowned Prince and Heir to the Kingdom. However, that is now all. Guess what? Jesus also got the girl. Huh? Please read "Once Upon a Time: A True Story".

Now, I understand that some of my readers are going to be a little uncomfortable regarding the fact that the Bible talks about these other gods in Heaven. After all, we have had it pounded into our brains by organized religion that there is only one God. In fact, the Scriptures clearly confirm this point. For example, the previous verses states "But to us there is but one God, the Father". Following are some more verses which verify this Scriptural truth:

"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:"


Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God."


"Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any."


"I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:"


"Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me."


"Yet I am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no saviour beside me."


"And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he . . . And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:"


"Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith."


"Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one."


"There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all."


"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;"


"Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble."


First of all, despite attempts by some theologians to change the meaning of the word, because it goes against what they want to believe, and makes them rather uncomfortable, let us not forget that the word "elohim" is in fact the plural form of "elowahh", or "el". It does in fact mean "gods", and not just "god". We have already clearly seen that God the Father and Jesus Christ created the Universe together. Therefore, in that sense alone, it is correct to view "elohim" in the proper plural sense. Furthermore, as I have mentioned before, the Book of Genesis does say "Let us [plural] make man in our [plural] image" -- Genesis 1:26. Obviously, there had to be more than just one party present at the Creation Event. Not only were God the Father and Jesus present, but all of the sons of God were likewise present, and no doubt watching the Act of Creation with utter amazement, as we have already discussed.

But how can we possibly reconcile the clear fact that these Celestial Beings are being described as gods in Psalm 82:6? There is actually an easy explanation which may relieve some of the uncomfortable feeling you may be experiencing. As it turns out, while the Hebrew word "elohim" is translated as "God" -- note the capital "G" -- a total of 2,346 times in the Old Testament of the KJV Bible, if we examine the Brown, Driver, Briggs, Gesenius Hebrew Aramaic English Lexicon, we discover that "God" is actually the final definition that is provided for this word. It is preceded by such definitions as rulers, judges, divine ones, angels, gods, god, goddess, and godlike one.

In short, we can conclude then that when this "congregation of the mighty" are referred to as "gods", it is not saying that they are God the Father, or even as powerful as God the Father, which would contradict all of the "one God" verses. It probably means that these Celestial Beings are actually rulers, judges, Divine Ones, Angels and godlike in nature; not only because a Spiritual Hierarchy actually exists in the Heavenly Realm, but also because they are comprised of a spiritual substance which makes them godlike in nature. In the New Testament, the definition for the Greek word "theos" confirms this point as well. While it is translated as "God" with a capital "G" 1,320 times in the King James Bible, you will recall that it can refer to a god or goddess, and also generally apply to deities or divinities. Furthermore, the final definition for "theos" is magistrates and judges, just like the word "elohim" which also means rulers and judges.

As I explain in such articles as "Sex, a Bowl of Soup, and the Nature of Angels", a governmental hierarchy exists in the Spiritual Realm. As the Apostle Paul informs us, God is not the author of confusion. The Kingdom of God is a place of organization where everything is in peace and harmony, and is run efficiently by our Heavenly Father. Each entity has a specific position and function. Some are Archangels, while others are regular Angels. Some are warriors -- such as Michael and the Angels who are discussed in the Book of Daniel as well as in the Book of Revelation -- while others are messengers -- such as Gabriel. We can't possibly begin to imagine all of the various jobs which are available in that Wonderful Place. However, if we consider that they are running the entire Universe, there must be a lot of them.

Even the Dark Side of the Spiritual Realm is organized into different positions of authority. Thus, in his Epistle to the Ephesians, the Apostle Paul writes as follows:

"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."


As we have seen, the words "elohim" and "theos" also refer to magistrates, rulers and judges. The reason why you may find this point interesting is because of the following verses:

"I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom."


"And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years."


"Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?"


Collectively, do you understand what all of these verses are actually telling us, beginning with Psalm 82:6? If not, let me tell you. They appear to be saying that when God's adopted children graduate into the Spiritual Realm, they apparently become a part of that great "congregation of the mighty". In other words, they become a part of those gods. They become a part of God the Father's special Royal Elite. They become priests, rulers and judges who will not only rule the world, but who will even judge the Angels. As I explain elsewhere, I suspect that this latter point means that they will judge the Fallen Angels who have caused so much calamity on the Earth over the past millennia. It's called you reap what you sow.

Having explained all of the above, while I tend to accept a spiritual interpretation for Psalm 82:6, and believe that it is also what Jesus may have meant as well, just look at how Ken Maley seems to twist everything around. Maley contradicts everything that the Bible teaches us regarding the need for Repentance and Salvation. According to Ken Maley's seriously misguided thinking, being as we are "God" in his view, there is really no need for any of us to be saved from anything. We simply have to love, and everything will be fine. We can all agree that love is an important teaching in the Scriptures. In fact, it is one of the most important commandments of all, which even Jesus emphasized. This is made evident by verses such as the following:

"Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."


"By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."


"Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law."


"Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth."


"But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way."


"And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing . . . And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity."


"For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."


"If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:"


"And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins."


"He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love."


However, loving each other is not sufficient to save any of us, as any Bible-knowledgeable Christian knows. If loving each other is enough to merit Salvation, then Christ died in vain. The fact of the matter -- as I explain in so many other articles -- is that we can only be saved through faith in the Atoning Sacrifice of Christ, because we are all prisoners to sin and death. Jesus' Sacrifice is by far the biggest Love in the Bible, which is so clearly expressed in the following well-known verses:

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."


"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."


"For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."


"Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he [Jesus] laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren."


"We love him, because he first loved us."


To me, what Maley teaches does not sound that much different from the blasphemous Urantia Book, which claims that Jesus' Sacrifice on the Cross was both barbaric and unnecessary, and that all we really have to do is be willing to forgive each other, and all will be well with us. In both cases, it sounds like a bunch of deceptive New Age nonsense and psychobabble. Just love and forgive each other, and we will all arrive in Heaven some day. If it is that simple -- not that any of us really do it to the full -- then why did Jesus have to die? The obvious answer is that it is not quite that simple. The truth of the matter is that loving each other and forgiving each other are not enough to merit our Salvation.

Please go to part four for the conclusion of this series.

⇒ Go To The Next Part . . .

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