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Kingdom Administration, part 2

The concept of the Council (Hebrew: סוֹד, sôd) is one of the most important yet often overlooked themes in Scripture. It is especially relevant to the jurisprudence of the Divine Council, because it describes the setting in which God reveals His decrees, deliberates His judgments, and commissions His servants.

From the standpoint of biblical jurisprudence, the sôd is not simply a gathering for fellowship; it is the constitutional council of the Kingdom. It is the place where divine decrees are disclosed, judicial decisions are affirmed, prophetic commissions are issued, and governmental authority is delegated. The prophets were credible because they had “stood in the council of the Lord” (Jeremiah 23:18, 22).

The heavenly council therefore becomes the model for the administration of all righteous government on earth. Just as earthly judges sat in God’s name, the heavenly Council sits under the authority of God’s throne, administering His will through lawful deliberation and delegated authority. This provides an essential bridge between the throne scenes of Daniel 7 and Revelation 20 and the practical administration of God’s Kingdom through those whom He appoints to share in His judgment.

The Meaning of Sôd

The Hebrew noun סוֹד (sôd) has a range of meanings: council, confidential assembly, intimate circle, secret counsel, and deliberative body. The basic idea is a gathering in which confidential matters are discussed among trusted participants. It does not refer merely to a “secret” in the abstract but to the assembly in which the secret is shared.

This explains why many modern translations render the same word differently according to context. All are legitimate translations of sôd.

God’s Heavenly Council

One of the clearest texts is Jeremiah 23:18, where the prophet asks:

¹⁸ But who has stood in the council [sôd] of the Lord, that he should see and hear His word? Who has given heed to His word and listened?

The true prophet is distinguished from the false prophet by one qualification: He has stood in the sôd of Yahweh. The prophet is admitted into the divine council, hears God’s deliberations, and then announces those decrees to the people. Jeremiah repeats the idea in verse 22:

²² But if they had stood in My council [sôd], then they would have announced My words to My people.

This is perhaps the clearest definition of the prophetic office in the Old Testament. At the same time, it is unclear if prophets are or are not the only people who can participate in the Council. My own opinion is that all true prophets are allowed to attend Council meetings, depending on the message that is necessary for them to hear; but not all participants are prophets. In fact, Council meetings also include angels, so it is not exclusively for prophets.

Amos 3:7 is perhaps the best-known passage:

⁷ Surely the Lord God does nothing unless He reveals His secret [sôd] to His servants the prophets.

The verse does not merely mean that God tells prophets private information. Rather, it pictures God first determining His course of action in His Council with their participation (agreement). In Psalm 25:14 David writes:

¹⁴ The secret [sôd] of the Lord is for those who fear Him, and He will make them know His covenant.

Again, sôd means more than hidden information. It denotes admission into God’s confidential fellowship. Furthermore, David’s emphasis on knowing “His covenant” suggests that a key qualification of Council members is to know the different purposes and applications of the two covenants. In other words, those who study the word through Old Covenant eyes alone are not privy to the “secret” of the Lord—at least not yet.

The same concept appears in Job. In Job 29:4, he laments:

⁴ As I was in the prime of my days, when the friendship [sôd] of God was over my tent.

Job seems to have participated in a Council meeting that appeared in the spirit over his tent. The wording itself denotes more than “friendship.” It is pictured as a Council of friends—those who are in agreement with God. In other words, they are not mere Pentecostals learning obedience; they have caught the vision of the feast of Tabernacles.

Other translations render sôd here as “secret of God” (KJV), “friendly counsel of God” (NKJV), “intimate friendship” (NIV), or “intimate counsel” (LSB). The image is that Job once enjoyed intimate access to God's council.

The Council and the Prophets

The prophets consistently function as members—or at least commissioned messengers—of the heavenly council. Consider 1 Kings 22:19-23, where the prophet Micaiah says,

¹⁹ I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by Him on His right and on His left. ²⁰ The Lord said, “Who will entice Ahab to go up and fail at Ramoth-gilead?” And one said this while another said that. ²¹ Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord and said, “I will entice him.” ²² The Lord said to him, “How?” And he said, “I will go out and be a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.” Then He said, “You are to entice him and also prevail. Go and do this. ²³ Now therefore, behold, the Lord has put a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; and the Lord has proclaimed disaster against you.”

This is not merely a vision of heaven; it is a meeting of the Divine Council. The prophet heard the secret plan of God that would bring about the death of Israel’s King Ahab on account of his murder of Naboth and the theft of his vineyard. Recall that Elijah had confronted him, and Ahab had “humbled himself” (1 Kings 21:29). His humbling had delayed judgment for three years, probably to give him time to fully repent by paying restitution and returning the vineyard to Naboth’s family.

However, he failed to fully repent, so a Divine Council was held to determine the manner of Ahab’s judgment. Micaiah was a Council member and was therefore privy to the divine plan to induce Ahab into a reckless war with Syria. His prophets were all deceived by the lying spirit that God sent upon them, and as a consequence, Ahab was killed (1 Kings 22:34, 35).

Incidentally, Josephus writes in Antiquities of the Jews, 8.15.5,

“And when they sought to kill Ahab alone, but could not find him, there was a young nobleman belonging to King Benhadad, whose name was Naaman; he drew his bow against the enemy, and wounded the king through his breastplate, in his lungs... he sat in his chariot... till sunset, and then he... died.”

We discover later (in 2 Kings 5:1) that Naaman was promoted to “captain” of the Syrian army, no doubt to honor him for killing Ahab. Unfortunately, he soon contracted leprosy. But a 12-year-old Israelite girl that he had taken captive advised him to seek out Elisha for healing. God used Naaman, not only to bring judgment on Ahab, but also to illustrate the law of cleansing for lepers (Numbers 14) and how it foreshadowed the second work of Christ in our time.

In Isaiah 6, the prophet saw God on His throne and received instruction for his prophetic ministry. In Zechariah 3:1 the prophet was taken into the Council where he saw Joshua the high priest being confronted (accused) by Satan. Satan, of course, is the Prosecutor in the Divine Court, whose function is to point out every sin in order to show why they are disqualified. Hence, he is allowed to present his opposing case in the Council.

This scene is similar to what we see in Job 2:1,

¹ Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the Lord.

The Council members here are called “the sons of God.” The term seems to include both men and angels. All portray heavenly judicial or governmental assemblies.

The Council and the Throne

One observation is especially important. The Council always gathers around the throne. The throne establishes sovereignty; the council administers that sovereignty. Daniel 7:9, 10 illustrates this beautifully. First, “Thrones were set up.” Then, “The Ancient of Days took His seat.” Finally, “The court sat.” Thus, the throne, Council, and court form one governmental structure.

The throne without the Council would suggest monarchy alone. The Council without the throne would lack sovereign authority. Together they portray God's Kingdom as both sovereign and judicial.

The Council and the Kingdom

One remarkable feature of Scripture is that God rarely acts in isolation. He certainly possesses absolute authority, yet He repeatedly chooses to govern through councils, witnesses, messengers, judges, elders, prophets, and priests.

This pattern appears on earth as well as in heaven. Moses appointed seventy elders. The Sanhedrin was called “The Council” (Luke 23:50; Acts 5:21). These should have been able to hear and agree with the will of God from the throne, but they were of an Old Covenant mindset, having little or no revelation of the New Covenant.

Later, the apostles formed the first Church Council in Acts 15. Unfortunately, Church Councils in later years reverted back to Old Covenant thinking and methods, being little better than the Jewish Council (Sanhedrin). Yet these carnal Councils did not negate the true Council of God, which continued to function alongside the carnal versions.

The twenty-four elders surround the throne in Revelation. Government throughout Scripture is corporate without ever diminishing God's ultimate sovereignty.