The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible

There are some books that come along that truly grab my attention. Be it the subject matter or simply the quality of writing, these attention grabbers more often than not leave a lasting impression upon the reader. In the world of theology, there are some topics that while important, seem to be avoided. So to come across a book that grabs my attention while at the same time digs in with salient theological aptitude not only a subject of great importance but also something that has greatly interested of me of late is shall we say a veritable treat. Dr. Michael Heiser’s latest effort The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible fits the aforementioned description of an attention grabber and a theological powerhouse of a book. Let me explain why I can make such a statement.Scripture is full of terms, events, and concepts that are often either overlooked or misunderstood. This is typically because the underlying purpose of those terms, events, and concepts can be lost in the proverbial shuffle of the high level action of the text in question. Furthermore, there is the temptation to set aside what can be termed as the spiritual undercurrents of events in Scripture. Perhaps this is due to the tendency of some to spiritualize everything with the opposite extreme being that of looking at everything at the most literal level possible to avoid spiritualization. Arguably, a more overarching reason for this approach is the reality that we often view the Bible and its contents from a modern perspective.In his excellent book, Dr. Heiser seeks to reorient the reader to the important underlying currents found throughout Scripture, most notably the concept of the divine council and the truly fundamental element of all of Scripture, that of redemption, specifically the movement of a return to Eden and the spiritual battle that ensues as God’s divine plan is unfolded.Heiser aptly notes at the beginning of his book something that sets the stage for how to grasp what he is about to discuss. He rightly notes:“We talk a lot about interpreting the Bible in context, but Christian history is not the context of the biblical writers. The proper context for interpreting the Bible is not Augustine or any other church father. It is not the Catholic Church. It is not the rabbinic movements of late antiquity and the Middle Ages. It is not the Reformation or the Puritans. It is not evangelicalism in any of its flavors. It is not the modern world at all, or any period of its history. The proper context for interpreting the Bible is the context of the biblical writers—the context that produced the Bible. Every other context is alien to the biblical writers and, therefore, to the Bible. Yet there is a pervasive tendency in the believing Church to filter the Bible through creeds, confessions, and denominational preferences.”This lengthy quote is of great importance given Heiser’s efforts to share with the reader how to view the events of Scripture which form the locus of his discussion from the perspective of the biblical authors and those who lived in that period of history. It is a bit of a paradigm shift for most and a necessary one. Those who put on the correct biblical glasses will begin to see the truly interesting mosaic of activity taking place all though the pages of Scripture.While Dr. Heiser is certainly an accomplished biblical scholar, this book, while very deep in content, is not a difficult read. It is a fun mix of a book that you want to race through because you are excited for what will be presented next and a book that deserves several additional reads in order to fully dig into all the material and concepts. Having spent some time of late reading about subjects such as the Nephilim, Mount Hermon, redemption as it relates to a return to Eden, and having some familiarity and background with the battle between the seeds, I found myself having several additional connections made by Heiser in regards to these issues and how they play out in Scripture.In order to grasp this idea of what is going on behind the scenes in Scripture and history for that matter, it is an absolute necessity to begin in Genesis and then to walk the progression of through all the way to Revelation. If one skips over sections or does not take the time to see how the Old Testament and New Testament are revealing the movement of God in history to restore that which was lost due to sin, then misunderstandings and confusions will ensue. Heiser does a marvelous job throughout this book of tying together key words and concepts that are more often than not overlooked. His insight into the original biblical languages is clearly evident and throughout this book I was amazed at the numerous connections in the biblical corpus and drama that I had overlooked or had not realized were right there before my eyes.Believers often quote passages such as Ephesians 6:12 which notes the reality of the warfare for which we are engaged. What is arguably overlooked is how this battle has played out in history. Heiser outlines the repeated polemic presented by God in Scripture against those rules of darkness. Some of those polemics might be more familiar than others. For instance, most likely understand the plagues poured out on Egypt were a display of God’s power and authority over the gods of Egypt. Dig a little further and you will also realize as noted by Heiser that “The reason for Israel’s circumstances was that it wasn’t sufficient that only Israel new Yahweh was Most High among all gods, and that Israel was his portion. The other nations had to know that as well. Scripture makes it clear that Israel’s deliverance had that effect.”The conquering of Canaan was also a polemic, this time against the Nephilim. Heiser does a great job of nothing the failure of the Sethite view in relation to the Nephilim, thus providing the reader for the proper backdrop of why God commanded Israel to completely wipe out much of the inhabitants of the Promised Land. God was asserting his rule through His chosen people. Unfortunately, as the story unfolds in the history of Israel, failure to fulfill God’s mandate ensued. Heiser properly walks the reader through why God called the prophets and why they were more than just tellers of the future. They were setting the stage for the coming of the messiah.Heiser concludes this important book by noting the spiritual war brought directly to earth by the coming of Jesus. One of the most interesting elements of the New Testament discussion was that of Heiser’s description of the baptism of Jesus. Many wonder why Jesus was baptized. While many have presented some valid submissions, one element is often missed to which Heiser aptly digs into. Once again, word usage and connections to Old Testament events are in focus. Mark 9:10 describes the heavens being split apart and the Spirit of God descending on Jesus like a dove with God noting Jesus as His beloved Son. There is much to note in that verse; however, Heiser hones in on the word split noting the Greek word schizo is used in that passage, the same word used in the Septuagint for the parting of the Red Sea. Why is this so important? It is vital as Heiser notes because just as the entrance into the Promised Land through the parting of the Red Sea was God doing battle and reclamation, so to was the coming of Jesus as the God-man to earth. His baptism was immediately followed by him doing battle against the enemy as the beloved, a specific reference to Jesus as “the king, the legitimate her to David’s throne.”I could go on and on noting the plethora of insights provided by Heiser throughout this book. Suffice it to say, these few examples are merely the tip of the iceberg as to the extremely interesting and truly important issues Heiser examines in this book. Reading it resulted in a number of light bulb moments for me and I anticipate returning to this work a number of times in the future to examine in further detail various issues that are discussed. Thus I can highly recommend this book and I also recommend those who read this book take the time to check out the companion website located at http://www.moreunseenrealm.com for additional insight into several key topics that Dr. Heiser was able to only brush upon at times in this book. I have read a number of books this year and I can honestly state thus far, The Unseen Realm resides at the top of my list of recommended books for 2015.I received this book for free from Lexham Press and the opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Psalm 82God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment.That was the Bible chapter that started the journey for author and scholar, Michael Heiser. He describes in his book that he had come from a traditional Evangelical background, so the notion of there being other "gods" beside Yahweh was anathema. Monotheism means there is only one God, right?But as he sought to understand what it all meant, it opened up a whole new world of theological messaging that reveals the supernatural worldview of the Bible.And that is what this book did for me. I dedicated my bestselling Biblical Fantasy series first novel, Noah Primeval to Michael Heiser because this theological messaging helped open my eyes to my own modern Christian ignorance of the ancient Near Eastern background of the Bible. Like Elisha's servant opening his eyes to see the myriad of heavenly host surrounding the valley, so I now saw God's heavenly host as part of a storyline of redemption that traditional Evangelicalism has missed or misunderstood because of its obsession with modern categories and hermeneutics when interpreting the Bible. (Full disclosure: I now know Michael Heiser personally after reading an early draft of the book)Heiser lays out a Biblically strong argument that can be read and understood by laity. What is so cool is that it is not just an argument, it is a story. He is clear, concise, and very readable without falling into that trap of abstraction and dry prose that many scholars fall into.But make no mistake, Heiser is a scholar. His emphasis is in the fields of Biblical Studies and the Ancient Near East. He is published widely in scholarly journals and even has online courses in Hebrew, Greek, Ugaritic (the language of ancient Canaan) Akkadian, Egyptian and Aramaic. This scholarly dude has academic bona fides and he cannot be dismissed. Which is why I think this book will be a game-changer in Evangelical theology. Read it, and you'll be on the crest of an exciting wave of fresh understanding of the Scriptures.Heiser avoids both extremes of conservative hyper-literalism and liberal critical demythologizing. He seeks to interpret the text within its ancient Near Eastern context rather than the modern one, which is where both conservative and liberal scholars fail.Here are just a few of the amazing discoveries you will encounter when reading the book...The Divine CouncilPsalm 89:6–7For who in the skies can be compared to the Lord? Who among the gods is like the Lord, a God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones, and awesome above all who are around him?God is surrounded by a myriad of heavenly host who are called by many names, like, "gods, "Sons of God," "Holy Ones," and "divine council." They are not merely "angels" floating around his throne, they are divine beings. Yes, divinity in the Bible is not the exclusive prerogative of Yahweh, and it isn't the same thing as Mormons think either. And these heavenly host have more to do than merely singing "glory" and shining up the place with their bronze-like brightness. They counsel with God (Job 1, 2) and perform tasks appointed by God (1Kings 22), they mediate the Law of God to man (Galatians 3:19 ), perform as witnesses to God's covenants and curses (Deut 33:1-4; Zech 2-3), and engage in heavenly wars (Daniel 10). There is so much more to these divine beings than meets the casual Bible reader's eye.Sons of God and the NephilimGenesis 6:4The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.Okay, this is where a lot of popular Bible teaching gets goofy. But not Heiser. He deftly proves that the Sons of God were not human, but supernatural divine beings from God's heavenly host, who fell to earth in rebellion and produced diabolical progeny of giants called Nephilim. Yes, giants, NOT merely human "fallen ones."This is not some Ancient Aliens mythology, nor is it the sensationalist version that many Christian Nephilim Nuts are teaching. There is a reason for it all, and it has to do with the war between the Seed of the Serpent and the messianic Seed of Eve (Gen. 3:15). And it comes into play many other times in the Old Testament. Many western readers miss it because of our modernist cultural prejudice.The Divine AllotmentDeuteronomy 32:8–9When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind, he fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God. But the Lord’s portion is his people, Jacob his allotted heritage.At the Tower of Babel, God "gave over" the godless to their idols (Romans 1). he placed them under the authority of fallen Sons of God. They are allotted as an inheritance. Each pagan nation is ruled over by these territorial "principalities and powers" who own the deeds to their lands (Daniel 10; Col 2:15; Eph. 6:12). It's like these fallen gods of the nations are linked to their earthly counterparts of authority, so that whatever happens on earth happens in heaven (Matt 6:10; Dan 10).When Messiah came, he disinherited the gods and took all the "land deeds" to the nations back, drawing people into the Kingdom of God from every tribe and nation.Return of the GiantsJoshua 11:21–22And Joshua came at that time and cut off the Anakim [giants] from all the hill country of Israel. Joshua devoted them to destruction with their cities. There was none of the Anakim [giants] left in the land of the people of Israel.So, those giants of Genesis 6 were not a myth or a strange anomaly. They were part of the war of the Seed of the Serpent with the Seed of Eve. And Joshua's Holy Wars now make more sense because the Anakim giants in the land of Israel (as well as other giant clans) came from the original Nephilim giants of Genesis 6 (Numbers 13:32-33). There is more going on here than merely strange beings showing up arbitrarily in the Bible. And by the way, it says Joshua actually left some in the land of Philistia, you know, that place from whence came the most famous giant of all, Goliath, whom the Messiah King David would slay, along with the last of the Rephaim giant warriors in the land. But there is so much more to it than that. More giants, more Nephilim. We've just missed them because we didn't read the text closely enough, or in it's original context.The New Sons of GodGalatians 4:4–7But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.Christians are "in Christ," and as such, we have been legally adopted as sons of God, to be one day historically glorified or transformed to be like Christ, the Unique Son of God (1John 3:2). And we will inherit the earth, that which the fallen Sons of God had lost through their failure to rule (Psalm 82). Christ now inherits all the earth, and we inherit with Him and in Him -- in place of those original Sons of God.So Much MoreWow, and believe me, that is only the tip of the ziggurat of all the amazing spiritual truths and theological storyline that Heiser uncovers in Scripture. This Divine Council worldview finally makes sense of so many of the bizarre passages in the Bible that used to seem like strange oddities we would never understand, relics of an ancient world. The Unseen Realm makes the storyline of God's family inheritance and victory over evil come alive like nothing I've read before.The Unseen Realm is not your mamby pamby "Christian Living" book with six steps to success and how to live a happy talk Christian walk. It's not a Pietistic book of formulas to manufacture subjective spiritual experiences. It's not an alternative Christian conspiracy theory to pull you away from the Gospel. This is gritty in-depth Biblical study that opens up the work of God to your mind, heart and soul with fresh excitement and wonder of His glorious mysterious ways.