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.”
The Unseen Realm
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About this item
In The Unseen Realm, Dr. Michael Heiser examines the ancient context of scripture, explaining how its supernatural worldview can help us grow in our understanding of God. He illuminates intriguing and amazing passages of the Bible that have been hiding in plain sight. You'll find yourself engaged in an enthusiastic pursuit of the truth, resulting in a new appreciation for God's word.
- Why wasn't Eve surprised when the serpent spoke to her?
- How did descendants of the Nephilim survive the flood?
- Why did Jacob fuse Yahweh and his angel together in his prayer?
- Who are the assembly of divine beings that God presides over?
- In what way do those beings participate in God's decisions?
- Why do Peter and Jude promote belief in imprisoned spirits?
- Why does Paul describe evil spirits in terms of geographical rulership?
- Who are the glorious ones that even angels dare not rebuke?
After listening to this book, you may never read your Bible the same way again.
There is a world referred to in the scripture that is quite unseen, but also quite present and active. Michael Heiser's The Unseen Realm seeks to unmask this world. Heiser shows how important it is to understand this world and appreciate how its contribution helps to make sense of scripture. The book is clear and well done, treating many ideas and themes that often go unseen themselves. With this book, such themes will no longer be neglected, so listen to it and discover a new realm for reflection about what scripture teaches.
Top reviews from the United States
Michael C. Boling5.0 out of 5 stars
A Truly Important and Excellent Book
Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2015
George P. Wood5.0 out of 5 stars
A Thick Description of Biblical Supernaturalism
Reviewed in the United States on November 13, 2015
The Bible both assumes and articulates a supernatural worldview. From the “In the beginning” of Genesis to the “Amen” of Revelation, mention of God and divine action is heard on each page. All Bible-believing Christians are thus supernaturalists.
Modernity assumes and articulates a worldview of naturalism. In this view worldview, reality is a closed nexus of material cause and effect. No God transcends this nexus nor intervenes within it.
Contemporary Bible-believing Christians thus feel the tension between their supernaturalist theological convictions and their naturalist cultural context. Desiring to minimize this tension, they offer a thin account of biblical supernaturalism, which retains belief in God and miracles but downplays other aspects of what Michael S. Heiser calls “the unseen realm.”
In The Unseen Realm, Heiser sets out to provide a thick description of biblical supernaturalism. He describes the “real focus” and “theological center” of the Bible in this way:
The story of the Bible is about God’s will for, and rule of, the realms he has created, visible and invisible, through the imagers he has created, human and nonhuman. This divine agenda is played out in both realms, in deliberate tandem.
Heiser is Scholar-in-Residence at Faithlife, the parent company of Logos Bible Software. He has an MA in Hebrew Studies and a PhD in Hebrew Bible and Semitic Languages from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The topic of his dissertation was, “The Divine Council in Late Canonical and Non-Canonical Second Temple Jewish Literature,” a topic of importance to the book.
Psalm 82:1 sparked Heiser’s interest in the unseen realm. “God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment…” (ESV). The English words God and gods translate the same Hebrew word, elohim. “The singular elohim of Israel presides over an assembly of elohim,” Heiser writes.
Heiser names this “ the ‘divine council worldview’ of the biblical writers,” which he explains this way:
This phrase and others like it refer to God’s rule over all things, visible or invisible, through his intelligent agents—his imagers—both human and nonhuman. Since…it was God’s original intention for humanity (and thus humanity’s original destiny) that they rule and reign with him as part of his heavenly nonhuman household, human affairs are encompassed in the divine council worldview. In biblical theology, there is a symbiosis of both realms, whether in loyal service to God, or in spiritual conflict in the wake of divine and human rebellion.”
In addition to the divine council worldview, Heiser writes about “the Deuteronomy 32 worldview,” also called “the cosmic-geographical worldview.”
The Old Testament…describes a world where cosmic-geographical lines have been drawn. Israel was holy ground because it was Yahweh’s “inheritance,” in the language of Deuteronomy 32:8–9. The territory of other nations belonged to other elohim because Yahweh had decreed it. Psalm 82 told us that these lesser elohim were corrupt. We aren’t told how the elohim Yahweh assigned to the nations became corrupt, only that they were. It is clear from Deuteronomy 4:19–20; 17:3; 29:25; and 32:17 that these elohim were illegitimate for Israelite worship.
The Unseen Realm traces these divine-council and cosmic-geography themes throughout Scripture, largely following the biblical narrative of creation, fall, redemption, and glorification.
Heiser uses this supernatural worldview to explain features of the biblical text that leave readers scratching their heads—for example, the Nephilim of Genesis 6:1–4, the “angel of the LORD” in the Pentateuch, the pattern of destruction in Joshua’s conquest of Caanan, the “prince of the kingdom of Persia” and “Michael” in Daniel 10, the “Son of Man” sayings in the Synoptic Gospels, Paul’s reference to “cosmic powers” and “spiritual forces” in Ephesians 6, the “harmagedon” (i.e., Armageddon) of Revelation 6, among many others.
In any book covering as much biblical territory as Heiser’s does, readers will find interpretations of specific passages they disagree with. Not everyone—neither scholar nor layperson—will agree with every jot and tittle of Heiser’s argument. Nonetheless, as a whole, Heiser’s thick description of the biblical worldview is both exegetically interesting and spiritually suggestive. The Unseen Realm is an eye-opening book. Once you see the Bible as Michael Heiser sees it, you will find it difficult to un-see it that way.
Two questions arise:
First, is Heiser suggesting that the biblical worldview is polytheistic? The answer is no. “When we see the word God,” Heiser writes, “we instinctively think of a divine being with a unique set of attributes—omnipresence, omnipotence, sovereignty, and so on. But this is not how a biblical writer thought about the term. Biblical authors did not assign a specific set of attributes to the word elohim.” Instead, “What all the figures on the list [of beings referred to in the Bible as elohim] have in common is that they are inhabitants of the spiritual world” (emphasis in original). Israel’s elohim—whose name is Yahweh—sits enthroned as sovereign over this divine council. “The Old Testament writers understood that Yahweh was an elohim—but no other elohim was Yahweh.”
If it helps you better understand Heiser’s point, think of the elohim (“gods”) as angels of varying ranks. Doing so reinforces the theological distinction between God and his spiritual creations. Unfortunately, given how many Christians think of angels (as fat little babies with wings), it minimizes the power Scripture attributes to those beings, as well as the depths of the conflict between God and the Church, on one side, and the fallen elohim on the other.
Which brings us to the second question: Is Heiser talking about strategic-level spiritual warfare? This practice, popular in some Pentecostal and charismatic circles, focuses on taking dominion over “territorial spirits” through prayer. My guess is that advocates of this form of spiritual warfare use Heiser’s research to buttress their distinctive practices.
If I read Heiser correctly, however, the answer once again is no. Heiser’s book explicates the divine council worldview in terms of mainstream biblical scholarship. It does not articulate a practical theology of spiritual warfare. At the outset of the book, in fact, Heiser agrees in part with the suspicion that “charismatic practices are detached from sound exegesis of Scripture.” He does not specify which practices he’s talking about. As a Pentecostal, I’d argue that at least some practices (e.g., speaking in tongues, contemporary prophecy) have explicit biblical warrant. I’d also argue, however, that strategic-level spiritual warfare doesn’t have biblical warrant, even if it is partially correct about territorial spirits.
The answer to these questions leads me to the following assessment of The Unseen Realm. It is an insightful book that has caused me to look at the Bible in a new way, one with tremendous explanatory power. But at a practical level, I’m not sure what to do with it. And beyond reading the Bible in its original context rather than our modern context, I’m not sure Heiser does either. What is needed is a practical theology of spiritual formation that incorporates legitimate insights about the Bible’s supernatural worldview without engaging in strategic-level spiritual warfare’s flights of exegetical fancy. The Unseen Realm is not that book—by authorial design, but it is still a thought-provoking book, well worth reading.
P.P.S. Heiser has penned a shorter paperback on the same topic. Check out Supernatural: What the Bible Teaches about the Unseen World and Why It Matters (Paperback | Kindle).
Modernity assumes and articulates a worldview of naturalism. In this view worldview, reality is a closed nexus of material cause and effect. No God transcends this nexus nor intervenes within it.
Contemporary Bible-believing Christians thus feel the tension between their supernaturalist theological convictions and their naturalist cultural context. Desiring to minimize this tension, they offer a thin account of biblical supernaturalism, which retains belief in God and miracles but downplays other aspects of what Michael S. Heiser calls “the unseen realm.”
In The Unseen Realm, Heiser sets out to provide a thick description of biblical supernaturalism. He describes the “real focus” and “theological center” of the Bible in this way:
The story of the Bible is about God’s will for, and rule of, the realms he has created, visible and invisible, through the imagers he has created, human and nonhuman. This divine agenda is played out in both realms, in deliberate tandem.
Heiser is Scholar-in-Residence at Faithlife, the parent company of Logos Bible Software. He has an MA in Hebrew Studies and a PhD in Hebrew Bible and Semitic Languages from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The topic of his dissertation was, “The Divine Council in Late Canonical and Non-Canonical Second Temple Jewish Literature,” a topic of importance to the book.
Psalm 82:1 sparked Heiser’s interest in the unseen realm. “God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment…” (ESV). The English words God and gods translate the same Hebrew word, elohim. “The singular elohim of Israel presides over an assembly of elohim,” Heiser writes.
Heiser names this “ the ‘divine council worldview’ of the biblical writers,” which he explains this way:
This phrase and others like it refer to God’s rule over all things, visible or invisible, through his intelligent agents—his imagers—both human and nonhuman. Since…it was God’s original intention for humanity (and thus humanity’s original destiny) that they rule and reign with him as part of his heavenly nonhuman household, human affairs are encompassed in the divine council worldview. In biblical theology, there is a symbiosis of both realms, whether in loyal service to God, or in spiritual conflict in the wake of divine and human rebellion.”
In addition to the divine council worldview, Heiser writes about “the Deuteronomy 32 worldview,” also called “the cosmic-geographical worldview.”
The Old Testament…describes a world where cosmic-geographical lines have been drawn. Israel was holy ground because it was Yahweh’s “inheritance,” in the language of Deuteronomy 32:8–9. The territory of other nations belonged to other elohim because Yahweh had decreed it. Psalm 82 told us that these lesser elohim were corrupt. We aren’t told how the elohim Yahweh assigned to the nations became corrupt, only that they were. It is clear from Deuteronomy 4:19–20; 17:3; 29:25; and 32:17 that these elohim were illegitimate for Israelite worship.
The Unseen Realm traces these divine-council and cosmic-geography themes throughout Scripture, largely following the biblical narrative of creation, fall, redemption, and glorification.
Heiser uses this supernatural worldview to explain features of the biblical text that leave readers scratching their heads—for example, the Nephilim of Genesis 6:1–4, the “angel of the LORD” in the Pentateuch, the pattern of destruction in Joshua’s conquest of Caanan, the “prince of the kingdom of Persia” and “Michael” in Daniel 10, the “Son of Man” sayings in the Synoptic Gospels, Paul’s reference to “cosmic powers” and “spiritual forces” in Ephesians 6, the “harmagedon” (i.e., Armageddon) of Revelation 6, among many others.
In any book covering as much biblical territory as Heiser’s does, readers will find interpretations of specific passages they disagree with. Not everyone—neither scholar nor layperson—will agree with every jot and tittle of Heiser’s argument. Nonetheless, as a whole, Heiser’s thick description of the biblical worldview is both exegetically interesting and spiritually suggestive. The Unseen Realm is an eye-opening book. Once you see the Bible as Michael Heiser sees it, you will find it difficult to un-see it that way.
Two questions arise:
First, is Heiser suggesting that the biblical worldview is polytheistic? The answer is no. “When we see the word God,” Heiser writes, “we instinctively think of a divine being with a unique set of attributes—omnipresence, omnipotence, sovereignty, and so on. But this is not how a biblical writer thought about the term. Biblical authors did not assign a specific set of attributes to the word elohim.” Instead, “What all the figures on the list [of beings referred to in the Bible as elohim] have in common is that they are inhabitants of the spiritual world” (emphasis in original). Israel’s elohim—whose name is Yahweh—sits enthroned as sovereign over this divine council. “The Old Testament writers understood that Yahweh was an elohim—but no other elohim was Yahweh.”
If it helps you better understand Heiser’s point, think of the elohim (“gods”) as angels of varying ranks. Doing so reinforces the theological distinction between God and his spiritual creations. Unfortunately, given how many Christians think of angels (as fat little babies with wings), it minimizes the power Scripture attributes to those beings, as well as the depths of the conflict between God and the Church, on one side, and the fallen elohim on the other.
Which brings us to the second question: Is Heiser talking about strategic-level spiritual warfare? This practice, popular in some Pentecostal and charismatic circles, focuses on taking dominion over “territorial spirits” through prayer. My guess is that advocates of this form of spiritual warfare use Heiser’s research to buttress their distinctive practices.
If I read Heiser correctly, however, the answer once again is no. Heiser’s book explicates the divine council worldview in terms of mainstream biblical scholarship. It does not articulate a practical theology of spiritual warfare. At the outset of the book, in fact, Heiser agrees in part with the suspicion that “charismatic practices are detached from sound exegesis of Scripture.” He does not specify which practices he’s talking about. As a Pentecostal, I’d argue that at least some practices (e.g., speaking in tongues, contemporary prophecy) have explicit biblical warrant. I’d also argue, however, that strategic-level spiritual warfare doesn’t have biblical warrant, even if it is partially correct about territorial spirits.
The answer to these questions leads me to the following assessment of The Unseen Realm. It is an insightful book that has caused me to look at the Bible in a new way, one with tremendous explanatory power. But at a practical level, I’m not sure what to do with it. And beyond reading the Bible in its original context rather than our modern context, I’m not sure Heiser does either. What is needed is a practical theology of spiritual formation that incorporates legitimate insights about the Bible’s supernatural worldview without engaging in strategic-level spiritual warfare’s flights of exegetical fancy. The Unseen Realm is not that book—by authorial design, but it is still a thought-provoking book, well worth reading.
P.P.S. Heiser has penned a shorter paperback on the same topic. Check out Supernatural: What the Bible Teaches about the Unseen World and Why It Matters (Paperback | Kindle).