3.5 ( )

This extensive work is almost unparalleled. His look into the cultural context of the ancient Hebrew text brings new light into today's understanding of the Bible. Eye-opening in expanding my knowledge base. ( )

LT The Unseen Realm, Michael S. Heiser, Lexham Press, 2015, 7/13-17/23
Given me by Steve Hamblen 5?/23, hard copy is at home by my desk in reference section?

Theme: “recovering the supernatural worldview of the Bible”
Type: systematic theology
Value: 1-
Age: college+
Interest: fairly good
Objectionable: much “intertextuality” imaginative tying together (not necessarily objectionable)
Synopsis/Noteworthy:

The divine council

This had been Cindy’s book, a gift from Drew! She had made notes (eg 248 questioning)
Spilled coffee at Hyatt Place 7/19/23 as I was reviewing (caught finger splint)

112-3 “let us”
223-4 location of tabernacle and ark
228 Eden-Sinai-tabernacle-temple
240 summary
241-2 no OT reference to dying and rising Savior
247 Adam needed children to carry on God’s purpose for mankind
268-70 the Name
280 first demon cast out was in NT none in OT
292 led captivity captive Eph 4
300 Table of Nations
334 outposts
385-7 good conclusion

Questions (Drew): 121, 155, 179, 233, 307, 310, 323, 329, 385!

Great Read on Angels & the Spiritual Realm to Strentch your mind (I read for free on "Hoopla" App)

The Unseen Realm
By Michael S. Heiser
Lexham Press, 2015
Hardcover, 413pp

"When you open your Bible, I want you to be able to see it like ancient Israelites or first-century Jews saw it, to perceive and consider it as they would have."

When it comes to Christian apologetics, C. S. Lewis's Mere Christianity is a household name. I believe this is because only Alvin Plantinga's Warranted Christian Belief is a worthy successor, but its analytical philosophy and advanced probabilities limit its audience. Textual analysis, on the other hand, seems to me to be a more fruitful application of Biblical criticism. In this vein, two books stand out: Chuck Missler's Cosmic Codes and John Piper's Reading the Bible Supernaturally. And now comes Michael C. Heiser's magnificent and deeply scholarly conception of the Bible based on what he calls the Deuteronomy 32 worldview. Beyond simply a conjectural synthesis of intriguing theories, Heiser's book is well-grounded in compelling logic and textual support for every proposition. Heiser's main goal is to remove the lenses through which the modern Westerner reads the Bible, and expose us to the view an ancient Israelite or first-century Jew would have had. For this, he roots the mythico-literary context in ancient texts of the Mesopotamian and reveals a layer of Hebrew polemics that threads the text. I thought I had a good grasp on the Hebrew-Christian Bible until I read this book. ( )