The Unseen Realm: Week 1; Reading Your Bible for the First Time

Introduction:

Good Evening!

I want to thank everyone for showing up tonight.

Over the next twelve weeks we are going to do a deep dive into what the Bible has to say about the Supernatural Realm.

What we are going over is the result of more than 15 years of academic study conducted by a man named Dr. Michael Heiser, who felt the call, push, and direction of the Holy Spirit.

Dr. Heiser was a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania (where he recieved his Masters in Ancient History) and a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison (where he recieved his Masters in Hebrew Bible, and Doctorate in Semitic Studies).

Dr. Heiser had more than a dozen years of classroom teaching experience as a college professor, and another ten years experience in teaching distance education.

From 2004-2019 Dr. Heiser worked as the Scholar-in-Residence for Logos Bible Software.

Dr. Heiser Passed away earlier last year, but during his life, he wrote several peer-reviewed papers, recieved several Academic Honors, and wrote several books both non-fiction and fiction.

I want everyone to know that, I deserve no credit for what you will learn in this course.

All I did, was follow where the Spirit led me, to this information, and then listened to the Spirit when it said “people need to know this”.

The very most that I contribute, is in ordering and structuring the information in this book so that it can be presented in a speech format and be easily understood.

To quote Dr. Heiser:

“I wish I could say that I was just smart enough to figure things out on my own. But in reality, even though I believe I was providentially prepared for the academic task I faced, there were times in the process when the best description I can give is that I was led to answers.”

-Dr. Michael Heiser, The Unseen Realm.

As we begin, I need to give you a bit of a warning, coupled with some encouragement.

There are a lot of presuppositions that all of us have when it comes to the supernatural realm.

Many of which are not found anywhere in the Biblical text.

Because of that, you are going to be brought, face-to-face, with some very challenging passages from the Bible.

Passages that simply do not align with our modern Christian tradition.

Some things are going to be difficult to get over.

Or difficult to comprehend.

Or difficult to accept.

However, what you learn here will NOT overturn any important Christian Doctrine.

Instead, it will bring clarity to EVERY Christian Doctrine.

I can personally tell you that the information Ill be presenting changed not just how I read and understand the Bible.

But also how I understand the world around me.

I'm confident that it will do the same for you.

Eliminating Our Filters

All of us are familiar with what a filter is.

Something we use to eliminate undesirable elements.

We use them in our cars, in our air conditioners, and even in our cooking.

Most people are probably not aware that we also use them in our reading of the Biblical text.

We view the Bible through the lens of what we know and whats familiar.

From your denominational background, to whatever translation of the Bible you prefer, to the teachings of your favorite pastors.

We compile all these different elements, and then look at the Biblical text through them.

But that presents us with a problem.

Our modern context is not the Biblical authors context.

According to Dr. Heiser:

“…It would be dishonest of us to claim that the Biblical writers read and understood the text the way we do as modern people, or intended meanings that conform to theological systems created centuries after the text was written. Our context is not their context. Seeing the Bible through the eyes of an ancient reader requires shedding the filters of our traditions and presumptions.”

-Dr. Michael Heiser, The Unseen Realm

In order to shed our filters.

We have a few obstacles to acknowledge and overcome:

1. We’ve been trained to think that the history of Christianity is the true context of the Bible.

The proper context for interpreting the Bible is the context of the Biblical writers.

That is, the context that PRODUCED the Bible.

Every other context is alien to the Biblical writers and, therefore, alien to the Bible.

That does not mean we should ignore our Christian forefathers.

Studying church history is great.

Augustine, and Luther, and Calvin have great things to say.

Milton's Paradise Lost, is a beautiful poem.

The Creeds for the Early Church dispel important theological ideas.

The Reformation and the Great Schism are fascinating parts of history.

But none of these writings are substitutes for the Biblical text.

Neither did they inspire the writing of the Biblical text.

God chose a certain people, with a certain worldview, at a certain time and place in history, to bring about His Word to us.

He did that for a reason.

2. We’ve been desensitized to the vitality and theological importance of the unseen world.

About half of the Christian world claims to believe in the supernatural, but then think and live like skeptics.

The believing church is bending under the weight of its own rationalism.

We find talk of the supernatural world uncomfortable.

For centuries we have kept the supernatural world at arms length.

We believe in the Godhead because there is no point to Christianity without it.

But, everything else is handled with a whisper or a chuckle.

The other half of the Christian world is actually predisposed to embrace the animate spiritual world.

However, their conception of that world is framed by elevating experience over Scripture.

Couple that with a primarily self focused reading of scripture and you have a recipe for disaster.

Assess these two groups as a whole and you find that:

“Modern Christianities view of the unseen world isn't framed by the ancient worldview of the Biblical writers. One segment wrongly consigns the invisible realm to the periphery of theological discussion. The other is so busy seeking some interaction with it that is has become unconcerned with its Biblical moorings, resulting in a caricature.”

-Dr. Michael Heiser, The Unseen Realm

If we want our theology to be accurate, we need to walk the fine line of embracing a supernatural world, while simultaneously weighing all reported experience against the Scriptures.

3. We assume that a lot of things in the Bible are too odd or peripheral to matter.

Lets be honest.

The Bible has a lot of weird things in it.

From a talking snake in the Garden of Eden, to the utter brain numbing insanity that is the book of Revelation.

Why is it that Naaman asks for dirt to worship YHWH in 2 Kings 5:17?

Is Aaron sacrificing a goat to both God and a demon in Leviticus 16:8?

What does it mean to be created in the image of God?

Who are the Nephilim in Genesis 6?

Why did God even put that tree in the Garden?

What does it mean that our body is a temple?

Does 1 Peter 3:19 teach that Jesus went to hell after he died?

Far to often, the way to handle bizarre passages, like the ones mentioned, is to strip them of everything that makes them bizarre.

With the goal of providing the most ordinary, comfortable interpretation possible.

Sometimes we will just skip over odd parts, ignoring them entirely because they are just too strange.

I want to give you a good rule of thumb.

If its weird, its probably important.

Seeing the Mosaic

My goal in preparing this course, is the same as Dr. Heiser’s goal in writing this book.

When you open your Bible, I want you to see it the way an ancient Israelite or a first-century Jew would have seen it.

I want you to understand it, the way they would have understood it.

I want THEIR supernatural worldview locked into YOUR head.

The first step in doing that, is to show you what the Bible actually is.

The Bible is not just a bunch of facts.

Neither is it a scientific textbook.

Or bits and pieces of scattered data.

The Bible is a theological and literary mosaic.

In that mosaic, there is the triune God and humans, but there is also a more numerous cast.

Angels and demons are not the only other spiritual beings you will find in the scriptures.

Now, the thing about a mosaic is that you cannot see the pattern if you are only focused on just a few of the pieces.

You have to step back from the individual pieces and view the picture as a whole before it can make any sense.

You have to see the whole mosaic of Biblical theology, and when you do, it will give coherence to the individual pieces of the Bible.

In essence, if your understanding of a Biblical passage is contradicted by a different Biblical passage, then its your understanding, not the text, that is wrong.

Its time to demand that creeds and traditions get in line behind the Biblical text.

For us to read our Bibles again, for the first time, with unfiltered eyes.

And so, its time for the first, and probably most extreme, filter shredding, hard to accept passage of scripture.

Psalm 82, The Divine Council

Unless otherwise noted, all passages of Scripture will be taken from the NET translation.

If you have questions pertaining to Bible translations, feel free to ask at the end of the night.

The NET Bible (Second Edition) Psalm 82

1 God stands in the assembly of El;

in the midst of the gods he renders judgment.

If you were raised in the church, like I was, this small passage presents a small problem.

The singular God, our God, stands in his assembly.

And, in the presence of gods, He renders judgement.

The Hebrew word translated “God” and “gods” is “Elohim”.

The word “elohim” can be singular or plural, depending on the words around it.

Like our English word sheep.

According to Hebrew grammar, you cannot be “in the midst” of just one.

We all know who the singular “elohim” is here.

Our God, YHWH.

The question is: Who, or what are are these plural elohim? The gods.

You may say, these gods are human rulers or judges.

Or, maybe this is God addressing the Trinity.

And there’s also the chance that these are just Idols, not actual beings.

Lets read the whole Psalm, and see if we can figure it out.

The NET Bible (Second Edition) Psalm 82

82:title A psalm of Asaph.

1 God stands in the assembly of El;

in the midst of the gods he renders judgment.

2 He says, “How long will you make unjust legal decisions

and show favoritism to the wicked?

(Selah)

3 Defend the cause of the poor and the fatherless.

Vindicate the oppressed and suffering.

4 Rescue the poor and needy.

Deliver them from the power of the wicked.

5 They neither know nor understand.

They stumble around in the dark,

while all the foundations of the earth crumble.

6 I thought, ‘You are gods;

all of you are sons of the Most High.’

7 Yet you will die like mortals;

you will fall like all the other rulers.”

8 Rise up, O God, and execute judgment on the earth!

For you own all the nations.

Well, we can see that God is berating and pronouncing judgement on these other gods for not being just.

So that rules out the Trinity.

The judgement God pronounces is that these gods will “die like mortals.”

Idols aren't alive, they are just stone or wood carvings. Therefore these cant just be idols, otherwise Gods judgement on them is meaningless.

Now, many people are convinced that these gods are just human rulers.

But there are a few problems with that reasoning:

First, similar to the idol problem, the judgement God pronounces is that they will “die LIKE mortals.” As mortals, we die. If these are just human rulers then, just like the idols, Gods judgement on them is meaningless.

And second, we see descriptions of a council similar to the one given here throughout scripture, except they seem to take place in the sky and are void of any human involvement.

So we are left with only one real choice.

The most literal reading.

And so, we a slapped in the face by the Biblical text.

Our God, YHWH, is not the only god that exists.

YHWH presides over a pantheon of other gods.

Now, I'm sure some of you are probably thinking that I'm a heretic for saying that.

But, before you storm out, or decide not to show up next Sunday, let me explain.

The existence of other gods, does not at all affect traditional Monotheism.

Neither does it detract from the sovereignty of our God.

The problem for us, is that we have been trained to ascribe certain unique attributes to the word “god”, but an ancient Israelite would not have seen it that way.

Qualities like omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence did not belong to every god, but were rather unique to YHWH and only Him.

I want us to look at Deuteronomy 10:14 so we man further explore this point:

The NET Bible (Second Edition) Chapter 10

14 The heavens—indeed the highest heavens—belong to the LORD your God, as does the earth and everything in it.

15 However, only to your ancestors did he show his loving favor, and he chose you, their descendants, from all peoples—as is apparent today.

16 Therefore, cleanse your heart and stop being so stubborn!

17 For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, mighty, and awesome God who is unbiased and takes no bribe,

18 who justly treats the orphan and widow, and who loves resident foreigners, giving them food and clothing.

19 So you must love the resident foreigner because you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

20 Revere the LORD your God, serve him, be loyal to him, and take oaths only in his name.

21 He is the one you should praise; he is your God, the one who has done these great and awesome things for you that you have seen.

In verse 14 we are told that the heavens and the earth belong to YHWH and only Him.

Then in verse 17 we are told that “the LORD (YHWH) your God (Elohim) is God (Elohei) of gods (ha’Elohim) and Lord (Adonai) of lords (ha’adonim)...”

To the ancient Israelite, YHWH is God over the gods.

He is God to the other gods.

The Hebrew word “elohim” indicates a type of being.

Any disembodied spirit would be an elohim.