Heiser was a treasure. He spoke Evangelical Suspicion as a native tongue and was thus able to translate high quality Biblical scholarship for an audience that might otherwise reject such things out of hand. I’m very grateful for his good work.
I enjoyed reading The Unseen Realm, Heiser is a solid scholar. In my own theological pondering it left me with one overarching question. One of your comments on Heisier leaves me with the same question.
You note… “His area of expertise was explaining the “unseen realm” as presented in the Old and New Testaments, a subject of vital importance for the genuine understanding of both Christian and Jewish thought.”
My questions is this.
His book, brilliantly unpacks the unseen realm as presented in the Old and New Testaments, essential in helping us understand Christian and Jewish thought, but is this in fact the nature / reality / actuality of the unseen realm?
Another way of phrasing it, perhaps more with the OT in mind.
Does Scripture simply reflect a Jewish perspective on the unseen realm, or, does Scripture teach us what the unseen realm is actually like?
I don't think it's either/or but both/and. As Heiser also says, the "unseen realm" can only be communicated in terms that are understandable to us. The reality of the spiritual world exceeds our limited concepts and imaginings (a limitation imposed, I believe, as a consequence of "sin" -- or "going off-course" and "missing the mark," which the word "sin" means). Here -- as elsewhere -- we have to adopt something of an apophatic approach: it is "true" but not "true enough"; the reality is deeper and incomprehensible to us in our present condition. Like the Scriptures (through which God condescends to speak to us within the constrictions of human language), these concepts are given to us in "baby talk." Heiser also rightly says that the biblical view is not in stark contrast with that of other cultures (a reader of, say, Joseph Campbell or any of the other important mythologists in contemporary times will know that strikingly similar ideas concerning the spiritual world are, with variations, universal -- even when, say, the Hebrew perspective clashes with that of other ancient Near Eastern neighbors).
Basically, then, I take the view -- which is a typically Orthodox one, incidentally -- that we should accept the truth of the supernaturalism of the Scriptures and Christian Tradition (and the Hebrew tradition). I certainly believe, for example, in the reality of the demonic, angelic, and spiritual realm. But we understand it with a mixture of caution and humility. In other words, there's wisdom in the words of Jude 8 and 9 that we might do well to "translate" into our own situations.
Thank you, Addison, for this information. I’ve thought a lot about why it is that the typical evangelical-how I was raised—flushes out the spiritual world so thoroughly. It seemed to me that they unwittingly bought into so much enlightenment thinking and modern natural science that it was thought “more up to date” to believe that there was God, the basically empty universe, the planet earth, and human beings—everything else redundant to have a spiritual life. The theological mud puddle I played in had room for little else but the Bible, the “Four Spiritual Laws” Sunday church services and “private devotions. And then there’s the actual Bible which I started reading at a young age and basically kept reading floating over any verses that talked about gods, spiritual orders, bad acting daimons. Listening to these lectures only confirmed what’s been a growing understanding after starting to read St Dionysus’ Celestial Hierarchies in grad school. Thank you for more enlightenment in this area.
Heiser was a treasure. He spoke Evangelical Suspicion as a native tongue and was thus able to translate high quality Biblical scholarship for an audience that might otherwise reject such things out of hand. I’m very grateful for his good work.
I'm really enjoying the videos. Thanks for sharing. I love the guy in the audience who keeps affirming: "That's right!"
Looking forward to your post.
I enjoyed reading The Unseen Realm, Heiser is a solid scholar. In my own theological pondering it left me with one overarching question. One of your comments on Heisier leaves me with the same question.
You note… “His area of expertise was explaining the “unseen realm” as presented in the Old and New Testaments, a subject of vital importance for the genuine understanding of both Christian and Jewish thought.”
My questions is this.
His book, brilliantly unpacks the unseen realm as presented in the Old and New Testaments, essential in helping us understand Christian and Jewish thought, but is this in fact the nature / reality / actuality of the unseen realm?
Another way of phrasing it, perhaps more with the OT in mind.
Does Scripture simply reflect a Jewish perspective on the unseen realm, or, does Scripture teach us what the unseen realm is actually like?
I don't think it's either/or but both/and. As Heiser also says, the "unseen realm" can only be communicated in terms that are understandable to us. The reality of the spiritual world exceeds our limited concepts and imaginings (a limitation imposed, I believe, as a consequence of "sin" -- or "going off-course" and "missing the mark," which the word "sin" means). Here -- as elsewhere -- we have to adopt something of an apophatic approach: it is "true" but not "true enough"; the reality is deeper and incomprehensible to us in our present condition. Like the Scriptures (through which God condescends to speak to us within the constrictions of human language), these concepts are given to us in "baby talk." Heiser also rightly says that the biblical view is not in stark contrast with that of other cultures (a reader of, say, Joseph Campbell or any of the other important mythologists in contemporary times will know that strikingly similar ideas concerning the spiritual world are, with variations, universal -- even when, say, the Hebrew perspective clashes with that of other ancient Near Eastern neighbors).
Basically, then, I take the view -- which is a typically Orthodox one, incidentally -- that we should accept the truth of the supernaturalism of the Scriptures and Christian Tradition (and the Hebrew tradition). I certainly believe, for example, in the reality of the demonic, angelic, and spiritual realm. But we understand it with a mixture of caution and humility. In other words, there's wisdom in the words of Jude 8 and 9 that we might do well to "translate" into our own situations.
Nicely put. Thanks
Thank you, Addison, for this information. I’ve thought a lot about why it is that the typical evangelical-how I was raised—flushes out the spiritual world so thoroughly. It seemed to me that they unwittingly bought into so much enlightenment thinking and modern natural science that it was thought “more up to date” to believe that there was God, the basically empty universe, the planet earth, and human beings—everything else redundant to have a spiritual life. The theological mud puddle I played in had room for little else but the Bible, the “Four Spiritual Laws” Sunday church services and “private devotions. And then there’s the actual Bible which I started reading at a young age and basically kept reading floating over any verses that talked about gods, spiritual orders, bad acting daimons. Listening to these lectures only confirmed what’s been a growing understanding after starting to read St Dionysus’ Celestial Hierarchies in grad school. Thank you for more enlightenment in this area.
thanks for the recs as always
https://catalog.awkngschooloftheology.com/collections?q=heiser&page=1
I was a student of Dr. Heiser, in the first cohort at AWKNG... https://awkng.com/online-bible-study-courses/unseen-realm/
The Unseen Realm (Expanded Edition): Discovering the Supernatural World of the Bible Hardcover – October 1, 2025
https://amzn.to/3ENFdx7
I'm very much looking forward to the expanded edition. It appears to have something along the lines of 200 more pages of research than the original.