Michael Heiser
The greatest contribution of his work to the Christian faith can be summarized as the reclamation of the supernatural worldview of the Bible and its profound implications for the identity, destiny, and mission of the believer, thereby providing a more coherent understanding of the biblical metanarrative.
1. Restoring the Biblical Supernatural Worldview and Divine Plurality
A fundamental contribution is the emphasis on understanding the Bible within the ancient Near Eastern worldview of its authors. This involves showing Christians that they do not need to fear or deny the concept of "divine plurality"—the use of the word elohim to refer to real, albeit lesser, divine beings who desire human worship. This understanding is crucial because presuming the unseen world described in Scripture is real necessitates thinking differently about theology.
2. Defining the Believer's Identity and Destiny
His work centers the biblical story around the concepts of identity and purpose. The core contribution to Christian identity is clarifying that believers are adopted into God's family, meaning Jesus is our brother. This adoption results in believers becoming the sons and daughters of God, members of a re-fashioned divine council.
This identity points to the believer's final destiny, often described as glorification or theosis. The New Testament expectation is that Christ's mortal followers will become divine, sharing the divine nature, a concept derived directly from the divine council worldview. Jesus, having been perfected through suffering, is leading "many sons to glory" and is not ashamed to call them brothers, presenting them together in the midst of the assembly (the divine council).
3. Clarifying the Purpose and Scope of the Gospel
His approach reframes the "Big Story" of the Bible away from the primary focus being solely the problem of sin solved by payment ("Sin Paid For" model). Instead, the gospel message is profoundly missional and cosmic:
• Rulership and Authority: The "gospel" is not primarily about going to heaven, but about establishing which god has the right to rule. Christ's resurrection victory is the culmination of his rise to kingship, asserting his authority far above all rule, authority, power, and dominion (referring to supernatural powers).
• Mission: The Christian life now is defined by showing appreciation for this adoption and working with Jesus to complete God’s plan to restore his kingdom on earth. This mission involves sharing the gospel to shrink the dominions of the enemy gods—the principalities and powers.
• Believing Loyalty: Salvation (membership in God’s family) is a gift received solely by faith (belief). This belief is expressed as "believing loyalty" to Jesus the Messiah, trusting what he did to defeat Satan’s claim, and turning from all other gods and their belief systems.
By demonstrating the interconnectedness of these theological concepts and grounding them in the biblical text's original context, his work helps believers become more intelligent readers of Scripture, providing them with a clear, intentional, and cohesive narrative of God’s plan from Eden to Eden.
What might be his most controversial ideas.
The sources indicate that his work challenges traditional Christian assumptions by focusing on the original context of the biblical texts, leading to several ideas that are often considered controversial or worldview-changing for the average churchgoer.
1. The Reality of Divine Plurality and the Divine Council Worldview
A central and potentially controversial concept is the affirmation of a supernatural worldview that includes divine plurality, where the term elohim (translated "gods" or "divine beings") refers to real, albeit lesser, spiritual entities who participate in a Divine Council.
• This approach roots theology in the ancient Near Eastern context of the Bible, suggesting that presuming the unseen world described in Scripture is real necessitates thinking differently about theology.
• The concept of the Divine Council, derived partly from passages like Psalm 82, is often uncomfortable for those who prefer to dismiss the supernatural elements of the Bible. Scholars are attracted to his willingness to take verses seriously that are often considered "weird and confusing," such as the Sons of God sleeping with the daughters of men in Genesis 6, which many traditional interpretations seek to explain away (e.g., the Sethite view).
2. Redefining Satan, Demons, and Spiritual Conflict
His work critiques many widespread, unbiblical ideas about the powers of darkness that are filtered through church tradition rather than close study of the original texts.
Controversial challenges to traditional views of evil include:
• Satan's Identity: The śāṭān figure in Job 1-2 is not exegetically feasible to be the same as the Devil of the New Testament.
• The Fallen Angels Narrative: The pervasive belief that Satan and one-third of the angels of heaven rebelled against God before the creation of humankind appears nowhere in the Bible and is primarily drawn from extra-biblical literature or misinterpretations of Revelation 12:4, a passage dealing with the birth of the Messiah.
• The Nature of Demons: The "demons" mentioned in the Old Testament are not the same as those encountered in the New Testament Gospels.
• Conflict Theology: He affirms what is known as "conflict theology"—the acceptance of Satan and demons as real personal existences about whom the Bible teaches propositional truths. This stance directly opposes approaches that seek to dismiss these beings as mere background or "cognitive environment" elements, which is a position taken by some evangelical scholars.
3. Challenging Interpretive Orthodoxy (Hermeneutics)
His methodology challenges the traditional, post-Enlightenment hermeneutical filters prevalent in the Church.
• He insists that the Bible must be read in its original context and on its own terms, leading to the identification of "things hidden in plain sight". This contextual approach is often perceived as "worldview changing information" when compared to traditional preaching.
• He is skeptical of all contemporary eschatology systems because "they all cheat" by making presuppositional decisions and following resulting trajectories. He advocates for junking the systems entirely.
• He argues that God did not convert biblical writers into modern thinkers before using them, allowing them to communicate divine propositions even through pre-(un)scientific ideas (e.g., the reference to bad medical theory in 1 Corinthians 11). He distinguishes between the divine proposition (the enduring truth) and the means of expression (the incidental cultural/scientific framework).
4. Controversial Positions on Specific Doctrines and Themes
Other points that cause debate or resistance include:
• The Nature of Heaven: He reframes the traditional view of heaven (often depicted as floating in the clouds or strumming harps) as the restoration of Eden on a New Earth, involving believers inheriting messianic rule and ruling the nations in real time, making the eternal state the true fulfillment, not a temporary millennium.
• The Afterlife/Underworld: He affirms the traditional concept of Christ's descent into the underworld after death, noting that questioning this idea was primarily a post-Reformation development where Protestants "threw the baby out with the bath water".
• Reconciling Faith and Works: He aligns with the spirit of the New Perspective on Paul (NPP), stating that the NPP is "correct in what it affirms, but often wrong in what it denies". He holds that "works are essential for salvation but they are not the meritorious cause in any way," thereby attempting to take seriously the teachings of both Paul and James.
Ultimately, his work often creates tension because it challenges tradition by returning to the biblical text's original meaning, which can be alarming to those who fear that challenging "standard dogma" leads to "false teaching" or division. He maintains that if the teaching does not violate Scripture, particularly concerning the nature of the gospel and Christology, it is not false teaching.
The individual's approach to Christian thought positions him as firmly committed to core Christian orthodoxy and the authority of Scripture, while simultaneously challenging many prevalent post-biblical traditions and modern hermeneutical filters established by centuries of systematic theology.
His fit within the mold of traditional Christian thought can be characterized by adherence to fundamental tenets, but a significant challenge to the methodologies and assumptions often used to interpret those tenets.
1. Adherence to Core Orthodoxy
He remains within the bounds of traditional Christian faith by upholding key doctrines, often asserting that his interpretation strengthens them:
• Elevated View of God and Christ: His teaching supports and strengthens the statement of faith regarding God, emphasizing that God is the God of all gods and the King of all kings.
• Affirmation of Christology: He affirms that the New Testament portrayal of Jesus as the Messiah, God’s Son, and Yahweh incarnate is accurate and strongly rooted in the Old Testament messianic profile, directly countering ideas like Adoptionist Christology (the idea that God chose the human Jesus to be Messiah but that Jesus wasn't Yahweh incarnate).
• View of Scripture: He is committed to Scripture and aims to elevate the biblical text as the final authority, often criticizing attempts by others to pass off "man’s word as God’s Word".
2. Challenge to Post-Biblical Tradition and Methodology
A significant part of his work involves peeling away layers of tradition that filter modern understanding, leading to tension with many traditional approaches.
Hermeneutics and Worldview
He critiques the use of post-Enlightenment and modernistic standards to interpret the Bible, arguing that this lens creates skepticism toward the supernatural elements accepted by the biblical authors.
• Scripture over Tradition: He believes that modern Christians often confuse tradition with the "whole counsel of God," leading the average person in the pew to be confounded when tradition is challenged by a face-value reading of the text.
• Rejection of "Systems": He eschews forcing theological data into predefined eschatological or systematic "systems," arguing that they often "cheat" by making presuppositional decisions. Instead, he advocates for deriving theology and biblical understanding directly from the text.
• Contextual Interpretation: He insists that the Bible must be interpreted in light of its own Ancient Near Eastern and Second Temple Jewish contexts, arguing that the Bible was written for us, but not to us with modern questions in mind. He notes that biblical writers were not converted into modern thinkers before God used them.
The Supernatural and Divine Plurality
His strong affirmation of the biblical worldview directly conflicts with the tendency in much of modern Christian tradition toward skepticism or minimization of the unseen realm:
• The Divine Council: He asserts the reality of divine plurality (the existence of real, albeit lesser, divine beings/powers) and the Divine Council worldview, drawn from a face-value reading of texts like Psalm 82. This understanding often triggers resistance from traditionalists who fear terms like "polytheism".
• The Underworld and Descent: He highlights that the doubt regarding Christ’s descent into the underworld/Hades (a concept affirmed by figures like Tertullian, Irenaeus, and Justin Martyr) only began post-Reformation, suggesting it was an instance where Protestants "threw the baby out with the bath water" when rejecting certain Roman Catholic elements.
3. Navigating Doctrinal Debates (Theological Nuance)
In debates over salvation and Christ's work, he adopts a "big tent" approach that incorporates elements often championed by differing traditions, while rejecting the impulse to deny elements supported by Scripture.
• Atonement: He rejects the compulsion to select only one view of the atonement (such as the satisfaction or "Sin Paid For" model), seeing Christ's work as multi-faceted. He explicitly takes issue with those who minimize or reject the substitutionary element simply because they find the idea "icky" or because they buy into anti-substitution rhetoric.
• Faith and Works (NPP): He aligns with the spirit of the New Perspective on Paul (NPP), stating that the NPP is "correct in what it affirms, but often wrong in what it denies". He accepts the NPP's emphasis on reading Paul in his original Jewish context concerning Jew/Gentile boundaries and covenantal nomism, which counters the traditional reading (often filtered through the Reformation) that Jews saw salvation as a works-merit system. He attempts to harmonize the doctrines by emphasizing that salvation is a gift received by faith/believing loyalty (exclusive allegiance to God), but that God judges according to works (not as the meritorious cause, but as evidence of loyalty).
• Eschatology: He rejects the notion that one must pick a single eschatological system. He views the New Heavens and New Earth as the global Eden, where the reset button is hit and the earth returns to God's original intention. His work focuses heavily on the theme of believers being restored to their role in the reconstituted Divine Council.
