Bible scholar Michael Heiser, author of ‘The Unseen Realm,’ dies of cancer

Paul4JC · Feb 23, 2023

Michael Heiser, a professor of biblical studies and author of the highly acclaimed 2015 book The Unseen Realm, has died not long after being diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer.

Heiser's official Twitter page confirmed his death, noting that the scholar died at 3:45 p.m. EST Monday, with the tweet receiving over 463,000 views as of Tuesday morning.

Heiser received a master's from the University of Pennsylvania in 1992 focused on Ancient Egypt and Syria-Palestine, a master's from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1998 centered on Hebrew and Semitic Studies, and a doctorate from UWM in 2004 in the same field, with a dissertation titled "The Divine Council in Late Canonical and Non-Canonical Second Temple Jewish Literature."

Heiser authored multiple nonfiction and fiction books, including The 60 Second Scholar: 100 Insights That Illumine the Bible, I Dare You Not to Bore Me with The Bible, The Façade and The Portent.

Bible scholar Michael Heiser, author of 'The Unseen Realm ...

"I desired nothing more than to empower all of you to study Scripture more deeply, to unlock the Bible for you in ways inaccessible to all but scholars. This brought me a special joy."

Tribute to Dr. Michael S. Heiser

My favorite Bible scholar. I know it happened Monday but I didn't see anything here (except in singles only). Condolences and prayers to his wife and family. Thank you, dear brother. On to your reward.

SavedByGrace3 · Feb 23, 2023

Wow... I did not even know he was ill.
Lord receive him into your rest.

Always in His Presence · Feb 24, 2023

Prayers for his family...

FireDragon76 · Feb 28, 2023

That's very unfortunate for his family, but I'm not a fan. He seemed to have a strange hobbyhorse about proving that UFO's were demonic, but he had very little to say that was actually Christian in the traditional sense.

Pr. Jordan Cooper has already done a good job critiquing his method from a conservative Christian viewpoint ( here ) and I'd largely agree with him, but I'd also add that his scholarship of the Old Testament, on many points, wasn't in accord with the best humanistic scholarship of the Old Testament (he frequently confuses legendary accounts with actual history, for instance). But the main problem is his account of the history of theism in the Old Testament is not in line with the best evidence from archeology and scholarship. The modern consensus of most OT scholars is that monotheism in the Old Testament developed from a religious inclusivism that was also found in neighboring cultures, such as Egypt.

In Egypt, late in the 2nd millenium BC, there started appearing a trend to amalgamate all the various gods into one divinity, as all expressions of the same absolute reality. However, for cultic purposes, these deities were kept separate and their cults respected individually, each manifesting a particular aspect of God that was more approachable to commoners.

In Canaan, each city-state had their own patron god, who was associated with the local industry or some peculiarity of the people there. As one kingdom conquered another one, the divinity was assimilated into the identity of El, as a way to show political and religious solidarity. El was the father of the gods of the Canaanite pantheon, and he gradually took on the attributes of Hadad, Asherah, etc. Eventually, this syncretized and assimilated El was known by different names, Elohim in the north, in Israel, and YHWH in the south, in Judah, each with their own religious traditions, but roughly understood to refer to the same being.

Something similar was seen in ancient Greece, when some philosophically inclined Greeks started treating Zeus as the Supreme Being that people could directly relate to (that's where Paul gets the phrase "we are his children" of Acts 17:28 from, he's actually quoting from Greek philosophy about Zeus).

Furthermore, Heiser's view of God is more like henotheism. Classical Christian theology doesn't consider God a being among other beings. God is classically understood as Being itself (Aquinas), or "beyond being" altogether (Maximus, Palamas, Tillich, etc.), the "Ground of Being". So from a pastoral perspective, what he presented is highly problematic and contradicts nearly two millenia of theology.

Bobber · Mar 3, 2023

I've heard his teachings always found him a nice friendly man. What he taught on the Divine Council and a number of other things I thought could be. Even if true however I've thought OK so what? It does seem to me God did put down in Gen 6:4 at least a statement that there was yes something strange and unusual occuring in that age. Interesting though how LITTLE is said or reveled beyond some basic statements. We know what God wants to emphasis he speaks much of, like the living in holiness and the walking in love and about the walk of faith in Christ and the Name of Jesus. Those are the things that bring victory that God wants our minds mostly and greatly set upon.

Could certain things be even true but be a tangent if one spends too much time mediating upon it? I think that's possible. It's just on the internet I've seen people spend so much time talking about what the Nephilim were or many other unusual things...and the things of more importance they hardly think about or talk about.

I mean no disrespect towards Mr Heiser. I actually found interesting the things he bring forth but Ive tried to keep it in proper perspective not trying to think of it as something so very important to understand. Having said that though I know God has given each of his servants different things that they bring to the table to be of benefit to the body of Christ. If his call was to bring things out to help us understand early Genesis I can appreciate that but one should keep things balanced and in perspective in just how much time one gives it in their mediation. Whatever God gives it is what we should.

FireDragon76 · Mar 3, 2023

I always took the nephilim to be like the titans of many ancient myths, semi-divine figures, sort of like the biblical Nimrod. The "space alien" thing is a bit of a stretch.

I'm more inclined to agree with the French computer scientist and UFO researcher, Jacques Vallee, that UFO's are most similar to the fairies of European folklore, or the Jin of the Islamic world. People in premodern Europe didn't necessarily believes fairies were demons, merely morally ambiguous and not something you trifled with. Demons don't have a material form, but faeries exist between the world of matter and spirits.

Bobber · Mar 3, 2023

FireDragon76 said:
I always took the nephilim to be like the titans of many ancient myths, semi-divine figures, sort of like the biblical Nimrod.

And as I've said I'm glad God didn't go too much in detail talking about it. If he did he knew it would distract people from more important things to know and understand. If he didn't say anything people would be saying what about this or that folk lore from other cultures? God has went on record to say YES some unusual things did occur in the beginning days of MAN and Genesis.

FireDragon76 said:
I'm more inclined to agree with the French computer scientist and UFO researcher, Jacques Vallee, that UFO's are more similar to the fairies of European folklore, or the Jin of the Islamic world.

UFO enthusiasts who were materialists were disappointed with Vallee's decision in going the way he did with UFO'S. The want everything put out that they're physical beings in physical crafts from other physical worlds.

FireDragon76 · Mar 3, 2023

Bobber said:
And as I've said I'm glad God didn't go too much in detail talking about it. If he did he knew it would distract people from more important things to know and understand. If he didn't say anything people would be saying what about this or that folk lore from other cultures? God has went on record to say YES some unusual things did occur in the beginning days of MAN and Genesis.

That was a criticism of Heiser's work. He treated the Bible less as a revelation of salvation through Jesus Christ, and more like a science book that tells us about the unseen world.

Bobber said:
UFO enthusiasts who were materialists were disappointed with Vallee's decision in going the way he did with UFO'S. The want everything put out that they're physical beings in physical crafts from other physical worlds.

His explanation seems more compelling.

It's possible some UFO's are alien spacecraft, but the majority of "alien encounter" stories we have, are closer to fairy stories. Especially in terms of the high strangeness, or what the "aliens" actually do.

Bobber · Mar 3, 2023

FireDragon76 said:
That was a criticism of Heiser's work. He treated the Bible less as a revelation of salvation through Jesus Christ, and more like a science book that tells us about the unseen world.

I can agree with that. That's what I meant when I said maybe taking away people's time from more important things. You can though have other bible subject talked about or referred to ....like a Bible series what does the Bible say about Angels or one lecturing on Biblical archeology or on Creationism teachings.

FireDragon76 said:
His explanation seems more compelling.

It's possible some UFO's are alien spacecraft, but the majority of "alien encounter" stories we have, are closer to fairy stories. Especially in terms of the high strangeness, or what the "aliens" actually do.

And I agree with that. One says we don't know anything about them but we do know enough to profile them. Reports seems to speak of lights appearing coming up to people, shooting off leaving people scared or bewildered. That seems like ghost stories or fairy stories creating paranoia. Always beating around the bush never making things clear. always being evasive. If they've got something to say then they should say it. The word use to describe them is that the like to tantalizes people. What sort of caring, intelligent beings would do this?

FireDragon76 · Mar 3, 2023

Bobber said:
I can agree with that. That's what I meant when I said maybe taking away people's time from more important things. You can though have other bible subject talked about or referred to ....like a Bible series what does the Bible say about Angels or one lecturing on Biblical archeology or on Creationism teachings.

And I agree with that. One says we don't know anything about them but we do know enough to profile them. Reports seems to speak of lights appearing coming up to people, shooting off leaving people scared or bewildered. That seems like ghost stories or fairy stories creating paranoia. Always beating around the bush never making things clear. always being evasive. If they've got something to say then they should say it. The word use to describe them is that the like to tantalizes people. What sort of caring, intelligent beings would do this?

Why should non-human intelligence motivations be easily comprehensible to humans?

Carl Jung believed that the UFO phenomenon contained symbolic features that speak to the human subconscious, and that they couldn't be taken on face value. I would tend to agree. The phenomenon masks itself in outward forms comprehensible to human beings, enough to captivate the imagination (but that don't really stand up under serious scrutiny), but the underlying modus operandi seems to be to change peoples perceptions of the world. Similar to entity encounters or religious and mystical experiences throughout history.

In short, we are dealing with something that is more likely akin to the numinous or the sacred, than anything comprehensible in terms of normal natural science. And that's why I think Heiser's conclusions of "It's demonic" doesn't do justice to really understanding the phenomenon. It's far too simplistic as an answer, the kind of thing that religious pundits always use to control a conversation about potential realities that might threaten their worldview. Serious investigation requires a far more open mind, IMO, and not exclusive reliance on a few passages of ancient religious texts as the basis for conclusions.

Bobber · Mar 3, 2023

FireDragon76 said:
Why should non-human intelligence motivations be easily comprehensible to humans?

I'd say the burden is on them to recognize we have our way we process information. If you abduct us we're not going to back down from claiming your motivation was wrong.

FireDragon76 said:
Carl Jung believed that the UFO phenomenon contained symbolic features that speak to the human subconscious, and that they couldn't be taken on face value.

OK but that leaves you no where. If you're claiming maybe our subconscious get's it so what? If it isn't realized by the conscious mind you're still left in limbo.

FireDragon76 · Mar 4, 2023

Bobber said:
OK but that leaves you no where. If you're claiming maybe our subconscious get's it so what? If it isn't realized by the conscious mind you're still left in limbo.

Almost all our behavior is motivated by our subconscious mind.

Bobber · Mar 4, 2023

FireDragon76 said:
Almost all our behavior is motivated by our subconscious mind.

First of all what in your estimation is the subconscious mind? How can you say for sure it even exists? Does the Bible speak in support of such a thing? That's a pretty hefty claim to say almost all of our behavior is motivated because of it.

FireDragon76 · Mar 4, 2023

Bobber said:
First of all what in your estimation is the subconscious mind? How can you say for sure it even exists?

There's fairly compelling evidence from neuroscience that the subconscious mind exists.

Bobber said:
Does the Bible speak in support of such a thing? That's a pretty hefty claim to say almost all of our behavior is motivated because of it.

Does the Bible say people could land on the moon? There are lots of things the Bible is simply silent on. Like the speed of light, or the theory of universal gravitation, and so on.

RileyG · Mar 4, 2023

May he dwell with the blessed. May God grant him eternal rest and peace. Amen.

Paul4JC · Mar 8, 2023

I used to listen to his podcast weekly. Very nice tributes.

Naked Bible 459: Honoring Dr. Michael S. Heiser

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nakedbiblepodcast.com

Ray S · Apr 6, 2023

Please just give this brief message of the gospel a view or if you will a chance... he did not think of the bible as a science book but the word of God. He was a fantastic scholar and speaker of the bible. IMO

SavedByGrace3 · Apr 6, 2023

Bought his book "The Unseen Realm." It is on the stack and I really want to read it. I have seen a few videos on youtube, and he makes some interesting observations. Lord thank you.

Optimus Fortis · Apr 7, 2023

I am struggling to get over Dr Heiser's passing. I am surprised that I didn't discover his work until 2019 when Unseen Realm was recommended to me by Amazon's AI. I have never grieved for someone whom I have never met having just read three of his books and seen a few youtube videos but he really did resonate with me (ever since I was a boy, I never believed that the gods of antiquity were just made up round camp fires) and he opened up the Bible in a way that made it a different book than I perceived it to be before.

Hvizsgyak · Apr 9, 2023

FireDragon76 said:
That's very unfortunate for his family, but I'm not a fan. He seemed to have a strange hobbyhorse about proving that UFO's were demonic, but he had very little to say that was actually Christian in the traditional sense.

Pr. Jordan Cooper has already done a good job critiquing his method from a conservative Christian viewpoint ( here ) and I'd largely agree with him, but I'd also add that his scholarship of the Old Testament, on many points, wasn't in accord with the best humanistic scholarship of the Old Testament (he frequently confuses legendary accounts with actual history, for instance). But the main problem is his account of the history of theism in the Old Testament is not in line with the best evidence from archeology and scholarship. The modern consensus of most OT scholars is that monotheism in the Old Testament developed from a religious inclusivism that was also found in neighboring cultures, such as Egypt.

In Egypt, late in the 2nd millenium BC, there started appearing a trend to amalgamate all the various gods into one divinity, as all expressions of the same absolute reality. However, for cultic purposes, these deities were kept separate and their cults respected individually, each manifesting a particular aspect of God that was more approachable to commoners.

In Canaan, each city-state had their own patron god, who was associated with the local industry or some peculiarity of the people there. As one kingdom conquered another one, the divinity was assimilated into the identity of El, as a way to show political and religious solidarity. El was the father of the gods of the Canaanite pantheon, and he gradually took on the attributes of Hadad, Asherah, etc. Eventually, this syncretized and assimilated El was known by different names, Elohim in the north, in Israel, and YHWH in the south, in Judah, each with their own religious traditions, but roughly understood to refer to the same being.

Something similar was seen in ancient Greece, when some philosophically inclined Greeks started treating Zeus as the Supreme Being that people could directly relate to (that's where Paul gets the phrase "we are his children" of Acts 17:28 from, he's actually quoting from Greek philosophy about Zeus).

Furthermore, Heiser's view of God is more like henotheism. Classical Christian theology doesn't consider God a being among other beings. God is classically understood as Being itself (Aquinas), or "beyond being" altogether (Maximus, Palamas, Tillich, etc.), the "Ground of Being". So from a pastoral perspective, what he presented is highly problematic and contradicts nearly two millenia of theology.

Dr Michael Heiser and his insights will be missed by many of us who were trying to put the whole salvation history into perspective. Many Christians are content with reading the Bible and putting their faith in God's Word (and that's perfectly fine). Some people need more solid information to even come to believe God's Word. Then there are people like me who believe God's Word but would like to hear more about the nitty gritty details of how it the whole Salvation history went down.

That's what Michael Heiser tried to do in his books, The Unseen Realm and Reversing Hermon. Was it scripturally sound? I'm not sure. I've been trying to get some Catholic Theologians and Apologists to review his work. But if it isn't scripturally sound, it is something that I feel is absolutely necessary (after being theologically corrected) to attracting unbelievers to the Church. Too many people want to know why Jesus had to go through all the suffering to allow us to get to Heaven. Couldn't God come up with a better plan, they ask.

Dr Heiser saw the allegorical Creation Story in the Bible similar to the Sumerian Enuma Elish and The Book of Enoch and he connected it all together to have people understand the overall Salvation History. Now I myself don't hold all the views Dr Heiser holds but what I got from him really helped my understand Jesus' Passion and Resurrection better.

God bless and watch over your servant Dr Michael Heiser.

Bible scholar Michael Heiser, author of ‘The Unseen Realm,’ dies of cancer

the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing