03 July 2023
Yesterday, I linked to Heiser's book, The Unseen Realm. I'm not in his class of scholarship, but I also don't worship the memory of this man (he's deceased). There are some differences in our conclusions regarding what we should make of various Bible passages. Just so you'll understand where I'm coming from, I'll outline some of the divergence.
I believe he makes two general mistakes that I've seen others make, and that other have scholars mentioned.
First, Heiser apparently ignores the Egyptian angle. He goes on and on about the Mesopotamian influence of Abraham and the Exile, but he seems to ignore the Egyptian influence on Moses, who wrote the Pentateuch. I'm convinced some of Heiser's thoughts are entirely too Mesopotamian and not Egyptian enough.
Second, and related to the first, Heiser takes things at face value that I don't. Egyptians (and some civilizations around Mesopotamia) were more likely to use ritual terms that had no literal meaning. I'm convinced the Hebrews did that more than Heiser seems to believe.
Thus, I don't believe Adam and Eve started out as human as Heiser thought. I believe they had eternal bodies, and that the Fall meant taking up mortal bodies. I believe the spiritual agents involved in the Antediluvian (pre-Flood) period of evil were seizing human bodies, not having sex with their own bodies, because they were not capable. The various spiritual beings would have tempted the humans to submit to this invasive presence for the sake of powers not appropriate for fallen humans to use.
There are other differences, I'm sure, but I've only read the first 15 chapters so far.
On the other hand, I really like how Heiser elaborates on the image of angelic beings ruling from the Spirit Realm over earthly nations. He points out how Jehovah rejected the other nations and placed them under other powers less than His, but made Israel His personal domain on the earth.
This is also why I claim that, when the Old Covenant ended, no less a being than the Devil himself became the new master of the Jewish people, and any government they form is bound under him. To the degree that modern Israel is their homeland, the Devil is their patron deity. God alone, working through His vassals, will decide when Israel is destroyed, and the Jewish people, as well.
This is how to best explain the hands-off attitude about human politics. Those affairs are under the control of higher beings, and we dare not oppose them without a Covenant identity to claim a higher authority. Only within a Covenant nation setting can we hope to get a word from God about changing the human political situation.
Further, at the Cross, God withdrew from the business of hosting His own human kingdom on the earth. He yielded Palestine to the lesser "princes" and took up the claim of His Elect wherever they stood. Thus, the language of God taking "His people" from all nations. His is the empire without borders, because it is rooted in the Spirit Realm itself.
By the way, Satan taking over as the god of the Jews was also another demotion for him. Thus, Jesus saw him "fall like lightening" because it was a trap of sorts. By seducing and seizing God's only kingdom on earth, he was tied to it and forced to remain on site. Meanwhile, the Holy Spirit is free to touch whom He will, wherever He will, whenever He will.
Heiser was younger than me and passed away in February this year. The foundation of my education came from men and women long dead, their lectures and conference presentations, private discussions, and books I can no longer find. My personal emphasis was less on languages and grammar, and more on history and culture. I never stopped learning, so it's not like my ideas are set in stone. It's not possible for any one of us to become so expert as to stand as an unquestionable authority on anything.
That is, except for what is in your convictions. You are the only one who can read what God packed into your election. All I'm trying to do is help you make the most of what you find there.
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