24 July 2023
If we take seriously the work of Dr. Heiser in understanding the Hebrew outlook on The Unseen Realm, then there are major implications for what evangelicals called "spiritual warfare". To quote Dr. Heiser himself:
So how does this "relate" to today? It doesn't relate at all if you don't believe in an unseen reality. If you do, it puts an OT context to what we think of as spiritual warfare -- one that goes far beyond mere demons. Demons are light weight in comparison -- mere irritants. The gods are something altogether different. We can presume no authority to confront them (unlike demons). They are "celestial ones" (2 Pet 2:10; Jude 8) against whom even angels dare not blaspheme. They will only be dealt with by God and equal spiritual powers God tasks with doing so. We are mere agents on earth tasked with spreading the gospel -- which is the thing they fear the most. Spreading the gospel isn't an intellectual exercise. It's not a debate to win. People without Christ are under dominion, their minds darkened (Eph. 4:18). The war is spiritual in nature, and so must be engaged in on that level. We are only agents. Opposition, failure, and success must be viewed in that light, not intellect, cleverness, or (God forbid) good marketing. You either believe you are part of something bigger than the reality you can discern or you don't.
He then suggests that what the Apostles themselves were doing in Acts is already the proper strategy:
Several scholars suggest that thinking in terms of only angels and demons is vastly oversimplifying things. Scripture apparently considers the fallen beings from before the Flood as still in some kind of prison until the Day of Judgment. In 1 Peter 3:19-20 we are told Jesus went there to preach to them (also mentioned in 2 Peter 2:4 and Jude 6).
Meanwhile, various heavenly elders placed in authority over the nations at the distribution Jehovah made at the Tower of Babel are referred to by the Hebrew word shedim. While that is typically translated as "demons" it misses the point, because of all the baggage that comes with the English word. They are in the class of beings well above mere angels and demons, the kind of "principalities and powers" that angels carefully avoid insulting.
This is all pretty fuzzy to us, and for the Hebrews that didn't really matter. What mattered for them were their obligations under the concept. During and after the fall of the Roman Empire, Christian leaders in the West embraced the mythology of the invading Germanic hordes in order to make the gospel more palatable to them. The resulting adulterated message changed the fundamental definitions of terms like "demon" to mean something radically different from the Hebrew concept. In the Bible, the term "demon" refers to any number of Unseen Realm beings, whether good, bad or some mixture of both. They have free will, rather like humans. The creatures Jesus and His followers "cast out" of people were not always relentlessly evil, but troublesome because they were politically aligned with Jehovah's opposition in Heaven. Their "wickedness" was more a matter of turmoil and destruction than being foul and filthy.
Thus, the real thing behind the biblical terminology for "demons" is more likely eternal spirit beings who once inhabited the bodies of the "giants" (Nephilim, Anakim, Rephaim, etc.). Nobody bothers with explaining all the details, but rather the effects of their activities. They love to hijack rather ordinary people as part of their ongoing political agenda against Jehovah.
Thus, the Old Testament "demons" are not the same as the New Testament variety. The former are from among the elohim, the spirits ruling over nations, while the latter are much lower ranking in the larger scheme of things. You cannot make demands of the elohim, but you can certainly drive out the spirits of dead giants. The way to deal with rulers and principalities is to live the Covenant, which exempts you from much of their earthly control.
Whether or not you are ready to embrace this image, it does seem to be the way the Hebrews and the first century Christians looked at things.
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