The release of The Unseen Realm?by Michael Heiser has been anything but unseen. This book has generated a ton of buzz and we’d like to share a couple of links where it’s being discussed.
On Redeeming God, Jeremy Myers discusses the refreshing perspective Dr. Heiser brings to the table:
If you are like me, you might be a little tired of hearing about the supernatural realm, but this book was insightful and creative and helped me think through a few issues I have been wanting to study further for quite some time.?For example, I think Heiser is exactly right about what it means for humans to be made in the image of God (Gen 1:26-27), and I really liked his discussion of the Nephilim in Genesis 6:1-4.
Tim Chaffey picks up where Myers left off by praising Heiser’s willingness to engage with the ancient perspective of the Hebrews:
The book also does a good job of helping readers learn about the ways the Israelites interacted with the people around them. Even those who penned Scripture were not afraid to use concepts and even the terminology from the surrounding pagan nations, although they often needed to redefine or refine the concepts to fit within Hebrew theology. Too many Western Christians, particularly from conservative backgrounds, avoid any possible linkage of the Scriptures with Ancient Near Eastern writings. This is probably due to the abuse of this concept by the liberals who act as if the Hebrews borrowed everything from these cultures. I believe Heiser strikes a nice balance in this book.
Matt Dabbs loved the way Dr. Heiser connected the concepts in the book throughout the entire Bible:
This book is about the spiritual realm in the Bible and how various threads run from cover to cover connecting all sorts of things that I had no idea were connected. I was probably aware of about a quarter of the content of the book as far as exegesis goes?leaving me mostly unaware of his brilliant interpretation. But what was even more fantastic than all of the information that I was simply unaware of was the way he connected the concepts throughout the entire Bible.
Over on Urban Scholar, LaRosa Johnson weighs in with his thoughts as well:
In The Unseen Realm I believe that Dr. Heiser does a wonderful job of bringing the spiritual realm to the forefront. He doesn?t sensationalize or over emphasize the matter at all. Instead, he helps us to understand how Jews, early Christians, and surrounding cultures would have understood these writings.
A lot of what Dr. Heiser says in this book will either confirm & strengthen what you already believe, or it will totally challenge and blow your mind. For me it was the former. For an academic level title, I felt it was very approachable and one I would recommend any student of theology read.
If you’re interested to hear more from Dr. Heiser, he’s made himself available to answer your questions in a few places around the web.?Late last week, he participated in an AMA (Ask Me Anything) on Reddit.com,?and even though its over,?you can still browse through his answers. Yesterday, he participated in a live interview with Jason Brueckner of Brave Daily;?the full interview is available on YouTube. Dr. Heiser will be featured on a forthcoming podcast with Shaun Tabatt, but the video of his interview is already available on YouTube.
Discover what it means to read Scripture as the biblical authors intended! Get The Unseen Realm now!
