Post 37, Part 2-Biblical Context, Dr. Heiser, and Life’s Priorities

                                      

            As most of our regular readers know, Dana and I have a slight tendency to be a bit wordy. Initially, this post on Context wasn’t too long, but as we emailed back and forth, it kept on lengthening. So we decided to make it two parts because it deals with such critical subjects—Bible context and the (hopefully) Christian’s hunger for God’s word and why this is important. The below is continued from Part 1, and is Dana writing to John

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Dana began this Tue, May 2, 2017 at 10:21 AM

 

    ....We live in an increasingly dark world, John. Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (ESV)  If we take that seriously, then knowing the Word is one of the most essential life pursuits in which we must engage.  Paul in Ephesians 6, when discussing the Christian’s armor in the context of spiritual warfare, tells us that the Word of God is our only offensive weapon.  To have a weapon and not know how to use it is ridiculous. 

      You have been in the US Coast Guard, and surely you must have, in some aspect of your training, had some training in weapons use.  While the Coast Guard is not primarily thought of as a combat unit, I’d be willing to bet that when they are apprehending a boatload of cartel cocaine on the high seas, that they aren’t just carrying sticks and whistles.  My guess is that the guys on the cartel boat are pretty well armed, and quite willing and able to use their guns.  What if the Coast Guard issued weapons to those doing the apprehending, and never showed them how to load the magazines, or how to get a cartridge from the magazine to the chamber, or how to aim and shoot?  To try to stop a boat full of armed to the teeth cartel soldiers who are not afraid to die, would be as foolish as it would be suicidal.

      Yet we live and walk and work in a world that is increasingly and demonstrably under the influence of the devil and his demonic forces, and our only weapon is sitting on a shelf collecting dust. And many of those who do pay the Bible some modicum of attention are still woefully and willfully ignorant of what they are reading actually means.  Most American Christians would do just as good reading their Bibles in Hebrew and Greek, or even Chinese when it comes to understanding what it is that they’re reading. The werewolves are circling ever closer, and salivating at the smell of fresh meat, and we’ve never learned how to load the gun, if we can even find the gun.

      So tell me, what would it be worth to have some weapons proficiency if the aforementioned illustration became a reality?  Fifty dollars?  A hundred dollars? More?  So how can Joe and Jane Christian become more proficient in the use of the only weapon God has provided us?  They can make the learning of it a top priority and use some of the money they already spend on other things to accomplish that.  It’s a question of how important it is to them? 

      But first and foremost, one has to want to learn, and be committed to that proposition in order to make it happen.  If Joe or Jane Christian are prepared to walk down that road, here a couple of good ways to start. 

      Reading his books is a good place to start.  I mention them again:

 

     Dr. Michael Heiser’s “Supernatural: What the Bible Teaches About the Unseen World – And Why It Matters” is selling on Amazon in paperback for $12.67 and shipping. (This is sort of the Reader’s Digest Condensed Version of “The Unseen Realm” shown below. This is a great and readable introduction to the material.)

 

     Dr. Heiser’s “The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible” sells in hardback on Amazon for $18.60 plus shipping.

 

     And, his latest book, “Reversing Hermon: Enoch, the Watchers, and the Forgotten Mission of Jesus Christ,” is available as a trade paperback on Amazon for $15.71 plus shipping.

 

     If reading time is short, or funds are simply not available for buying books, Dr. Heiser has a weekly podcast, which can be accessed and listened to for free.  Follow this link:

http://www.nakedbiblepodcast.com/

     Upon bringing up the site, click on:  NEW? START HERE

     This will take you to several introductory videos on his approach to the Bible and some foundational themes with which he deals. 

     Going back to the main website page, there is a tab to get to all previous EPISODES of the podcast, and frankly, they are all worth a listen. They can be listened to on the podcast website, or on other podcast platforms such as iTunes and others, so they can even be accessed on one’s smart phone.

      Then there is Dr. Heiser’s personal website: http://drmsh.com/  at which are his blogs, and just an overwhelming wealth of information…all for free too.

      On his website there is a link to sign up for his e-newsletter (also free): http://drmsh.com/miqlat/ 

      Dr. Heiser also has a free YouTube channel with lots of his talks and lectures that are really worthwhile.   Go to:  https://www.youtube.com/

            In the Search line type in:   Dr. Michael Heiser   and click on the magnifying glass icon to go to his page.

     Highly recommended videos are:

            [PT. 1]  Unseen Realm Seminar/w Dr. Michael S. Heiser: Supernatural Worldview of the O.T.

            [PT. 2]  Unseen Realm Seminar/w Dr. Michael S. Heiser: The Three Rebellions and the Fall of Man

            [PT. 3]  Unseen Realm Seminar/w Dr. Michael S. Heiser: Jesus, Cosmic Geography, & 2 Powers in Heaven

            [Q&A]  Unseen Realm Seminar/w Dr. Michael S. Heiser: Speaking in Tongues, Kingdom Now & Eschatology

            Reversing Hermon - 1 Enoch, the NT, Watchers, Nephilim, Anti-Christ – Dr. Michael S. Heiser

            Q&A With Dr. Michael S. Heiser: Reversing Hermon, Sons of God, Nephilim, Gematria, & End Times

     All of the above would be good ways to get started.  There is some deep thought contained therein, but presented in a down to earth, easy to comprehend way. You may not agree with all of his findings, as he broaches subjects not usually taught in our modern day churches, again because they are outside of many ministers’ and denominations’ comfort zones.  But agree with him or not, his scholarship is difficult to refute. 

      Also, it must be stated, that if we sincerely desire to grow in God, we need to get comfortable with getting outside of our comfort zones.  And, we must be careful not to allow our comfort zones to become quasi-idols.  We’ll have comfort zones in Heaven, but we are not guaranteed them down here in this life.   

       An interesting and entertaining thing Dr. Heiser does, is he is actively involved with the UFO, Ancient Astronauts, and Fringe History groups.  He sometimes even attends UFO conferences. Why? Well, wait a minute and hear me out on this.

      He believes that the people participating in these groups are seeking something beyond this life’s stock meanings and prescribed pat answers, and have almost adopted this kind of material as a religion.  By offering Biblical perspectives to their questions and ideas, and by just paying attention to them in general as seeking people (when the Church has largely dismissed them as crackpots) provides an excellent opportunity for evangelism.  No one public figure that I can find in Evangelicalism is doing this. It’s pretty fascinating, really.  If you explore his YouTube channel or his podcast, you will find audio and video on some of these topics, and I have found them pretty interesting.  Certainly not same old-same old.

     But outside of purchasing his books, I have provided several sources of his materials which will cost nothing to investigate and absorb. Hopefully this information will give readers access to a lot of his material, and if they want to begin reading the Bible in its own context, they will at least be able to get started.

Dana

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John added on 4/29/17

Hey Dana

            While you make compelling arguments for more in-depth study, based on Dr. Heiser’s context method of study, I don’t believe what we’ve written will do much to  convince (if at all) the average Joe and Jane Christian to get more deeply involved in contextual Bible study. Why? More than the cost of money, it costs time. I don’t think they (average church goer) want to spend more of either. For example, I was talking to a minister about this and he doesn’t feel it will happen either. He stated that, at the least, it should be the pastor/teacher/reverend/ minister/priest who is doing this. That’s what the pew sitter “expects.”

            When I mentioned this topic to some of the guys in our home group and asked if they had a contextual study help, one suggested the following might fit the bill. Written by Craig S. Keener, it is, "IVP Bible Background Commentary". 

https://www.amazon.com/IVP-Bible-Background-Commentary-Testament/dp/0830814051

            You might argue, why shouldn’t the church provide some of these study helps? The church we attend does, but I’ve seen very few people avail themselves of this benefit—the fiction book section seems to get the usage, but the commentaries, dictionaries and other helps, not so much.

            Quite honestly, I think that most Christians just don’t care. As another example,  you talk about just Bible reading. I would like to do a survey of the number of pew sitters that have even read their Bible through once.

            The below is from the Ed Stetzer article written on 7/6/2016, in Christianty Today

http://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2015/july/epidemic-of-bible-illiteracy-in-our-churches.html    and is titled “The Epidemic of Bible Illiteracy in Our Churches”  about people reading their Bibles, let alone reading it through from cover to cover.

      The Sad Statistics

Christians claim to believe the Bible is God's Word. We claim it's God's divinely inspired, inerrant message to us. Yet despite this, we aren't reading it. A recent LifeWay Research study found only 45 percent of those who regularly attend church read the Bible more than once a week. Over 40 percent of the people attending read their Bible occasionally, maybe once or twice a month. Almost 1 in 5 churchgoers say they never read the Bible—essentially the same number who read it every day.

            While some readers may groan when I write this next, but I believe that while God gave America a second chance with the election of Donald Trump, if we squander this (and it appears that we are all ready on that path) when either another president similar to the last and his Secretary of State are elected next, the persecutions that you so often refer to won’t be far behind.  Then reading one’s Bible will be too late.

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Tue, May 2, 2017 at 10:21 AM

 John,

      One of the things which with we, as Christians must come to grips, is that our time is not our own, any more than our lives are not our own.  There is an old saying that goes, “If Jesus isn’t Lord, then He isn’t Savior.” 

      Christians, may, as you say, not want to spend their time and/or money in increasing their Biblical knowledge, but again I must affirm that neither their time nor their money is their own.  All things belong to God.  We own nothing, in Heavenly reality, and are at best, just stewards of the time and money He allows us.

     And your warning is appropriate.  Perhaps I’ve already written this in a previous blog, but it bears repeating.  My parents were friends with a retired fighter pilot, who was shot down and imprisoned in the notorious North Vietnamese “Hanoi Hilton” P.O.W. camp.  He said that many of the men in the prison tried to write a Bible based on verses they remembered from prior church and Sunday school experiences.  I guess when you’re in hell; the comfort and assurance of the Word of God would be more precious than food and drink.

     The question I would pose is, that if one day things get rough for Western Christians, and persecution becomes a harsh reality, how much of a Bible could a Christian and his fellow believers produce from memory?  We may take the Bible for granted now, but I can assure you, that if the whip comes down, the Word of God will be of monumental importance then.  Food for thought.

     Dana

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On Mon, May 8, 2017 at 9:34 AM John closed with

Dana

            I reached out to another minister friend of mine (Thanks Steve and please thank Dr. Kent Hughes for me.) and he loaned me a copy of the book, Expositional Preaching, by David Helm, published by Crossway.  In a more ecclesiastical, or should I say academic way, Helm seems to be agreeing with you about the importance of context, but from the standpoint of the pastor/preacher/teacher. He gives several examples where he thought a passage was saying one thing and that was going to be the direction of his message, but when upon further, deeper investigation, he saw he was, while if not wrong, at the least misleading his listeners.  I had not given this perspective much thought, that is, is the pastor/preacher/teacher contextually correct? I don’t want to go too deep on this point, but Helm makes this statement on page 23, “The possible applications must never overshadow the primary point of the text.” I think this is where I sometimes get caught, looking for possible applications from a text without digging for the context. According to Helm, I am not alone and it is a problem on both sides of the altar rail.

            This was on the back cover of the May 2017 issue of Decision Magazine, which is published by Billy Graham’s ministry. In the Ruth’s Attic section, she tells of a man who had lived under a regime intolerant to Christians. He was “appalled” at the comfort and freedom other Christians had.

            Some time later, after living as the comfortable Christians around him, he returned to apologize to his friend about his “appalled” comment. He said, “I did not know how dangerous freedom could be.” Over that year’s period of time, he felt that he had become “worse than those I criticized.”

            Graham’s short article ends with a final statement from this once persecuted Christian, “It is more difficult to live the Christian life under freedom than under repression.”

            In closing, an analogy comes to mind. You’ve seen or been to swimming or track  meets where the judge takes a gun out of his pocket. It looks like a real gun. When the judge pulls the trigger, it goes BANG and sounds like a real gun. But it only fires blanks, not real bullets. Nobody can get hurt from this pistol. No one can properly defend himself or herself with this faux weapon. This is what happens to the Christian who doesn’t delve deep into God’s word, not just reading or skimming His Word, but studying to show “thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Tim 2:15 KJV

            Lest I sound like the spiritual giant (which I’m not), I must add a caveat.  Throughout my Christian walk, as I would hear various messages and teaching, it began to dawn on me that at some point in the future, my Christian life just might get difficult, testing, challenging. All of the above? (For our regular readers, they may remember several posts where we speak to this, for example “In The Wilderness” http://foxholecowboysblog.blogspot.com/2016/08/blog-2-in-wilderness.html or “Deep Rootedness” parts 1 and 2 http://foxholecowboysblog.blogspot.com/2016/08/blog-3-deep-rootedness-part-1_22.html ) As you know, over the past seven or eight years, that happened, is happening.  During those years leading up to the harder times, it now appears God was trying to get my attention, to help prepare me for those demanding times that were to come. I thought that’s what He might be doing, preparing me. But did I take that seriously? I don’t know, probably not as seriously as I should have. I kept reading my Bible. At times I would make scripture memory an earnest part of my routine; but more often than not, not. It’s not like I was tubing on a lazy river, but I’m not sure I thought the waves of adversity would ever, really, happen to me. Guess what? Once again, God knew the end from the beginning and I missed many opportunities for preparation.

            The simulated old, Regular Clock in the kitchen just chimed 9 times. It’s time to end this and keep on keeping on. Sometimes I think that just may be the victory in a Christian’s walk.  So it may be appropriate to close with a verse that I did learn early on, Proverbs 24:16 KJV For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.

            But The Message does have a way with words when it gives us this for Proverbs 24:16

^15-16 Don’t interfere with good people’s lives;
    don’t try to get the best of them.
No matter how many times you trip them up,
    God-loyal people don’t stay down long;
Soon they’re up on their feet,
    while the wicked end up flat on their faces.

^17-18 Don’t laugh when your enemy falls;
    don’t crow over his collapse.
God might see, and become very provoked,
    and then take pity on his plight.

 

Sincerely, your cowboy buddy, who is back in the saddle again,

(http://foxholecowboysblog.blogspot.com/2016/12/post-15-foxhole-cowboys-and-ruby.html )

John

 

 

 

 

Post 37, Part 1-Biblical Context, Dr. Heiser, and Life’s Priorities

Tue, Apr 25, 2017 at 10:00 PM

Hey Dana

            I’ve been re-reading our post on is the church relevant today.

http://foxholecowboysblog.blogspot.com/2016/11/post-14-part-2-relevant-or-business-as.html  I’ve copied something from it that has been sticking in my mind. It’s inserted below. You wrote, “Dr. Heiser advocates our reading the Bible in the context of the time it was written, the place where it was written, and the people to whom it was written, instead of the through the contexts or “filters” of our denominational or theological traditions and distinctives. “ I’ve been trying to figure out what that means. Unless the regular Janes or Joes in-the-pews buy an expensive Bible that gives the reader the information you were writing about, how does one do this?

 

     This past Christmas (something else we’re not supposed to say) a friend of mine gave me a copy of Dr. Michael Heiser’s “The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible.”  http://drmsh.com/  Dr. Heiser advocates our reading the Bible in the context of the time it was written, the place where it was written, and the people to whom it was written, instead of the through the contexts or “filters” of our denominational or theological traditions and distinctives.

     In other words, we need to study in such a way so that the things that 1^st Century and before Jews had going through their heads, are going through ours as well, when we approach the Scriptures, and read what the text actually says. We’re hands down guilty of always trying to determine or interpret what the Bible says through our Protestant, Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Anglican, Pentecostal, Charismatic, Brethren, Calvinist, Arminian, Pre-Trib, Mid-Trib, Post-Trib, Premillennial, Postmillennial, Amillennial, or what have you “filters.” To read the Bible in its original context cannot help but to remind us of just how supernatural our Christian faith actually is.  We, as a church, have forgotten that, or worse, ignored that because we don’t want to be seen as out of step with modern cultural mores.

     That is not to say that our church traditions or theological beliefs are wrong. Not at all!  In my own life, through times of stress, sorrow or the storms of life, God, through my theological beliefs was a rock, and anchor to hold me firm, keep me afloat, and give me a framework with which I could make sense out of said events.  But in re-reading the Bible after being exposed to Dr. Heiser’s view on things, I am seeing that we, the church have, in dramatic ways, cut ourselves loose from our supernatural moorings. 

 

Can you explain this? Thanks, John

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Dana responded Tue, May 2, 2017 at 10:21 AM

Hi John,

      My question would be what’s wrong with buying an expensive Bible, or books that shed light on what I wrote about?  People spend money on hobbies, social activities, concerts, going out to dinner, and all kinds of other things that dispose of disposable income.  And if the disposable income doesn’t amount to much, what would be wrong with fasting a couple of meals or a couple of activities to save up to buy said Bible, or other equally beneficial study books?  To me it seems to be a small price to pay for Biblical knowledge that could pay huge dividends in one’s spiritual quest.

      I live in a very modest house (an 80+ year old $45,000.00 wood frame house in need of myriad repairs) and drive a previously owned 1997 Toyota Corolla.  My salary allows me to pay the bills (of which there are many) and eat, and keep the wolves at arm’s length, but more times than not I’m out of money before I’m out of month. That is not a complaint, just an observation.  Yet I buy books for study, because growing in the knowledge of the Word of God is a life priority for me.

     All of this world’s treasures and pleasures I will not get to take with me when I die, and some of them “could” likely serve to lead me to ruin in this life.  When I stand before God and give an account of my life (really thankful for grace here) it might be a cool thing if I could intelligently speak with my Creator, Savior and King about things regarding His Word, upon which I was supposed to meditate day and night.  Or I could plead ignorance, because I couldn’t give up a month’s worth of Taco Tuesday money to further my Biblical and Theological education.

     That said….

     Dr. Michael Heiser’s “Supernatural: What the Bible Teaches About the Unseen World – And Why It Matters” is selling on Amazon in paperback for $12.67 and shipping. (This is sort of the Reader’s Digest Condensed Version of “The Unseen Realm” shown below. Great as an introduction to the material.)

     Dr. Heiser’s “The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible” sells in hardback on Amazon for $18.60 plus shipping.

     And, his latest book, “Reversing Hermon: Enoch, the Watchers, and the Forgotten Mission of Jesus Christ,” is available as a trade paperback on Amazon for $15.71 plus shipping.

     All three books together and shipping come to about 50 bucks.  Most Americans spend that much or more on coffee or junk food in a month’s time, or they spend it on entertainment, which may or may not be edifying to the soul.  Those three books if read and digested could advance one’s Biblical understanding immensely. The question comes down to just how important is growth in Biblical knowledge to one’s Christian life?

      Why am I emphasizing this so much?  It is because Dr. Heiser is the only readily accessible scholar talking about this important material on a lay level. Bible scholars explore this material a lot, but their research and publications tend to stay in the upper echelon vaults of peer reviewed scholarship, most of which the mainstream Evangelical Church is largely, if not totally, and sadly ignorant.

     That's not a slam on Evangelicalism, because much of this scholarship is highly intellectual in its tone (given it is designed for other scholars to read,) it is steeped to the max in ancient languages, and seriously, seriously technical.  Some of it is just plain hard work to wade through--and I have the advantage in that I study a lot, and yet some of it is difficult for me.  I wouldn't expect Joe or Jane Christian to take much interest in it.  And that's a shame.  Because there are gold nuggets to be found in mountains of dirt--not that scholarship is dirt—but you get my drift.

     Much of this scholarly work is inaccessible to many who could benefit from studying it, simply because they cannot find it.  A lot of it is in difficult to locate journals and the stuff of graduate level academic dissertations. It can be frustrating to try and obtain, yet the results of these Christian scholars’ work could and should be vital resources for the Christian's complete understanding of the Bible.  Dr. Heiser has done a lot to get this kind of material to the public, just by including it in his bibliographies, and publishing pertinent excerpts in his books.  But the point is that he is getting scholarship to the people.

     As technology has improved, and grown by leaps and bounds, and has given us all kinds of electronic gadgets that we can no longer live without, so has Biblical scholarship improved and grown.  Their (Christian scholars) depth of knowledge (aided by advancements in technology) is much greater than it was when we were in college, not to mention previous epochs of heightened spiritual enlightenment, such as the Protestant Reformation, the Great Awakening, etc.  The great leaps in Christian thought and Biblical theology were largely accomplished by candle light, and recorded in pen and ink.  What if the Reformers had had computers?

     Well modern day scholars do have computers and their advancements in Biblical knowledge has advanced tremendously as well.  For example, for those who study the ancient Biblical manuscripts [remember, only a small portion of existing manuscripts were available to the King James Translators] access, until now had been limited. There are online data bases which contain, in digitized format, every fragment and complete version of every Biblical manuscript that is in existence today, and they are all cross referenced, and accessible via computer.  Where as in an earlier day (even when we were at VFCC) one would have had to make pilgrimages to numerous world libraries containing repositories of ancient manuscripts in order to study them (if they could have gained permission), now it's all just a mouse click away.

     So there's all this Biblical knowledge out there, but the Church is somewhat clueless about its findings.  So here comes Dr. Heiser.  He is a scholar's scholar, holding several earned graduate degrees, including a PhD in the Hebrew Bible.  But Dr. Heiser's mission is to get this scholarly material out in a format that Joe and Jane Christian can read and understand.  He's bridging the gap between the ivory tower and the pew--and that's as significant as it is important. 

     The Christian Church is losing its relevancy because it's stuck in a rut--same old- same old every Sunday. To me, the exciting thing about having been exposed to Heiser's work, is to see him launch this campaign to get people back into the text of the Bible, free from said “systems,” and to make that time spent in Scripture as new and as exhilarating as it was when we first got saved or got the Spirit and the Bible was brand new to us, and we couldn't get enough of it. 

     Somehow, Bible reading has become sort of a rote activity for the Church.  Regarding those Christians who do read their Bibles, I wonder, how they feel about it?  Are they doing it out of a sense of duty--because they are supposed to? 

     The thing about which I am most concerned (and sometimes it gets my dander up--as my sainted Grandmother used to say) is that outside of my pastor, one particular co-worker, and you, I'm not having conversations with many other Christians who ever turn the conversation themselves, or allow me to turn the dialogue to the Bible.  I honestly cannot remember the last time someone came up to me and said anything to the effect, "WOW! You won't believe what the Lord showed me in the Bible today as I was reading." 

      With my parents being Charismatic before becoming Pentecostal, and my association, in the time of my return to the Lord, with Charismatic and Pentecostal youth who had such a late 60's and early 70's excitement in reading the Scriptures--it was like every day was a new revelation.  There was enthusiasm!  Hippies who were seeking enlightenment through psychedelic drugs, once they found Jesus, became insatiable in their hunger for God's Word.  It was visionary!  It was a glimpse of God Himself, but in a format that wouldn’t kill us, or even make our face to glow like Moses’.  Again--couldn't get enough of it. 

     Where did it go, John?  Is God not the same yesterday, today and for all time?  Shouldn't His Word be the most important aspect of a Christian's life?  How did we lose that?  Has God judged us by sending us a deluding spirit because we loved not the truth? As Paul writes in 2 Thessalonians 2:

 

 ⁹ The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, ¹⁰ and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. ¹¹ Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, ¹² in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

     Do you want something that will keep you up at night?  What if those verses above are talking about the Church? And even scarier, about the church in our day?  My eschatological beliefs tend to lead me away from interpreting Prophetic and End Times passages via the daily newspaper, but even if the Anti-Christ isn't just around the corner, we are still 2000+ years closer to his appearance on the world stage than when John wrote the Revelation. 

     Christians who do not know their Bibles will be ripe to be deceived by the Anti-Christ, or perhaps even his forerunner.  If we go back in the same chapter in 2 Thessalonians to verse 3, Paul says:

 

     "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;"

 

     While Paul warns us not to be deceived, yet the implication is overwhelming that there will be those who try to deceive "...even the elect." In Mark13:22, Jesus said,

 

      "For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect."

 

      That's why I think Dr. Heiser's work is so important.  He's getting people enthusiastic about the Bible again by clearly explaining difficult and misunderstood passages that most preachers and many Seminaries and Bible Colleges have willfully neglected, just because they are difficult in their conceptual nature, and they cannot help but produce questions and answers that are outside of their comfort zone. And I admit, since I've been exposed to his works, I'm seeing Biblical things in a different light. 

      And this is not something new--it's been there all along, hidden in plain sight--the ancient Israelites and the early Church knew this material thoroughly, but our "systems," denominational biases, and venerated (almost idolized) schools of thought have totally skipped over it because it can lead to some troubling conclusions, regarding the spiritual world, which we Westerners would just as soon forget existed.

     The latest scholarly findings could serve to really help to fill in many gaps in people's Biblical knowledge—perhaps cause some spiritual light bulbs to go off over people's heads, but it seems that never the twain shall meet.  Why? Partially because the Church is mired in pop-culture Christianity (what I call Christian entertainment, like the "Left Behind" phenomena.)  While entertaining to many, the "Left Behind" series was highly speculative, while essentially teaching nothing about real end times theology--which it would profit the church to know and understand.  I'm sure the writers meant well, but there is little of value, Biblically speaking, in their writing. When going through times of trouble or when confronted by evil, will people be quoting verses or taking comfort from "Left Behind" #6?  

     The scholars want nothing to do with the "Left Behind" mentality, and the "Left Behind" fans appreciate the easy-to-digest manner of the series, and find scholarly articles as dry as last year’s Christmas tree.  The "Left Behind" crowd doesn’t want to read scholarly materials because they are intellectually challenging, and to be frank, most are not real page turners.  So each side keeps largely to itself.  And again, that's a shame.

     As you brought up in your question, one of the chief things Heiser advocates is a reading and study of the Bible without the filters of denominational trappings, or the lens of a particular school of thought bias.  And that's exactly how we modern Christians read the Bible.  And you would have to admit, we do. We read the Bible from a Calvinistic point of view, or an Arminian point of view.  Or, we read the Bible with Pentecostal or Presbyterian or Catholic or liberal or conservative or whatever leanings.  The point is, as Heiser makes, none of these systems with which we are so enamored, and will even fight to defend and split churches over, were even around back in the days when the Bible was written.

     First century Christians and Jews, and Pre-first century followers of Yahweh wouldn't have read the Scriptures available to them in their times through any of the lenses and filters which we use today, hence the meanings of much of the Scriptures, and our (and their) understandings of how they were to be interpreted, might be, and often are very different.

     Heiser will be the first to tell you that he is not presenting his own personal "spin" on the Scriptures, nor is he giving his readers and listeners his own interpretation which is superior to existing interpretations.  On the contrary!  What he is doing is taking highly researched, peer reviewed scholarship, and making it accessible to the average Christian, and giving us some new ways of viewing Biblical events and writings that add color to a black and white picture that we've tenaciously held onto for most of our lives.  It's not a new theology; it's an enhancement of the theology to which we already subscribe.  It takes our two dimensional understandings and transforms it into one that is three dimensional.

      His work, while accessible, is still challenging. Remember, we have to work at it.  But we can take comfort in that rather than coming off like an egghead, he's a regular guy--likes baseball and football, Star Wars and UFO Conferences.  He speaks our language.  At the same time, his brilliance in Biblical translation and thought is off the charts.  He loves the Church, and wants it to grow in depth, and has devoted his life to helping us get access to and understanding so much material that for the most part goes largely unnoticed or ignored (for stated reasons.)

      Del Tarr used to say the problem with the Church is that it cannot, or it will not achieve the balance between heat and light.  Both sides disdain the other, while at the same time; both sides desperately need the other.  God has given both groups to the Church, yet we remain the spiritual equivalent of the Hatfields and the McCoys. And we wonder why we don't grow and have relevance?  When was the last time we heard something new?

     Dr. Heiser is giving us something new.  Actually it's not new at all; it's millennia old, it's just new to us.  But I find it exciting and refreshing, and something, if embraced by modern Christians, I believe could revolutionize their depth of knowledge in the Scriptures, and perhaps serve to inspire and motivate the Church to action...all by learning to love reading the Bible again, but in a way to which we are unaccustomed. 

     Also as Heiser is not a fan of "systems for systems' sake," he feels that much of the material that he presents has intentionally not been taught over the decades and centuries because it is difficult conceptually, and that many ministers (and schools) have opted for a watered down approach to the Bible that doesn't deal with difficult topics.  Keeping the Church "dumbed down" makes their jobs a lot easier.  It's important to note that Heiser is not an Evangelical anarchist who advocates tearing down all systems, schools of thought, or denominations, but rather presenting viable options to canned theological thinking. And that is something the Church desperately needs.

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To Be Continued With Part 2 Next Week

Post 36-Ghosts

 

On Tue, Apr 18, 2017 at 12:44 PM, I wrote to Dana

            ....Concerning ghosts. What about doing a post on ghosts--yes or no and what the Bible says?  I was talking to someone at work yesterday about them. He's an unbeliever. If push were to come to shove, I think I'd have to come down on the side of yes, but...

            What do you think about this idea?

John

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Then Tue, Apr 18, 2017 at 1:05 PM Dana almost immediately answered with

     You are not going to believe this, but I have been thinking about a Blog on ghosts, but have not pushed the idea because I feared folks might think it too weird.  But your e-mail was a confirmation.  Let's give it some thought--but I'm in if you want to do it .  Great minds think alike, eh, Amigo?  Dana

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John answered on Wed, Apr 19, 2017 at 12:14 AM

Hey Dana

            Have you noticed the increasing fascination with ghosts and spirits over the past few years? On some television channel, probably around the clock, some show is dealing with “good” spirits (always good looking—usually—young women, or “evil” often male or, again, usually good looking young women) spirits. They have various super powers and bags of earth shaking tricks. Those shows are not my thing, although (long before I was saved) I did regularly watch I Dream of Jeannie. And of course, for anyone who’s ever seen Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze  in the 1990 film Ghost, who can forget that movie and its final scene? (Too bad it’s not true. How many people have been lured in the wrong direction because of that movie?)

            I was talking recently with two different people at different times. With one, I was asked if I believed in ghosts. After a time of thinking how to answer, I said, “Yes. The Bible even has an example of it (see Saul and the Witch of Endor, 1 Samuel 28). With the other person, that person said there is an evil spirit living upstairs in their house. I wondered if that person’s maladies were because of this. When we used to go to Connecticut to visit our grandson, we would stay in an old inn that was supposedly haunted.  The Yankee Peddler Inn even has a You-tube video on the paranormal activity that supposedly takes place there. We’ve stayed a number of times but have yet to see the ghost. A former neighbor, a college professor, astronomer, cartoonist, and author, before he moved to another region of the country, brought over his newest book (at that time) which dealt with ghosts. He knew my spiritual state and wanted to know what I thought about ghosts.

            I haven’t studied this subject. I consider this playing with fire and my momma didn’t raise no dummy; although, I know the Bible has much to say about sorcery (or medium, or a spiritist, or necromancy) and that no sorcerer will go to heaven. One web site has 33 verses that deal with this, e.g. 2 Chronicles 33:6, Isaiah 47:9-13, Galatians 5: 19-21, or Rev 21:8. And I don’t know if demons are ghosts, but I do know that God has given me (us, all Christians) the power to cast them (demons) out, Luke 10:17 The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.”

            And of course, there is Smith Wigglesworth (https://www.canecreekchurch.org/what-s-your-legacy/44-smith-wigglesworth , who awoke from a sound sleep with a evil presence in his room  When he realized what, or rather who, the presence was, he said to it, “Oh, it’s only you Satan,” and then he went back to sleep.

            While I haven’t had the same experience as Wigglesworth, I have wrestled with the devil. One time, especially comes to mind. We were at Valley Forge Christian College. The college president, Owen Carr, was facing a hostile group of people in a college related meeting, and I was burdened to pray for him. I went to the building that had been the chapel when the Army had the property as a hospital. I used my key and let myself in, and began to pray. Satan didn’t want Brother Carr to be successful in that meeting. For over an hour Satan came at me in waves, at me and then backing off, at me and then backing off. At times my body was tingling at his presence and the hair on my head was standing out.  I was wrung out at the end of that attack, but victorious through Jesus Christ and the blood of the Lamb and His power in me that is greater than anything in or of this world.

            What do you think, Dana? Are there ghosts and what should Christians do about them? Or whatever you might feel to write on this subject.

           Here is an additional question.  Since I’ve started this post, Carol asked me about the witch of Endor, with the conjuring up Samuel. How could she bring Samuel back? Was it because he had gone to Abraham’s bosom, and not like the rich man who was separated by the “great chasm”? And if that is true, does that mean a non-Christian can never be conjured back? (Luke 16:19-31)

Yours for the Harvest

John

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Wed, Apr 19, 2017 at 1:47 PM    

 Hi John,

     Ghosts….interesting topic.  Interesting too, is the passage from Matthew 14:23-27.

 

“When evening came, he was there alone, ²⁴ but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. ²⁵ And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. ²⁶ But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. ²⁷ But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” (ESV)

 

     There are several Greek words used for spirit or ghost depending on the context.  The word for ghost in the Matthew passage is phantasma, which means an apparition, and is not used to refer to either the Holy Spirit, or evil and unclean spirits—all different Greek words.  Of all the words used for “spirit,” phantasma is used for what we would most commonly term a ghost. Our English word phantom is derived from this word; so we’re talking ghosts, and not another kind of spirit.

     A while back I heard an interview with the late Cris Putnam, who wrote “The Supernatural Worldview.”  He made an intriguing point, in that the disciples who saw Jesus walking on the water thought He was a ghost (“spirit” in the KJV).  Notice that while Jesus chides Peter for his lack of faith in his attempt to walk on the water, Jesus does not take the disciples to task for thinking He was a ghost.  One would naturally think that if ghosts did not exist, or that they were, in fact, just evil spirits of some kind or another, that Jesus would have said something to the effect, “Hey, come on guys, get real, you all know there’s no such thing as ghosts.”  But He didn’t….

     That is something that left me scratching my head in wonder.  Why didn’t Jesus correct them if they, indeed, were in error?  He certainly corrected them on other matters, and if there was no such thing as ghosts, and the disciples believed in them, one would think Jesus might have had something to say on the matter to set them straight.

     It’s not a wise idea to try to argue doctrine from what’s not said in the Bible, as opposed to what is recorded (under inspiration) as actually being said, and I’m not trying to say that are most definitely ghosts, based on what Jesus didn’t say about them.  But I do find it strange that He didn’t nip their superstition, as it were, in the proverbial bud.

     You mentioned 1 Samuel 28, the witch or medium of Endor passage.  Let’s look at a portion of that passage:

 

¹¹ Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” He said, “Bring up Samuel for me.” ¹² When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. And the woman said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul.” ¹³ The king said to her, “Do not be afraid. What do you see?” And the woman said to Saul, “I see a god coming up out of the earth.” ¹⁴ He said to her, “What is his appearance?” And she said, “An old man is coming up, and he is wrapped in a robe.” And Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground and paid homage.

 

¹⁵ Then Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?”

 

     The woman says she sees, “a god” coming up out of the earth.” The Hebrew word for “god” used there is “Elohim.”  It is a word that can denote Yahweh God (big “G”) or lesser gods (little “g”).  Elohim is used to denote any kind of disembodied, superhuman spirits, whether it be God Himself, or angelic type figures, both good and bad, or pagan deities over which Israel stumbled.

     So what is Samuel in that passage?  Is he a ghost in the classical sense of what we determine ghosts to be—a disembodied spirit of someone who has previously died?  It’s a good question.  And while you are right when you say that the Bible condemns the consulting of mediums or the dead, and it is a subject from whom Christians should steer clear, yet God allows it in this instance.  Again, another head scratcher.

     You asked whether or not I thought ghosts were or were not demons.  The Bible doesn’t give us much to go on when it comes to the origin of demons.  There is an interesting passage in the Book of Enoch (or 1^st Enoch) chapter 15: 8-12 which gives some clarification:

8. And now the giants, who have been begotten from body and flesh, will be called evil spirits on earth, and their dwelling-places will be upon the earth.

9. Evil spirits proceed from their bodies; because they are created from above, their beginning and first basis being from the holy watchers, they will be evil spirits upon    the earth, and will be called evil spirits.

10. But the spirits of heaven have their dwelling-places in heaven, and the spirits of the earth, who were born on the earth, have their dwelling-places on earth.

11. And the spirits of the giants, who cast themselves upon the clouds, will be destroyed and fall, and will battle and cause destruction on the earth, and do evil; they will take no kind of food, nor will they become thirsty, and they will be invisible.

12. And these spirits shall rise up against the children of men and against the women, because they have proceeded from them, in the days of murder and destruction.

     So according to the book of Enoch, demons are the spirits of the dead Nephilim (giants). (Genesis 6:1-4.) 

     “When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, ² the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. ³ Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” ⁴ The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.” (ESV)

     Granted there are different views on just who the “sons of God” are in that passage.  Many prominent Evangelicals insist it is the godly descendants of Seth (Adam and Eve’s son after the death of Abel) who mated with heathen women, and were corrupted.  However the Hebrew term for “sons of God” isn’t elsewhere used in referring to human males.  It is a term used for spiritual beings, hence fallen angels.

      These fallen angels [“Watchers”] were reported to have come from Heaven and lusted after human women, and thus mated with them, producing a race of giants (Nephilim) who so corrupted mankind that God sent the flood.  Also, it seems highly unlikely that godly men and heathen women could produce a race of giants. Verse 4 states:

 

” ⁴ The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them.”

 

     The word “when” can also be translated “whenever,” alternately rendering the verse, ” ⁴ The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, whenever the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them.”

    That could explain how there were giants who plagued Israel from the days of the Exodus (King Og, and also the giants who terrified the spies) all through Joshua’s conquest of the promised land, and even into David’s time (Goliath).

     Again, from 1Enoch chapters 6-8:

 

1. And it came to pass when the children of men had multiplied that in those days were born unto them beautiful and comely daughters. 2. And the angels, the children of the heaven, saw and lusted after them, and said to one another: 'Come, let us choose us wives from among the children of men and beget us children.' 3. And Semjâzâ, who was their leader, said unto them: 'I fear ye will not indeed agree to do this deed, and I alone shall have to pay the penalty of a great sin.' 4. And they all answered him and said: 'Let us all swear an oath, and all bind ourselves by mutual imprecations not to abandon this plan but to do this thing.' 5. Then sware they all together and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. 6. And they were in all two hundred; who descended in the days of Jared on the summit of Mount Hermon, and they called it Mount Hermon, because they had sworn and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. 7. And these are the names of their leaders: Sêmîazâz, their leader, Arâkîba, Râmêêl, Kôkabîêl, Tâmîêl, Râmîêl, Dânêl, Êzêqêêl, Barâqîjâl, Asâêl, Armârôs, Batârêl, Anânêl, Zaqîêl, Samsâpêêl, Satarêl, Tûrêl, Jômjâêl, Sariêl. 8. These are their chiefs of tens.
    
2. And all the others together with them took unto themselves wives, and each chose for himself one, and they began to go in unto them and to defile themselves with them, and they taught them charms and enchantments, and the cutting of roots, and made them acquainted with plants. 2. And they became pregnant, and they bare great giants, whose height was three thousand ells: 3. Who consumed all the acquisitions of men. And when men could no longer sustain them, 4. the giants turned against them and devoured mankind. 5. And they began to sin against birds, and beasts, and reptiles, and fish, and to devour one another's flesh, and drink the blood. 6. Then the earth laid accusation against the lawless ones.
    
3. And Azâzêl taught men to make swords, and knives, and shields, and breastplates, and made known to them the metals of the earth and the art of working them, and bracelets, and ornaments, and the use of antimony, and the beautifying of the eyelids, and all kinds of costly stones, and all colouring tinctures. 2. And there arose much godlessness, and they committed fornication, and they were led astray, and became corrupt in all their ways. Semjâzâ taught enchantments, and root-cuttings, Armârôs the resolving of enchantments, Barâqîjâl, (taught) astrology, Kôkabêl the constellations, Ezêqêêl the knowledge of the clouds, Araqiêl the signs of the earth, Shamsiêl the signs of the sun, and Sariêl the course of the moon. And as men perished, they cried, and their cry went up to heaven . . .
    
        Now some might ask, why should we look to illustrate a Biblical idea with a book that is not a part of the Bible?  The Book of Enoch came to light in what’s called the Second Temple period 530 BC to 70 AD.  It is a safe bet that it wasn’t written by the Biblical Enoch from Genesis, as there exist no writings from that far back in history that we know of.  It is not included in the Canon of Scripture, although there were early Church Fathers who argued for its Canonicity. 
        While not held to be equal with Scripture, Jude under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit quoted 1^st Enoch:

“¹⁴ It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, ¹⁵ to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” Jude 1:14-15 (ESV)

     Also Peter in his second epistle, verse 4, also makes use of the Enochian material:

⁴ For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; (ESV)

 

     So while the Book of Enoch may not be equal with Scripture proper, some of its material the Holy Spirit saw fit to allow being included in two New Testament books, thus attesting to its helpfulness.  I tend to look at it like there are quite a number of Christian books that are helpful, but not inspired Scripture.  J.I. Packer’s “Knowing God,” and A. W. Tozer’s “The Pursuit of God,” would be two examples of many.

     For further study on this material, I heartily recommend Dr. Michael Heiser’s masterful works, “The Unseen Realm,” “Supernatural,” and “Reversing Hermon.”  His books are worth their prices for the bibliographies alone, not to mention the weighty content (all based upon scholarly, peer reviewed material).  What I wrote above is not even worthy of being called the Reader’s Digest Condensed version of said material.

     But back to my point, I do not think what many people think about when the word “ghosts” is mentioned, are demons.  Whatever ghosts are, they are not demons proper. That is not to say that ghosts should not be considered evil. There are a number of created entities which are in rebellion, and hostile to God and His people. But frankly, I just do not know. So as far as I am concerned, the jury is still out.

     Theologically, I still have a problem with the idea of the disembodied spirits of the dead hanging around, and it stems from Hebrews 9:27, which says, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” (ESV)  That verse pretty much interferes with the idea of earthbound ghosts in my book, unless God makes some major allowances in certain cases, which the Bible never mentions.

      To your question,

 

      “Carol asked me about the witch of Endor, with the conjuring up Samuel. How could she bring Samuel back? Was it because he had gone to Abraham’s bosom, and not like the rich man who was separated by the “great chasm”? And if that is true, does that mean a non-Christian can never be conjured back? (Luke 16:19-31)”

 

    My opinion and a dollar and a half will get you a cup of coffee at your local diner, but here goes anyway.  Samuel’s case was an isolated event, which is not again covered in books coming before or coming after 1Samuel 28.  God clearly “allowed” the situation to progress as it is recorded, without endorsing it.  As has been said, Christians are to stay far away from occult practices, as they are forbidden by God due to their inherent evil nature—perhaps stemming from the corrupting teachings of the fallen Watchers from Genesis 6 and Enoch.

      The witch of Endor had no more power over the “ghost” of Samuel than God allowed in that instance, any more than I have the power to make gold bars from wooden sticks.  God allowed it to occur to drive home the point to Saul of the loss of his kingdom to David, and as an object lesson to us that we should inquire of God and shouldn’t seek knowledge from occult sources.  The results of the tolerance of evil are dramatically and starkly portrayed in the recorded details of the history of Israel in Judges, and also in the divided kingdom after Solomon and prior to the exile.

     Where exactly Samuel was when the conjuring took place, I cannot rightly say.  Old Testament writers have demonstrated that the belief in that day was that all of the dead enter Sheol, or the realm of the dead, but that the righteous would not be abandoned to Sheol forever. 

     Matthew 22:8 and John 11:24, among other passages, show that among Jews there was a belief in the resurrection, even if it was not understood completely.  But the Bible doesn’t spell it out clearly as to when the resurrection (as believed by the Jews of the times) would be accomplished.  Of course the resurrection of Jesus is the surety for all believer’s resurrection at the end of time.  But whether Samuel was in Sheol or Abraham’s bosom or in Heaven proper, the Bible doesn’t give a definitive answer.  We can be sure that Samuel was under God’s watchful care, and in this one instance he was allowed to serve God again even after death.

     But that said, I do not believe a believer’s spirit, soul, ghost or whatever you want to call it, can be subject to conjuring rituals or spells, unless there is a Divine purpose to it, as in the case of Samuel.  Our lives are…”hidden with Christ in God.”  Colossians 3:3 (ESV).   As for non-believers, I’m not sure.  As their souls are not with God, perhaps their race has been run.  Perhaps wherever they exist (Sheol or Hades, or somewhere else?), God might allow their souls to be manipulated, but we can only speculate.

    OK, why don’t we dim the lights, and let me leave you with a final…ghost story.  Do you remember J.B. Phillips, the man who wrote the Christian classic, “Your God Is Too Small,” and also a quite good translation of the New Testament? He told a very curious tale of something that happened to him.  Twice, it is told, while working on his New Testament translation, and as he struggled with depression and discouragement, he had two unsolicited ghostly visits from none other than the late C.S. Lewis. 

     According to Phillips, he had only met Lewis one time, and while they had corresponded via the postal service, he claims to have not known him that well.  A few days after Mr. Lewis’ passing, he appeared to Phillips in his home. Lewis’ presence manifested there, seated near Phillips, and said directly to him, “It’s not as hard as you think, you know.” These words were particularly comforting and encouraging to Phillips, and aided him in completing the arduous task of translating the New Testament.

     Phillips was a fairly skeptical man when it came to the paranormal, and not given to flights of fancy—face it, one must be fairly serious in discipline and demeanor to attempt to publish a translation (not a paraphrase) of the entire New Testament.  But he remained convinced that the late C.S. Lewis had visited him twice. 

     What do I make of it?  I cannot say, as I was neither there to witness it, nor did I ever meet Mr. Lewis or Mr. Phillips and speak with them about the matter.  Knowing Mr. Phillip’s work, I am inclined to not doubt his story, as he was a pretty straight arrow, and, moreover, he never capitalized on the experience. And in these days and times, that is almost more extraordinary than the appearance of a ghost.

Boo!

Dana