First off, happy Ash Wednesday to one and all. This marks the start of the season of Lent, culminating in the single most important part of the year for us as Christians. When I lived in the States, I distinctly recall priests from various Catholic and Protestant churches alike, gathering on the streets to anoint Christians for the day.
Sadly, where I am now, the day does not seem to be particularly important, nor does anyone really celebrate it. On the way back home today, while suffering from what feels like a milder version of the Coof, I saw precisely ONE woman on the tram with ashes on her forehead.
This is what happens when you live in a post-Christian country. The people lose sight of their roots, then their traditions, then their own identities. And eventually, they lose their country.
Further, this is a sad Ash Wednesday for another reason:
Dr. Michael Heiser is dead. He was just 60 years old, and had recently been diagnosed with aggressive Stage 4 pancreatic cancer – basically, a death sentence the moment he received it.
Those of you who do not actually study Scripture at depth, will not be familiar with his name. But those who want to learn more about the deeper meaning of Scripture, will be interested in his work. Unlike many Evangelical Christians, who shy away from the really challenging and “weird” passages of the Bible, Dr. Heiser dared to ask the questions that no one else wanted to. And in the process, by applying his knowledge and learning, and his skill with ancient Hebrew, he has peeled away layers of meaning to Scripture that you would be hard-pressed to find anywhere else.
For example – do you know where daemons come from?
As it turns out, they are not simply fallen angels who rebelled against God and fell to Earth. This is what a superficial reading of Scripture would tell you. There is rather more to it than this. If you read Genesis 6:1-4, you will encounter the some of the strangest and most difficult passages in all of Scripture:
6 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[a] man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” 4 The Nephilim[b] 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.
— Genesis 6:1-4, English Standard Version
These few lines of Scripture have puzzled and perplexed Christians for centuries. They simply do not make sense when looked at through a modern lens. There are so many questions raised by just these few passages. Who were the Sons of God? Did the Lord put a ceiling on the life-years of Man? What were the Nephilim? Did they all die in the Flood?
Dr. Heiser answered all of these questions, and far more, in his tome, The Unseen Realm. This is a book I cannot recommend strongly enough for someone who wants to take the Bible seriously and understand what is going on behind the scenes. If you read it, you will be astonished by what you find.
As it turns out, both the canonical texts of the Bible, and deuterocanonical texts like 1 Enoch, take the view that daemons are in fact the disembodied spirits of the Nephilim, destroyed by God in the Flood. The Sons of God were indeed members of His divine council, who used their free will to stand against God. Members of that council stand as guardians and overseers of different nations, following the third – yes, third – great rebellion against God, at Babel, during which time He chose to distance Himself from Man and no longer wished to be directly involved in ruling over Man. Instead, He gave that task over to specific beings of great power, described in 1 Enoch as Watchers, whose personalities and priorities greatly influence the courses of action and histories of various nations under their administration.
This is all the stuff they didn’t teach you in Sunday School. And Dr. Heiser unpacked all of it brilliantly – though not, it must be said, without pushback and controversy.
Be that as it may, Dr. Heiser had an immense impact on Christian understanding of Scripture. He brought the words of Scripture home to people in ways they can understand without needing to spend decades studying Hebrew and amassing lots of manuscripts. He did the work of unpacking Scripture for us.
In the process, he brought us to a much deeper understanding of God’s word and will. For that, he deserves a proper mansion in the Kingdom of Heaven.
He was the very epitome of the Good Servant from the Parable of the Tenants:
14 “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants[c] and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents,[d] to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.[e] You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’
— Matthew 25:14-21, English Standard Version
Clear skies and eternal rest, Dr. Heiser. May the angels guide you home to Our Lord.
1 Comment
A fine summary for a faithful man. I’m looking forward to meeting him.