The Theology Pugcast: Heiser’s Unseen Realm

This week, the Pugsters look at some of the themes in Michael Heiser’s books dealing with the worldview of the biblical authors. Glenn leads the discussion, which revolves around two big ideas: the idea of a heavenly court, with angelic beings having authority over areas such as nations; and the account of the Nephilim in Genesis. For the latter, Heiser uses 1 Enoch, a document that shaped much of the Jewish worldview at the time of the New Testament and had a direct influence on 2 Peter and Jude. 1 Enoch claims that the “sons of God” were angelic beings (“Watchers”) and that the Nephilim were thus half angelic, half human hybrids. Their disembodied spirits were the demons and evil spirits of the New Testament and were responsible for much of the evil in the world. The guys discuss these and other matters, including whether we need to adopt all elements of the worldview of the biblical authors, especially when they are using non-canonical sources.