Michael S. Heiser's Blog, page 45

Naked Bible Podcast Episode 145: Ezekiel 31 and the Cosmic Tree

Ezekiel 31 is part of the prophet’s oracles against Egypt (chs. 29-32). The chapter strikes an analogy between the mighty nation of Egypt and a great cedar tree in Eden, the envy of other glorious trees in the garden of God. The symbol of the “world tree” or “cosmic tree” is well known, not only to scholars of the ancient Near East, but other cultures as well. The cosmic tree represents a mythological pillar or column that unites all elements of Israel’s ancient three-tiered cosmology. Its branches reach the heavens; its trunk is fixed to the earth, while its roots descend into the subterranean deep of Sheol. It gives life to everything living thing yet it intersects with the realm of the dead. As with Ezekiel 28, many scholars presume the point of that the great tree is Adam, to whom Pharaoh is being compared and judged for his hubris. This common assumption misses the meaning of the primeval cosmic tree and its associated forest as this episode details.

The episode is now live.

Is There an Undiscovered Hidden Chamber in King Tut’s Tomb?

Short answer: nobody knows because the scans of the walls don’t agree.

Anyone interested in this current debate and what might be done to prove or disprove the idea should read this excellent article. Covers all the bases.

Kenneth Kitchen’s Ancient Orient and Old Testament Available as Free PDF

This book is an important, though slightly dated, contribution to understanding the OT in its ancient Near Eastern context. It is also quite useful for addressing a range of attacks on the integrity of the OT.

Prof. Kitchen was for many years an Egyptologist in the UK, but his training and contributions extended into biblical studies. His book is reproduced by his permission here.

My New Book Reversing Hermon is Now Available for Pre-Order

Someone sent me an email a week ago that my new book, Reversing Hermon: Enoch, the Watchers, and the Forgotten Mission of Jesus Christ[image error], was available for pre-order. Sorry I forgot to blog it then.

It’s been number 1 in the angels and demons new releases category since it went up, and the overall sales rank of all books sold on Amazon (millions of them) has gotten as low as 3000. Not sure what to make of that, but it’s encouraging!

In case you haven’t heard me talk about it, the book is unique. The focus is the story of the transgression of the Watchers in 1 Enoch 6-16 and how that story is reflected in various places in the New Testament. Like my earlier book, The Unseen Realm, every chapter in this new book is based on a university dissertation or peer-reviewed journal literature. That isn’t the unique part. What’s never been done before — popularly or in academia — is to collect that material and put it between two covers. It’s a first.

Click on the title link and pre-order Reversing Hermon: Enoch, the Watchers, and the Forgotten Mission of Jesus Christ[image error].

The publisher tells me the book will be shipping March 7 or thereabouts.

 

Help Determine What Mike Writes for Lexham this Year

I’ve created a short survey (six questions) that, to a significant extent, will influence what I spend my work hours writing this year. It should take you about 10 minutes. Lexham is looking for guidance (and so am I, truth be told). Click on this link to take the survey.

Congratulations to Randall Price on Discovering a New Qumran Cave

If you listened to my ETS interview with Randall last November, there were inklings of this in between the lines. News was recently announced about the new Cave 12. Read it here.

PEERANORMAL Episode 07: DMT, Psychedelics, Religious Mysticism, and Paranormal Experiences

This episode focuses on entheogens—psychedelic drugs that are known to cause “mystical states” of consciousness. Our hosts discuss Rick Strassman’s work on DMT, but that is merely a subset of entheogen study. Current research in the fields of brain science, psychology, and religion are struggling to explain how entheogens and the experiences they cause should be understood. The dilemma of consciousness, more popularly known as the mind-body problem, is at the heart of the struggle. Do entheogens simply affect part of the brain and its chemistry triggering new states of consciousness from inside your head? Or do these drugs separate consciousness from the organ of the body we call the brain, verifying that consciousness is distinct from the brain? Are God and other supernal beings experienced by people under the effect of entheogens just a product of the brain, or are they entities to be experienced by unhindered consciousness?

Follow this link to the episode and articles we read for the episode.

Naked Bible Podcast Episode 144: Ezekiel 29-30

Ezekiel 29-30 are the first two of four chapters that preserve a series of oracles against Egypt and her Pharaoh. As in the case of the oracles against the prince of Tyre, Ezekiel’s imagery of cosmic, non-human forces of chaos that resist God’s order frames Yahweh’s judgment of the hubris of Egypt. This episode therefore pays special attention to chaos and Leviathan imagery while referencing other symbols and metaphors that juxtapose Egypt’s deserved demise and Israel’s future restoration.

The episode is now live.

Mike’s Guest Appearance / Interview on the Voice of Olympus

The Voice of Olympus is a podcast show hosted by Hercules Invictus, a modern follower of the gods of Olympus. From the podcast’s website:

The podcast explores the many manifestations of Greco-Roman mythology in our present day and age. We invite you to join us in celebrating Mount Olympus in spheres of activity ranging from spirituality to pop-cultural entertainment. Portals will be provided for those wishing to enter, and be an active part, of the ever-evolving Olympian mythos.

If you are familiar with the divine council worldview, this interview will be especially interesting, as Hercules accepts the idea that the gods were/are real entities. It was a fun interview for both of us since we were “speaking each other’s language” in this regard and had similar experiences in push-back from denominational Christian authority figures when seeking answers to certain questions (he in his youth, in my case more recently since recovering the divine council worldview).  I couldn’t help thinking that parts of it may have been similar to conversations Paul would have had with some of the Gentiles he met. Hopefully both of our audiences will enjoy the conversation as much as we did having it.

Naked Bible Podcast Episode 143: Ezekiel 28

The focus in this episode is Ezek 28:1-19. As readers of my book, The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible know, this is a controversial passage.  All scholars agree that this is an oracle and lament against a human prince of Tyre. The disagreement stems from vv. 11-19, but 1-19 is peripherally affected. The debate is over just who the prince of Tyre in vv. 11-19 is being compared to — i.e., what is the point of analogy? Many say that the prince of Tyre is being compared to Adam in Eden. This would mean that it is Adam who is being referred to as a “guardian cherub” (v. 14) who walked in the midst of the stone of fire (a reference to either divine council members or the divine council locale). Dr. Heiser shares the view of other scholars who say that the prince of Tyre is being compared to a divine rebel — and that this passage is related to another one (Isaiah 14) that compares a human ruler (king of Babylon) to a divine rebel. Further, he argues that these two passages are related to Genesis 3, the OT’s own story of a primeval divine rebellion. This means that the anointed cherub is a divine being, a rebellious member of the divine council (stones of fire) – not Adam. This episode explores why the debate exists and adds some details in defense of Dr. Heiser’s position.

The episode is now live.