Michael S. Heiser's Blog, page 51

Naked Bible Podcast Episode 126 – Ezekiel 18

Ezekiel 18 focuses on one central idea: individual accountability for one’s own sinfulness. The chapter opens with God’s rejection of the pervasive Israelite idea that the suffering of one generation is the result of the sins of previous generations. The message God wants to communicate through the prophet is that the Israelites in captivity in Babylon and those about to suffer the destruction of Jerusalem have no one but themselves to blame. But yet the idea of corporate responsibility and the effects of sin being felt “unto the third and fourth generation” is found in the Torah. This episode discusses how individual and corporate responsibility are complementary, not contradictory.

The episode is now live.

Naked Bible Podcast Episode 125 – Bible Study Tools & an Interview with Johnny Cisneros

Everyone interested in the study of Scripture wants to feel adequate to the task. But there are many obstacles—real and merely imagined—to being competent in Bible study. In this episode, I interview my long-time friend and colleague, Johnny Cisneros. With skills in biblical language study and doctoral candidate status in instructional design, Johnny is the perfect person to not only help people think better about strategies and tools for Bible study, but to also produce something useful to everyone who wants to develop Bible study skills. The episode is now live.

The discussion focuses on studying Greek and Hebrew words and a new video course developed by Johnny that is about to launch: How to Study the Bible with Word Studies: The tools and methods for meaningful insights from the God’s Word.

The Function of the Divine Council in Heavenly Worship: Piety, not Mysticism: Part 4

[Note: This post continues where Part 3 left off.  It includes the rest of the main biblical as well as non-biblical ancient Jewish texts.– MSH]

 

Psalm 97:7–9. “All worshipers of images are put to shame, who make their boast in worthless idols; worship him, all you gods!  Zion hears and is glad, and the daughters of Judah rejoice, because of your judgments, Yahweh.  For you, Yahweh, are most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.”

This psalm focuses on the kingship of Yahweh and uses the imagery of a Divine Warrior.  Vv 1–6 deal with theophany and perhaps victory as a basis for his rule, and as a cause for joy. The problem of the writer seems to have been that not everyone was worshipping Yahweh (vv 10-11). To rectify this situation, the psalmist spoke of the gods who make up the divine council as bowing before Yahweh in praise and submission and recognition of his superiority. Commentators are divided as to whether this bowing should be read as an indicative or an imperative. If indicative, then the gods have already bowed to Yahweh. If imperative, then the psalmist is calling for such action. Why? Because if Yahweh was the true God, the king of heaven, the ruler of all the mighty spirits there; and if these spirits acknowledged that status, then it would make no sense for humans to continue worshiping lesser deities. Perhaps another way to say it is that at least in this psalm, Yahweh’s right to receive worship was linked to the fact that all his closest competitors either already had or at least ought to bow in submission and praise to him. Thus, the mention of gods worshiping Yahweh in this psalm was a key part of the writer’s argument of why humans ought to worship Yahweh, and this desire stemmed from the writer’s own piety.

Psalm 103:20–21. “Bless Yahweh, O you his messengers, you mighty ones who do his word, obeying the voice of his word!  Bless Yahweh, all his hosts, his ministers, who do his will!”

These verses come at the conclusion of this individual psalm of praise. The writer begins and ends with his own need to bless Yahweh. In between he lists various reasons to do so. The mention of “his messengers” and “his hosts” shows that for the writer, even in reflecting on his own need to praise God, he became aware of the inadequacy of such praise, and proceeded to expand the scope to include the faithful doers of God’s work and will in heaven. Perhaps God’s goodness to humans exceeds our greatest capacity to praise him. Or perhaps he thought there should be praise and rejoicing among the heavenly doers of God’s will when their earthly counterparts also do Yahweh’s will and fear him. Whatever the exact reason or combination of reasons, the writer makes it clear that this is linked to his own piety, to his own need to “bless Yahweh.” And somehow, if faithful, heavenly spirits also do that, that is even more fitting.

Psalm 148:1-2. “Alleluia! Praise Yahweh from the heavens, praise him in the heights. 2 Praise him, all his angels, praise him, all his host!”

This psalm is a short call to praise that has a vision of cosmic praise inversely proportionate to its length. The scope of praise includes all the created order, both celestial and terrestrial. The mention of his messengers and “his hosts” (following the plural in an ancient note called the “qereh” reading) draws on the heavenly sphere. In the piety or spirituality of the writer, there is a desire for God to receive the greatest possible amount of praise. Quantity, not just quality, matters also.

Job 38:7. “When the morning stars sang together// And all the sons of God shouted for joy?”

God here recounts his greatness in this section by referring to his glorious work as Creator. The “morning stars,” parallel with “sons of god,” are clear references to the heavenly council. This same parallelism (bn il // pḫr kkbm) is found in one of the texts from Ugarit (CAT, 1.10 i:3–4). By mentioning the divine council, He also introduces the element of his own incomparability. Here it serves to renew and stimulate Job’s piety by humbling him and helping him better grasp his natural insignificance in the cosmic scope of things, especially when compared with Yahweh’s love and concern for him.

Nehemiah 9:6. “You alone are the LORD. You have made the heavens, The heaven of heavens with all their host, The earth and all that is on it, The seas and all that is in them. You give life to all of them And the heavenly host bows down before You.”

This text comes at the beginning of a “doxology of judgment,” and forms part of the basis for the confession of sin at the close. (This is a classic penitential prayer passage, which developed after the exile on the basis of Lev 26:39-40.) The repentant members of the community are preparing to confess their sin and ask for Yahweh’s forgiveness so that they might renew the covenant with him. The heavenly council’s existence is assumed, as is their praising of Yahweh. The thought is that God created everything, from the greatest to the least of creation, and therefore they all praise him. Like some other passages, this points to the incomparability of Yahweh. (The word “heavens” probably refers to heavenly beings, which only strengthens what is already clear.)

 

SECOND TEMPLE (NON-BIBLICAL) TEXTS

Besides the OT biblical passages, there are several Second Temple texts which could be studied, of which these are the most salient.

1 Enoch

First Enoch contains a number of passages that record heavenly praise, both by the author as an individual (e.g., 22:14; 25:7; 39:9-11; 81:3; 90:40) and also by groups of heavenly beings (e.g., 39:5, 7, 12-14; 40:3-10; 41:7; 47:1-4; 61:10-13; 69:25-27). These are mostly praise reports, though one scene records the Trisagion (39:12, cf. Isa 6) and heavenly prayer and intercession is also mentioned several times (e.g., 39:5, 7; 40:6, etc.). Four holy angels seem to be the only ones that can approach God’s throne, and it is to these, who serve as intercessors that prayer is to be made. Some of the angels serve as priests, including Michael, who serves as the eschatological high priest. There are also elaborate descriptions of multi-tiered heavens and various ranks of angels. These elements influenced later ascent writings, such as the Testament of Levi and formed an important transition to the later Hekhalot texts. One of the ways it did this is by changing the role of the seer from essentially passive, as in Ezekiel’s case, to active (1 Enoch 14.8-23). “Historically, this reveals the section to be an important transition from the older Ezekiel tradition of the prophetic call to the much later tradition of Jewish Merkabah mysticism. . . . This active and subjective involvement of the seer in his vision differentiates our text not only from Ezekiel 1—2 but also from other prophetic calls.” (Nickelsburg, 1 Enoch 1, 259.).

Here is a key question: Do elements like this support the claim for incipient mysticism? Many people have answered, “Of course. It’s obvious that they do!” However, if we look at what Enoch is actually doing and trying to achieve, we will see that there are clear differences. In Enoch’s ascent (and those in some of the pre-Hekalot texts influenced by 1 Enoch), the goal of the ascent is not seeing God and becoming one with him (which is considered the classic goal/definition of mysticism). Rather, the goal for Enoch is an audition: receiving a message from God to take back to earth (Schäfer, The Origins of Jewish Mysticism, 84–85). This is a huge difference of kind, not degree, like comparing apples to oranges. In short, 1 Enoch does not record mysticism in ancient Israel, though later on it did become an important source and transition for later works that were indeed mystical.

Qumran

Several texts from Qumran deal with celestial liturgy in some form. The best known of these is the seriesSongs of the Sabbath Sacrifice. The texts deal with the celestial world, and so draw on a variety of texts, of which Ezek 40–48 seems to have been the greatest influence. They contain a series of mysterious, vague  texts apparently intended for recitation of some kind. The exact manner of their use has been debated, though in her commentary on them, Carol Newsom argues that they were used by the Qumran community in mystical ceremonies in which they practiced visionary ascent to God’s presence. However, unlike some texts in which this is experience is the climax, in these texts it is the description of the magnificent appearance of the angels and the sacrifices of the angelic high priest that seems to be the primary focus. Most scholars have interpreted the thirteen texts in Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice as being read by the human worshiping community to heavenly spirits in visionary ascent.

Also, they show a cosmology that is similar to that of the (chronologically later) Christian Gnostics. There are both similarities to and differences from the biblical texts. There is great interest in the throne of God, such as is found in Revelation. One of the striking differences from the Revelation of St. John, however, is the absence of any reference to Isaiah 6:1-3 fromSongs of the Sabbath Sacrifice. Why? We don’t know. Since the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice are pretty fragmentary, it might be merely an accident of preservation. On the other hand, it might be significant.

The Self-Glorification Hymn.

This is another ascent text in which the writer claims to have been seated in heaven above the “gods” or heavenly spirits. There, he is given what seems to be a prophetic commissioning for the purpose of instructing his community and perhaps leading them in worship. This commissioning seems to be climax of his experience. That the writer ascended to heaven is strongly implied, though not actually stated. Although some scholars like Philip Alexander claim that this demonstrates mysticism in ancient Israel, the fact that the focus is on receiving a message for the community rather than on actual union with God or angels seems to contradict such a claim. Alexander does not seem to catch that the inherent contradiction between what he has just written regarding the prophetic commissioning and his own definition of mysticism when he writes, “The ascender takes his seat in heaven above the angels. This is a classic component of mysticism: the ultimate goal of mystical experience is communion or union with the divine.” (Alexander, Mystical Texts, 90).

Philo.

Although Philo of Alexandria was not, strictly speaking, a writer in ancient Israel, we have included him because he was a prolific Second Temple Jewish writer who does seem to have practiced some form of mysticism. In one sense, Philo constitutes a real exception from what we have seen in the other Jewish texts of ancient Israel. The basis for Philo’s thought, however, is not the Jewish texts, but the ideas of Middle Platonism (as distinguished from the earlier, original Platonism proper, and from the later Neo-Platonism, which were both significantly different). Middle Platonism was an extremely widespread and influential paradigm or system of thought among intellectuals during this time period. One of its defining characteristics was a dualism between the body and the soul. This is demonstrated in Philo’s thought, that only the soul ascends to God, leaving the body (Op Mund 70–71). (This is because souls and minds are “good,” but bodies and physical things are “bad”). Philo clearly describes the experience of union with God in strongly erotic language (Cher. 43–50). Everyone agrees that this is mysticism. Even here, however, there are smaller differences from classic definitions of mysticism. For Philo, the soul, is transformed during the experience, and then returns to its former state after the experience (Som. II 232–33). There is no lasting change, and whole person, body and soul, does not experience mysticism. Thus, even in the one clear example of mysticism in ancient Jewish circles (albeit in Egypt rather than in Israel), the link to the body and soul in mystical union is still not established

Robbie Graham on the Tom DeLonge Delusion: Part One

Robbie Graham, author of the intriguing book, Silver Screen Saucers: Sorting Fact from Fantasy in Hollywood’s UFO Movies[image error], has an excellent piece on the (continuing) saga of Tom DeLonge, rock musician turned UFO Disclosure advocate. Mr. DeLonge emailed yours truly months ago (“I need to speak to you about my ongoing private work with DOD/DIA and UFOs. May we speak ASAP”). No doubt others got the same email. I didn’t bite for a number of reasons. Robbie Graham’s post gets to the heart of one of them. Graham writes:

Over the past several months, the former Blink 182 frontman has received significant media attention for his claims of secret meetings with government insiders who have been briefing him on what some believe to be the most politically sensitive topic of our time—UFOs. Unlikely as this sounds, we know for a fact that DeLonge has met at least once this year with Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager and former White House Chief of Staff, John Podesta. This is interesting, but perhaps not surprising considering Podesta’s longstanding and very public interest in flying saucers. DeLonge is not the only UFO buff Podesta has given his time to over the years. More intriguing are recent WikiLeaks revelations apparently confirming a dialogue between DeLonge and Major General William McCasland. Commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, McCasland is responsible for managing the Air Force’s $2.2 billion science and technology program and is, one would assume, in a position of direct access to highly classified technologies.

Should we care about this? On one level, Graham (and myself) would say yes, but the reasons might not be apparent. Graham continues in another place in his post:

The spearhead of DeLonge’s UFO disclosure project is an epic ‘fact-disguised-as fiction’ book series. Book One, Sekret Machines: Chasing Shadows, co-authored with professor A.J. Hartley of the University of North Carolina, has sold well since its publication earlier this year and has received positive reviews from critics. At more than 700 pages, Sekret Machines is too long to fully unpack here right now, but its takeaway themes and messages, combined with those expressed by DeLonge in interviews for print, radio, and TV, are as follows:

The UFO phenomenon is real.
Exotic technologies are involved.
While non-human intelligences play a part in the long history of UFOs, the modern phenomenon is more the result of top secret human research and development programs.
These technologies have been concealed from the public for legitimate National Security reasons—multiple nations have long been engaged in a secret Cold War struggle for access to and control of UFO technologies. Naturally, this all has far-reaching implications for global security.

Readers who are aware of my own work on the Majestic Documents and my novel, The Facade, will find this bullet-point list interesting. Everything on it is in fact demonstrable — except for the existence of ET. I’ve long suggested that what passes as the extraterrestrial hypothesis (ETH) for UFOs is in reality misdirection for quite human technology. This list reminds me of certain Majestic Documents, where descriptions of crashed UFOs include very normal technology that wouldn’t be at all space-capable mixed with unexpected chemical elements and compounds and claims of alien bodies and speculation about the wreckage being of non-human manufacture. But that’s precisely why these documents read like ETH propaganda deliberately created for popular consumption. Turns out the exotic materials in those documents align strikingly well with a photo-chemical process for producing nuclear power without a reactor — a process the Nazis were experimenting with at the end of the second world war. It doesn’t stretch the imagination too far to presume that these documents, rejected as a disinformation hoax by most ufologists, are designed to divert attention away from PAPERCLIP R & D (and its reprehensible ramifications) by creating a conspiracy about a crashed alien craft.

So where does this leave us with DeLonge? Graham does the math in this paragraph:

In my book, Silver Screen Saucers, I extensively detail the history of UFO disinformation efforts, establishing a clear pattern of deception, with officialdom using enthusiastic, unwitting, or just plain gullible UFO researchers and media personalities to perpetuate a self-serving national security narrative sown through the UFO subculture and projected through entertainment media. It’s a narrative that serves to justify and sanitise historical secrecy on the part of American government and military institutions, and to absolve those institutions of what may, in the future, be regarded as historical acts of criminality or wrongdoing. Everything DeLonge has said and done thus far on the UFO issue ties him in seamlessly with these historical efforts. DeLonge acknowledges a tradition of government deception on the UFO issue, but stresses, “when you find out why [they kept it secret] you’ll be glad they did everything they did.”

So, DeLonge’s story potentially serves to justify and absolve. But it is largely the by-product of a more obvious agenda: simply to monitor how belief can be seeded and manipulated within a close-knit and controllable New Age religion (UFOlogy). It’s an experiment that has deep psychological warfare potential, both domestically and abroad. It’s about monitoring the spread of ideas to see how belief can potentially be weaponized. The DeLonge DeLusion has all the hallmarks of a new phase of an ongoing strategic experiment.

In other words, Graham suspects that DeLonge is being manipulated to put forth material that does the same thing the Majestic Documents: explain away exotic human technology by means of aliens, which in turn become the (future) rationale for a national security state and the militarization of space. Graham summarizes that trajectory nicely:

It is notable that the dominant theme of DeLonge’s transmedia narrative thus far is the unsung heroism of the US National Security State. DeLonge repeatedly stresses in his book, and in interviews, that historical UFO secrecy has always been for the greater good. The ‘bad guys’ were the good guys all along, with our best interests at heart. The revolutionary technologies have been kept secret for our own protection. This is the story they’ve sold to DeLonge, and, like others before him, he’s bought it. . . . The nature and very existence of deep-black, unacknowledged special access programs operating without official oversight is generally considered a nefarious thing—a fundamentally undemocratic system that allows in theory for all manner of covert illegalities and morally dubious practices. The story Tom DeLonge is (literally) selling us, however, is designed to soften our attitudes to institutionalized secrecy and to burnish the image of the US military-intelligence community.

In simpler terms, think of the ETH for UFOs as the packaging or marketing for a breakaway military-industrial complex that ultimately could displace the democratic process. Would you trade “knowing” that ET is real and is on good terms with our military-industrial complex for a “soft” totalitarian technocracy? Maybe you wouldn’t, but it seems there are people in the shadows betting millions would. Perhaps it’s as simple as moving the herd through such a transition as efficiently as possible — you need a paradigm shift for that. A disclosure of an ET “reality” would certainly be that for the masses. There are those who don’t plan to let the longing for the transcendent go to waste. And if we’ve learned anything from this election cycle, it’s that 50% of the country doesn’t think the rule of law is very important.

Naked Bible Podcast Breaks Into Top Thirty on iTunes

The Naked Bible Podcast recently hit # 24 on the iTunes Most-Listened-To Christianity Podcasts:

It’s kind of amazing to see the Naked Bible Podcast — intentionally stilted toward serious biblical studies content — ranking right up there with names so familiar in evangelical pop culture and sermon content. Thanks to everyone who listens to the podcast and tells friends about it!

Keep spreading the word about the podcast and rate us on iTunes!  It really does help with ranking, which in turn helps people who need the content find the podcast when searching in iTunes.

Serious Science and Christian Faith Incompatible?

Go ahead, tell me that old wives tale again.

Question: What do you get when you cross a Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Oxford, an associate of the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion, and a young man who grew up in rural Africa and had a pet chimpanzee? You get one person: Ard Louis. If you don’t know who he is, you should. Here are a few samples:

Rick Brannan’s Lexical Commentary on 1 Timothy Now Available in Logos

Listeners to the Naked Bible Podcast will recall the appearance of Rick Brannan, a friend and colleague of mine at Logos Bible Software. Rick is an expert on New Testament textual data and has had a sustained interest (as long as I’ve known him) in the pastoral epistles (1-2 Timothy, Titus). I blogged about Rick’s useful and unique lexical commentary on 1 Timothy a while back. Now that book is available in digital form in the Logos format. Get it while you can at the reduced pre-pub price — it’s a unique resource for this biblical book!

Here’s a link to Rick’s blog with more discussion about the book.

Naked Bible Podcast Episode 124 – Ezekiel 17

Ezekiel 17 presents a riddle or parable of two eagles about the treachery of Zedekiah, the puppet governor appointed by Nebuchadnezzar to replace Jehoiachin, the Judahite king taken captive in an earlier wave of exile of which Ezekiel had been a part. Zedekiah would be captured in the last phase of exile, the destruction of Jerusalem, in 586 B.C. Part of the riddle includes messianic language of the branch, verbiage that takes this episode’s discussion into the Bible’s adaptation of the ancient omphalos (“navel of the earth”) myth.

The episode is now live.

Peeranormal Episode 5: Halloween Episode: Vampires and Ghosts

Peeranormal’s inaugural Halloween episode focuses on academic research into vampires and ghosts with special guest Dr. Judd Burton from burtonbeyond.com. Our hosts take a look at vampirism as centuries-old myth and modern phenomenon. Where did the vampire legend come from? What were the historical circumstances since the late 18th century that contributed to belief in the fateful undead, hungry for blood? What about ghosts? Is there any empirical evidence that would suggest people can experience a supernatural presence in places said to be haunted? How would scientists try to make that case? 

The episode is now live.

Naked Bible Podcast Episode 123 – Ezekiel 16

Ezekiel 16 is known for being the most sexually explicit chapter in the Bible. Some scholars even consider it pornographic. The prophet casts the city of Jerusalem as a whore when articulating why God has condemned it and marked it for destruction. This episode explores the portrayal of spiritual apostasy as wanton whoredom in all its ugliness—and God’s amazing ability to forgive in spite of it.

The episode is now live.