The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible

by Michael S. Heiser

Jesus is the second Yahweh, the embodied Yahweh of the Old Testament. But Jesus is not the “Father” Yahweh. He therefore is but isn’t Yahweh. It’s the same with the Spirit. The Spirit is Yahweh, and so he is Jesus as well, but not incarnate or embodied. The Spirit is but isn’t Jesus, just as Jesus is but isn’t Yahweh the Father.

The wording of Revelation 2 is especially powerful when read against this backdrop. Not only does Jesus say that he is the messianic morning star in Revelation 22:16, but when he says “I will give him [who overcomes] the morning star” (Rev 2:28), he grants us the authority to rule with him.

Although Yahweh told these elohim that they would die like men (Psa 82:6–8)—that he would strip them of their immortality—there is no indication that the threat tempered opposition to Yahweh. The New Testament makes it clear that, once the powers of darkness understood that they had been duped by the crucifixion and resurrection, there was a sense that the timetable of their judgment had been set in motion (Rev 12:12).

Sacred space and realm distinction are not just Old Testament concepts. We talked at length about these two concepts in earlier chapters in regard to the Israelite tabernacle and the temple. But New Testament language about them takes the reader in fascinating directions. Believe it or not, you are sacred space. Paul in particular refers to the believer as the place where God now tabernacles—we are the temple of God, both individually and corporately. This is most transparently seen in English translations in two passages where Paul tells the Corinthians, “You are God’s temple” (1 Cor 3:16), and, “Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor 6:19). The former speaks of the church corporately as the temple; the latter focuses on each believer individually.31

We have all likely heard the verse where Jesus says, “Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there in the midst of them” (Matt 18:20). But put in the context of this other New Testament language, which in turn is informed by the Old Testament imagery of the tabernacle and temple, it means that wherever believers are and gather, the spiritual ground they occupy is sanctified amid the powers of darkness.

GOG, MAGOG, AND BASHAN The prophetic description in Ezekiel 38–39 of the invasion of “Gog, of the land of Magog” (Ezek 38:1–3, 14–15) is well known and the subject of much interpretive dispute, both scholarly and fanciful. One of the secure points is that Gog will come from “the heights of the north” (38:15; 39:2). While many scholars have focused on the literal geographic aspects of this phrasing, few have given serious thought to its mythological associations in Ugaritic/Canaanite religion with Baal, lord of the dead.

While Magog and “the heights of the north” aren’t precisely defined in the Gog prophecy, the point is not about literal geography per se.

For sure ancient Jews would expect that the reconstituted kingdom of Yahweh would be shattered by an enemy from the north—as it had before. But ancient Jews would also have thought in supernatural terms. A supernatural enemy in the end times would be expected to come from the seat of Baal’s authority—the supernatural underworld realm of the dead, located in the heights of the north. Gog is explicitly described in such terms. But there is another, similar thought trajectory in ancient Judaism and the early church that has been noted by scholars: The antichrist would come from the tribe of Dan, located in Bashan.14

The heart of the idea emerges from Genesis 49, part of the messianic mosaic. The right to rule Israel is linked to the tribe of Judah, and the one who holds its scepter is a “lion” (Gen 49:9–10). In contrast (Gen 49:17), Dan is referred to as a serpent, fitting imagery for Bashan, who “judges” his own people. Deuteronomy 33:22 picks up the theme: “Dan is a cub of a lion; he leaps from Bashan.” Dan is an upstart inferior, who will attack from Bashan. Dan is thus an “internal outsider,” an enemy of Yahweh’s people. Those who interpreted these references in this way were also quick to point out that Dan is omitted from the list of tribes that yield the 144,000 believers in Revelation 7. My point is not to argue for a specific view of the antichrist. All eschatological systems are speculative in many respects. The point is that the supernatural worldview of ancient Israel and Judaism must inform our own thinking. The cosmic enemy from the supernatural north, where the council of evil plotted against Yahweh’s council, was a fixed part of the worldview of the biblical writers—especially when it comes to our next focus: Armageddon.

As we’ll see in this chapter, an identification of Armageddon with Megiddo is unsustainable. With respect to the word itself, the scriptural description of the event, and the supernatural concepts tied to both those elements, the normative understanding of Armageddon is demonstrably flawed.

Those who can read Greek, or at least know the alphabet, will notice that the Greek term (Harmagedōn) would be transliterated into English characters as h-a-r-m-a-g-e-d-o-n. If you don’t know Greek, you’ll wonder right away where the initial “h” in the transliteration comes from. The “h” at the beginning of the term corresponds to the superscripted apostrophe before the capital “A” in the Greek letters—what is known as a rough breathing mark in Greek. The Greek language had no letter “h” and so instead used this mark to convey that sound.

As a result, the correct (Hebrew) term John uses to describe the climactic end-times battle is harmagedon. This spelling becomes significant when we try to discern what this Hebrew term means. The first part of the term (har) is easy. In Hebrew har means “mountain.” Our term is therefore divisible into har-magedon, “Mount (of) magedon.” The question is, what is magedon?

It is crystal clear that the final conflict occurs at Jerusalem, not Megiddo. Megiddo is referenced only to compare the awful mourning that will result.1 Not only does Zechariah 12 place the final battle where the nations see the risen, pierced Christ at Jerusalem, but verse 11 tells us explicitly that Megiddo is a plain, not a mountain! So where does this leave us? Does magedon point to Jerusalem? It would seem that it has to, in light of (1) the term har-magedon, which describes this final battle, and (2) Zechariah 12:9–11, which plainly sites the conflict at Jerusalem. THE SUPERNATURAL MOUNT OF ASSEMBLY In fact, magedon does indeed point to Jerusalem, in an especially dramatic way. Har-magedon is Jerusalem. The key is remembering that the term derives from Hebrew. To those who do not know Hebrew, “Megiddo” seems like an obvious explanation for magedon since both words have m-g-d. But in Hebrew there are actually two letters that are transliterated with “g” in Greek (and English translations). Here are the Hebrew letters behind “Megiddo”: mem – gimel – daleth M – G – D The same “m-g-d” can be represented another way, with a different Hebrew letter in the middle: mem – ʿ ayin – daleth M – ʿ – D Neither Greek nor English has a letter (other than hard “g”) that approximates the sound of ʿayin. That is why it is represented in academic transliteration as a backwards apostrophe. The sound of the letter ʿayin is made in the back of the throat and sounds similar to hard “g.” Pe...

19 And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book (Rev 22:1–3, 14, 19 ESV).

Notice that the tree of life is specifically now for “the healing of the nations,” a clear reference to the reclaiming of the nations turned over to lesser gods at Babel (Deut 32:8–9). The effect is also described: “No longer will there be anything accursed.” The curses upon earth and humanity brought on by the fall are reversed. The other two tree-of-life references naturally link the eternal life of the believer to being present in Eden—the place where God, the source of all life, dwells.

All those formerly sick or disabled will be restored to full health (Isa 29:18–19; 30:26; Mic 4:6–7). •All will enjoy a supernatural abundance of milk, honey, fruit, and produce (Isa 4:2; 7:21–22; 25:6–9; 30:23–24; Joel 3:18; Amos 9:13–15). •There will be peace throughout all creation (Hos 2:18; Isa 11:1–10; cf. Ezek 34:25–28); and all Israel (Isa 10:20; 52:6; Ezek 39:22). •All nations (Isa 19:19–25; cf. Ezek 38:23) will know that Yahweh is God.