Supernatural Quotes

“Salvation is not gained by moral perfection. It is a gift that comes by grace, through faith (Eph. 2:8–9). That in turn means salvation cannot be lost by moral imperfection. What is not at all gained by performance cannot be lost by poor performance. Salvation is about believing loyalty—trusting what Jesus did to defeat Satan’s claim and turning from all other gods and the belief systems of which they are a part. That”
― Michael S. Heiser, Supernatural: What the Bible Teaches about the Unseen World And Why It Matters

“We can turn Christlikeness into a task we must perform lest God be angry with us, but that’s bad theology. It turns grace into duty. Or we can be grateful that one day we will be what God is thrilled to make us—what he predestined us to be (Rom. 8:29)—and live in such a way that people enslaved to dark powers will want to join us in God’s family. One perspective looks inward; the other looks”
― Michael S. Heiser, Supernatural: What the Bible Teaches about the Unseen World And Why It Matters

“Free will is part of being like God. We couldn’t be like him if we didn’t have it. Without free will, concepts like love and self-sacrifice die.”
― Michael S. Heiser, Supernatural: What the Bible Teaches about the Unseen World And Why It Matters

“The key to seeing ourselves in this picture is to firmly grasp that God is still working his plan even when we can’t see it. We cannot genuinely claim to believe in the unseen, supernatural world while not believing that God’s intelligent providence is active in our lives and the affairs of human history. God wants us to live intentionally​—believing that his unseen hand and the invisible agents loyal to him and us (Heb. 1:14) are engaged in our circumstances so that, together, God’s goal of a global Eden moves unstoppably onward. Each of us is vital to someone’s path to the kingdom and the defense of that kingdom. Each day affords us contact with people under the dominion of darkness and opportunities to encourage each other in the hard task of fulfilling our purpose in an imperfect world. Everything we do and say matters, though we may never know why or how. But our job isn’t to see—it’s to do. Walking by faith isn’t passive—it’s purposeful.”
― Michael S. Heiser, Supernatural: What the Bible Teaches about the Unseen World And Why It Matters

“Just as we saw in Genesis 1, there are hints in Genesis 3 that Eden is home to other divine beings. In verse 22, after Adam and Eve have sinned, God says: “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil” (emphasis added). That phrase is the same sort of signpost we saw in Genesis 1:26 (“our image”).”
― Michael S. Heiser, Supernatural: What the Bible Teaches about the Unseen World And Why It Matters

“The Law was not how Israelites achieved salvation—it was how they showed loyalty to the God they believed in.”
― Michael S. Heiser, Supernatural: What the Bible Teaches about the Unseen World And Why It Matters

“From the very beginning, God wanted his human family to live with him in a perfect world—along with the family he already had in the unseen world, his heavenly host. That story​—​God’s goal, its opposition by the powers of darkness, its failure, and its ultimate future success​—​is what this book is about, just as it’s what the Bible is about.”
― Michael S. Heiser, Supernatural: What the Bible Teaches about the Unseen World And Why It Matters

“Joshua’s campaigns were mostly successful, but not complete. A few giants escaped—and while that may not have seemed very important, it foreshadowed events to come.”
― Michael S. Heiser, Supernatural: What the Bible Teaches about the Unseen World And Why It Matters

“Being right with God is another way of talking about salvation.”
― Michael S. Heiser, Supernatural: What the Bible Teaches about the Unseen World And Why It Matters

“And who are the Serpent’s offspring? Well, that’s more abstract. The apostle John gives us examples—like the Jewish leaders who hated Jesus. “You are of your father the devil,” Jesus told them (John 8:44). Jesus called his betrayer, Judas, a devil (John 6:70). The Serpent’s offspring is anyone who stands against God’s plan, just as he”
― Michael S. Heiser, Supernatural: What the Bible Teaches about the Unseen World And Why It Matters

“Just as the ground around the Israelite camp and the surrounding nations under the dominion of other gods were conceived as unholy ground, so in New Testament times—and now—the world was unholy ground. Hence Paul’s command to expel an unrepentant believer back into the world, the domain of Satan. To be expelled from the church was to be put back into unholy territory. That was where sin belonged.”
― Michael S. Heiser, Supernatural: What the Bible Teaches about the Unseen World And Why It Matters

“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap” (Gal. 6:7).”
― Michael S. Heiser, Supernatural: What the Bible Teaches about the Unseen World And Why It Matters

“Hand this man over to Satan” (1 Cor. 5:5 GNT).”
― Michael S. Heiser, Supernatural: What the Bible Teaches about the Unseen World And Why It Matters

“God wanted a human family. He wanted to live on his creation, earth, with the people he had made. He wanted his unseen family and his human family to live with him and serve him. He wanted people to multiply and for all the earth to become like Eden. But when God forsook humanity at the Tower of Babel, he had no children—until he called Abraham. Israel was God’s new family. It was time to get back to the original plan. As Adam and Eve had been God’s earthly imagers, Israel would now fill that role.”
― Michael S. Heiser, Supernatural: What the Bible Teaches about the Unseen World And Why It Matters

“Most High God, the God of Israel. The notion of sacred space gets brought into the New Testament in a dramatic way. All we need to ask is, “Where is the presence of God right now?” While God is everywhere, he specifically dwells within each believer. Believe it or not, you are sacred space. Paul very clearly wrote that “your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor. 6:19). The same is true”
― Michael S. Heiser, Supernatural: What the Bible Teaches about the Unseen World And Why It Matters

“Salvation is not gained by moral perfection. It is a gift that comes by grace, through faith (Eph. 2:8–9). That in turn means salvation cannot be lost by moral imperfection. What is not at all gained by performance cannot be lost by poor performance. Salvation is about believing loyalty—trusting what Jesus did to defeat Satan’s claim and turning from all other gods and the belief systems of which they are a part.”
― Michael S. Heiser, Supernatural: What the Bible Teaches about the Unseen World And Why It Matters

“Salvation is not gained by moral perfection. It is a gift that comes by grace, through faith (Eph. 2:8–9). That in turn means salvation cannot be lost by moral imperfection. What is not at all gained by performance cannot be lost by poor performance. Salvation is about believing loyalty—trusting what Jesus did to defeat Satan’s claim and turning from all other gods and the belief systems of which they are a”
― Michael S. Heiser, Supernatural: What the Bible Teaches about the Unseen World And Why It Matters

“We can turn Christlikeness into a task we must perform lest God be angry with us, but that’s bad theology. It turns grace into duty. Or we can be grateful that one day we will be what God is thrilled to make us—what he predestined us to be (Rom. 8:29)—and live in such a way that people enslaved to dark powers will want to join us in God’s family. One perspective looks inward; the other looks heavenward. The”
― Michael S. Heiser, Supernatural: What the Bible Teaches about the Unseen World And Why It Matters

“If we are instruments of God in the same way Paul was an instrument of God, then why was he so much more influential and effective? One difference is that Paul understood what his life was about. He believed the powers that had dominion over the earth were real—and that the power behind and within him was”
― Michael S. Heiser, Supernatural: What the Bible Teaches about the Unseen World And Why It Matters

“If we are instruments of God in the same way Paul was an instrument of God, then why was he so much more influential and effective? One difference is that Paul understood what his life was about. He believed the powers that had dominion over the earth were real—and that the power behind and within him was greater. Do”
― Michael S. Heiser, Supernatural: What the Bible Teaches about the Unseen World And Why It Matters

“The Law was not how Israelites achieved salvation—it was how they showed loyalty to the God they believed in. Salvation for an Israelite was about faith in the promises and character of the God of gods and about refusing to worship another god. It was about belief and loyalty from the heart, not earning brownie points with God. King”
― Michael S. Heiser, Supernatural: What the Bible Teaches about the Unseen World And Why It Matters

“Every legitimate task can be part of moving our world toward Eden and blessing fellow imagers—or not. God doesn’t view people in ministry as more holy or special because of their job descriptions. God cares about how each of us represents him where we are. We either stand against the darkness, sharing the life God wants everyone to ultimately experience, or we don’t. The opportunity doesn’t need to be spectacular; it just needs to be taken. As”
― Michael S. Heiser, Supernatural: What the Bible Teaches about the Unseen World And Why It Matters

“Consciously thinking of ourselves as God’s agents—his imagers—means the decisions we make matter.”
― Michael S. Heiser, Supernatural: What the Bible Teaches about the Unseen World And Why It Matters

“What I’ve heard in church over the years doesn’t just miss the boat—it makes the supernatural boring. And even worse, the church’s teaching emasculates the unseen, supernatural world, rendering it powerless. A”
― Michael S. Heiser, Supernatural: What the Bible Teaches about the Unseen World And Why It Matters

“As a Bible scholar, I’ve learned that strange passages (and lots of other little-known and little-understood parts of Scripture) are actually very important. They teach specific ideas about God, the unseen world, and our own lives. Believe it or not, if we were aware of them and understood what they meant, as difficult and puzzling as they are, it would change the way we think about God, each other, why we’re here, and our ultimate destiny. In”
― Michael S. Heiser, Supernatural: What the Bible Teaches about the Unseen World And Why It Matters

“Do you really believe what the Bible says? To”
― Michael S. Heiser, Supernatural: What the Bible Teaches about the Unseen World And Why It Matters