Reading Dr. Heiser

One of the challenges I have when it comes to reading an author is, Do I read ABOUT him (auto/biographies) first or do I go straight to his/her works?

When it comes to Dr. Heiser's books I'm stuck.

Regarding his "supernatural" resources I'm still in the blocks.

So my question is this. Which resource "should" I go to first? The Unseen Realm, Reversing Herman (😀), Demons, Angels etc. and are they sequential in each building upon a previous book?

mm.

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Tony Walker

Read “what does God want” first instead of his academic stuff. That was you’ll read his extended gospel tract then get into the other. Then when you hear people say things about him that isn’t fair, you can point them to how he spoke the gospel to unbelievers.

i never met him, received two emails from him, but I miss him weekly and sometimes daily.

John

One of the challenges I have when it comes to reading an author is, Do I read ABOUT him (auto/biographies) first or do I go straight to his/her works?

When it comes to Dr. Heiser's books I'm stuck.

Regarding his "supernatural" resources I'm still in the blocks.

So my question is this. Which resource "should" I go to first? The Unseen Realm, Reversing Herman (😀), Demons, Angels etc. and are they sequential in each building upon a previous book?

mm.

Check out this thread. https://community.logos.com/forums/t/120842.aspx And if you search you will find more like it.

I have read Unseen Realm and Reversing Hermon, but not Supernatural. Unseen Realm is very academic with a lot of footnotes and documentation. It is a little bit too scholarly to be called easy reading. Others seem to think Supernatural is easier to read.

Simon’s Brother

Milkman I totally agree with Tony if you are new to Mike Heiser then read What Does God Want? | Logos Bible Software.

Before that you might even want to ready what, he had to say about himself, what he believed and what he didn't believe.

About - Dr. Michael Heiser (drmsh.com)

Also, you might want to start here New? Start Here! | The Naked Bible Podcast to get an understanding of the main theme of his teaching, what he calls the Divine Council Worldview or Deuteronomy 32 Worldview, which is the basis of his books like Supernatural, Unseen Realm, Reversing Hermon etc.

One more thing to consider is this is not stuff Mike has simply made-up to sell books. There was a lot of scholarship on the things he addresses in his books prior to Mike Heiser, it simply wasn't accessible to people like you, or I He simply is presenting it to the wider church for consideration. He is trying to help people to connect the dots in the biblical meta-story that they may have missed. He is addressing the 'weird' important stuff that makes some in the church uncomfortable to address.

Mike was big on using peer-reviewed sources and having his work peer-reviewed. Also, he was big on reaching the un-churched as Tony pointed out. Those in fringe communities in particular whom he said were often more willing to talk about spiritual things than those in the church.

There will always be those who disagree with any theologian including Mike Heiser. Milkman I encourage you to prayerfully read his material on its own merits for yourself rather than allowing others to tell you what to think.

Jan Krohn

So my question is this. Which resource "should" I go to first?

How about The Façade? It will make you want to read all his other books.

Milkman

Hey guys, thanks for your feedback.

However, let me clarify.

Regarding Heiser, I'm quite familiar with his podcasts, books, YouTube videos, interviews etc. My reference to reading biographies versus actual works was simply an analogy of 'first things first' with no immediate reference to Dr. Heiser.

Now in regards to his books and particularly these and in no specific order - Demons, The Unseen Realm, Son and Daughters, Angels, Supernatural, Reversing Hermon, and I Dare You Not to Bore Me, would the 'systematic' way of moving through his thoughts about the overall theme of the "supernatural" be to first read, The Unseen Realm and then Reversing, Demons, Angels, Sons and Daughters?

I hope that clarifies my initial 'mumbo jumbo.'

DMB

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1284030#Comment_1284030

Agree with your sequence (UR first). But I wouldn't characterize UR as the scholarly one ... he uses the Text, combined with extra-Biblical material ... all well and good, and many scholars preceded him. But then he presents his proposals aka speculation. And, like so many other PhDs, it's a mixture of dots and connecting-dots. As an example, even though Paul explains 'Spain', Heiser gives Paul's 'real' reason.

John

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1284030#Comment_1284030

Now in regards to his books and particularly these and in no specific order

I remember Dr. Heiser saying he wrote the Angels book first because he thought you should learn about the "good guys" first.

The tendency of human nature would be to read the demons book first [6]

Simon’s Brother

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1284030#Comment_1284030

Regarding Heiser, I'm quite familiar with his podcasts, books, YouTube videos, interviews etc. My reference to reading biographies versus actual works was simply an analogy of 'first things first' with no immediate reference to Dr. Heiser.

Other's coming to this thread with the same question may not be as familiar, hence the comprehensive answers some of us haven given for those peoples benefit those but appreciate you clarifying your situation.

For the benefit of other's who might read this in the future. I'd start with

In the preface to What Does God Want? Mike himself gave the following recommendation of what to read next after reading this book:

"After you finish this book, I recommend moving on to Supernatural: What the Bible Teaches about the Unseen World—And Why It Matters. For English readers that book is available online, either through Amazon.com or the publisher, Lexham Press. There are also a number of free videos online where I discuss some of the important concepts in this book.

After reading Supernatural I hope readers graduate to several other books I’ve written that demonstrate there’s a lot more to learn about the Bible and God than what you might hear in church: I Dare You Not to Bore Me with the Bible; The Bible Unfiltered: Approaching Scripture on Its Own Terms; and The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible."

Heiser, M.S. (2018) What Does God Want? Blind Spot Press, p. xii.

So, from this I would recommend the following in terms of all his books, taking into account the above from Mike, with the ones you have specifically asked about Milkman in bold.

1. What Does God Want?

2. Supernatural.

3. I Dare You Not to Bore me with the Bible

4. The Bible Unfiltered.

5. The Unseen Realm

6. Reversing Hermon

7. Angels

8. Demons

It wouldn't make a difference if you read Demons first and then Angels, but since that is the order, they were released in Angels he will talk about a future Demons book and in Demons, if memory serves me well, he mentions his previous book on Angels, I've put these in order of release date.

Note: Sons & Daughters is not a book but a video/audio course. It is one of a set of three course that are meant to look further into some of the topics in Unseen Realm. Mobile Ed: Further Investigations into The Unseen Realm | Logos Bible Software.

So, you could listen/watch these after reading Unseen Realm in the following order.

1. The Cosmic Mountain

2. Sons & Daughters of God

3. Divine Rebellions

After reading these 8 books, although you didn't mention it Milkman I would recommend considering diving into his course on the Jewish Trinity.

Mobile Ed: OT291 The Jewish Trinity: How the Old Testament Reveals the Christian Godhead (4 hour course) | Logos Bible Software

It draws together topics that come up in books, such as, Two Powers in Heaven, on the OT understanding of the God and how this relates to the NT understanding of God and Jesus. If believe this came out before Unseen Realm but it has Unseen Realm written all over it.

Bohuslav Wojnar

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1284131#Comment_1284131

Thank you for your summary. I agree with you very much. I have read all his books and listened to most of his podcasts. I am so thankful for Dr. Michael Heiser's influence on my understanding of Bible and all the unseen realm. What Does God Wants is a good start. Supernatural is an easier reading of the more academic book The Unseen Realm.