Guest blogger, Stephen Huebscher This is the third of five posts in this series. B. CONCEPTIONS OF HEAVENLY WORSHIP IN EARLY CHRISTIANITY Early Christian conceptions of heavenly worship drew heavily on the OT and, not surprisingly, show a similarity, though with some...
divine council
Heavenly Worship in Second Temple Judaism, Early Christianity, and Gnostic Sects: Part 2
By guest blogger Stephen L. Huebscher STEP THREE: LOOKING AT THE THREE GROUPS INDIVIDUALLY CONCEPTIONS OF HEAVENLY WORSHIP IN SECOND TEMPLE JUDAISM The variety of groups and beliefs at this time was reflected in the variety of sacred texts used. It was common to...
Heavenly Worship in Second Temple Judaism, Early Christianity, and Gnostic Sects: Part 1
By guest blogger, Stephen L. Huebscher This series was originally written as an academic paper for presentation at a conference. At the time, we were doing research on the divine council for what ended up in Mike’s book The Unseen Realm. I had told Mike I was...
Naked Bible Podcast Episode 167: Melchizedek, Part 1B: Old Testament Continued
Melchizedek is one of the more enigmatic figures in the Bible. Mentioned in only two passages in the Old Testament (Gen 14:17-24; Psalm 110), he nevertheless drew a lot of attention during the Second Temple Period and the New Testament. Thousands of pages of scholarly...
Naked Bible Podcast Episode 164: Paul’s Ascent and Angelic Torment with David Burnett
David Burnett returns to the podcast to discuss Paul’s defense of his apostleship and his heavenly ascent in 2 Corinthians 11-12. This episode expands upon an earlier episode on Paul’s ascent, specifically linking it to Second Temple Jewish apocalyptic literature (the...
Naked Bible Podcast Episode 163: Other Gods and Other Religions with Gerald McDermott
Gerald R. McDermott (PhD, University of Iowa) is Anglican Chair of Divinity at Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, Alabama. Before joining Beeson, he was the Jordan-Trexler Professor of Religion at Roanoke College. He is also associate pastor at Christ the King...
Paul’s Use of Genesis 15:5 in Romans 4:18 in Light of Early Jewish Deification Traditions: Part 3: Becoming as the Stars and the Inheritance of the Nations
This is Part 3 of the series by David Burnett; see Part 1, Part 2 Part 3 - Becoming as the Stars and the Inheritance of the Nations The Deuteronomic Vision of the Celestial Bodies as the Gods (or Angels) of the Nations The precedent for this assumed connection in...
Naked Bible Podcast Episode 152: Ezekiel 38-39, Part 1: Who or What is Gog?
As was the case with Ezekiel 37, these chapters are among the most familiar in the entire book of Ezekiel. This first of two episodes on these chapters focuses on the terminology: Gog, Magog, Meshech, Tubal, and Togarmah. It also addresses the fallacies of translating...
The Unseen Realm and the Mission of the Cross (the Church): A Common but Significant Question
This may be controversial in terms of the illustration I'll use, but I find the illustration has explanatory power. I think our real problem isn't how darkness has adapted, but how believers have changed (i.e., their thinking). I'll try and explain. I just posted this...
Can Fallen Angels be Redeemed?
As I mentioned in the recent episode of the Naked Bible Podcast, the subject of angelic redemption seems to be percolating on the internet. I’m not sure of the reason. I am sure, as we discussed on that podcast episode, that the idea has led to disastrous spiritual...
Naked Bible Podcast Episode 149: Q & A with Fern, Audrey, and Beth: Distinction from Deliverance Ministry
UPDATE 3/7/2018: Fern and Audrey now have their own non-profit ministry. Please donate to Discovering MErcy! EDITOR'S UPDATE: Discovering MErcy is no longer a functional ministry. This episode follows episodes 68 and 120. Fern, Audrey, and Beth minister to trauma...
Naked Bible Podcast Episode 148: Q & A Number 19
The episode is now live. In Episode 148 of the Naked Bible Podcast, Dr. Michael Heiser tackles deep theological questions from listeners on topics ranging from spiritual death to the divine beings in Genesis and the resurgence of Gnosticism in modern Christian...
Naked Bible Podcast Episode 146: Ezekiel 32
Ezekiel 32 is a lament for the empire of Egypt, whose hubris was compared to a rebellious divine council member in the previous chapter (one of the “trees” of God’s garden in Lebanon/Eden). This episode focuses on two items in the chapter. Early in the chapter, the...
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...
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...