In addition to the good thoughts in the comments on the previous post, I thought I should chime in here. In a nutshell, I think we need to consider Matthew's real world setting. Matthew's gospel was written decades after Jesus' death and resurrection. Why is this...
prophecy
The OT Used in the NT: Hosea 11:1 in Matthew 2:15
On to another famous passage for how the NT writers use the OT. Matthew 2:13-15 (key verse: v. 15) reads: 13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and...
A (Really) Brief Return to Eschatology
Pardon me for the brief transgression. Came across an article you'll all be interested in today. It's called "Measuring the Temple of God: Revelation 11:1-2 and the Destruction of Jerusalem." Has obvious implications not only for the dating of the book of Revelation...
Why An Obsession with Eschatology is a Waste of Time, Part 11
As you read this, bear in mind again I am not taking a position or describing where I'm at with all this. My goal is to show the ins-and-outs of how Daniel 9:24-27 could be viewed (i.e., the "self evident" problem). Previous post found here: Reevaluating the 70 Weeks...
666 PaleoBabble
Someone kindly brought this piece of paleobabble to my attention recently. The site argues that certain Arabic letters/symbols visually resemble the Greek text of "666" in the book of Revelation. More accurately, the Arabic allegedly resembles the common Greek New...
Video of Virgin Birth Talk Uploaded
I uploaded the previous talk I did at church on Wisdom, so here is the most recent one on the virgin birth: Class 3 - Jesus & The Old Testament - Michael Heiser - December 20, 2009 from Grace Church Bellingham on Vimeo. Editor's note: broken video removed; here is...
The Almah of Isaiah 7:14
What follows is the text (pre-edit) of an article I've written for Logos' print magazine, Bible Study Magazine. I thought it was worth a post at this time of year. --------------- The Almah of Isaiah 7:14Virgin or Not? The prophecy of Isaiah 7:14 is among the most...
Still More on Gabriel’s Inscription
Israel Knohl and J. Collins go at it here. Editor's note: the text of the linked blog post is included below for easy-access. Original content, published August 26, 2008, found here at John Hobbins' Ancient Hebrew Poetry blog: Collins vs. Knohl on the Vision of...
Thoughts on Signs and Wonders: Part 1: Deuteronomy 13:1-5
A short time ago I blogged about my ministry going forward and mentioned Deuteronomy 13. More specifically, I wrote about how, due to the nature of what I often write about (the supernatural worldview of the Bible), there was potential for my work to be cherry-picked...
Was Jesus a Failed Prophet?
I've blogged on this topic before, but I've recently gotten a few questions on it in email. I decided to revisit it by posting some PDF resources. Here's the short answer to "Was Jesus a failed prophet?" Yes, if you don't understand the idea of conditional prophecy,...
Naked Bible Podcast Episode 113: Ezekiel 2-3
The episode is now live. In this episode, Dr. Michael Heiser continues his series on the book of Ezekiel by exploring chapters 2 and 3—Ezekiel’s prophetic calling. Heiser walks through the symbolic and theological significance of the scroll Ezekiel is told to eat,...
Naked Bible 49: Acts 13
Acts 13 Acts 13 marks the transition in the book to the ministry of Paul. That is, Paul and the mission to the Gentile nations becomes the focus, whereas the church in Jerusalem fades into the backdrop. In this episode, we’ll discuss the odd citation of Psalm 2:7 in...
Send Mike Lame Bible Prophecy Predictions for 2012
I just read through the comments and one reader asked about Ezekiel 29 -- how the passage is being used to predict yet future events (turns out in this case, before the 2012 doomsday; how ominous). I'm speaking at a conference in 2013 that may surprise some of you:...
Oldest Mayan Calendar Discovered: No Apocalypse in the Record
Pardon my yawn just now.... Anyone out there believe this primary data will stem the tide of the nonsensical hysteria? Nope; me neither. If the heretofore known Mayan primary material (which also does not predict the end of the world) didn't rebut the quackery, this...
Getting to Know Your 2012 Apocalyptic PaleoBabble
I came across this lengthy conversation (from this past August) recently. It's a good article that provides a number of links for understanding the history and past cultural applications of the 2012 Mayan "prophecy" nonsense. It's a good starting point for research...