The Unseen Realm: Exploring Biblical Narratives Beyond Traditional Views

Embark with me on a journey that transcends the familiar landscape of the biblical world, as I recount the intellectual renaissance ignited by Dr. Michael Heizer's "The Unseen Realm." This episode is more than just a discussion; it's an invitation to witness a profound transformation of perspective that led me from initial doubt to revelatory insight, challenging and ultimately deepening my spiritual connection with Scripture. As we navigate through the layers of modern interpretation, we peel them back to reveal the rich tapestry of the ancient context that shaped the Bible's narrative, enriching our relationship with God and the often-overlooked spiritual realm.

Venture further into the cosmic geography of the divine narrative and the reimagined role of Satan within the heavenly host, as Dr. Heizer's scholarly approach and archaeological evidence prompt us to reevaluate our preconceived notions. This episode is not simply a lecture but a heartfelt encouragement to explore the unseen with an open mind and heart. By appreciating the cultural and historical backbone of the biblical authors, we unlock a more authentic understanding of Scripture, challenging you to embark on your own path of discovery and spiritual enrichment. Join me and let's together embrace a new layer of spiritual knowledge that beckons with the promise of a deeper connection to the divine.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

Welcome back to another episode. We are finally going to talk about the book that I've been hinting at or pointing to in the last couple of episodes, and that is the Unseen Realm by Dr Michael Heizer. So I'm just going to cover why I'm so into this book and what is it that drew me to his work In 2023, about the middle of last year, I noticed a decline in my cognitive thinking abilities, and this prompted me to make a significant change in my media consumption habits. So once you get into social media and the Netflix and chill vibe, you'll notice that you get stuck there, and what I started to recognize was that it had a really bad effect on my ability to comprehend, to think, to concentrate all of it, and I really wanted to pause because, as I get older and age, I don't want to get into a stage where I cannot focus on anything and then it just there's a decline, right. So, recognizing that books had always been a reliable way to keep my mind sharp, I decided to pivot back to my trusted companions, and that was always books.

Speaker 1: 1:32

Since I was a teenager, I would read five to six books a week. I was just a bookworm and I loved it, and not only did it help me just delve into other worlds that was outside of my bubble, it also helped me improve on my writing comprehension, understanding of just difficult materials that other people were not able to understand. Just reading a lot helped keep my mind sharp. So while I already had a substantial collection of unread books in my Kindle, I just kept collecting and collecting. I craved something new and different. I have books for self-improvement, books for gardening, books about the Bible, bible study books, devotionals I have all the things I think I have over. I have hundreds of books in my Kindle and I also have boxes of books in my closet and just books, books, books. I just wanted something a little different. I wanted to pause and really be intentional about choosing my reading material, especially this year, and especially to prepare me for the other levels, stages that I come to realize that God is bringing me into. So that's when I stumbled upon the theology genre as I was searching for books, and there in that genre I discovered a game changer, which is the unseen realm. So let me tell you, this book completely transformed my perspective on the Bible and all its stories. Okay, so we are going to get into that today. All right, get the books, get the notes, the journal, the coffee, the tea, all of it, and let's get into the show. All right, so I am going to make a confession.

Speaker 1: 3:26

I will confess that I was initially skeptical of any theory that challenged my traditional beliefs about the Bible. However, thanks to this author, thanks to his meticulous research and my own deep dive into the subject because y'all know I will fact check I've had profound revelation. I've prayed about these things. I've asked God to confirm. I've gone and done my own historical research on the theories that he's put forth and I have found nothing to contradict what I have read. You know, the God of heaven and the words he inspired the biblical authors with meant something far more nuanced and complex than I had ever imagined, and that's what I've come to realize. So the unseen realm challenged my view of God, the heavenly host, even Satan himself and evil spirits, all of it. And what's truly remarkable is that Dr Heiser's theories didn't undermine the fundamental doctrines that I grew up with and, you know, they only reaffirmed the profound oneness of God.

Speaker 1: 4:51

So, with that said, I must offer a word of caution to anyone intrigued by this subject before delving into it, it's essential to have a solid understanding of the Bible, and that includes its people, the places and the culture, okay, in which it was written. So moral. But you'll need to set aside, at least to some extent, any preconceived religious notions. Now, I'm not saying to set aside your basic doctrine, especially my oneness folks. What I'm saying is remove any biases that you may have, any modern day biases, and open up your mind to the fact that the persons that wrote the Bible wrote it based on their culture at the time. It was their norm, their understanding of what they were receiving from God and their language, and also, more importantly, their relationships to the other nations around them Israel's relationships to the nations in Canaan and all of that. So you got to open up your mind to the understanding that what you think it may have been may not be what it was. So open up your mind to that. So, approaching this topic with the sole intention of debunking it, it's going to lead you nowhere. You got to open up your mind to grasp the mindset of ancient biblical writers and the Hebrew culture at the time.

Speaker 1: 6:34

So for today's discussion, I just want to provide a brief overview of the book. If you want to pick it up. There are some links on the blog post at stacycamillecom. You can get that and I strongly encourage you to read it and test it yourself. The Bible said to test every word, every doctrine that is presented to you. So I definitely you know I'm a Bible person, so you go on ahead and you test that and do your own research. I always say, do your own research. So about the book as I delve deeper into the unseen realm, you know I was really captivated by the mysteries within the Bible pages.

Speaker 1: 7:18

The book is presented in a more scholarly language, so it's not a preachy type of book or I'm trying to encourage you to live better for God because I believe this, or I'm trying to teach you another doctrine. The way the book is presented is okay. Well, the Bible says this. Compared to history, archaeology, writings by authors that lived during that time, like the rabbis, josephus, all of those people, and just a collection of other documents that these facts can be tested against. This is what the theory is, this is what we're presenting. So it's like okay, here's what the theory is, here are the facts and this is what the outcome is. It's not really trying to convince you to believe anything, and I do like that because it leaves it left it open for me to go on ahead and compare that to what I already know, what I've been taught, and do my own research, and that's how I like my books to be Don't try to convince me of something if you don't have facts to back that up. So that's what I really liked about this book.

Speaker 1: 8:42

There is meticulous research. Dr Heizer's work is meticulously researched and he has the facts. He presents the facts and he doesn't make claims lightly. He presents evidence, he draws off an ancient text and he offers a really comprehensive view of what he's trying to present here. So he also challenges traditional interpretations and I found that refreshing. So it's not just okay, here is what I believe about it. Here's the facts to back it up is here is what the majority of people believe about this particular topic and here and I'm going to challenge that based off of ancient texts and Cultural facts and and all of that.

Speaker 1: 9:34

So he's saying, well, you believe this or you've been taught this, but here is some other evidence that may prove otherwise. And go ahead and do your own research, right to prove that. And I have done that and found that, hey, he might be right or he is right. The, the biblical text says otherwise and, as a matter of fact, he's actually used biblical texts to prove Some of our teachings to be incorrect. So it will be like we'll say we're taught that I don't know some, some doctrine out of Genesis or whatever it is.

Speaker 1: 10:11

He'll say okay, well, the scriptures, you've been taught this, but the based on the Scriptures. In its original language it's actually saying this. So you, you've kind of been taught based off your modern view of what the situation may be. But this English word in its original Hebrew language means something else. So what you think it is is not really what it is, and I like that because it's using the original Hebrew language. There's Hebrew, aramaic and Greek, and he's explaining what these words mean, which gives context to what the statement is, is, is, is, is what the statement meant, what the author meant when he wrote it, and that gives correction To what you may have heard from the pulpit. And that is okay, because now you are strong in mind and your your your building wisdom, and you can now Better or more effectively test what's being presented to you, and I've always been one to test what's being presented to me, to ask questions. Okay, so, with that said, and if you're open to that, here are the main points of the book.

Speaker 1: 11:30

The divine counsel I've spoken about this in previous episodes. So Dr Heiser introduces readers to the concept of a divine counsel in the heavenly realm, and he does that through. He starts with Psalm 82, where there is a scene Right in the middle of it where God is having a conversation or he's conversing with the LOM, the gods lowercase g, and there is judgment. So it's almost like a courtroom scene there and he's judging them for not doing what they were tasked to do, and so that can be compared to the scene in Job, where the accuser, satan, presents himself. That could be compared to the scene in Zechariah, where there's an accuser there that wants to accuse Zechariah and God comes in and you know, pronounces judgment and all of that. So there are quite a few places in the Bible where you see God Conversing convening is a court with the divine counsel, and he is presenting that here.

Speaker 1: 12:47

So he explores the idea that God presides over a counsel of heavenly, being sometimes referred to as the sons of God or LOM, lowercase e, who play various roles in divine order. So when you look at scriptures, like Psalm 82 in the original Hebrew, you will see that it's. It says something like LOM is speaking to Elohim, so uppercase e is speaking to lowercase e, so that Dr Heiser is saying that all in the Bible, all spiritual beings, all Beings of that realm, are considered LOM, including Yahweh, the supreme God. But there is no LOM like God, meaning God is LOM, but he created. All the other LOM come from God. He's the creator of all of them. None of them created him, so they're not on equal footing. He is the supreme right. So that's what he's presenting there.

Speaker 1: 13:49

So I found that to be very interesting and that kind of opened up my eyes. So now when I read the Bible I understand. When I'm looking at these Conversations or these scenes that are playing out, I understand what's going on a lot better. So he also presents the supernatural world in a different way and the book delves into the supernatural aspects of the biblical narrative, and that includes including the roles of the angels, demons and other supernatural entities. Dr Heizer really does provide insights into their functions, their interaction with humanity.

Speaker 1: 14:26

He touches on topics such as the sons of God incident in Genesis 6, right, the origins of the Nephilim and the assignment of nations at the Tower of Babel. And if you are confused about that there, really look into that, because that helped me understand what is going on in the world today and why there's so much confusion and conflict and all of these things. Well, there's a spiritual aspect to that. So this book kind of helped guide me to understand what is happening and what is influencing, and what heavenly actions are influencing what's going on here at Earth. So you know these subjects. They may cause some eyebrows to raise your eyebrows might be raised right now, but I've found that further research does align with the rest of the biblical narrative and it clarified many other scriptures that were confusing. You know, if we were stuck on the sons of God, we're humans. Especially if you were stuck on the sons of God, we're humans theory.

Speaker 1: 15:33

I know that there are some preachers that go with that that incident in Genesis 6, that the sons of God were humans. So it was like the human, the bad human race, the descendants of Cain intermingled with the descendants of Abel. But that doesn't make any sense, folks, especially when you compare it with the other narratives in the Bible. And I feel like that happens when there are scenes in the Bible or incidences that don't fit into our human understanding of how things should be. If it doesn't fit into our box, then we force ourselves our own interpretation on the Bible. We don't allow the Bible to be what it is, and that's what causes so much confusion. I encourage you, allow the Bible to speak to you and to be what it is, and you will find that you'll have a better understanding of what's going on.

Speaker 1: 16:32

All right, so next up, dr Heizer does cover the divine family and he introduces the intriguing concept of this divine family within the Godhead, which challenges the interpretation of the Trinity a little bit. The section on the households of God. That is a really interesting section and it proves to be utterly captivating. You know, within its pages, dr Heizer delves into the intricate dynamics between Father, son and Holy Spirit. You know is shedding new light on what that is, and I'm going to give you a little spoiler alert. The Father, son and Holy Spirit are undeniably one, okay, but not in the simplistic manner we've typically been taught, but it's very clear that they are one. There's no three separate coexisting gods. It is the one God, one essence that has taken on different forms at different times for different purposes, but it is one God Yahweh Right, and the revelation of this is far more nuanced and profound than I originally thought.

Speaker 1: 17:53

You know, as I read, there were countless moments when I had to pause and contemplate the divine for a while. You know when I would read and I would get revelation and I would confirm it through prayer and more study, I'm like, oh my goodness, god is so much more than what I thought he was. So I found myself filled with wonder and amazement you would not believe and as my perception of God's nature underwent, you know, significant transformation, and now even my prayer life has been affected, because I see God more like who he actually is than what people told me he was, if I let me say that again. So I see God for who he really is and not so much for, not so much like who other people told me he was. So I don't see him through other people's eyes. If I could say that more clearly. I see him for what he is, for who he is, through this study, and that's what I would like for everybody to see him for who he is. So, number one, let the Bible be the Bible. Let the Bible speak to you clearly. It's clear. There's no confusion there. Do not put your human understanding to try to mold things and interpret things, because things seem to quote unquote supernatural for you. Don't do it, it is what it is and see God for who he is. So keep that in mind.

Speaker 1: 19:26

Now Dr Heiser also goes into cosmic geography, and he discusses the cosmic geography presented in the Bible, including the depiction of a three tiered universe, concepts of the heavens, the firmament and the earth. He also explores the underworld and that is she all in the Bible cosmic imagery in the scripture and how these elements shape the biblical narrative, and that was really helpful for me. I knew a bit about shield before I read this, but how it connected with the other concepts I wasn't really too sure. So this kind of helped wrap that up in a nice, nice bow tie for me, and I appreciated that. So then the book goes into Satan and evil spirits. There's also another book where he does more into that, and I did read that book, but this does cover that. So this book provides a new understanding of Satan and evil spirits in the Bible. He explores their origins, their roles and the influence they exert in both the old and new testaments.

Speaker 1: 20:36

His explanation of Satan was of most interest to me. Dr Heiser explains it like this the Satan, the Satan which is pronounced and that's the actual Hebrew interpreter, that's the English of the Hebrew interpretation of the word the Satan, it's not. So Satan is not. And, according to Dr Heiser, satan is not his actual name. And we do know that Satan's name is actually Lucifer. It's not, you know, satan, it's the Satan, and in a term that refers to and this term refers to a specific role rather than a proper name for a single fallen angel or a single fallen angelic being. So the Satan is like saying, ok, you are a lawyer, you are a doctor, so it's a title, not necessarily a specific name. And that's why the Bible says that, say in the accuser, so the Satan is an accuser. That is the role of this angelic being. And Dr Heiser emphasizes that the Satan should be understood as a divine prosecutor or an adversary who operates within the heavenly council. Whoa, pause there, what that goes against a lot of our teachings.

Speaker 1: 22:00

But this concept, this theory, really explains the scenes in Job. You know why was the Satan allowed to be among the assembly? Zechariah 3.1 to 2. Check that out First Chronicles 21.1 and Psalm 109.6. Go ahead, read those for yourself and look at the original Hebrew meaning of Satan. It's the Satan. He's not a proper name, ok, and there seems to be more than one of these beings that have this role to consistently accuse the brethren, accuse the saints, all the time. So that is his theory there. So I do need to explore that a little bit more, but from what I've studied against this theory, this, this, this is, this is what it is. The Bible it is what it is. So look at those verses, those scriptures yourself.

Speaker 1: 23:13

Then he goes into the biblical narrative and throughout the book he references specific passages and stories from the Bible to support his arguments and theories, which I did love. So you do gain a deeper understanding of familiar biblical narratives In the light of the unseen realms, right. He also goes into ancient Hebrew culture, and we know that understanding the culture and worldview of the ancient Hebrews is crucial to grasping the books concepts. Right, dr Heiser emphasizes the importance of studying the Bible in its historical and cultural context and that, to me, is the biggest takeaway from this book is to study the word with that view in mind and not so much with modern view. Go beyond Some of our commentaries. Go beyond all of that and and and read this with that view in mind, with that historical Hebrew, ancient Hebrew culture in mind.

Speaker 1: 24:24

Okay, so I'll conclude our discussion for today, because I know I've said a lot and I really want to extend an invitation to you to explore these topics further.

Speaker 1: 24:34

It will blow your mind, even if it's out of sheer curiosity, you know you're like, ah, I'm just going to stick with what I'm going to stick with. This is what I know all my life, but I'm curious. I encourage you to go on ahead, um, and just explore that, right. You know personally my perspective, um, on myself, my role in this world and God's kingdom has evolved significantly, and I've come to realize that there's a profound purpose beyond what I've been previously taught, and my hope is that you, my friends, also experience a similar revelation. Whether it's through delving into dr Heizer's work, studying the word of God on your own, or just following wherever the holy spirit Leads you, I encourage you to dig deeper, dig deeper and, with that said, uh, god bless you all. I will see you in the next episode. Remember to Like, share and subscribe and visit the website stacycamillecom, uh, where you can view all the resources that I've mentioned here in this episode. God bless.