The 60 Second Scholar: 100 Observations on Bible Doctrine

by Michael S. Heiser

Here’s proof that Bible doctrine isn’t dull.

Bible doctrine gets a bad rap. It's anything but boring. The Bible is to doctrine what a recipe is to the delicious results. What satisfies is the outcome—the mouth-watering morsel—not the lifeless list of ingredients. If all you know of Scripture is Bible characters and stories, you’re missing its life-changing teachings. The crucifixion was an event. What it means is doctrine.

In this third installment of Michael S. Heiser’s 60 Second Scholar series, Dr. Heiser shows readers how to think carefully, analytically—theologically—about what the Bible says. The 60 Second Scholar: 100 Observations on Bible Doctrine covers the spectrum of Christian doctrine, succinctly drawing doctrinal meaning from the biblical text independent of denominational traditions.

209 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 11, 2016

About the author

Mike Heiser is a scholar in the fields of biblical studies and the ancient Near East. He is the Academic Editor of Logos Bible Software. Mike earned the M.A. and Ph.D. in Hebrew Bible and Semitic Languages at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2004. He has also earned an M.A. in Ancient History from the University of Pennsylvania (major fields: Ancient Israel and Egyptology). His main research interests are Israelite religion (especially Israel’s divine council), biblical theology, ancient Near Eastern religion, biblical & ancient Semitic languages, and ancient Jewish binitarian monotheism.

Mike blogs about biblical studies at The Naked Bible, and fringe beliefs about the ancient world at PaleoBabble. He offers courses to the public in Old Testament, biblical theology, Israelite religion, ancient languages, the Book of Enoch through his online institute, MEMRA.

Mike's other academic interests include the paranormal and the occult. His UFO Religions blog discusses how the pop cultural belief in aliens shape religious worldviews. Mike has been a frequent guest on a number of radio programs such as Coast to Coast AM. He is best known for his critique of the ancient astronaut theories of Zecharia Sitchin and his paranormal thriller, The Facade, which intertwines many of his interests.

Reviews

[Vincent Artale Jr · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a pleasure reading these observations 😁 It will provide a thought provoking addition to Bible Study and how a person should approach Scripture. If you are already familiar with Dr. Heiser's work this body of work will seem like an old friend. Those who are new to Mike's views, this will challenge some (or many) of your theological ideas.

Thoroughly enjoyed this body of work from Dr. Mike Heiser. Those who are familiar with Mike's views will no doubt view these observations like an old friend. Those unfamiliar with Mike's views will find this material challenging and thought provoking. So whether an old friend or new to Dr. Heiser's work, his hope is to think well about the context of the Bible. I highly recommend this book!

[Alan Fuller · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the third of Dr. Heiser's 60 second scholar series. It contains much useful information about theological issues like Baptism and the Trinity. It also contains some things with which I take exception. That is what I will focus on.

Heiser believes the “war in heaven” scene of Revelation 12 is clearly connected to the birth of the messiah. The baby was born in heaven and taken to the throne of God (12:5). He never comes to the earth and Jesus wasn't crucified as a baby. Heiser connects the dragon coming to earth (12:9) with Luke 10:18 (day 76), before the crucifixion. If 12:5 is the crucifixion, then how is the fall of the dragon supposed to connected to Luke 10:18? He also doesn't discuss the similar verse Gen 37:9.

This sort of historical literal interpretation probably comes from the idea of Heilsgeschichte (salvation history). The term Heilsgeschichte was coined by Johann Albrecht Bengel (1687-1752). Bengel was also one of the developers of the historical-grammatical, or literal, method of interpretation. It came to be used to describe “the nature of the Bible as an account of God’s working out divine salvation in human history.”

Heiser says the proper context for interpreting the Bible is not, for example, the church fathers. They lived a thousand years or more after most of the Old Testament was written. Ezra and Nehemiah, which were probably finished during the 3rd century BC. Fathers like Irenaeus and Justin Martyr wrote in the second century. That's not a thousand years, and only about a 100 years after the NT, but Heiser says the apostles were wrong about some things, so how could the church fathers be trusted? So who can we trust on these things? We can trust Heiser and like minded scholars who have the context in their head.

If we tried to understand these things in any sort of traditional way we probably wouldn't be able to buy into his Dominion Theology, which originated in the 1970's.