Michael S. Heiser
Encyclopedia
Michael S. Heiser is an American Christian author. His books include The Façade and The Bible Code Myth.
. He attended Lebanon High School and Cedar Crest High. He received an M.A. in Ancient History from the University of Pennsylvania
, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in the Hebrew Bible and Semitic Languages
from the University of Wisconsin–Madison
(with a minor in Classical
studies). Heiser received his undergraduate degree from Bob Jones University and also attended Bible college for three years.
Heiser has studied Egyptian hieroglyphs
, the Phoenician
, the Aramaic
, the Syriac
, Moabite
, the Ugaritic
cuneiform, the Ancient Hebrew
, Alexandrian Greek
, the Aramaic
, Akkadian
and Sumerian
and Second Temple Jewish monotheism.
Heiser taught college for twelve years. He now works as Academic Editor for Logos Bible Software
.
phenomena.
that allude to a recognition of a whole host of divinities (or a pantheon
) in service to God
.
Many scholars in the past have either explained these problem passages as “Divine Majesty” (in which plurals are used to connote greatness, which Heiser claims cannot work for grammatical reasons), references to the Trinity
(which Heiser accepts as a Christian, but warns against using these Old Testament plurals in that context, given the type of interactions described in passages such as Psalms), or as examples of Judaism
’s polytheistic/henotheistic roots (Heiser rejects these explanations, contending they do not disprove monotheism because H’Shem
is consistently described as entirely separate and singular amongst the council, and because the Hebrew Bible reflects certain hypostases of Yahweh - other "persons" of Yahweh's own essence - and so a Jewish godhead).
Heiser also finds support in the double meaning of “nachash” (the "serpent" that Eve encounters in the biblical story of the Fall), which can alternately mean serpentine
or "shining one," the noun form of nakash is analogous with the very name helil
, which is a verb meaning "shining"). This closely resembles Talmud
ic and Kabbalistic
lore and he agrees that the motivating factor for the initial rebellion was territorial, Helel being provoked by humanity's sovereignty over earth.
According to Heiser’s research on passages like Deuteronomy 32:8-9, after the Tower of Babel incident, the Earth was divided into seventy sectors, each ruled by some of these divinities, doled out to council members as a curse from God towards humanity for idolatry, it is assumed that these 70 are successionists who joined Helel
), and that there is a strong possibility of the myths throughout the world being at least partially factual.
) who were products of interbreeding between humans and enigmatic B’nai Elohim
(Heb: "sons of god"). He insists that the root word behind "Nephilim" is Aramaic naphila, which means "giant". For this reason, Heiser suspects sinister spiritual forces to be behind abduction reports, not aliens.
Heiser believes that abductions can be physically real (which does not rule out the demonic), but that contrary to suspicions among some conspiracy theorist circles, there is no nephilim "breeding program" going on today. He also considers that some abductions may be human evil in the form of government operations, (see his review of Hugh Ross's
Lights in the Sky & Little Green Men which he considered a very good book) contrivances such as linking all genuine close encounters with occult
activity, which he sees as blaming the victim.
On the topic of extraterrestrial life
itself, Heiser considers it unlikely that the universe is populated, but is open to this idea as well. He has worked towards explaining how extraterrestrial life, in the event such is discovered, can be reconciled with the Bible and Judaeo-Christian theology, going so far as to cite a previously held belief that denial of the existence of alien worlds to be "a denial of God’s omnipresence".
, going so far as to create a website sitchiniswrong.com specifically devoted to outlining his criticisms of Sitchin's translations of various ancient texts . In Heiser's opinion, nearly all of Sitchin's work consists of unsubstantiated interpretations. Heiser also believes that Sitchin takes words out of context, and occasionally alters or misinterprets words significantly.
and Young Earth Creationism
.
Heiser believes communications with the dead are possible, although strictly prohibited, and that not all after-death communications are satanic, citing the passage in 1st Samuel
where King Saul consults a necromancer to speak to Prophet Samuel. He also proposed that God
may occasionally allow, or even actively sends the spirits of recently dead relatives to provide relief for the grieving. Most of these statements were revealed on his December 2004 interview with George Noory
.
Education and background
Heiser was raised in Lebanon PAPennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. He attended Lebanon High School and Cedar Crest High. He received an M.A. in Ancient History from the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in the Hebrew Bible and Semitic Languages
Semitic languages
The Semitic languages are a group of related languages whose living representatives are spoken by more than 270 million people across much of the Middle East, North Africa and the Horn of Africa...
from the University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
(with a minor in Classical
Classical antiquity
Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...
studies). Heiser received his undergraduate degree from Bob Jones University and also attended Bible college for three years.
Heiser has studied Egyptian hieroglyphs
Egyptian hieroglyphs
Egyptian hieroglyphs were a formal writing system used by the ancient Egyptians that combined logographic and alphabetic elements. Egyptians used cursive hieroglyphs for religious literature on papyrus and wood...
, the Phoenician
Phoenician alphabet
The Phoenician alphabet, called by convention the Proto-Canaanite alphabet for inscriptions older than around 1050 BC, was a non-pictographic consonantal alphabet, or abjad. It was used for the writing of Phoenician, a Northern Semitic language, used by the civilization of Phoenicia...
, the Aramaic
Aramaic alphabet
The Aramaic alphabet is adapted from the Phoenician alphabet and became distinctive from it by the 8th century BC. The letters all represent consonants, some of which are matres lectionis, which also indicate long vowels....
, the Syriac
Syriac alphabet
The Syriac alphabet is a writing system primarily used to write the Syriac language from around the 2nd century BC . It is one of the Semitic abjads directly descending from the Aramaic alphabet and shares similarities with the Phoenician, Hebrew, Arabic, and the traditional Mongolian alphabets.-...
, Moabite
Moabite
Moabite may refer to:*a person from Moab, the former country of the Moabite people, currently located in the area of Jordan east of the Dead Sea*the Moabite language, an extinct Canaanite dialect once spoken in Moab...
, the Ugaritic
Ugaritic alphabet
The Ugaritic script is a cuneiform abjad used from around 1400 BCE for Ugaritic, an extinct Northwest Semitic language, and discovered in Ugarit , Syria, in 1928. It has 30 letters...
cuneiform, the Ancient Hebrew
Biblical Hebrew language
Biblical Hebrew , also called Classical Hebrew , is the archaic form of the Hebrew language, a Canaanite Semitic language spoken in the area known as Canaan between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. Biblical Hebrew is attested from about the 10th century BCE, and persisted through...
, Alexandrian Greek
Koine Greek
Koine Greek is the universal dialect of the Greek language spoken throughout post-Classical antiquity , developing from the Attic dialect, with admixture of elements especially from Ionic....
, the Aramaic
Aramaic language
Aramaic is a group of languages belonging to the Afroasiatic language phylum. The name of the language is based on the name of Aram, an ancient region in central Syria. Within this family, Aramaic belongs to the Semitic family, and more specifically, is a part of the Northwest Semitic subfamily,...
, Akkadian
Akkadian language
Akkadian is an extinct Semitic language that was spoken in ancient Mesopotamia. The earliest attested Semitic language, it used the cuneiform writing system derived ultimately from ancient Sumerian, an unrelated language isolate...
and Sumerian
Sumerian language
Sumerian is the language of ancient Sumer, which was spoken in southern Mesopotamia since at least the 4th millennium BC. During the 3rd millennium BC, there developed a very intimate cultural symbiosis between the Sumerians and the Akkadians, which included widespread bilingualism...
and Second Temple Jewish monotheism.
Heiser taught college for twelve years. He now works as Academic Editor for Logos Bible Software
Logos Bible Software
Logos Bible Software is a Bellingham, Washington software company and electronic publisher specializing in Bible study. Their flagship product is Logos Bible Software 4, a bible study software application for Microsoft Windows, Macintosh, iPhone/iPad and Android platforms...
.
Books
Heiser has written a book called The Façade. The book is a supernatural, contemporary fiction, thriller about the theological implications of UFO's and extraterrestrial life. Heiser has also written The Bible Code Myth, a refutation of the bible codeBible code
The Bible code , also known as the Torah code, is a purported set of secret messages encoded within the text Hebrew Bible and describing prophesies and other guidance regarding the future. This hidden code has been described as a method by which specific letters from the text can be selected to...
phenomena.
The Old Testament
Heiser has studied the passages in the Old TestamentTanakh
The Tanakh is a name used in Judaism for the canon of the Hebrew Bible. The Tanakh is also known as the Masoretic Text or the Miqra. The name is an acronym formed from the initial Hebrew letters of the Masoretic Text's three traditional subdivisions: The Torah , Nevi'im and Ketuvim —hence...
that allude to a recognition of a whole host of divinities (or a pantheon
Pantheon (gods)
A pantheon is a set of all the gods of a particular polytheistic religion or mythology.Max Weber's 1922 opus, Economy and Society discusses the link between a...
) in service to God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
.
Many scholars in the past have either explained these problem passages as “Divine Majesty” (in which plurals are used to connote greatness, which Heiser claims cannot work for grammatical reasons), references to the Trinity
Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity defines God as three divine persons : the Father, the Son , and the Holy Spirit. The three persons are distinct yet coexist in unity, and are co-equal, co-eternal and consubstantial . Put another way, the three persons of the Trinity are of one being...
(which Heiser accepts as a Christian, but warns against using these Old Testament plurals in that context, given the type of interactions described in passages such as Psalms), or as examples of Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
’s polytheistic/henotheistic roots (Heiser rejects these explanations, contending they do not disprove monotheism because H’Shem
Yahweh
Yahweh is the name of God in the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Jews and Christians.The word Yahweh is a modern scholarly convention for the Hebrew , transcribed into Roman letters as YHWH and known as the Tetragrammaton, for which the original pronunciation is unknown...
is consistently described as entirely separate and singular amongst the council, and because the Hebrew Bible reflects certain hypostases of Yahweh - other "persons" of Yahweh's own essence - and so a Jewish godhead).
Heiser also finds support in the double meaning of “nachash” (the "serpent" that Eve encounters in the biblical story of the Fall), which can alternately mean serpentine
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
or "shining one," the noun form of nakash is analogous with the very name helil
Lucifer
Traditionally, Lucifer is a name that in English generally refers to the devil or Satan before being cast from Heaven, although this is not the original meaning of the term. In Latin, from which the English word is derived, Lucifer means "light-bearer"...
, which is a verb meaning "shining"). This closely resembles Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
ic and Kabbalistic
Kabbala
Kabbala may refer to:*Kabbalah, is a religious philosophical system claiming an insight into divine nature*Sefer ha-Qabbalah by Abraham ibn Daud*Kabbala Denudata , a book from Christian Knorr von Rosenroth, a Christian Hebraist...
lore and he agrees that the motivating factor for the initial rebellion was territorial, Helel being provoked by humanity's sovereignty over earth.
According to Heiser’s research on passages like Deuteronomy 32:8-9, after the Tower of Babel incident, the Earth was divided into seventy sectors, each ruled by some of these divinities, doled out to council members as a curse from God towards humanity for idolatry, it is assumed that these 70 are successionists who joined Helel
Lucifer
Traditionally, Lucifer is a name that in English generally refers to the devil or Satan before being cast from Heaven, although this is not the original meaning of the term. In Latin, from which the English word is derived, Lucifer means "light-bearer"...
), and that there is a strong possibility of the myths throughout the world being at least partially factual.
UFOs and conspiracies
Heiser sees some overlap with what many people offer in reports of alleged alien abductions and the biblical description of events in Genesis Chapter Six, which speaks of “the giants” (Heb. NephilimNephilim
The Nephilim are the offspring of the "sons of God" and the "daughters of men" in Genesis 6:4, or giants who inhabit Canaan in Numbers 13:33. A similar word with different vowel-sounds is used in Ezekiel 32:27 to refer to dead Philistine warriors....
) who were products of interbreeding between humans and enigmatic B’nai Elohim
Elohim
Elohim is a grammatically singular or plural noun for "god" or "gods" in both modern and ancient Hebrew language. When used with singular verbs and adjectives elohim is usually singular, "god" or especially, the God. When used with plural verbs and adjectives elohim is usually plural, "gods" or...
(Heb: "sons of god"). He insists that the root word behind "Nephilim" is Aramaic naphila, which means "giant". For this reason, Heiser suspects sinister spiritual forces to be behind abduction reports, not aliens.
Heiser believes that abductions can be physically real (which does not rule out the demonic), but that contrary to suspicions among some conspiracy theorist circles, there is no nephilim "breeding program" going on today. He also considers that some abductions may be human evil in the form of government operations, (see his review of Hugh Ross's
Hugh Ross (creationist)
Hugh Norman Ross is a Canadian-born astrophysicist and creationist Christian apologist.He has a PhD in astronomy and astrophysics, and later established his own ministry called Reasons To Believe, that promotes progressive and day-age forms of old Earth creationism...
Lights in the Sky & Little Green Men which he considered a very good book) contrivances such as linking all genuine close encounters with occult
Occult
The word occult comes from the Latin word occultus , referring to "knowledge of the hidden". In the medical sense it is used to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e.g...
activity, which he sees as blaming the victim.
On the topic of extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
itself, Heiser considers it unlikely that the universe is populated, but is open to this idea as well. He has worked towards explaining how extraterrestrial life, in the event such is discovered, can be reconciled with the Bible and Judaeo-Christian theology, going so far as to cite a previously held belief that denial of the existence of alien worlds to be "a denial of God’s omnipresence".
Zecharia Sitchin
Though Heiser is fascinated by ancient Mesopotamian literature and the subject of UFOs, he has remained a vocal critic of the work of ancient astronaut theorist Zecharia SitchinZecharia Sitchin
Zecharia Sitchin was an Azerbaijani-born American author of books promoting an explanation for human origins involving ancient astronauts. Sitchin attributes the creation of the ancient Sumerian culture to the Anunnaki, which he states was a race of extra-terrestrials from a planet beyond Neptune...
, going so far as to create a website sitchiniswrong.com specifically devoted to outlining his criticisms of Sitchin's translations of various ancient texts . In Heiser's opinion, nearly all of Sitchin's work consists of unsubstantiated interpretations. Heiser also believes that Sitchin takes words out of context, and occasionally alters or misinterprets words significantly.
Religious beliefs
Heiser attends a reformed church and considers himself to be an evangelical. He takes a neutral view between Old EarthOld Earth creationism
Old Earth creationism is an umbrella term for a number of types of creationism, including gap creationism and progressive creationism...
and Young Earth Creationism
Young Earth creationism
Young Earth creationism is the religious belief that Heavens, Earth, and all life on Earth were created by direct acts of the Abrahamic God during a relatively short period, sometime between 5,700 and 10,000 years ago...
.
Heiser believes communications with the dead are possible, although strictly prohibited, and that not all after-death communications are satanic, citing the passage in 1st Samuel
Books of Samuel
The Books of Samuel in the Jewish bible are part of the Former Prophets, , a theological history of the Israelites affirming and explaining the Torah under the guidance of the prophets.Samuel begins by telling how the prophet Samuel is chosen by...
where King Saul consults a necromancer to speak to Prophet Samuel. He also proposed that God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
may occasionally allow, or even actively sends the spirits of recently dead relatives to provide relief for the grieving. Most of these statements were revealed on his December 2004 interview with George Noory
George Noory
George Ralph Noory is a Lebanese-American radio talk show host.As of 2010, he is the weekday host of the late-night radio talk show Coast to Coast AM. He is heard across the United States and Canada on many AM and FM stations as well as on XM Satellite Radio. His show is one of the most listened...
.