The Unbiblical Realm: Refuting the Divine Council of Michael Heiser’s Deuteronomy 32 Worldview

Dr. Michael Heiser was the best-selling author of The Unseen Realm and host of the popular Naked Bible Podcast. He has disseminated to evangelicals through his books, articles, and podcast, the idea of a divine council in Psalm 82 as a plurality of gods. This theological opinion, once limited to liberal scholars, was the bedrock of his theology and is spreading among conservative Christians.

Heiser's divine council theology, what he called the "Deuteronomy 32 Worldview," proposes a plurality of deities classified as a second tier of gods inferior to the Creator God of Israel. God had allegedly decreed these lesser divine entities to rule over the nations after the Babel dispersion. These gods are supposedly engaged in a "cosmic turf war" against the God of Israel. Furthermore, Heiser proclaimed a false gospel that turns men into gods to replace the rebellious divine council and restore an Edenic paradise over the nations.

If this sounds like pagan mythology it is because Heiser openly admitted to imposing the foreign worldview of Israel's ancient pagan neighbors on Scripture. Heiser is presented as an authoritative Bible scholar, with the claim that his knowledge of the original languages and the ancient cultural context is necessary to strip away the theological traditions that blind us from the bare facts of this unseen realm. However, his novel system of theology has synchronized ancient paganism to God's Word and revived a form of ancient Gnosticism.

How is it that so many evangelicals have forsaken the historical faith to follow Heiser's theological opinion? More importantly, how can you answer the multitudes who believe this "Deuteronomy 32 Worldview?" By exploring the original languages and ancient literature which Heiser asserted to be evidence for his "divine plurality," The Unbiblical Realm thoroughly exposes Heiser's errors and reveals the true meaning of Psalm 82.