Michael S. Heiser Quotes & Sayings

If we are instruments of God in the same way Paul was an instrument of God, then why was he so much more influential and effective? One difference is that Paul understood what his life was about. He believed the powers that had dominion over the earth were real - and that the power behind and within him was greater. Do — Michael S. Heiser

Baptism, then, is not what produces salvation. It 'saves' in that it reflects a heart decision: a pledge of loyalty to the risen Savior. In effect, baptism in New Testament theology is a loyalty oath, a public avowal of who is on the Lord's side in the cosmic war between good and evil. ... Early baptismal formulas included a renunciation of Satan and his angels for this very reason. Baptism was - and still is - spiritual warfare. — Michael S. Heiser

The Law was not how Israelites achieved salvation - it was how they showed loyalty to the God they believed in. — Michael S. Heiser

ANY VETERAN WHO HAS EXPERIENCED COMBAT WILL TELL YOU THAT WAR IS a terrible thing. — Michael S. Heiser

THERE'S NO DOUBT THAT PSALM 82 CAN ROCK YOUR BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW. Once I saw what it was actually saying, I was convinced that I needed to look at the Bible through ancient eyes, not my traditions. — Michael S. Heiser

You see why the psalm threw me for a loop. The first verse has God presiding over an assembly of gods. Doesn't that sound like a pantheon - something we associate with polytheism and mythology? — Michael S. Heiser

CHILDREN OFTEN ASK, "WHAT WAS THERE BEFORE GOD MADE THE WORLD?" The answer most adults would give is that God was there. That's true, but incomplete. God had company. And I'm not talking about the other members of the Trinity. — Michael S. Heiser

When an enemy wants nothing but your defeat and annihilation, neutrality means choosing death. — Michael S. Heiser

The proper worldview context for interpreting the Bible is not evangelicalism, Catholicism, the Protestant Reformation, the Puritans - or even the modern world. The proper context for interpreting the Bible is the context in which it was written - that of the ancient biblical writers. — Michael S. Heiser

Caught in such a conflict, you must take sides. — Michael S. Heiser

My contention is that, if our theology really derives from the biblical text, we must reconsider our selective supernaturalism and recover a biblical theology of the unseen world — Michael S. Heiser

To a timeless being, time means nothing. But timing is everything. — Michael S. Heiser