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Demons: What the Bible Really Says About the Powers of Darkness Hardcover – April 29, 2020

by Michael S. Heiser (Author)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 1,959 ratings
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2020 Center for Biblical Studies Finalist for Biblical Theology

The truth about demons is far stranger―and even more fascinating―than what's commonly believed.

Are demons real? Are they red creatures with goatees holding pitchforks and sitting on people's shoulders while whispering bad things? Did a third of the angels really rebel with Satan? Are demons and "principalities and powers" just terms for the same entities, or are they different members of the kingdom of darkness? Is the world a chaotic mess because of what happened in Eden, or is there more to the story of evil?

What people believed about evil spiritual forces in ancient biblical times is often very different than what people have been led to believe about them today. And this ancient worldview is missing from most attempts to treat the topic.

In Demons, Michael Heiser debunks popular presuppositions about the very real powers of darkness. Rather than traditions, stories, speculations, or myths, Demons is grounded in what ancient people of both the Old and New Testament eras believed about evil spiritual forces and in what the Bible actually says. You'll come away with a sound, biblical understanding of demons, supernatural rebellion, evil spirits, and spiritual warfare.

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  1. Print length
    320 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Lexham Press
  4. Publication date
    April 29, 2020
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 1 x 9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1683592891
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1683592891
  8. See all details
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  1. The term ʾelōhı̂m simply means “divine beings”—residents of the supernatural world.
    Highlighted by 662 Kindle readers
  2. For the purposes of the present study, the point to be made is that the biblical Rephaim are supernatural residents of the underworld, a place in the spiritual plane of reality dissociated with the presence of God.
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  3. A biblical writer would use ʾelōhı̂m to label any entity that is not embodied by nature and is a member of the spiritual realm.
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From the Publisher

demons
Heiser

ABOUT DR. MICHAEL S. HEISER

Michael Heiser is an expert in the weird and wonderful world of the Bible. His popular Naked Bible Podcast passed five million downloads in 2019. Heiser is the author of several best-selling books, including The Unseen Realm, Demons, and Angels.

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The World Turned Upside Down The Unseen Realm Supernatural Angels The Bible Unfiltered
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Finding the Gospel in Stranger Things Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible What the Bible Teaches About the Unseen World—and Why it Matters What the Bible Really Says About God’s Heavenly Host Approaching Scripture on Its Own Terms
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Michael Heiser has done a great service to all who want to understand the biblical theology of demons, the supernatural powers in rebellion against God. He gives a detailed exploration of the biblical materials as well as the best of the literature of ancient Jewish writers. He correctly believes that we must read the biblical accounts in the context of their ancient worldview. Reviewing all this material, helpfully gathered into this book, will challenge most everyone's understanding of demons. His work is controversial so he brings the work of those who differ with him into his discussions. The study will correct widely-held errors in modern demonology and make us more faithful followers of the One who has won the decisive victory over the Devil. -Gerry Breshears, Professor of Theology, Western Seminary, Portland

About the Author

Michael S. Heiser (1963–2023) was a popular Bible teacher, author, and the founding executive director of AWKNG School of Theology. An expert in the Bible and ancient Semitic languages, he wrote numerous books, including The Unseen Realm, Angels, and Demons. For many years, he was scholar-in-residence at Logos Bible Software. He earned a PhD in Hebrew Bible and Semitic languages from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Lexham Press (April 29, 2020)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1683592891
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1683592891
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 1,959 ratings

About the author

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Michael S. Heiser

Michael S. Heiser

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Michael S. Heiser is a scholar in the fields of biblical studies and the ancient Near East. Dr. Heiser earned his Ph.D. in Hebrew Bible and Semitic Languages at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2004. He also earned an M.A. in the same field at Wisconsin, along with an M.A. in Ancient History from the University of Pennsylvania (major fields: Ancient Israel and Egyptology).

Dr. Heiser is currently the Executive Director and Professor at the Awakening School of Theology and Ministry with Celebration Church in Jacksonville, FL. Before accepting his current position, Mike taught on the college and seminary level for over 20 years and was Scholar-in-Residence for Logos Bible Software for 15 years.

Dr. Heiser is the author of several best-selling books: The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible; its shorter companion work, Supernatural: What the Bible Teaches about the Unseen World and Why it Matters; Angels: What the Bible Really Teaches About God’s Heavenly Host; and Reversing Hermon: Enoch, the Watchers, and the Forgotten Mission of Jesus Christ. He has also written over 100 articles for Bible Study Magazine and has several peer-reviewed articles in academic journals.

Dr. Heiser is known for intentionally exposing non-specialists interested in biblical studies, theology, and ancient texts to peer-reviewed material in all these areas. To that end he hosts the popular Naked Bible Podcast, which passed five million downloads in 2019. His non-profit corporation, MIQLAT, provides free translations of his biblical studies content in over twenty languages.

Lastly, Dr. Heiser is well known for his interest in the paranormal and alternative history. He has been a guest on dozens of talk shows and podcasts that focus on the fringe. Through his fiction (The Facade, The Portent), his Peeranormal podcast, and his YouTube Channel, Fringepop321, he tries to promote critical thinking in regard to this subject matter.

Dr. Heiser's homepage is drmsh.com. You can follow him on Twitter @msheiser.

Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
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Top reviews from the United States

Susan B Deaton
5.0 out of 5 stars Anything Michael Heiser writes is worth reading.
Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2024
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Heiser is a scholar's scholar. I have read 5 of his books and researched as much as I could given my education is not in ancient languages. I have studied the critiques of other ancient language scholars and most are in agreement of Heiser. Demons is a topic where most of us get our education from movie moguls on the big screen. However, we are foolish to trust sensational movie scenes, the oscars and big profits to educate us on demons. Heiser has earned the knowledge, the respect of peers and critics alike to speak, and write on this topic from the position of a leader, teacher, and guest speaker at numerous conferences. I highly recommend Heiser's works. Check him out on YouTube also; he left us treasures every ehere. Demons is an informative book.
4 people found this helpful
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sgtr
5.0 out of 5 stars great -
Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2024
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interesting review of what the ancient middle east people thought about - 'demons' or their local god(s)
very well researched and written.
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Michael Linquist
5.0 out of 5 stars Another great Heiser read
Reviewed in the United States on May 1, 2024
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Read this after Unseen Realm.
This was great and very scholastic in its approach to the study of demons.
Highly recommend
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Augustine James
5.0 out of 5 stars A Necessary Read for Understanding A Current Crisis
Reviewed in the United States on January 27, 2022
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Satan, a fallen former archangel, leading a host of rebellious angels, (demons) may appear to be the cause of evil in the world to the average Bible-reading Christian. But is that what the Bible really teaches about Satan and demons, who they are and how they operate? And if so, how certain can we be when there’s so little explicit biblical texts on the subject?

Michael Heiser, in his well-researched book Demons: What The Bible Actually Says About The Powers Of Darkness, takes us on a journey of exploration from the Ancient Near Eastern (ANE) world of the Old Testament, through the often-strange Intertestamental Period known as Second Temple Judaism, and on into the New Testament where we frequently find Jesus casting out demons while other territorial spirits are operating through government powers in opposition the Gospel.

Visiting old familiar places with fresh eyes and pausing to gaze on overlooked passages of scripture that illuminate our traditional misunderstandings and bring fresh insight to the nature and operations of evil spirits, Heiser traces the scriptural evolution of understanding about these evil entities while weaving together a cohesive picture of what the Bible actually teaches about the forces of darkness and their operations in the unseen realm.

Heiser’s unique contributions to understanding the occupants of the unseen spiritual realm lie in his insights derived from connecting data points from other biblical scholars and his comfort with interpreting biblical authors against their cultural backdrop and those of their idolatrous counterparts.

Some might find it uncomfortable, for example, that Heiser often refers to non-canonical books from the Second Temple Judaism period, such as The Book of Enoch. However, he is clear in his conviction these are not inspired works but are helpful references for informing us of how Biblical the authors were interacting with the cultures around them to demonstrate superiority of the Hebrew/Christian God as LORD of Lords and GOD over all gods.

While written for the layman, the book still gets a bit technical when addressing cross-cultural translations and etymologies deployed to clarify the evolving scriptural understanding of the powers of darkness. However, for those that are new to the ANE worldview and the spiritual realm, it’s well worth the effort to stay on track.

The worldview of the Bible is heavily populated with spiritual beings that actively influence the human experience. Heiser Does us a great service by identifying these beings and bringing them into the foreground with strong scholarly arguments that help avoid spiritual error and excess.

Seen from the perspective of the western mindset, the worldview of the biblical authors is actually pretty weird. Thankfully, the current scholarly movement to accurately interpret this worldview is enabling us to better understand the spiritual activities and influences promoting chaos in our world today.

In this regard, Heiser’s book is a much-needed resource in knowing who and what the Christian is actually at war with and how one should strive to live in such a trying hour.
58 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Great scholarly, easy and biblically informative in-depth read
Reviewed in the United States on October 17, 2023
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A must read for new and mature believers in particular who have read his books The Unseen Realm or at least The Supernatural (basically an overview of The Unseen Realm). His in-depth scholarly reference works is rather exhaustive yet very helpful to support his presentation.
7 people found this helpful
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John D. Leaman
4.0 out of 5 stars It's what the title says
Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2023
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I've grown up under really high educatied ministers but this is pretty intense! Slow read to take it in! I consider myself pretty bible knowledgeable but this requires bible college training!
9 people found this helpful
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Yehudit
5.0 out of 5 stars She Opening
Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2024
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She opening to the backdrop of so many scriptures because of lack of knowledge regarding Old Testament and Ancient times and worldviews. It is my take away that we can not fully comprehend scripture without digging deep into history. This book does just that!!
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Michael
5.0 out of 5 stars Ephesian 6:12✝️📖🙇🏾‍♂️ Fascinating indeed.🙂 Three Divine Rebellions; Four Divine Rebels🔎📜🔍
Reviewed in the United States on August 12, 2022
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Three Divine Rebellions; Four Divine Rebels

#VeryInteresting to say the least if one really looks into and studies the Deuteronomy 32:8-9 worldview with respects to the principalities and rulers of darkness passage in Ephesians 6:12 material.

Studying this material in detail as far as the Ancient Near Eastern Old Testament Semitic background is concerned gives one the mindframe from which Heiser is coming from in exclusion of personal bias* & the hermenutical lens* from which one uses to interpret scripture (which all of us have and is very difficult to put to the side; having an open but evaluative mind) and sincere and earnest desire to want to know scriptural truth in general will definitely open up one's understanding of the scriptures even clearer than ever before. I had my doubts at first, but I am glad by God's grace i studied it to help me draw closer in my relationship with Christ through the study of His Word.✝️📖🙇🏾‍♂️

Very fascinating indeed.🙂

SN: Seems like the dis-creditors of this academic and biblical study didnt read and evaluate the entirety* of this book. Some of the stuff they are saying is simply NOT true. Seems like they read a page or two and then* went right back to their personal bias* and subscribed a review with their own presuppositional lens🤔. How interesting🤔 Personally, I evaluate information based on my own personal* study to draw my own conclusions and I would think that those of interest should do the same. But it does require acute attention to detail because it is very academic with heavy scholarly footnotes for verification via evidence if one's mind or mental framework is not use to these expertise areas of biblical exegesis (my opinion that could be wrong).

This is not your simpleton internet or *'Joe blo hokie mo' believe me and no one else stuff'*. This book is for the serious* minded person who is willing to take the time to study and discover the biblical truths this book holds that will open up a world of 💎JEWELS💎 from which the 1st Century Second Temple Period Jewish Apostolic* Writings of the New Testament epistles derived their cultural thinking; apart from our 21st century Post-Modern biblical worldview that has its derivative from the post-Catholiism Dark Ages per the protestant reformation who had no idea about the Qumran Dead Sea Scrolls etc (e.g., LXX Septuagint Scriptural Manuscripts) which shed significant LIGHT to our scriptures and provides the authenticity they deserve as *PRE*-Christ 2nd Century BC documentation.

(52:12 minute mark to 58:12)

FaithLife Original documentary-
Aliens & Demons; Evidence of an Unseen Realm
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Audra.Knutson
5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended author
Reviewed in Canada on November 8, 2023
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Can’t wait to read it!
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Edgar Benítez
5.0 out of 5 stars Excelent
Reviewed in Mexico on February 21, 2023
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El libro llegó en buen estado, realmente es tapa dura y eso se aprecia mucho
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Jamie
5.0 out of 5 stars Simply Brilliant!
Reviewed in Germany on April 27, 2023
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This is an eye opening book in how Dr. Heiser writes about the Old Testament views of the spirit realm. I found it uniquely important in opening up a better understanding of the Bible and the historical context of things. In my own second book, I quote this book and Dr. Heiser quite often as it was so crucial in helping me to better understand the realms around me.
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Paul, Brussels
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent read!
Reviewed in France on August 13, 2020
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What an excellent study on this subject. What a tremendous helpful resource! Thoroughly biblical and extremely relevant. Many thanks Michael!
One person found this helpful
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Noah
5.0 out of 5 stars A very worthwhile read!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 11, 2020
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Heiser has a great gift - the ability to write theologically/academically whilst still making his work accessible to a lot of readers. There are lots of footnotes in this book - ignore them and you will have a fairly easy read, one which will be accessible. Read the footnotes and this has become 'journal like' - a well developed set of ideas, delivered with a host of references and one that can be quoted from in degree level essays. Heiser has a highly developed worldview that includes the supernatural and this book which is the latest in a series exploring linked ideas is excellent (The Unseen Realm, Restoring Hermon, Angels, Supernatural).
You don't have to agree with him on every point to get a lot from his writing, but he is a serious writer who has a lot to say that makes a lot of sense too. I have enjoyed each of his books and this is no different - a highly polished tome that will deserve its place in my library! Thoroughly recommended!
10 people found this helpful
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