The Supernatural Worldview of the Bible: The Divine Council According to Michael Heiser

Sep 1

The Bible is often read through modern eyes that assume rationalism and strip away the supernatural. Michael Heiser insisted that this was a mistake. For him, the biblical writers assumed a supernatural worldview in which God reigned supreme but was not alone in the spiritual realm. Heiser’s teaching on the divine council sought to recover this ancient lens, helping modern readers grasp what the original authors understood about God, spiritual beings, and cosmic conflict.

1. Supernatural Worldview in Scripture

Heiser explained that the biblical worldview included both the seen and unseen realms. The writers of Scripture believed in a populated supernatural world, not as metaphor but as reality.

Key elements of this worldview include:

Yahweh as incomparable — the Most High God, distinct from all others.
Elohim as real beings — not idols or metaphors, but spiritual persons who dwell in God’s realm.
Sons of God as administrators — members of the heavenly family council who participate in divine governance.
Spiritual rebellion — supernatural beings who rejected God’s rule and became hostile powers.

Heiser often summarized this with the phrase “the unseen realm,” a way of describing the reality behind the biblical text that shaped Israel’s faith and the mission of Christ.

2. Divine Council as Heavenly Court

The divine council is central in Heiser’s teaching. It is the heavenly assembly where God presides as king, surrounded by other divine beings.

Biblical passages highlight this reality:

Psalm 82:1 — God takes His stand in the divine council, judging among the elohim.
Psalm 89:6–7 — God is feared among the council of holy ones.
Job 1–2 — the sons of God present themselves before the Lord.

In the ancient Near East, councils of the gods were common imagery. The Bible adapts this picture but with a crucial difference: Yahweh is utterly unique, while all other beings are created and subordinate. For Heiser, this biblical vision explained the structure of divine rule without compromising monotheism.

3. Nations and Their Supernatural Princes

Deuteronomy 32:8–9 was one of Heiser’s anchor texts. Here, God divides the nations and assigns them to the “sons of God,” while Israel is kept as His own inheritance. This, he argued, reveals a supernatural geography:

Nations placed under spiritual rulers after Babel’s rebellion.
Israel chosen as Yahweh’s portion, distinct from other nations.
Cosmic administration mirrored in history, where human kingdoms are tied to supernatural powers.

Daniel 10 expands this picture with the “prince of Persia” and the “prince of Greece,” spiritual beings connected to empires. Heiser stressed that such passages show how the biblical writers viewed history as both earthly and cosmic.

4. Rebellions in the Divine Council

Heiser taught that the biblical story includes not one rebellion but several, each involving supernatural beings who opposed God’s purposes.

Genesis 3 — the serpent’s deception in Eden.
Genesis 6:1–4 — the sons of God who took human wives, producing the Nephilim.
Deuteronomy 32:17 — nations worshiping demons who were once members of the heavenly host.
Psalm 82 — corrupt rulers among the elohim condemned to judgment.

For Heiser, these episodes explained the backdrop of human sin and conflict. Israel’s battles with hostile nations were not only geopolitical struggles but confrontations with rebellious supernatural powers. This cosmic conflict, he argued, set the stage for the mission of Jesus.

5. Ancient Near Eastern Context

Heiser insisted that the divine council worldview was not borrowed from later Persian dualism but was deeply rooted in the ancient Near Eastern setting of Israel. All surrounding cultures pictured their gods ruling through divine assemblies.

The biblical difference:

Yahweh’s uniqueness — not one god among many, but the Most High.
Subordinate beings — real spiritual agents, but entirely derivative.
Council as administration — God chooses to govern through them, though He alone is sovereign.

Understanding this cultural backdrop helps explain why biblical writers used this imagery. It was both familiar to the ancient audience and radically redefined in light of Israel’s God.

6. Cosmic Conflict and the Gospel

For Heiser, the supernatural worldview makes sense of the larger biblical story. The conquest of Canaan, for instance, was not merely territorial but spiritual: Israel was displacing powers aligned against God. This perspective explains the language of “giants” and “gods” in the land as echoes of rebellion from Genesis 6.

In the New Testament, Paul reflects the same worldview. He speaks of “rulers and authorities in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12) and Christ being exalted above every power (Ephesians 1:20–22). The death and resurrection of Jesus are portrayed as victories over both sin and hostile spiritual rulers (Colossians 2:15).

Heiser argued that without this framework, the full significance of the Gospel is diminished. Salvation is not only about individual forgiveness but about the defeat of cosmic enemies and the restoration of God’s rule over all nations.

7. Biblical Imagery of Council and Kingdom

The divine council also connects to biblical imagery of sacred space and kingdom. For Heiser, Eden was both temple and council chamber, where God’s presence and His heavenly family met. After the rebellion, humanity was exiled from Eden, but the divine council theme continues throughout Scripture.

Examples include:

Mount Sinai — a mountain meeting place of God, angels, and His people.
Prophets’ visions — Isaiah 6 and 1 Kings 22, both showing heavenly courts.
Revelation 4–5 — a throne room filled with heavenly beings worshiping the Lamb.

The consistent message is that God rules over both realms, and His kingdom advances through both human and divine agents.

Conclusion

Michael Heiser’s teaching on the supernatural worldview of the Bible opened a window into how Scripture’s original authors and audiences thought. The divine council, the assignment of nations, and the reality of supernatural rebellion all illuminate the story of redemption. By recovering this ancient lens, readers are reminded that the Bible is not a sanitized text of abstract morality but a supernatural drama of God’s kingdom breaking into a contested world.

Bible Verses on the Supernatural Worldview

Deuteronomy 32:8–9 — “When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance and divided the human race, he set the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God. But the LORD’s portion is his people, Jacob, his own inheritance.”
Psalm 82:1 — “God stands in the divine assembly; he pronounces judgment among the gods.”
Psalm 89:6–7 — “For who in the skies can compare with the LORD? Who among the heavenly beings is like the LORD? God is greatly feared in the council of the holy ones, more awe-inspiring than all who surround him.”
Job 1:6 — “One day the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them.”
Daniel 10:20–21 — “Do you know why I came to you? I must return at once to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I leave, the prince of Greece will come. However, I will tell you what is recorded in the book of truth.”
Isaiah 6:1–3 — “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, and the hem of his robe filled the temple. Seraphim were standing above him; they each had six wings. They called to one another: Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Armies; his glory fills the whole earth.”
1 Kings 22:19 — “Then Micaiah said, ‘Therefore, hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and the whole heavenly army was standing by him at his right hand and at his left hand.’”
Ephesians 6:12 — “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens.”
Colossians 2:15 — “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and disgraced them publicly; he triumphed over them in him.”
Revelation 4:2–4 — “Immediately I was in the Spirit, and there was a throne in heaven and someone was seated on it. The one seated there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian stone. A rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald surrounded the throne. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones sat twenty-four elders dressed in white clothes, with golden crowns on their heads.”