WHAT THE BIBLE REALLY SAYS ABOUT THE POWERS OF DARKNESS
MICHAEL S. HEISER
Demons: What the Bible Really Says about the Powers of Darkness
Copyright 2020 Michael S. Heiser
Lexham Press, 1313 Commercial St., Bellingham, WA 98225
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Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from the esv® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture translations marked (leb) are from the Lexham English Bible (leb), copyright 2013 by Lexham Press. Lexham is a registered trademark of Faithlife Corporation.
Scripture translations marked (nrsv) are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Print ISBN 9781683592891
Digital ISBN 9781683592907
Library of Congress Control Number 2020930219
Lexham Editorial: Douglas Mangum, Abigail Stocker, Jim Weaver, Danielle Thevenaz
Cover Design: Brittany Schrock
SECTION I: BIBLICAL VOCABULARY FOR THE POWERS OF DARKNESS
1 Hebrew Terms for Evil Spiritual Beings
2 It Was All Greek to Them, Too
SECTION II: THE POWERS OF DARKNESS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT AND SECOND TEMPLE JUDAISM
3 The Original Rebel—I Will Be Like the Most High
4 Satan in Second Temple Judaism
5 The Second Divine Rebellion—Making Our Own Imagers
6 Depravity and Demons in Second Temple Judaism
7 The Third Divine Rebellion—Chaos in the Nations
8 Dark Powers over the Nations in Second Temple Judaism
SECTION III: “THE DEVIL AND HIS ANGELS”: The Powers of Darkness in the New Testament
9 The Devil—His Dominion and Destiny
10 Evil Spirits—Demons and Their Destiny
11 The Ruling Powers—Their Delegitimization and Destiny
SECTION IV: COMMON QUESTIONS AND MISCONCEPTIONS
12 Myths and Questions about the Powers of Darkness
Index of Subjects and Modern Authors
Index of Scripture and Other Ancient Literature
ABD Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary. Edited by David Noel Freedman. 6 vols. New York: Doubleday, 1992
Ant. Josephus, Jewish Antiquities
APOT The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament. Edited by Robert H. Charles. 2 vols. Oxford: Clarendon, 1913
AYB Anchor Yale Bible
BAR Biblical Archaeology Review
BASOR Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research
BBR Bulletin for Biblical Research
BCOT Baker Commentary on the Old Testament
BDAG Bauer, Walter, Frederick W. Danker, William F. Arndt, and F. Wilbur Gingrich. Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. 3rd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000
BECNT Baker Exegetical ...
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About Demons: What the Bible Really Says about the Powers of DarknessThe 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 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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