Guest Author
By Reuben Evans
The new series Angels follows up The Unseen Realm and Demons. It’s available for purchase on Faithlife TV.
Pop culture and church tradition have a lot to say about angels. However, in this documentary series, Dr. Mike Heiser takes things in a very different direction. When Dr. Heiser released the book The Unseen Realm, it rocked the theological world. His incredibly well-documented research into how ancient Israelites viewed the supernatural world was an instant hit with readers. It was followed up by books on angels and one on demons. Together these three books paint an expansive picture of the divine council of God’s throne room.
Now you can glean the insights from these books on your big screen. The Unseen Realm is a feature-length documentary film with multiple scholars. Both Demons and Angels focus on Dr. Heiser’s in-depth analysis. Demons is a 45-minute film, making it perfect for an adult Sunday school class, and Angels is a series of 11 episodes averaging 12 minutes each, making it perfect for small group discussions.
The Unseen Realm
Corbin Bernsen (L.A. Law, Psyche) hosts the documentary The Unseen Realm. It casts a light on the strange and enigmatic plane of the supernatural that lies within the pages of Scripture. The film features noted Bible scholars Dr. Ben Witherington III, Dr. Darrell Bock, Dr. Eric Mason, Dr. Gary Yates, and, of course, Dr. Michael S. Heiser. The crew shot on location with Bernsen at the Blue Cloud Movie Ranch in Hollywood, where movies like Iron Man were filmed.
Visualizing the unseen realm is a challenge with a visual medium like filmmaking. Additionally, a big part of the film addresses overcoming the misnomers about angels and demons that stem from artistic depictions. So the team worked with abstract visual artists to create artwork that was inspired by the theology in the book. As a result, the documentary is a theological and visual tour-de-force into the unseen realm.
Purchase the film on digital and Blu-ray here.
Demons
The truth about demons is far stranger—and even more fascinating—than what’s commonly believed. What does the Bible say about demons? Are demons real? What people believed about evil spiritual forces in biblical times was very different from today—an ancient worldview missing in modern analysis.
In Demons, Heiser debunks popular presuppositions about the true powers of darkness. The film presents a fascinating deep dive into spiritual rebellions and activities of the powers of darkness. It helps viewers to understand how the writers of Scripture understood their world so that we can better understand the texts we’ve received from them—and it sheds amazing light on New Testament passages on spiritual warfare.
Purchase the film on digital and Blu-ray here.
Angels
Pop culture and Church tradition have a lot to say about angels. And most of it is dead wrong. In this follow-up to the myth-busting documentary The Unseen Realm, Dr. Heiser dispels common legends and tall tales about God’s heavenly host—like angels having wings.
Similar to the Demons documentary, in the Angels miniseries, Heiser sits down for an extended session on the intricacies of “the good guys” in the heavenlies. They often get ignored for the more provocative “dark side.” But understanding the theology around the faithful members of the divine council brings light to our understanding of ourselves.
This series was specifically designed with 11 episodes so that small groups could use it for a study. We recommend getting the book Angels to go alongside the film.
Purchase the film on digital and Blu-ray here.
A trilogy
Together this series produces an incredibly accessible on-ramp into a theology of God’s divine council. You’ll walk away with insights that illuminate passages across the Bible. You’ll see the connecting tissue across obscure verses. Your framework for interpretation will be expanded. And your appreciation will be magnified for the role we play in God’s cosmic redemption.
James-Michael Smith
Logos Staff