BOOKS
REVERSING HEISER:
A Critical Analysis of Michael S. Heiser’s Reversing Hermon
In this continued critique of the writings of Dr. Michael S. Heiser (1963-2023), Dr. Thomas Howe examines and critiques Heiser’s book Reversing Hermon (2017) and its appeal to 1 Enoch as an authoritative source to interpret various passages of the Bible. Howe especially focuses on Heiser’s Angel View of the sons of God in Genesis 6:1–4 as well as other passages of the New Testament. Readers will find an integration of relevant areas of historical, cultural, and theological background to the scriptural text that upholds the uniqueness, authority, inspiration, and inerrancy of Scripture. Howe once again provides a rigorous, insightful, and engaging scholarly response to Heiser.
Since the founding of the first Christian church in Jerusalem, there have been those who have argued that Jesus Christ is not God. This attack on the Person of Jesus has been a part of history throughout the life of the church. In recent years, a prominent group consistently denying the deity of Christ has been the Jehovah’s Witnesses. In their effort to promote their views, and to appeal to the New Testament to deny that Jesus is God, they produced their own translation of the Bible known as the New World Translation. Arguments have raged back and forth about the faithfulness of the New World Translation to the Greek text. Recently, a voice has been raised in support of the New World Translation. That voice is Jason BeDuhn. In his book, Truth in Translation, BeDuhn examines several modern translations of the New Testament focusing on several passages that touch on the deity of Christ. In each of these passages, BeDuhn comes out in favor of the New World Translation over all the modern translations he considers. Indeed, his final conclusion is that the New World Translation is the best of these modern translations. In this critical evaluation, BeDuhn’s arguments are challenged and his conclusions called into question. Ultimately the reader will find that modern translations of the New Testament do not distort or mishandle these important passages, which consistently teach that Jesus is God in the flesh.
DANIEL:
A Commentary, Analysis, and Critique of Preterist Interpretations of Daniel
In recent years, there has been rise in popularity and visibility of the debate about the last things. Preterists and Futurists have published books, articles, and even movies promoting their respective views. This debate has elevated the interest of the Christian public in eschatological issues. Along with the increased interest in eschatology, there has been a rise in popularity of the Preterist view, which holds that most or all of the prophecies about Christ’s coming have already been fulfilled-that the “second coming” took place in 70 AD. Most of the discussion from those who espouse the Preterist view, however, revolves around certain passages in the New Testament, and their treatment of Old Testament passages is sporadic and selective. The importance of the book of Daniel in these discussions cannot be overstated. However, most commentaries on Daniel from a Futurist perspective have not dealt with the Preterists’ interpretations of the key prophetic passages. There simply is no detailed commentary on the book of Daniel that addresses the Presterist interpretations of this important book. This book is a commentary on the entire book of Daniel from a Futurist perspective that specifically addresses the Preterist interpretations of the key prophetic passages. This is not a book that selects passages out of the context of the book and attempts to explain their prophetic significance. Rather, this is a commentary on the entire book of Daniel that places these critical prophetic passages in their literary and historical context, and then deals with the various interpretations of these passages as they fit into the context of the book as a whole.
Objectivity in Biblical Interpretation
Biblical interpretation is facing a crisis of objectivity. More and more authors are surrendering to the postmodern influence of relativism in interpretation. This malady is not limited to non-evangelical theorists. The pervasiveness of postmodern perspectivism propagated through the notions of presuppositions, preunderstanding, horizons, paradigms, historicism, and a host of other terms attempting to identify the preconditions of interpretation has forced Evangelicals to question the very possibility of a “correct interpretation” of the Bible and of communication in general. Unless Evangelicals can articulate and reasonably defend a notion of objectivity that transcends all perspectives and reaches beyond one’s own historical context to declare a Gospel that is true and relevant for all people in all cultures, in all times, Christianity will continue to be viewed as simply another point of view among the host of choices, all of which are seen as equally valid. In the face of Postmodernism and Deconstruction, this book addresses head-on the question of objectivity in general and objectivity in interpretation and will argue for and defend the traditional belief that it is possible to have a correct understanding of the meaning of the biblical text, that there is an objective meaning in the text that is accessible to the reader.