Books

The Awakening: One Man’s Battle With Darkness

This is the account of 19th Century Lutheran pastor and theologian, Johann Blumhardt, who had pastoral oversight for the area of Mottlingen in Germany. The story begins with one parishioners, Gottliebin Dittus, who having been using folk magic, began encountering paranormal visitations in her home. She became possessed by over 1000 spirit beings leading to Blumhardt exorcising her with prayer and Scripture alone over a period of time. Reflections upon Scripture during this process were recorded, together with the insights he gained from this experience which led to him returning to some parts of the Christian Tradition which had been abandoned in Lutheranism at the time. His approach to spiritual warfare, incorporating these insights, helped bring about a spiritual awakening in the area.

The recorded accounts within may read like a modern day horror film plot, but the rare insights into his deliverance ministry methodology and its fruit are worth pursuing to see that “Jesus is victor!” We do well to be reminded that these forces are still with us today, even if we do not readily perceive them.

A free pdf of this is available to download from the publisher here.

Deliverance: (SPCK Classics): Psychic Disturbances And Occult Movement: Fully Updated And Expanded Edition

A classic textbook on deliverance ministry which is often required reading for those engaged in deliverance ministry teams amongst the Church of England. It takes a balanced view on an area which too often has either been flooded with non-Christian material that has a Christian spin, or at the other extreme sees demons around every corner and engages in practices which can leave the recipient psychologically damaged as a result.

By gathering together the wisdom and practical experience of those who have been involved with deliverance for a long time, many of the pitfalls are examined and suggestions for avoidance proffered.

Anyone who is interested or engaged in the field of deliverance, or even those who are being afflicted by disturbances, would do well to read the helpful advice given in this book.

Michael Perry, now retired, was Canon of Durham and Editor of The Christian Parapsychologist.

The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible

In The Unseen Realm, Dr. Michael Heiser examines the ancient context of Scripture, explaining how its supernatural worldview can help us grow in our understanding of God. He illuminates intriguing and amazing passages of the Bible that have been hiding in plain sight. You’ll find yourself engaged in an enthusiastic pursuit of the truth, resulting in a new appreciation for God’s Word.

• Why wasn’t Eve surprised when the serpent spoke to her?
• How did descendants of the Nephilim survive the flood?
• Why did Jacob fuse Yahweh and his Angel together in his prayer?
• Who are the assembly of divine beings that God presides over?
• In what way do those beings participate in God’s decisions?
• Why do Peter and Jude promote belief in imprisoned spirits?
• Why does Paul describe evil spirits in terms of geographical rulership?
• Who are the “glorious ones” that even angels dare not rebuke?

After reading this book, you may never read your Bible the same way again.

Michael Heiser is scholar in residence at Logos Bible Software, specialising in the ancient languages of the Bible.

Angels: What the Bible Really Says About God’s Heavenly Host

What does the Bible really tell us about the heavenly host? Everyone knows that angels have wings, usually carry harps, and that each of us has our own personal guardian angel, right? We all have some preconceptions about angels from movies, television shows, and other media, but you might be surprised to know that a lot of those notions aren’t based on anything from the Bible. If you read Luke 1:26–38 and imagine the angel Gabriel standing before Mary with neatly folded white wings, you’re not getting that picture from anything the Bible itself says.

What the Bible really says about angels is overlooked or filtered through popular myths. This book was written to help change that. It’s a book about the loyal members of God’s heavenly host, and while most people associate them with the word “angel,” that’s just one of many terms the Bible uses for supernatural beings.

In The Unseen Realm Michael Heiser opened the eyes of thousands to seeing the Bible through the supernatural worldview of the ancient world it was written in. In his latest book, Angels, Dr. Heiser reveals what the Bible really says about God’s supernatural servants. Heiser focuses on loyal, holy heavenly beings because the Bible has a lot more to say about them than most people suspect. Most people presume all there is to know about angels is what has been passed on in Christian tradition, but in reality, that tradition is quite incomplete and often inaccurate.

Angels is not guided by traditions, stories, speculations, or myths about angels. Heiser’s study is grounded in the terms the Bible itself uses to describe members of God’s heavenly host; he examines the terms in their biblical context while drawing on insights from the wider context of the ancient Near Eastern world. The Bible’s view on heavenly beings begins with Old Testament terms but then moves into literature from the Second Temple period―Jewish writings from around the fifth century BC to the first century AD. This literature from the time between the Old Testament and the New Testament influenced the New Testament writers in significant ways. With that important background established, the book focuses on what the New Testament tells us about God’s holy ones. Finally, the book reflects on common misconceptions about angels and addresses why the topic is still important and relevant for Christians today.

Demons: What the Bible Really Says About the Powers of Darkness

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.

The Supernatural Worldview: Examining Paranormal, Psi, and the Apocalyptic

The Supernatural Worldview is a book of Christian apologetics from an apocalyptic perspective. Many supernatural and paranormal phenomena are examined with biblical discernment and some of the usual evangelical answers are found wanting. 

Chris has studied widely in the field of the paranormal and psi. He uses his apologetics mindset to attempt to wrestle with Scripture in the face of evidence from the paranormal field as well as ancient evidence that gives context to the Scriptures. He does not shy away from exploring various interpretations of Scripture, examining them closely to see if they make sense with all the available data we have.

Although this is a big book, it is highly readable, although don’t go too fast or you will miss quite a lot of important stuff which he uses to build his arguments.