Why Is Humanity So Wicked and Depraved - Michael Heiser

A typical Christian often explains humanity’s depravity simply as the result of the Fall in Eden, but a Second Temple Jew from roughly 500 BC to the 1st century AD would see the problem as more complex, involving three key rebellions. Besides the Fall, they would include the sin of the “watchers” or “sons of God” in Genesis 6:1-4, which contributed to widespread corruption and necessitated the Flood, and the judgment at Babel, which reflects divine division of nations and ongoing spiritual conflict as described in Deuteronomy 32:8-9. This worldview frames the biblical narrative as a cosmic struggle between Yahweh and other divine beings or “gods,” shaping Israel’s identity against the nations. The serpent (nachash) in Genesis 3 is understood not just as a literal snake but as a layered symbol possibly representing a divine being involved in rebellion, connected to passages in Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28, which describe a divine fall and are linked to ancient Near Eastern traditions of divine rebellion. While modern evangelical scholarship often resists these connections, they are well-supported in scholarly literature and ancient texts. The New Testament later identifies this adversary as Satan, though the Hebrew Bible does not explicitly use that term in these early stories. Overall, the ancient Jewish perspective sees humanity’s depravity as the result of multiple divine and human rebellions, embedded in a broader cosmic conflict that extends beyond the Garden of Eden. #michaelheiser #unseenrealm #gardenofeden #serpent #fall #wicked #mankind