Did Jesus Ever Appear in the Old Testament? — Part 3 | Michael Heiser

Part 1: https://youtu.be/LhuZrMLIQqc Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWF4EnxYSWE&t=9s A lecture by Michael Heiser on the concept of "two powers in heaven" theology in ancient Judaism, where he explains that the Old Testament often describes God appearing in both an invisible, transcendent form and a visible, anthropomorphic form, sometimes as an angel or the "Word" of God, which later New Testament authors identify with Jesus. Heiser uses examples from Deuteronomy, Psalms, Isaiah, and Daniel to show that biblical writers reappropriated Canaanite and pagan imagery—such as the deity riding the clouds—to assert that these powers belong only to Yahweh, not to Baal or other gods, thereby teaching theology by contrasting familiar concepts with the truth of Israel's God. He illustrates this with the story of Daniel 7, where "one like a son of man" comes on the clouds, a description that Jesus later applies to himself in his trial, showing he is the second Yahweh figure, which the high priest recognises as a claim to deity and responds with outrage. Heiser also recounts a personal experience teaching this material to a room of Jewish senior citizens, revealing that most had never encountered this theology and were surprised by its implications, including how it helps explain how first-century Jews could accept Jesus as divine without violating monotheism. He emphasises that this concept is rooted in the Hebrew Bible, not Greek philosophy, and encourages Christians to engage with real scholarship and the biblical text itself, rather than relying on simplified or watered-down teachings. The lecture concludes with Heiser’s passion for making academic biblical insights accessible to everyone, lamenting the barriers that often keep laypeople from engaging with deep scriptural scholarship. #OldTestament #MichaelHeiser #BiblicalTheology #AngelOfTheLord #TwoPowersInHeaven #GodAsMan #Binitarianism #Trinity #DivineCouncil #BibleStudy #ChristianScholarship #HeiserHeritage #OTChristology #BiblicalWisdom