Coffee with Dr. Heiser's Portent – The Divine Deception That Could Shatter Faith

Author Dr. Michael Heiser talks about his thriller novel "The Facade," a theological sci-fi story blending UFO phenomena, paranormal elements, and Old Testament studies, which Heiser wrote during a dissertation burnout by self-publishing after a rushed rush via Art Bell's Coast to Coast AM appearance that crashed servers from demand, evolving into an underground hit with a new special edition including backstory, bibliography, and first chapters of the sequel "The Portent." Heiser, about 30-40% through "The Portent," reveals protagonists Brian (a socially awkward, text-focused version of young Heiser) and Melissa (amalgam of his wife Drenna, Dana Scully, and others) hiding in North Dakota under pseudonyms, pretending marriage amid her mysterious pregnancy, grappling deepening romance obstacles, Brian's anonymous anti-UFO deception blogging, cultural shifts toward post-Christian totalitarianism, and multifaceted "intelligent evil" strategies—human (military-industrial fascist agendas) and supernatural (Watchers deceiving churches via vocabulary control, biblical illiteracy, false faith decisions)—to crush Christianity without cartoonish resolutions, emphasizing realistic tech/government references, remnant hope, and God's ultimate victory despite mismatched chess games. The discussion explores Heiser's writing process (mental movie rehearsals, character-driven plots, potential trilogy), eschewing formulaic Christian fiction for nuanced faith-works gospel dialogues (e.g., likeable Catholic Father Benedict), eschatology ambiguities (Amos 9/Acts 15 non-literal fulfilment, hindsight-dependent prophecy riddles, dual/cyclic guesses), church critiques (content neglect, idea vulnerability), X-Files parallels (prefiguring Scully's pregnancy), Roswell/UFO conference origins, and fan-named characters. #MichaelHeiser #TheFacade #ThePortent #Divine #Deception #SpiritualWarfare #UFO #aliendeception #BiblicalTheology #divinecouncil #christian #fiction #theology #thriller