The Mileses

Paul and Olena Miles with Grace Abroad Ministries

archaeology

Some concerns with Michael Heiser’s “The Unseen Realm”

Several months ago, a friend started reading Michael Heiser’s book, The Unseen Realm. It’s on the topic of angelology and she asked me if I had heard of the book or if I knew of any dangerous teachings therein. I had never heard of the book, nor the author, so I did a quick google search. I didn’t want my friend to get into some weird hyper-charismatic teaching on angels and demons, so when I saw that Darrell Bock of Dallas Theological Seminary endorsed the book, I assumed that it would be pretty safe.

Boy, was I wrong.
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The Kingdom, a word study, and a story about King Darius running away from Ukrainians

This post is extracted from some research I’m doing related to the kingdom.

φθάνω (Matt 12:28; Luke 11:20)

A host of clear biblical passages teach that the kingdom is literal and earthly. Two obscure passages that have become key to overthrowing the plain meaning of the text are Matt 12:28 and Luke 11:20, both of which record Jesus telling unbelievers that the kingdom ἔφθασεν ἐφ᾿ ὑμᾶς, which the KJV translates, “is come unto you” in Matthew and “is come upon you” in Luke. To the assertion that Jesus made it plain that the kingdom had already come, Millar Burrows responds:[Read More]

Galilean Aramaic: Not as stupid as it sounds

People often assume that John and Peter were a couple of uneducated rednecks. Part of the reason is that they were fisherman. Today, rednecks like to fish, therefore Peter was a redneck… We should be careful in projecting modern American culture onto Peter, though. The skills that it would take to navigate the water with ancient technology may have taken more skill than we give him credit for. But, then again, the Bible does say Peter cursed and cursing is a skill that modern seafarers master without peer, sooo…[Read More]

Three reasons why you do not want Jeremiah 29:11 to be about you

​Have you ever seen a conversation like this take place between two believers?

​Believer 1: How is life going, Believer 2?
Believer 2: Oh, life is terrible! My dog left me and I stepped on a LEGO. Things will never get better. Blah blah blah.
Believer 1: Oh no. Be encouraged! The Bible says, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
Believer 2: Oh, wow! You’re right! Everything is just swell. I think I’ll ride off into the sunset now.

​Believer 1 has just quoted Jer 29:11. If we look at the context of this passage, I think we’ll find that he has actually misused this particular verse (though, I’m sure his intentions were good).

​Now, Jer 29:11 is a source of encouragement for many believers and I don’t want to rob anyone of encouragement. So, I have compiled a list of three reasons why we should rejoice that this passage is not about us. If Jer 29:11 was indeed about us, then:
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The Days of Peleg: Babel or Continental Drift?

​And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother’s name was Joktan. (Gen 10:25 KJV)

I think that when Moses wrote, “in his days was the earth divided,” he was referring to the division of languages and nations at the Tower of Babel, but others believe he was talking about the Continental Drift. Here is a humble presentation of why I’m right and they’re wrong.
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