The Unseen Realm: The Movie
If you’ve ever wondered about some of the strange passages in the Bible that talk about the Nephilim (Gen. 6:1-4; Num. 13:33), the disobedient “spirits in prison” (1 Pet. 3:18-22; 2 Pet. 2:4-5), or the cosmic battle we face against the “spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places,” (Eph. 6:12), then Michael Heiser’s book, “The Unseen Realm,” or his more popular version of this same topic, “Supernatural,” is a must read. However, for those who would rather watch a movie than read, Faithlife has now produced a movie version of The Unseen Realm.
The Unseen Realm is narrated by well-known TV and film actor Corbin Bernsen (L.A. Law and many others). There is also a cast of Who’s Who among evangelical scholars including Michael Heiser, Darrell Bock, Eric Mason, Ben Witherington III, and Gary Yates.
The Unseen Realm: What to Expect
If you’ve read Heiser’s book by the same name, or his book “Supernatural,” then you will be familiar with the content of this film. The film is done in a documentary style moving between the insights shared by the various participants. Like Heiser’s book, it begins with a brief look at the beginning of Psalm 82 which introduces a discussion about the Divine Council. It then moves to the meaning of the word “Elohim” (God, gods) and a discussion about its significance in the Old Testament.
Heiser and his companions then explore the entire content of revelation from Genesis through Revelation demonstrating the pervasive theme of cosmic warfare that is revealed in Scripture. One of the benefits of this fascinating journey is an explanation of obscure passages that many of us have tended to avoid, or at least, found confusing.
Strengths of the Movie
Besides providing an explanation for hard-to-understand passages, Heiser and friends explain the significance of the serpent in the Garden of Eden. They also offer an interesting interpretation of the Conquest of Canaan. In Heiser’s view, the Conquest is aimed at the giant clans who were descended from the Nephilim. The death of the Canaanites was a result of the intermixture of populations. Heiser also contends that this helps explain why the Bible sometimes says to “utterly destroy” the inhabitants and, in other cases, to “drive out.”
Other insights include the Rabbinic teaching of the two Yahwehs (an interpretation of the Son of Man passage in Daniel). This, along with passages about the Angel of the Lord, demonstrates that the OT provides support for the One God being manifested in different persons (a precursor to the concept of the Trinity).
I have read for years about the connection between Babel and the events of the Day of Pentecost as recorded in Acts 2. While Babel divided the nations through different tongues, Pentecost made it possible to reunite nations through the speaking in tongues. Heiser and friends, however, demonstrate that the connection between these two events goes even deeper. I found this very enlightening.
The biggest strength of The Unseen Realm is the way it ties all of Scripture together. In the process of showing how the Bible describes the cosmic spiritual conflict from beginning to end, it also does a superb job of preaching the gospel and showing why Jesus had to die and rise again.
Weaknesses of the Movie
In my opinion, the biggest weakness of the movie is that it presents a lot of important, but theologically dense, material in a short amount of time. The movie is one hour and eleven minutes long. My familiarity with the book made understanding the movie a lot easier. However, I asked several people (my wife, my brother, and 2 friends) to watch the movie with me who had never read either of Heiser’s books. Each found the movie interesting, but were a little overwhelmed with all of the information presented. Some of the information is new, or offers a different interpretation of passages that some have never heard before. My viewers suggested that they would want to go back through the movie, pausing it and looking up the relevant passages of Scripture in order to check out Heiser’s arguments more carefully.
I am aware that Heiser’s views originally expressed in his book The Unseen Realm caused quite a stir among evangelicals. Some excited, some confused, some afraid that heresy was being advocated. The reaction of my viewers to the film was surprisingly open. They had either heard similar ideas before or found the explanations offered very intriguing. If the movie opens peoples’ minds and leaves them wanting to investigate the teaching at a deeper level, then it must be considered successful, even if it presents a lot of information. To be honest, I don’t know how the film could have covered less. It’s important to see the whole picture presented by Scripture.
The other weakness depends on one’s point of view. Throughout the film different artists are shown creating works of art that relate to the themes beings discussed. I and some of my viewers found this perplexing at times. Not always seeing how the art connected to the message. However, there was agreement that the time spent on showing the creation of the artwork allowed the viewer time to absorb what was being discussed. Those who are artistic may have a more positive response to the use of the artwork in the movie.
Final Evaluation
My overall response to the film, and that of my viewers, is a positive one. I believe this film is an effective way of communicating these truths of Scripture. If one is patient and follows the presenters and their presentation all the way through to the end, the film delivers a wonderful sense of the depth and beauty of God’s plan. Of course, not everyone will agree with everything in the film (or book). However, anyone who takes the time to view it will definitely find spiritual nourishment and be prodded to search out the topics presented in greater detail. I heartily recommend The Unseen Realm (movie and book) to all who are interested in better understanding the cosmic battle we are in and the wisdom of God’s unfolding plan.
To purchase The Unseen Realm: The Movie, click on this link. A trailer of the film is also available at this link.
(Thanks to Logos/Faithlife for providing me with a link to preview the film for free. However, I was under no obligation to provide a positive review.)
