What does the Bible really tell us about the heavenly host?

Everyone knows that angels have wings, usually carry harps, and that each of us has our own personal guardian angel, right? We all have some preconceptions about angels from movies, television shows, and other media, but you might be surprised to know that a lot of those notions aren't based on anything from the Bible. If you read Luke 1:26-38 and imagine the angel Gabriel standing before Mary with neatly folded white wings, you're not getting that picture from anything the Bible itself says.

What the Bible really says about angels is overlooked or filtered through popular myths. This book was written to help change that. It's a book about the loyal members of God's heavenly host, and while most people associate them with the word "angel," that's just one of many terms the Bible uses for supernatural beings.

In The Unseen Realm, Michael Heiser opened the eyes of thousands to seeing the Bible through the supernatural worldview of the ancient world it was written in. In his latest book, Angels, Dr. Heiser reveals what the Bible really says about God's supernatural servants. Heiser focuses on loyal, holy heavenly beings because the Bible has a lot more to say about them than most people suspect. Most people presume all there is to know about angels is what has been passed on in Christian tradition, but in reality, that tradition is quite incomplete and often inaccurate.

Angels is not guided by traditions, stories, speculations, or myths about angels. Heiser's study is grounded in the terms the Bible itself uses to describe members of God's heavenly host; he examines the terms in their biblical context while drawing on insights from the wider context of the ancient Near Eastern world.

The Bible's view on heavenly beings begins with Old Testament terms but then moves into literature from the Second Temple period--Jewish writings from around the 5th century BC to the 1st century AD. This literature from the time between the Old Testament and the New Testament influenced the New Testament writers in significant ways. With that important background established, the book focuses on what the New Testament tells us about God's holy ones. Finally, the book reflects on common misconceptions about angels and addresses why the topic is still important and relevant for Christians today.

What is spiritual warfare? In Scripture there are numerous references to the conflict of God's people with Satan and the "dominion of darkness," with the fallen world and with the continuing pull of the sinful nature. Satan, sin, and the world are all expressions of cosmic rebellion against the Creator and his will and purposes, and God himself addresses that opposition and brings it to nothing. The climactic act is the extraordinary victory of the cross, where through the death of his incarnate Son, God redeemed his people from sin and its penalty, and by that same act also liberated them from bondage to the world and the devil. Keith Ferdinando's valuable exposition of this key biblical theme of spiritual warfare explains the nature of Satan and his activity in the world God has made, the different dimensions of Christ's victory over Satan, how Christ's victory over Satan impacts God's people, and the various areas in which believers must fight sin and Satan. Additionally, Ferdinando offers clarity as to the "weapons" with which God equips his people to overcome the darkness. This valuable resource expounds on a range of Old and New Testament texts, helping pastors, teachers, and students to better understand spiritual warfare so that they may fight the good fight and finish the course with joy.

Among the many factors that separate churches in the West from those of the global South, there may be no greater difference than their respective attitudes toward supernatural "powers and principalities." In this follow-up to her book For Freedom or Bondage? African theologian Esther Acolatse bridges the enormous hermeneutical gap not only between the West and global Christianity but also between the West and its own biblical-theological heritage.

In Spiritual Warfare in the Storyline of Scripture, authors Bill Cook and Chuck Lawless provide a comprehensive study of a topic that is of key importance in the life of every believer. Surveying and analyzing incidents of spiritual warfare from Genesis through Revelation, the authors create a biblical framework for understanding the reality of Satan's on-going assault on humankind. Building on that framework, Spiritual Warfare in the Storyline of Scripture also offers practical insights into some of Satan's most common attacks on believers, and strategies for how we might stand against his onslaught. Readers of this book will gain a more complete understanding of what the Bible teaches about spiritual warfare in order to live in victory, confident that Satan is an enemy who has already been defeated.

The concept of the invisible spiritual realm is something which is difficult for us to grasp. What we can see, hear, and feel we can take on face value that it is reality. But what about those things that are unseen? Scripture speaks about heaven, hell, angels and demons which are a part of this invisible spiritual realm. Internationally renowned Bible teacher R. C. Sproul helps us gain an understanding of these things so that we can come to a realisation that in fact all four are true realities that impact upon our everyday lives.