Michael S. Heiser obit

Renowned Old Testament Scholar Dr. Michael Heiser Passes Away After Cancer Battle

 

He was not on the list.

Christian author and Old Testament scholar Dr. Michael Heiser has finished running his race and is now an inhabitant of the great beyond.

Heiser had been battling stage 4 pancreatic cancer but did not let that sour his disposition or immense intellect. His social media accounts were maintained with teachings and his unique insights into the Word of God.

It was announced on Heiser's Twitter and Facebook page that he "stepped into the Unseen Realm" at 3:45 p.m. on Feb. 20.

His demeanor remained confident, even when he shared his diagnosis on Facebook regarding the cancer and how he was slowly bleeding to death.

"I am at the end of the road in the late stage (4) of a very aggressive pancreatic cancer," Heiser shared on a Facebook post Sunday, Jan. 22. "Nothing to date has reversed the tumor's status. It has now invaded the upper GI and stomach areas causing slow, uncontrollable bleeding. No one on my medical team has a solution or knows of one. During the latest endoscopy an effort was made to cauterize as many of the bleeding points as possible to at least slow the bleeding. In essence, I am bleeding out at a slow rate with no solution."

Knowing where he would end up, Heiser faced his diagnosis with as much courage and confidence as anyone in his situation.

The author and scholar gained fame for his outreach to the "forgettable" members of society, those often dismissed as crazy, nerdy or just not worth the time. But these people matter to God, and they mattered to Heiser.

He would engage in discussions about aliens, UFOs, science fiction, conspiracy theories and so much more, but his stance and argument came from the Word of God. He sought after good, honest, intellectual research that confirmed the Bible instead of proving it false.

Heiser wrote on his website about those who delve into the paranormal and look towards space as a heaven without the divine:

"Rather than belittle those who have rejected Christianity in favor of this new religion or denying someone's anomalous experience, my goal is to help people consider that perhaps the problem isn't the Bible, but the inside-the-box (or head-in-the-sand) thinking that often characterizes Christian approaches to these subjects. This is why I blog at UFO Religions, speak at UFO conferences, write sci-fi paranormal thrillers (The Facade, The Portent), and host the 'Peeranormal.'"

The Bible says in Mark 16:15, "And He said to them, 'Go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.'"

That is what Heiser did. He was blessed to not only find the path in life that God had for him but also to excel at it. He made an impact on the lives of many whom society had either forgotten or turned their backs on, knowing that God hadn't done so.

With his transition to the heavenly realm, the world loses a truly brilliant mind who approached problems in as unbiased a manner as possible, concluding that the only logical answer to the universe is the Lord God in heaven:

"I am also a Christian because it's the only religious approach that makes any sense for solving the fundamental problem all religions are supposed to address: right relationship to God. All other religions require perfect performance of imperfect people to please a perfect being. That's impossible."