Unseen Realm Expanded with Mike Chu — A Heiser-ish Conversation - Episode 148


Carey sits down with Mike Chu to talk through the new Unseen Realm — Expanded Edition, how Heiser clarified his stance on creeds, why frame semantics and ancient contexts matter, and why a Christotelic reading (aimed at the eschaton) can keep Scripture’s big story intact. Along the way: pastoral cautions about celebrity culture, the value of scholarship and seminary, and a practical reframing of Imago Dei as being made as God’s image (not merely “in” it). Highlights include: Heiser’s “non-credal” (not anti-credal) posture, Genesis 6 in an exilic frame, and how holiness as “other” reshapes baptism, worship, and daily vocation.
- What’s actually new in Unseen Realm (Expanded Edition) and why it matters for teachers and small-group leaders
- Heiser on creeds: non-credal vs anti-credal, and using creeds as boundaries, not as an interpretive lens
- Christocentric vs Christotelic: aiming at the end goal of Christ (including the Spirit and the Eschaton)
- Reading Genesis 6 with an exilic Mesopotamian frame vs a Mosaic/Egyptian frame
- Imago Dei as vocation: “made as God’s image,” and why that lands pastorally
- The completion of AWKNG School of Theology's "Seminary on a Thumb Drive" initiative
On This Rock Biblical Theology Community: https://on-this-rock.com/
Website: genesismarksthespot.com
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/GenesisMarkstheSpot
Music credit: "Marble Machine" by Wintergatan
Link to Wintergatan’s website: https://wintergatan.net/
Link to the original Marble Machine video by Wintergatan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvUU8joBb1Q&ab_channel=Wintergatan
00:00 - Welcoming Mike; DCW year ahead & community vibe
05:01 - Expanded Edition notes (preface timeline, Awakening)
06:46 - “Vibe shift”: hunger for scholarship & plain speech
08:34 - Pushback & avoiding Heiser-only celebrity culture
10:21 - Listening > labels; scholarly retrieval as discipleship
21:05 - Heiser and the Creeds: Non-credal, Not Anti-credal
25:21 - Christocentric vs Christotelic (aiming at the eschaton)
35:59 - Theological Messaging: God with Us
41:28 - Genesis 6: Exilic Mesopotamian Frame vs Mosaic/Egyptian
48:05 - The value of listening in scholarly study
53:24 - Imago Dei: “as” God’s image, not merely “in” (pastoral payoffs)
58:55 - Why we need teachers who do the dirty work
01:05:12 - Are seminaries cemetaries?
01:09:21 - The value of learning in cohorts
01:12:36 - Diversity, cohesion, and the need to find support
01:17:47 - Remind, Remind, Remind: Don't lose your identity
01:24:07 - Wrapping up thoughts on The Unseen Realm Expanded Edition
01:24:08 - AWKNG School of Theology: Seminary on a Thumb Drive