Michael S. Heiser on the Trinity
One substance, three persons, co-equal and co-eternal
"For those who might inquire, I'm a very traditional Trinitarian (and so, I consequently affirm the deity of Christ), but I at times defend the idea in ways unfamiliar to many."
THE POSITION
States his Trinitarianism directly and without hedging, and is explicit that what is unfamiliar about him is the route, not the destination. He also holds that there was a Godhead in the Old Testament — a visible and an invisible Yahweh, the 'two powers' framework — and that the divine council is, in his own careful phrase, 'in part related to that Godhead idea.' He does not identify the council with the Godhead, and given that he has the council members sentenced to death in Psalm 82, he could not.
4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is One.
17 OTHERS HOLD THIS
ABOUT THIS FIGURE
Old Testament and Semitic languages scholar (PhD, Wisconsin, 2004), Scholar-in-Residence at Faithlife/Logos, and host of the Naked Bible Podcast. Argued that the Hebrew Bible assumes a real divine council of lesser elohim under Yahweh, and held that this reading defends rather than threatens the deity of Christ.
Cite this page
"Michael S. Heiser on the Trinity", Examined Doctrine, July 2026 edition, https://examineddoctrine.com/position/heiser/trinity (archived at https://examineddoctrine.com/editions/2026-07/position/heiser/trinity).