What is the Atonement in the Bible? (Thoughts on Atonement from Dr. Michael S. Heiser)

Michael Heiser understood Christ’s atonement as a multifaceted reality best described as a kaleidoscope, where various theories—Penal Substitution, Ransom, Moral Influence, Governmental, Recapitulation, Christus Victor, and potentially others—each offer legitimate insights into the work of Christ without needing to be synthesized into a single system. He affirmed substitution as biblically essential while rejecting the notion that God’s wrath was poured out on Jesus in a punitive sense. Heiser emphasized biblical theology over systematic formulations, preferring to let the text speak in its own diversity. Among the models, he notably favored Christus Victor, seeing Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension as the defeat of spiritual powers and the beginning of cosmic restoration.