Afleveringen
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One of our listeners, Alana, always sends in fantastic questions. Recently she sent an email with this, and I canāt believe I havenāt already covered this on the podcast before.
She asked about the passage in Judges where Jephthah vowed to sacrifice the first thing that came through his door to meet him after victory in battle. And if you know the story, you know that it actually ends up being his daughter. Alana said, āClearly that was a sacrifice to God. Why would God allow him to sacrifice his daughter?ā
This is a passage that incites a lot of debate, discussion and even depression among many bible readers. Jephthah is a believer. Heās even listed in the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11.
And yet he also commits this abominable act- something God has often stated is unacceptably wicked- of committing a human sacrifice with his own child.
Yes, he made a vow in Judges 11 to sacrifice the first thing that came through his door.
Yes, it was a foolish vow since he didnāt realize his own daughter might be the thing.
But was it right for him to keep this vow?
I find this to be weird, and Iād like to explore why itās in the Bible.
Turn to Judges 11, and letās get weird.
Check out the new website! www.weirdstuffinthebible.comSign up for the weekly newsletter! Get additional insights and Bible study tips for unpacking strange things in scripture. Enter your email here:
https://weirdstuffinthebible.beehiiv.com/
You can also find a list of past newsletters at that same link so you never have to miss one.
0:00 - Who is Jephthah?
4:30 - Jephthahās Vow of Human Sacrifice
9:00 - Was Jephthah right?
12:05 - The Importance of Our Vows
16:15 - A Sacrifice for Breaking Vows in Leviticus 5
19:40 - The Importance of Knowing God
23:40 - Did She Actually Die?
If you want to get in touch, my email is [email protected]
Hosted by Luke Taylor
If youāre intrigued by strange Bible stories, uncovering Bible mysteries, or learning about unusual biblical teachings, this podcast is for you! Dive deep into weird Bible facts, biblical controversies, and the supernatural in the Bible, while exploring the hidden stories of the Bible you may have never heard. Get a fresh perspective as we explain the Bible in ways that challenge the norm and uncover the unexpected. Iām so glad youāre here- donāt forget to SUBSCRIBE so that you never miss an episode!
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We have a website, guys! We have a website.
Now I wonāt say that Iāve really āmade itā in this world until I have a whole subreddit dedicated to my destruction. But in the meantime, we can at least say: we have a website.
www.weirdstuffinthebible.com
Now maybe you say: why does the podcast need a website? How does a website help a podcast?
And thatās what I want to tell you all about today. Because I believe this website has potential to reach a lot more people than even the podcast does.
So I want to tell you all about it. What the websiteās function is, how I will use it to make this podcast even more informative and let you dive deeper into the Bibleās weirdities than we do for 20 minutes each week in audio form.
Donāt worry, the podcast is not going anywhere. Iām not really doing a typical episode this week, just letting you all know about the website this time because I spent the weekend launching the site, I didnāt really have time to get a whole new study done. But weāll be back next week with more than ever, Iām just gonna tell you all about the website today.
So letās get weirdstuffinthebible.com
Sign up for the weekly newsletter! Get additional insights and Bible study tips for unpacking strange things in scripture. Enter your email here:
https://weirdstuffinthebible.beehiiv.com/
You can also find a list of past newsletters at that same link so you never have to miss one.
0:00 - Introduction
2:00 - Tour the Site
9:50 - Why I Made the Website
14:30 - Where Weāre Going Next
16:00 - How You Can Help the Site
If you want to get in touch, my email is [email protected]
Hosted by Luke Taylor
If youāre intrigued by strange Bible stories, uncovering Bible mysteries, or learning about unusual biblical teachings, this podcast is for you! Dive deep into weird Bible facts, biblical controversies, and the supernatural in the Bible, while exploring the hidden stories of the Bible you may have never heard. Get a fresh perspective as we explain the Bible in ways that challenge the norm and uncover the unexpected. Iām so glad youāre here- donāt forget to SUBSCRIBE so that you never miss an episode!
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Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
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Sign up for the weekly newsletter! Get additional insights and Bible study tips for unpacking strange things in scripture. Enter your email here:
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You can also find a list of past newsletters at that same link so you never have to miss one.
I was challenged about a past episode over whether Iād properly done my homework in my research of binding and loosing.
This was in regard to episode 52, simply called Prayers of Binding and Loosing.
In that episode from last fall, my conclusion was that Matthew 16:19 was about spiritual warfare, and I covered this in the midst of a series of episodes on spiritual warfare. I spoke about binding demons, loosing people and setting them free, things like that.
Someone listened to that episode and challenged me on my interpretation, saying I hadnāt given a fair hearing to another way that those verses are often taken, which is about church discipline.
In fact, Jesus speaks of prayers of binding and loosing in only two places: there in Matthew 16, and Matthew 18, where it says:
In verse 18
18 āAssuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.ā
And undoubtedly, that verse is in a church discipline context.
I did not cover that in last fallās episode, and I have to admit, it was a pretty big oversight. Maybe not as big as saying that Jesus wasnāt really crucified with literal nails, so at least I didnāt have the biggest blunder of this week, but if Iām perfectly honest, Matthew 18 deserves to be covered in the binding and loosing conversation.
So did I get it wrong? Is binding and loosing actually about church discipline? And if itās not, why is it talked about right here in a church discipline passage?
I find this to be weird, and Iād like to explore why itās in the Bible.
And if you listen all the way to the end today, I have a huge announcement about something Iāve been working on behind the scenes for the past few months.
Turn to Matthew 18, and letās get weird.
0:00 - Introduction
2:00 - My View in Review
4:30 - The Church Discipline View
10:20 - A Case Study in Corinth
15:00 - Holy Ground in the Church
21:00 - A Major Announcement of Whatās Coming
23:45 - Repentance is the Goal
If you want to get in touch, my email is [email protected]
Hosted by Luke Taylor
If youāre intrigued by strange Bible stories, uncovering Bible mysteries, or learning about unusual biblical teachings, this podcast is for you! Dive deep into weird Bible facts, biblical controversies, and the supernatural in the Bible, while exploring the hidden stories of the Bible you may have never heard. Get a fresh perspective as we explain the Bible in ways that challenge the norm and uncover the unexpected. Iām so glad youāre here- donāt forget to SUBSCRIBE so that you never miss an episode!
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Night of the Living Dead. World War Z. Resident Evil. The Walking Dead. Andā¦ Matthew chapter 27.
What do all of these have in common? They all contain zombies.
Now, if you donāt believe me that the Bible has some zombies in it, then explain this verse to me. Matthew 27 is about the crucifixion. Now, donāt worry, Iām not about to claim that Jesus was a zombie when He rose from the dead.
Jesus had a resurrection body. He was a special situation.
But something else happened when Jesus died on the cross; something youāve probably read several times before but just never looked at too deeply:
Matthew 27:52-53
52 The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, 53 and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.
What was that again? When Jesus died on the cross, several other random people walked out of their graves andā¦and then theyāre never heard from again?
Weāll read this in-context in just a moment, but the context doesnāt help a whole lot. This is very random, raises some big questions, and is interested in answering none of them. It just moves right along in the passage and never mentions these zombies again.
I find this to be weird, and Iād like to explore why itās in the Bible.
Turn to Matthew 27, and letās get weird.
0:00 - Introduction
1:40 - Setting the Scene
5:00 - The Details
10:15 - Asking the Experts
21:45 - The Gospel through Zombies
If you want to get in touch, my email is [email protected]
Hosted by Luke Taylor
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Back in January, I received this interesting question from a listener:
āSo how is Jesus Jewish but Jewish people do not believe he is the messiah?? This is something Iāve been trying to wrap my head aroundā¦ Nyssa from Houston Texasā
Thatās a good question. Jesus was the Jewish Messiah. He had all of these prophecies about Himself throughout the OT, which He then fulfilled. He worked all kinds of miracles. He even died and rose again, and some of them still didnāt get it. So, thatās kind of weird, right?
Well I think itās weird. And Iād like to explore why it worked out that way in the Bible.
Turn with me to John 6 and letās get weird.
Sign up for the weekly newsletter! Get additional insights and Bible study tips for unpacking strange things in scripture. Enter your email here:
https://weirdstuffinthebible.beehiiv.com/
You can also find a list of past newsletters at that same link so you never have to miss one.
0:00 - Why Jesus Was Rejected? (Nyssa)
11:35 - Was Balaamās Oracle Messianic? (Greg)
15:00 - Why Was Elihu not Pardoned? (Beau)
16:55 - The Dominion of Man (Walter)
20:40 - Be a Weird Christian
If you want to get in touch, my email is [email protected]
Hosted by Luke Taylor
If youāre intrigued by strange Bible stories, uncovering Bible mysteries, or learning about unusual biblical teachings, this podcast is for you! Dive deep into weird Bible facts, biblical controversies, and the supernatural in the Bible, while exploring the hidden stories of the Bible you may have never heard. Get a fresh perspective as we explain the Bible in ways that challenge the norm and uncover the unexpected. Iām so glad youāre here- donāt forget to SUBSCRIBE so that you never miss an episode!
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When Balaam was asked to curse Israel, God gave a pretty clear NOPE
If you donāt remember the story, King Balak of the Moabites comes to Balaam and says, āI want you to climb up on this mountain above the camp of the Israelites and curse them for me so that they arenāt a threat to my people.ā And he offers Balaam a lot of money to do this.
And Balaam prays about it repeatedly and begs God for permission to do this. And like I said, God shot it down. At least at first.
When He actually allowed Balaam to go up on that mountain, it was with the stipulation that he could only say what God allowed him to say.
Now, what was the big deal with Balaam going up on this mountain? If some guy wants to climb up on a big hill and yell his head off saying mean things about you, whatās the harm in that? I mean, we might kind of scoff at him and say, āwhat an idiot,ā but we probably arenāt that worried about it. Cory Booker got up and yelled his head off for 25 hours straight. Didnāt have any effect on my life and probably not anybody elseās either. As the old saying goes, sticks and stones could break my bones, but words can never hurt me. So why should we care about Balaam doing the same thing?
Well obviously, Balak thinks it would be pretty significant; heās willing to shell out a lot of money only to have Balaam curse the Israelites.
And God clearly didnāt treat Balaamās attempted curse on the people of Israel as empty words or hokey superstition.
Was there something deeper going on behind Balaamās actions?
I find this to be weird, and Iād like to explore why itās in the Bible.
Turn to Numbers 23, and letās get weird.
Sign up for the weekly newsletter! Get additional insights and Bible study tips for unpacking strange things in scripture. Enter your email here:
https://weirdstuffinthebible.beehiiv.com/
You can also find a list of past newsletters at that same link so you never have to miss one.
0:00 - Introduction
2:00 - Failed Curses
10:30 - A Successful Curse
19:00 - The Doctrine of Balaam
22:25 - Next Time & Mailbag
24:45 - Corrupting the Tabernacle
If you want to get in touch, my email is [email protected]
Hosted by Luke Taylor
If youāre intrigued by strange Bible stories, uncovering Bible mysteries, or learning about unusual biblical teachings, this podcast is for you! Dive deep into weird Bible facts, biblical controversies, and the supernatural in the Bible, while exploring the hidden stories of the Bible you may have never heard. Get a fresh perspective as we explain the Bible in ways that challenge the norm and uncover the unexpected. Iām so glad youāre here- donāt forget to SUBSCRIBE so that you never miss an episode!
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In case you havenāt noticed as youāre reading your Bible, Jesus could be a bit of a trouble-maker. He was constantly riling up the Pharisees and ultra-religious Jews, He was making the Roman authorities uncomfortable, He was known to flip tables and push buttons and run off His own followers. And Heās been known to step on my toes a few times as well.
Jesus also had this tendency to outsmart the smart people. And smart people really donāt like that. Thatās what they tell me, anyway.
And on one of those many occasions where the Jews literally wanted to stone Jesus, He had just said that He was equal with God. They accused Him of blasphemy for this, and He gave a very interesting reply to their accusation- one that the Jews of Jesusā day would have comprehended, but something I think most of us Christians misunderstand.
John 10:33-34
33 The Jews answered him, āIt is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.ā 34 Jesus answered them, āIs it not written in your Law, āI said, you are godsā?
Now thatās a strange thing to say. It sounds like Jesus is saying, āwhatās the big deal with calling myself a god? Doesnāt scripture say all of us are gods?ā
And then that begs another question: when did Scripture say that all of us are gods?
I find this to be weird, and Iād like to explore why itās in the Bible.
Turn to John 10, and letās get weird.
Sign up for the weekly newsletter! Get additional insights and Bible study tips for unpacking strange things in scripture. Enter your email here:
https://weirdstuffinthebible.beehiiv.com/
You can also find a list of past newsletters at that same link so you never have to miss one.
0:00 - Introduction
2:05 - The John 10 Context
10:40 - The Psalm 82 Context
12:45 - Putting it All Together
16:50 - Next Time
If you want to get in touch, my email is [email protected]
Hosted by Luke Taylor
If youāre intrigued by strange Bible stories, uncovering Bible mysteries, or learning about unusual biblical teachings, this podcast is for you! Dive deep into weird Bible facts, biblical controversies, and the supernatural in the Bible, while exploring the hidden stories of the Bible you may have never heard. Get a fresh perspective as we explain the Bible in ways that challenge the norm and uncover the unexpected. Iām so glad youāre here- donāt forget to SUBSCRIBE so that you never miss an episode!
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Youāve been in those boring staff meetings before, right? The excruciatingly long staff meetings. Staff meetings that make you want to go read some Leviticus, just to live a little. Yes, weāre all familiar with a staff meeting.
Did you know that Heaven has staff meetings? In fact, Heavenās staff meetings are where the affairs of earth are dictated. They involve various spiritual beings who are assigned authority over various territories. And they all get together and hash out their plans.
And unlike your workplaceās staff meetings, Iām sure the ones in heaven arenāt boring at all.
Now, perhaps youāre hearing all this and youāre thinking: I think if God had staff meetings, He would have told us something about it in the Bible.
And if thatās you, youāre in the right place. Because guess what: this is all through the Bible. So if you listen through to the end, Iām going to demonstrate three outlandish things, and youāre probably going to be skeptical that I can really do this, but give me a chance here. In the next 20 minutes, Iām going to prove:
That God has staff meetings to determine the affairs of manThat both good and evil spiritual beings are invited to attend and contribute at these meetingsThat this is mentioned in various places of scripturePretty wild, right? But if youāre willing to listen until the end, Iāll back it all up with Bible.
And weāll start with I Kings 22. Turn there in your bible, and letās get weird.
0:00 - Introduction
3:25 - Ahab and Micaiah - the Earthly Drama
11:55 - God and His Council - the Heavenly Drama
19:00 - Next Time, Newsletter and Closing Thoughts on Godās Sovereignty
Sign up for the weekly newsletter! Get additional insights and Bible study tips for unpacking strange things in scripture. Enter your email here:
https://weirdstuffinthebible.beehiiv.com/
You can also find a list of past newsletters at that same link so you never have to miss one.
If you want to get in touch, my email is [email protected]
Hosted by Luke Taylor
If youāre intrigued by strange Bible stories, uncovering Bible mysteries, or learning about unusual biblical teachings, this podcast is for you! Dive deep into weird Bible facts, biblical controversies, and the supernatural in the Bible, while exploring the hidden stories of the Bible you may have never heard. Get a fresh perspective as we explain the Bible in ways that challenge the norm and uncover the unexpected. Iām so glad youāre here- donāt forget to SUBSCRIBE so that you never miss an episode!
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Christianity is a monotheistic religion. In fact, if you go to Wikipediaās page on Christianity, the very first line says, āChristianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion.ā If you google it, Google will tell you that āChristianity is the largest monotheistic religion in the world.ā
So obviously, if we know anything about Christianity, we have to know itās monotheistic.
Mono is a prefix that means āone.ā Theistic refers to deity. Christianity has one deity: God.
This differentiates us from the polytheists such as the Hindus or Greeks and Romans or Norse mythology or any of the pagan religions out there. They believe in multiple gods; we only believe in one.
Christianity is monotheistic, this I know; for Wikipedia tells me so.
But what does the Bible say?
Well, youāll hear verses that speak of the God of the Universe as the One True God.
Isaiah 45:5
I am the Lord, and there is no other;
There is no God besides Me.Sounds simple, right? But then you read verses like
Psalm 82:1
God stands in the congregation of the mighty;
He judges among the gods.Who are these gods it speaks of here?
I find this to be weird, and Iād like to explore why itās in the Bible.
Turn to Psalm 82, and letās get weird.
Sign up for the weekly newsletter! Get additional insights and Bible study tips for unpacking strange things in scripture. Enter your email here:
https://weirdstuffinthebible.beehiiv.com/
You can also find a list of past newsletters at that same link so you never have to miss one.
0:00 - Introduction
1:30 - Psalm 82
6:30 - Introducing the Divine Council
11:00 - Multiple gods in Scripture
15:15 - Next Time, Newsletter and Closing Thoughts on the Trinity
If you want to get in touch, my email is [email protected]
Hosted by Luke Taylor
If youāre intrigued by strange Bible stories, uncovering Bible mysteries, or learning about unusual biblical teachings, this podcast is for you! Dive deep into weird Bible facts, biblical controversies, and the supernatural in the Bible, while exploring the hidden stories of the Bible you may have never heard. Get a fresh perspective as we explain the Bible in ways that challenge the norm and uncover the unexpected. Iām so glad youāre here- donāt forget to SUBSCRIBE so that you never miss an episode!
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Are you ever reading through your bible and then you come across a word that your mama used to tell you not to say?
That might happen especially if youāre reading the King James Version. It has quite a few verses that can have you doing a double-take. But every version of the Bible has some shockingly crude or maybe even vulgar statements that donāt sound like they should be coming out of the Holy Scriptures.
So I hate to put a content restriction on todayās episode and Iām not going to say any curse words, but you might not want little ears to hear some of the things weāre going to study in Isaiah or Ezekiel today. But let me just say: Iām assuming Ezekielās grandma wasnāt in the audience when he used some of his sexual metaphors.
And Paul himself in the New Testament said a few things that may have gotten the bar of soap put in his mouth. If you donāt believe me, thereās a sweet little verse in Philippians 3 where Paul is talking about how nothing we we do can measure up to the work of Christ when it comes to our salvation.
In Philippians 3:8, he says
Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ
OK. Thatās a nice pleasant verse to hammer home the sufficiency of Christās sacrificeā¦in the English.
But in the Greek, the word ārubbishā right there is a little stronger. Itās the Greek word āSkubala,ā which doesnāt mean rubbish, but actually means poop. And not just any poop. One of the strongest words in the Greek language for poop.
We have some strong words for poop in our language, too. Words I wonāt say here on this podcast- especially because my grandma might be listening.
But Philippians did say it. Am I listening to Howard Stern here, or am I reading the Apostle Paul?
I find this to be weird, and Iād like to explore why itās in the Bible.
Turn to Ezekiel 6, and letās get weird.
Sign up for the weekly newsletter! Get additional insights and Bible study tips for unpacking strange things in scripture. Enter your email here:
https://weirdstuffinthebible.beehiiv.com/
You can also find a list of past newsletters at that same link so you never have to miss one.
0:00 - Introduction
2:15 - Ezekielās Dirty Jokes
11:00 - Our Righteous is as WHAT?!
17:00 - Shock Jock Paul
23:40 - Next Time & Closing Thoughts
If you want to get in touch, my email is [email protected]
Hosted by Luke Taylor
If youāre intrigued by strange Bible stories, uncovering Bible mysteries, or learning about unusual biblical teachings, this podcast is for you! Dive deep into weird Bible facts, biblical controversies, and the supernatural in the Bible, while exploring the hidden stories of the Bible you may have never heard. Get a fresh perspective as we explain the Bible in ways that challenge the norm and uncover the unexpected. Iām so glad youāre here- donāt forget to SUBSCRIBE so that you never miss an episode!
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Some decisions are just too big to be left to chance. There are some decisions in life that are so huge, you wouldnāt dare flip a coin on them.
What career you want to have.Who to marry.Which house to buy.Whether to challenge your 6-year-old to a Fortnite rematch after how he destroyed you the last time.These are weighty matters to consider. And yet, you would actually see people in the Bible casting lots to make some of these types of big decisions. Decisions of going into battle, figuring out who was guilty of a crime- and even matters of life and death.
Do I think itās weird that Bible characters would use games of chance to make important decisions? Not necessarily. People make bad decisions all the time.
Itās not necessarily weird to see people making important decisions in ways left up to random chance.
The weird think about it to meā¦is that it worked.
God often worked through people casting lots- literally playing games of chance- to reveal His will to them and to guide them to the correct choice.
I find this to be weird, and Iād like to explore why itās in the Bible.
Because if God revealed His will like that to them, would God reveal His will like that to me?
Turn to Ezekiel 21, and letās get weird.
Sign up for the weekly newsletter! Get additional insights and Bible study tips for unpacking strange things in scripture. Enter your email here:
https://weirdstuffinthebible.beehiiv.com/
You can also find a list of past newsletters at that same link so you never have to miss one.
0:00 - Introduction
1:50 - Ezekiel 21, Guiding Nebuchadnezzar
7:25 - Is Anything Random?
15:45 - By the Spirit
18:50 - Next Time & Mailbag
20:40 - Closing Thoughts
If you want to get in touch, my email is [email protected]
Hosted by Luke Taylor
If youāre intrigued by strange Bible stories, uncovering Bible mysteries, or learning about unusual biblical teachings, this podcast is for you! Dive deep into weird Bible facts, biblical controversies, and the supernatural in the Bible, while exploring the hidden stories of the Bible you may have never heard. Get a fresh perspective as we explain the Bible in ways that challenge the norm and uncover the unexpected. Iām so glad youāre here- donāt forget to SUBSCRIBE so that you never miss an episode!
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How they Prove the Past and Foretell Our Future.
Probably my favorite movie of all time is Inception, the 2010 Leonard DiCaprio film with the dreams within dreams within dreams.The plot of that movie is a tangled web if there ever was one. You have to take it nice and slow, understand things one piece at a time, and once you understand all the smaller parts, you can put it all together and finally understand whatās going on.
You might need to watch it a few times to get it all, but trust me, it all fits together. And even if you donāt always understand what youāre looking at, the Hans Zimmer music is usually enough to keep you interested.
Dreams can be kind of loopy sometimes. And heavily symbolic. And you donāt always understand whatās going on when youāre in them. That was certainly the case for the Prophet Daniel in his book.
Daniel has a few truly wacky dreams and visions throughout his story. They involve ferocious beasts, a goat having a showdown with a ram, and a statue made of many types of metals.
These dreams are so hard to understand, they cause many Christians to just kind of read past them and move on to the next chapter as quickly as they can.
But these dreams are not just the effects of eating that leftover Chinese food. Danielās dreams were from God. They actually had real-world predictive power. The details Daniel saw in his dreams were specific to things to come.
And some of these things he dreamed about have already happened; there are others that actually havenāt happened yet.
So weāre going to dig into Danielās dreams in chapters 2, 7 and 8 of his book, and Iāll explain what they mean today. And just like trying to understand Inception, weāre going to do that by taking things nice and slow; understanding one piece at a time, and then putting all those pieces together. Maybe with a little help from Leonardo DiCaprio.
So if youāve ever found Danielās Dreams to kinda weird, and would like to know why theyāre in the Bible, then turn with me to Daniel 7, and letās get weird.
Sign up for the weekly newsletter! Get additional insights and Bible study tips for unpacking strange things in scripture. Enter your email here:
https://weirdstuffinthebible.beehiiv.com/subscribe
0:00 - Introduction
3:15 - Daniel 7 and the Four Beasts
11:25 - Daniel 8 and the Ram and Goat
14:50 - Daniel 2 and the Statue
21:15 - Closing Thoughts
If you want to get in touch, my email is [email protected]
Hosted by Luke Taylor
If youāre intrigued by strange Bible stories, uncovering Bible mysteries, or learning about unusual biblical teachings, this podcast is for you! Dive deep into weird Bible facts, biblical controversies, and the supernatural in the Bible, while exploring the hidden stories of the Bible you may have never heard. Get a fresh perspective as we explain the Bible in ways that challenge the norm and uncover the unexpected. Iām so glad youāre here- donāt forget to SUBSCRIBE so that you never miss an episode!
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In Matthew 16, Jesus told us that those who believe in Him become part of the church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against us.
But what exactly are the gates of hell?
Over the past few weeks, we have been discussing the idea of spiritual gateways in the Bible. The modern word for these gates or gateways would be āportals,ā but thatās not a term that was used back when King Jimmy wrote his translation, so the biblical vocabulary for these would be gates.
Iāve been digging into this concept of the gate of heaven in the Old Testament. We traced out its whole story of what it was: a portal between heaven and earth- where it came from, the role it served in the Old Testament, and how it was eventually taken down by defiling its altar.
So when Jesus spoke of the gates of hell, could he have been referring to these entry points between our realm and the spiritual realm?
And if the gates of hell are these entryways, then what has Jesus given us- the church- the task of doing about them?
I find this to be weird, and Iād like to explore why itās in the Bible.
Turn to Matthew 16, and letās get weird.
Sign up for the weekly newsletter! Get additional insights and Bible study tips for unpacking strange things in scripture. Enter your email here:
https://weirdstuffinthebible.beehiiv.com/subscribe
0:00 - Introduction
2:30 - Real Witchcraft
8:00 - Keys to the Kingdom
15:00 - Our Authority
22:30 - Newsletter
24:10 - The Altar of the Cross
If you want to get in touch, my email is [email protected]
Hosted by Luke Taylor
If youāre intrigued by strange Bible stories, uncovering Bible mysteries, or learning about unusual biblical teachings, this podcast is for you! Dive deep into weird Bible facts, biblical controversies, and the supernatural in the Bible, while exploring the hidden stories of the Bible you may have never heard. Get a fresh perspective as we explain the Bible in ways that challenge the norm and uncover the unexpected. Iām so glad youāre here- donāt forget to SUBSCRIBE so that you never miss an episode!
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There was an incredible comment left on my last episode: āGod is the biggest sci-fi nerd everā
And I loved it because yeah, I know lately Iāve been talking about portals and gateways and UFOs and someone might wonder if Iāve been watching too much Star Wars instead of reading my Bible. But these concepts didnāt start with science fiction; weāre seeing that they go all the way back to ancient times, written in Scripture itself, and will have a profound impact on how we understand spiritual warfare today.
And yeah, Iāve probably been watching too much Star Wars as well, but thatās always true. A lot of these revelations Iāve been finding are actually new to me, including what Iāll be talking about in this episode.
So in the last two weeks, we established a few facts we can observe from the text of the Bible:
1- for spiritual beings to pass between our realm and the spiritual realm, they canāt just pop in anywhere they want to. There has to be a way made through; a gate.
2- there are gates of heaven and gates of hell, and these are for the angels/good spiritual beings and the demons/bad spiritual beings
3- the gates are tied to physical locations on planet earth
4- the gates can be tainted or closed, as we observed in the story of Bethel
5- once the gates open, they stay open. Itās not like Dr Strange where he opens a portal, jumps through it, and then closes it right behind him. Once the gate opens, it stays open.
But how does it open?
Well as I was reading about these locations where gateways had been established on the earth in Genesis 12 and 28 and 35 and I Kings 13 and several other places, there was a particular word that I would see come up again and again and again throughout these stories: āaltar.ā
I found this to be weird, and Iād like to explore why itās in the Bible.
Turn to Genesis 12, and letās get weird.
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0:00 - Introduction
2:35 - Altars Defined
6:20 - Bethel Revisited
13:50 - Altars Throughout Scripture
19:00 - Good Altars
21:50 - Next Time and Newsletter
24:00 - The Occult, Witchcraft and Idolatry
If you want to get in touch, my email is [email protected]
Hosted by Luke Taylor
If youāre intrigued by strange Bible stories, uncovering Bible mysteries, or learning about unusual biblical teachings, this podcast is for you! Dive deep into weird Bible facts, biblical controversies, and the supernatural in the Bible, while exploring the hidden stories of the Bible you may have never heard. Get a fresh perspective as we explain the Bible in ways that challenge the norm and uncover the unexpected. Iām so glad youāre here- donāt forget to SUBSCRIBE so that you never miss an episode!
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This episode is going to pick up on some threads we left hanging last week in regard to portals into the spiritual realm.
To briefly recap, I submitted the idea last week that spiritual beings, such as angels and demons, cannot enter our world or our physical realm wherever and whenever they want to. I believe there are particular locations on planet earth- which we might call āportalsā in modern times, but the biblical term for these are āgatesā- which spiritual beings use to access our reality.
Now, thatās a lot to swallow for some people. Thatās why I left it there for last week, but letās build upon that idea this week. I want to study out one of these gates here in Scripture, the gate that was established in the city of Bethel.
Bethel is āthe house of God.ā This is the location where Jacob spent the night and had a spiritual experience where he saw a portal here: a stairway to heaven, with angels ascending and descending on it.
When he woke up, he said: āHow awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.ā
As we talked about last week, this city was the gate of heaven: an entryway that angels used to enter our realm from the heavenly realm. Weāre going to trace this out today and study Bethelās story, because weāll see that this was a physical location that was greatly blessed by God.
And yet in the prophets later on in the Bible we start to see them speaking against Bethel.
In fact, in Amos 5:5, he says
Do not seek Bethelā¦ [and] Bethel will be reduced to nothing.
Why would the prophet say something like this? In fact, Hosea also even changes the name of Beth-el, which means āthe House of God,ā to Beth-aven, which means āthe House of Wickedness.ā Why would the prophets say this about such a sacred city?
What happened to the Gate of Heaven?
I find this to be weird, and Iād like to explore why itās in the Bible.
Turn to Genesis 28, and letās get weird.
0:00 - Introduction
3:30 - Genesis 28
6:00 - Genesis 35
12:00 - Judges 20 and I Samuel 7
14:00 - I Kings 12
19:40 - II Kings, Amos and Hosea
24:00 - Closing Thoughts and Whatās Coming Next
Link to sign up for the newsletter: https://weirdstuffinthebible.beehiiv.com/subscribeIf you want to get in touch, my email is [email protected]
Hosted by Luke Taylor
If youāre intrigued by strange Bible stories, uncovering Bible mysteries, or learning about unusual biblical teachings, this podcast is for you! Dive deep into weird Bible facts, biblical controversies, and the supernatural in the Bible, while exploring the hidden stories of the Bible you may have never heard. Get a fresh perspective as we explain the Bible in ways that challenge the norm and uncover the unexpected. Iām so glad youāre here- donāt forget to SUBSCRIBE so that you never miss an episode!
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This might be an episode you have to listen to twice.
Something really caught my eye as I was reading through my Bible a few months ago, and digging into it has revealed a few things to me about the spiritual realm and how spiritual beings such as angels and demons can have access to our lives here on earth.
So I was reading about Jacobās dream in Genesis 28, and how this location where he had his dream had the name changed from Luz to Bethel. If you have read Genesis or studied Jacobās life, youāre probably familiar with this dream. Itās when he saw a ladder or stairway to heaven with the angels going up and down on it.
And when Jacob wakes up, he makes this statement in
Verse 17
āHow awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.ā
Something Iāve read over dozens of times before, but this time that phrase āthe gate of heavenā really stood out to me. Because I wondered precisely what that means that this somewhat random location on earth was declared to be the gate of heaven.
Even more curiously to me, this is the only time in the entire Bible that the phrase āGate of Heavenā is used.
I found that weird, and so I set out to explore why itās in the Bible. And today Iāll give you my theories on that.
Turn to Genesis 28, and letās get weird.
0:00 - Genesis 28 and Jacobās Dream
6:45 - My Previous Theory of Higher-Dimensional Beings
12:45 - Letās Throw Some Bible Into It
15:40 - Next Time
If you want to get in touch, my email is [email protected]
Hosted by Luke Taylor
If youāre intrigued by strange Bible stories, uncovering Bible mysteries, or learning about unusual biblical teachings, this podcast is for you! Dive deep into weird Bible facts, biblical controversies, and the supernatural in the Bible, while exploring the hidden stories of the Bible you may have never heard. Get a fresh perspective as we explain the Bible in ways that challenge the norm and uncover the unexpected. Iām so glad youāre here- donāt forget to SUBSCRIBE so that you never miss an episode!
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Was Peter the First Pope?
What Iām going to talk about today is perhaps THE MOST misunderstood verse in the entire world today.
And I say that because there are about 1.4 billion Catholics in the world. If we were to consider Catholics a denomination of Christianity, then we Protestant denominations are far outnumbered. We who are Methodists, Pentecostals, Baptists, Southern Baptists, Free Will Baptists, Independent Fundamental Baptists, whatever those guys in Skillet are- all of us. If you added up all of the Protestant denominations together, youād be under a billion, so we are far outnumbered by the Catholics.
And we Protestants agree with Catholics on a lot of things: the deity of Christ, the Trinity, Creation of the World from nothing, the authority of the Bible, the supremacy of Chick-Fil-A, lots of doctrines that we build our faith on.
But the reason I say that weāre tackling the most misunderstood verse in the whole Bible today is because Protestants have a very different take on this verse than Catholics do. And itās this verse that suggests that the worldwide church was started with and built on Peter.
All becauseā¦Jesus said so. Or thatās what it sounds like, at least.
In Matthew 16, Jesus said,
And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
And Peter there, by the way, is Petros in the Greek, which means āstone.ā
Wait a minute- do Protestants have this right? Is the church built on Peter? Was Peter truly the first pope?
I find this to be weird, and Iād like to explore why itās in the Bible.
Turn to Matthew 16, and letās get weird.
0:00 - Introduction
2:00 - The Context
8:00 - Petros and Petra
14:15 - Next Time
16:40 - Closing Thoughts
If you want to get in touch, my email is [email protected]
Hosted by Luke Taylor
If youāre intrigued by strange Bible stories, uncovering Bible mysteries, or learning about unusual biblical teachings, this podcast is for you! Dive deep into weird Bible facts, biblical controversies, and the supernatural in the Bible, while exploring the hidden stories of the Bible you may have never heard. Get a fresh perspective as we explain the Bible in ways that challenge the norm and uncover the unexpected. Iām so glad youāre here- donāt forget to SUBSCRIBE so that you never miss an episode!
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We all know we have a soul. That our bodies may die, but we all have an eternal soul that will live on forever and ever.
All human beings have a soul. This is something that sets us apart from plants, animals and people who skip the theme song when theyāre watching The Office.
And then the Bible also speaks sometimes of each of us having a spirit, and we think of that similarly to the soul. Itās that ghostly, non-physical part of us that only exists in the spiritual realm. We use the terms āsoulā and āspiritā pretty interchangeably, as if theyāre synonyms.
But then when youāre reading
I Thessalonians 5:23, Paul says
Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Wait a minute: spirit and soul and body? You mean Iām not just a body and soul; Iām a body, soul and spirit? I always thought the spirit and the soul were the same thing, so why is I Thessalonians 5:23 talking about them as two different things?
I find this to be weird, and Iād like to explore why itās in the Bible.
Turn to Romans 8, and letās get weird.
0:00 - Introduction
1:30 - Definition of the Spirit
10:10 - The Spiritās Work Inside of Us
15:20 - The Spirit is a Point of Connection Between You and God
18:00 - Next Time and Closing Thoughts
If you want to get in touch, my email is [email protected]
Hosted by Luke Taylor
If youāre intrigued by strange Bible stories, uncovering Bible mysteries, or learning about unusual biblical teachings, this podcast is for you! Dive deep into weird Bible facts, biblical controversies, and the supernatural in the Bible, while exploring the hidden stories of the Bible you may have never heard. Get a fresh perspective as we explain the Bible in ways that challenge the norm and uncover the unexpected. Iām so glad youāre here- donāt forget to SUBSCRIBE so that you never miss an episode!
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One of the most puzzling verses in the whole Bible is
Malachi 1:3, where God says
āJacob I have loved;But Esau I have hatedā
If that doesnāt make you do a double-take while youāre reading your Bible, Iām not sure what will.
Again, thatās God speaking. Itās written by Malachi, but itās a quote from God. The same God who will be telling us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us just a handful of pages later. The same God who says feed and clothe your enemies. The same God who gave us the story of the Good Samaritan, right here, is declaring His hatred for Esau.
Who had his problems, but really wasnāt such a terrible guy in my opinion. Especially not compared to his sniveling trickster brother, Jacob.
Now, some Christians swallow Malachi 1:3 without a second thought. They say, āIf God hates Esau, then God hates him. Esau must have deserved it.ā And while I appreciate their willingness to accept whatever the Bible says at face value, I gotta admit, Iāve struggled with this one.
I mean, Iāve done episodes on Scriptureās talking donkeys and demon-human hybrids, and I donāt even blush at those passages. But Esau I have hated- THATāS the one where I have some hang-ups.
I find it to be weird, and Iād like to explore why itās in the Bible.
Turn to Malachi 1, and letās get weird.
0:00 - Introduction
3:00 - Letās Make it Worse
7:40 - Should you āhateā your mother and father?
13:25 - The Chosen
19:00 - Mailbag
22:50 - Closing Thoughts
If you want to get in touch, my email is [email protected]
Hosted by Luke Taylor
If youāre intrigued by strange Bible stories, uncovering Bible mysteries, or learning about unusual biblical teachings, this podcast is for you! Dive deep into weird Bible facts, biblical controversies, and the supernatural in the Bible, while exploring the hidden stories of the Bible you may have never heard. Get a fresh perspective as we explain the Bible in ways that challenge the norm and uncover the unexpected. Iām so glad youāre here- donāt forget to SUBSCRIBE so that you never miss an episode!
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Imagine sitting on a hill, wondering about your life, when suddenly the heavens open, and you see creatures so otherworldly they defy description. Four faces on each of their heads, gleaming metal, fire, and a throne surrounded by lightning. Thatās where Ezekielās story beginsāand where weāre headed today.
The prophet Ezekiel sees something that very very few people in the Bible ever saw: a vision of God on His throne. In the very first chapter of the book, God appears before Ezekiel, attended to by these spiritual beings known as the cherubim. There are four of them, and each of the creatures has four faces. It says in
Ezekiel 1:10
As for the likeness of their faces, each had a human face. The four had the face of a lion on the right side, the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and the four had the face of an eagle.
So Ezekiel gets off to a pretty strange start. Like I said, thatās just the first chapter. And right off the bat, Ezekiel sees something that even almost no other prophet gets to see. And not only that, he gets to see it again. Ezekiel has another experience of God and the cherubim in
Ezekiel 10:14
And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of the cherub, and the second face was a human face, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.
So, thereās a slight difference there between the description of the cherubim in chapter 1 vs the description in chapter 10. In chapter 1, one of the faces was described as an ox. In chapter 10, it was called the face of a cherub.
I find this to be weird, and Iād like to know why it changes from one chapter to the next. And along the way of exploring this question, weāll actually discover the answer to another one: What does Satan look like?
Itās probably not a question youāve ever dwelt on too long. You probably think Iām pretty weird for even asking it. But this is not a podcast for people who like talking about normal stuff in the Bible. This is a podcast for people who like to learn about weird stuff in the Bible.
So if thatās what youāre here for, turn to Ezekiel 1, and letās get weird.
0:00 - Introduction
3:40 - Ezekiel 1 vs Ezekiel 10
14:00 - The Face of Satan
21:20 - Next Time & Closing Thoughts
If you want to get in touch, my email is [email protected]
Hosted by Luke Taylor
If youāre intrigued by strange Bible stories, uncovering Bible mysteries, or learning about unusual biblical teachings, this podcast is for you! Dive deep into weird Bible facts, biblical controversies, and the supernatural in the Bible, while exploring the hidden stories of the Bible you may have never heard. Get a fresh perspective as we explain the Bible in ways that challenge the norm and uncover the unexpected. Iām so glad youāre here- donāt forget to SUBSCRIBE so that you never miss an episode!
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