Explore every episode of the podcast Weird Stuff in the Bible

There is a parable which I believe is not technically a parable- I believe it’s a true story- called The Rich Man and Lazarus. Jesus tells this story in Luke 16. And there’s a lot of strange things you could point out about this story, but what always sticks out to me is where Lazarus goes when he dies in this story.

Luke 16:22

So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom.

And as you read the story, you find that a rich man died and went to a fiery place of torment called hades, but the beggar named Lazarus went to a better place called Abraham’s Bosom. 

Now, we’ve all heard of going to heaven and hell when we die. And I don’t believe in purgatory. But what is Abraham’s Bosom?

And I’ll do you one better, where is Abraham’s Bosom?

And I’ll do you one better, why is Abraham’s Bosom in the Bible?

We’ll answer all these questions today, because I find this to be weird, and I’d like to explore why it’s in the Bible.

Turn to Isaiah 14, and let’s get weird.

0:00 - Intro

1:10 - Sheol

7:00 - Abraham’s Bosom

11:00 - Luke 16, The Rich Man and Lazarus

18:00 - Closing Thoughts

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

If you’re 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. I’m so glad you’re here- don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE so that you never miss an episode!

The devil really really doesn’t want you to listen to today’s episode. Because this is going to blow the door wide open on one of Satan’s schemes that he uses to try and make us ineffective as Christians. But, I’ll also tell you how to overcome it. 

Last year, one of my pastor friends who was preaching through the book of Daniel and came across the strange story in chapter 10. And he commented that he didn’t know how he was going to teach it. 

And I was like, “what you do mean, how you’re going to teach it? You just teach it. You read what it says and make sure everyone understand it.” 

But I understand what he meant. Daniel 10 is weird. It deals with something we don’t hear about a lot in the spiritual realm.

But just because we don’t hear about it doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen every day. It’s a weird thing to us, but a totally normal thing in the spirit. 

In Daniel 10, it says that demons and fallen angels actually have a way to stop our prayers. That God can even hear our prayers, send an answer, and that Satan can stop it before the answer comes to us. Believe it or not, that’s something that devils can interfere with.

I find this to be weird, and I’d like to explore why it’s in the Bible. 

Turn to Daniel 10, and let’s get weird.

0:00 - Intro

1:30 - Daniel 10, Wrestling with Angels

6:00 - The Prince of Persia

8:25 - Demons Can Disrupt Our Prayers

11:00 - Mailbag

13:25 - Keep Praying and Don’t Give Up

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

If you’re 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. I’m so glad you’re here- don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE so that you never miss an episode!

It was a dark and moonless night when King Saul, cloaked in fear and despair, wandered the desolate wilderness of Mount Gilboa. His once-mighty heart had grown heavy, for the Lord had turned silent—no dreams, no prophets, no answers. His enemies, the Philistines, loomed at his doorstep, and without divine guidance, Saul felt utterly forsaken.

Desperation drove the king to a forbidden path, one he had condemned in years past. He had ordered all the mediums and spiritists to be cast out of Israel, for the Lord forbade such practices. But now, Saul himself sought a medium—a woman who dwelled in the shadowed village of En Dor — known to whisper with the dead.

Did you know the Bible has a ghost story? Saul visits a woman known as a medium or a necromancer. A practice forbidden in Old Testament law, and still to this day. In fact, in the Old Testament, doing this resulted in the death penalty.

You might say, “now ghosts aren’t real. Once you die, you go to heaven or hell. You can’t drop back in and grab a cup of coffee with the living.”

And yet, as you’ll hear in a few minutes, Saul’s plan seems to work, and the ghost of a long-dead prophet is brought up from the grave. 

Or is it all a demonic trick? 

I find this to be weird, and I’d like to explore why it’s in the Bible. 

Turn to I Samuel 28, and let’s get weird.

0:00 - The Ghost of En Dor

5:45 - Real or Fake?

9:30 - Was it Actually Saul? Or a Demon?

18:30 - Vote

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

If you’re 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. I’m so glad you’re here- don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE so that you never miss an episode!

I’ve been doing this podcast for about a year now and I can’t believe I haven’t done an episode about this yet. 

Today, we’re going to be talking about territorial spirits. And that phrase refers to the fact that spirits are assigned to certain sectors of the earth. 

Many Bible-readers aren’t aware of this little tidbit about how the spiritual realm works, and you may question whether this is in the Bible. 

In fact, it’s ALL THROUGH the Bible. We just encountered one place last week when we were studying the demoniac of Mark 5. This was the guy who had a “Legion” of demons within him, and Jesus ends up casting the demons into the pigs. 

What’s really strange, though, is a request from the demons not to be sent out of that territory. This was a spiritually dark place known as the Gadarenes- or some translations may say the Gerasenes. 

Mark 5:10 said

And he [and this is the demon-possessed man] begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country.

In other words, the demoniac begged Jesus earnestly not to send the demons out of the country.

Why were the demons so intent on staying within this location?

I find this to be weird, and I’d like to explore why it’s in the Bible. 

Turn to Genesis 11, and let’s get weird.

0:00 - Introduction

1:45 - The Deuteronomy 32 Worldview

10:00 - The Rest of the Bible

13:00 - Next Time and Mailbag

14:44 -  Closing Thoughts

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

If you’re 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. I’m so glad you’re here- don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE so that you never miss an episode!

We’re going to continue our foray into demonology today, and we’ll wrap up this story of Jesus and the demoniac of Mark 5. 

If you’re not familiar with this story, it’s the guy who lived among the tombs and could break chains with his bare hands. 

This is the guy who said “I am Legion, for we are many.” There were potentially thousands of demons within this man.

And this is the story that ends with Jesus sending those demons out of the man and into a herd of pigs. Who then promptly run off a cliff into a lake a drown themselves.

But it’s super strange to me that He grants their request. Jesus doesn’t work for a radio station. Why is He taking requests? And of all people to grant a request, why does He do it with these demons? 

And what about the poor pig farmer who lost his whole livelihood that day? And did anyone call PETA to lodge a complaint about this Jewish exorcist who was wrecking the GDP of the Gadarenes?

There’s a lot of questions that come up in this story, and I’ll answer as many of them as I can today on this episode.

Turn to Mark 5, and let’s get weird.

0:00 - Introduction

1:45 - The Context

5:35 - Where did the pigs come from?

9:20 - Entering the Pigs

17:30 - Next Time and Mailbag

20:20 - Creating a Witness

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

If you’re 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. I’m so glad you’re here- don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE so that you never miss an episode!

It was the week before Halloween in the fall of 1988 when Bill Scott picked up the phone at his job at a Christian radio station and his life was never the same. 

What follows is a story of demonic possession, deliverance, and a long list of what to do and what NOT to do when standing up to the powers of darkness. 

I’ve been doing a series on the abilities of demons here on this podcast. Bill joins me today to share his story with my listeners here. It’s going to add some insight and depth to your understanding of spiritual warfare. But let me warn you: parts of his interview will rock your world, get a little scary, and a lot weird. 

So if you’re ready, let’s get weird.

Find Bill's book right here: https://www.amazon.com/Day-Satan-Called-Encounter-Possession/dp/0892968982/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
The Day Satan Called: A True Encounter with Demon Possession and Exorcism. Available in paperback and on Kindle.

If you want to get in touch with me (Luke Taylor), my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

If you’re 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. I’m so glad you’re here- don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE so that you never miss an episode!

Welcome back to Demonology class. 

I didn’t have this class in the school of ministry that I attended for three years. 

I’ve never heard of a Bible college offering a class in exorcism. 

I’ve never heard of a seminary giving a degree in demonology. 

And yet, when Jesus gave His disciples a job to do, He said to preach the Kingdom, heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, and cast out demons. Now, I don’t know about you, but most of those things are not a part of my weekly walk with God. 

I learned about preaching the Kingdom. That other stuff just kinda comes up once in a while. And even though we read about demons being cast out on almost every page of the four Gospels, most Christians have never studied how it works. 

And if you do talk about it too much, you get branded a weirdo. 

But is it weird for a Christian to do the stuff the Bible talks about? Or is it more weird if we don’t?

Turn to Mark 5, and let’s get normal.

0:00 - Introduction

1:20 - Schizophrenic Behavior

4:25 - Demons Know Jesus

6:40 - Demons Have a Day of Judgment

12:35 - Finding Out a Demon’s Name

19:00 - A Demon of Cigarettes?

27:00 - Next

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

If you’re 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. I’m so glad you’re here- don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE so that you never miss an episode!

I remember being a younger Christian and sharing a meal with a couple of older pastors, who got to talking about a Bible story of demon possession. It may have been the one we’re in today, actually. 

And one of them just mentioned, quite offhandedly, that of course, demon-possessed people in the Bible were actually just dealing with sickness and mental issues. And the other quickly agreed. 

And I was like, a teenager at the time, and these were two longtime pastors, older men- I think they were Lutherans- so I didn’t say anything. I figured I must have misunderstood them, I didn’t want to look like an idiot, so I kept my mouth shut. 

But I had been raised Pentecostal. And I had no idea back then that some Christians didn’t really believe in the existence of demons. That they had alternative interpretations of all these passages where demons manifest, possess people, speak to Jesus or the apostles, inflict physical problems and sickness on people- and I had no idea that some Christians denied what the Bible clearly taught about evil spiritual beings. 

So I’m not going to let you remain ignorant today. The Bible says that demons are real, and they’re capable of doing things in the physical world, and the things they can do…are weird. 

And I’d like to explore what the Bible has to say about them. 

Turn to Mark 5, and let’s get weird.

0:00 - Introduction

1:40 - The Study of Demons

6:25 - The Powers of Demons (Super-Strength)

12:15 - Surrounded by Death

20:45 - Next Time

24:00 - Mailbag

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

I said it on the first episode of this podcast: if you’re a modern Christian living in a westernized country, you’re weird. You’re living in a very weird time and weird place in human history. 

Because we are taught to accept rational, scientific explanations for things. We’re told that if you can’t find it in a test tube or with a telescope or see it with your own two eyes, then it probably doesn’t exist. 

Most people, and perhaps even most western Christians, have absolutely no concept of a spiritual battle taking place around them at all times. No awareness of angels and demons. 

Most Christians might be aware that yeah, there are spiritual forces that exist; but they never really think about them outside of church. Once Monday morning hits, most Christians often give no more thought to the spiritual realm than your average atheist.

I find this to be weird, and I’d like to explore what the Bible has to say about spiritual reality. 

Turn to II Kings 6, and let’s get weird.

0:00 - Introduction

1:30 - Behind-the-Scenes Code

4:00 - Elisha and Gehazi

8:15 - Your Eyes Can Deceive You

13:00 - Gehazi’s Eyes Opened

20:30 - Next Time

22:45 - All Around Elisha

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

The Bible has some hard commandments in it. “Do everything without worrying or complaining.” “Forgive 70x7 times.” “Be content in all circumstances.” “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wifi.” “Thou shalt not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.”

I’m sure I’m not the only person out there who struggles with these. 

OK, maybe that last one was kind of a joke. That actually is in the Bible, and it’s a weird thing in the Bible, but that’s not the weird thing I want to focus on today. Maybe we’ll circle back to it in a future episode. 

No, the thing I want to focus on today, and perhaps a harder instruction than all those others, is a command found in

I Timothy 2:1-2

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 

Wait a minute, what? We’re supposed to pray for our leaders? That wouldn’t include presidents I don’t like, would it?

Well, it says “for kings and all who are in high positions.” 

So perhaps presidents, then. But not the bad presidents, right? Not the evil and wicked rulers who sometimes get into power over us? God surely couldn’t be telling us to pray for THEM, right?

I find this to be weird, and I’d like to explore why it’s in the Bible. 

Turn to II Kings 6, and let’s get weird.

0:00 - Introduction

2:00 - Ben-Hadad and Elisha

5:55 - Who Was Jehoram?

7:55 - Supplications and Prayers for Leaders

12:15 - Intercessions

16:25 - Thanksgiving

20:20 - Mailbag

22:45 - Closing Thoughts

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

The raising of Lazarus. The 10 Plagues in Egypt. Walking on Water. Feeding the 5,000. 

There are lots of miracle in the stories that are pretty well-known, even by non-Christians. Most of them are done by Jesus, but Moses and Elijah have their fair share as well. 

But there’s a miracle in II Kings 6 that’s just a bit harder to categorize. It’s not nearly as dramatic as other miracles; it doesn’t solve a problem that seems nearly as dire as something like parting the Red Sea to save all the Israelites. And it can leave us scratching our heads wondering what it’s even doing in the Bible. 

II kings 6:5-7 has this story of some men chopping down trees by a river

5 But as one was felling a log, his axe head fell into the water, and he cried out, “Alas, my master! It was borrowed.” 6 Then the man of God said, “Where did it fall?” When he showed him the place, he cut off a stick and threw it in there and made the iron float. 7 And he said, “Take it up.” So he reached out his hand and took it.

So a man is distressed that he broke an ax, so Elisha throws a stick in the water, which makes the iron ax head float back up to the surface. A miracle, sure…but kind of mundane compared to the rest.

In fact, another element of this story I’d like to study today is that Elisha is only given a limited amount of miracles to do, and this is how he chooses to use one of them.

I find this to be weird, and I’d like to explore why it’s in the Bible. 

Turn to II Kings 6, and let’s get weird.

0:00 - Introduction

2:00 - A Double Anointing

5:25 - A Wasted Anointing?

7:25 - The Context

12:20 - So What Does it Mean?

14:45 - Next Time

16:45 - The God of Everything

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

Most of us would agree that God and Satan are about as different as you can get. That they are such polar opposites that it would be virtually impossible to confuse one with the other. That it would be tantamount to heresy to try to compare the two. 

And yet, there’s a mystery to the identity of the figure called the “God of this World” in II Corinthians chapter 4. 

Verse 4 of that chapter says

In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 

So, the conventional wisdom or assumption that most Christians make is that the “god of this world” must be Satan. The reason being, this figure is said right here to be blinding the minds of unbelievers to prevent them from hearing the Gospel. Sounds like a not-good thing to do, right?

However- that raises the question: if unbelievers have had their minds blinded by Satan, then how is it their fault that the don’t obey the Gospel? How can God hold it against them that they don’t believe if it’s not their fault?

And is it really true that Satan would have the power to blind people to God’s truth?

But then if it’s not Satan, if it’s actually God, then that raises another question: why would God blind people to the truth about Himself? 

It’s not clear-cut any way you look at it. And it’s strange that this one mysterious figure could potentially either be God or Satan. 

That kind of mistake isn’t like mixing up the ranch dressing with the caesar dressing. This is like mixing up the ranch dressing with boiling hot lava that melts your face off. It shouldn’t be that hard to figure out…yet it kinda is.

I find this to be weird, and I’d like to explore why it’s in the Bible. 

Turn to II Corinthians 4, and let’s get weird.

0:00 - Introduction

2:30 - The Context

5:15 - Is it Satan?

10:40 - is it God?

16:45 - Hardenings and Delusions

20:20 - The Abandonment Wrath of God

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

Last week I was discussing a weird story about Moses in Exodus 4, I came across another pretty odd verse that generates some confusion among Christians: Exodus 4:21.

Now, I didn’t want to stop and analyze that verse because it would have taken me on a rabbit trail, and I was already trying to talk about a different weird thing, and I would have had to go down a weird-ception of weird-within-a-weird. So I decided to come back to it this week.

And what does Exodus 4:21 say? Well, it’s as Moses is on his way back to Egypt, and God says

(Exodus 4:21)

“When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. 

So that’s strange because it raises the question of whether Pharaoh even had a choice about how everything was going to play out. Because if you know the story, Pharaoh doesn’t want to let the people go, and he pays a pretty steep price for it.

And yet Pharaoh never relents. All throughout the story, his heart is harder than your grandma’s fruit cake at Christmas. 

But this claim that God would harden Pharaoh’s heart makes it seem like Pharaoh wasn’t even really able to let the people go if he wanted to. So what gives? Did Pharaoh have free will? 

And perhaps more importantly to us: do you and I have free will?

I find this to be weird, and I’d like to explore why it’s in the Bible. 

Turn to Exodus 4, and let’s get weird.

0:00 - Introduction

1:40 - What is a Hard Heart?

5:20 - God vs Pharaoh

8:40 - Is Anyone at Fault?

12:40 - Next Time

14:25 - Would God Harden our Hearts?

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

So, a funny thing happened on the way to Egypt after Moses spoke to the burning bush. 

Something you have probably never heard about.

Even if you have read it before, this is such a bizarre paragraph of Scripture that you probably just read right on through without stopping to dwell on it. 

When most of us tell the story of Moses, we start with his origins in the Nile River, how he was born an Israelite slave and how he came to be raised in Pharaoh’s palace, how he killed a man and ran away into the wilderness, how he got married to Zipporah, the daughter of Jethro. How one day he talked to a Burning Bush who said He was God and told Moses to go back to Egypt and “Let My People Go.” And as we tell the story, he went back to Egypt and started doing the 10 Plagues and you know the rest. 

Or do you? Because there was another really odd moment that happened in the midst of that that nobody ever talks about. It’s right after Moses has just been talking to the burning bush, and he’s returning to Egypt.

Exodus 4:24

24 At a lodging place on the way the Lord met him and sought to put him to death.

Woah, what? The Lord wanted to kill Moses? Moses hasn’t even done anything yet. Like, God sent him back to Egypt, Moses seems to be doing what God said, Moses has been in ministry for like 5 minutes, and yet already he has blown it so bad that God wants Moses killed. 

And then what happens next seems like a complete non-sequitur. 

Verses 25

25 Then Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son's foreskin and touched Moses' feet with it and said, “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me!”

This is perhaps one of the strangest turns of events throughout the entire Bible. 

And after this little event, there’s not really any explanation given. Moses goes to meet Aaron and they go to meet Pharaoh and the story takes off from there. And this little interlude on the way back to Egypt from Jethro’s place often gets forgotten about in the grand and epic story of Moses. 

This didn’t come up in the Charlton Heston 10 Commandments movie.

This wasn’t a scene in The Prince of Egypt. 

This didn’t even end up in the Veggie Tales version of the story. 

(And I’m sure Junior Asparagus was extremely grateful about that).

So why did God want to literally kill Moses 5 minutes into his ministry before he even got into Egypt? And why did his wife follow that up with circumcising her son and calling Moses a bridegroom of blood?

I find this to be awkward…and kinda gross…and weird…and I’d like to explore why it’s in the Bible. 

Turn to Exodus 4, and let’s get weird.

0:00 - Introduction

3:00 - Reviewing the Context

8:15 - A Tale of Three Sons

16:55 - Families Need Spiritual Leadership

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

When I first got into ministry, I didn’t know what to do with I Kings 13. I knew God must be trying to communicate something from this story, but I couldn’t figure out what. So many things didn’t line up with my preconceptions. 

You have a couple of prophets in this story. Now, in almost every Old Testament story with a prophet of God, they are the good guy. What they do is usually the heroic or brave thing. They’re usually the one setting the example for us.

In this story, the prophets are not too brilliant. They’re great at hearing God. Not so great at the follow-through. And this story can leave us scratching our heads, wondering what the lesson was in all this. 

But as I said, it confused me when I first got into ministry and serious Bible study, because I wasn’t sure what to do with it. After a while, I think I figured out what God is saying here and what He’s saying to us today. 

So I couldn’t have been happier to get this email from Alana at my church. It said: I’d love to learn more about 1 Kings 13. It’s such an odd story. 

Totally agree. I find this story to be weird, and I’d like to explore why it’s in the Bible. 

Turn to I Kings 13, and let’s get weird.

0:00 - Introduction

1:30 - Roscoe the Young Prophet

8:00 - Cletus the Old Prophet

17:15 - The Young Prophet’s Fate

20:30 - Next Time

22:00 - Closing Thoughts

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

I few weeks ago I received one of the strangest questions I had ever had sent to me: could the Apostle John still be alive? 

Now, I probably would have shrugged it off except within an hour, I had a second person ask me the same question.

Now, I have never heard this question posed before. I had never had this thought cross my mind before. And yet to be asked this question completely out of the blue twice in the same hour made me think: perhaps God just wants me to look into this a little bit. 

But could it be true? Is the Apostle John as immortal as Chuck Norris or Rickroll Memes or reruns of Friends?

Well, I’ll tell you upfront: I don’t think it’s likely that the Apostle John is still alive. But I want to give it a fair hearing today on this podcast and take a look at why there’s a theory going around right now that he is. 

And even if this isn’t one of the burning questions on your heart, I think if you bear with me for today’s lesson, you’ll learn a few things and make sense of a few verses with me that never made a whole lot of sense before. 

For example, the verse that says: there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.

That was something that Jesus said about his disciples. Now, obviously, those men were alive a couple thousand years ago, and we have still not entered the millennial Kingdom of Christ. So what did Jesus mean by saying that?

I find it to be weird, and I’d like to explore why it’s in the Bible.

Turn to John 21, and let’s get weird.

0:00 - Introduction

3:30 - What Happened to John?

7:00 - Questions 

8:00 - Answers

23:00 - Closing Thoughts

Special thanks to the Two Witnesses Live podcast for inviting me on their show recently! Here is a link if you’d like to see/hear it: https://www.youtube.com/live/Mh0bTZhUKwk?si=vqVdx6KZx9tQIZSo

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

So, something really strange happened when Jesus was being arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane. 

This is the night that Jesus was put on trial, and the next day He was nailed to the cross. So there’s a lot going on. it’s a very heavy section of scripture. And there’s one detail that’s only recorded in one of the four Gospels. 

Mark 14:51 and 52 say

51 And a young man followed him, with nothing but a linen cloth about his body. And they seized him, 52 but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked.

Now if you’re a normal, well-adjusted person, you probably read a strange verse like that, you say: “well that’s weird”- and then you just move along with your Bible reading.

But the listeners of this podcast are not normal, well-adjusted people. 

So let’s figure out today what’s up with the naked man who shows up in the garden when Jesus was arrested.

Because I find it to be weird, and I’d like to explore why it’s in the Bible. 

Turn to Mark 14, and let’s get weird.

0:00 - Introduction

1:00 - The Context

4:40 - Theory 1- Simply a Historical Detail

13:30 - Theory 2- Mark Himself

15:30 - Theory 3- A Miracle

22:45 - Theory 4- All of Them Together at Once I Suppose

23:35 - Mailbag

26:00 - The Naked Truth

Special thanks to the Two Witnesses Live podcast for inviting me on their show recently! Here is a link if you’d like to see/hear it: https://www.youtube.com/live/Mh0bTZhUKwk?si=vqVdx6KZx9tQIZSo

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

John 5 has one of the most bizarre verses in the Bible. I’m talking about verse 4 of that chapter. This verse is so bizarre, it doesn’t even appear in a lot of versions of the Bible. Go open up your Bible and check right now; it might just say verse 1, verse 2, verse 3, verse 5.

It’s like your Bible forgot to count. But actually, some versions just take verse 4 right out and pretend it isn’t there.

What is so bizarre about John 5, verse 4? Well, this is the story about the man who had been lame since birth. He laid every day by the pool of Bethesda. Jesus comes along and heals this man in this story and says, “pick up your mat and walk.”

So it’s a very well-known story, but verse 4 stands out as particularly odd. 

I’ll pick it up starting at John 5:3

3 In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water. 4 For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had. 

This strange reference to an angel who created healing waters on a regular basis is not really mentioned ever again after this, it raises some provoking questions, and then it never answers them. And as I said, many versions of the Bible don’t even include this verse because it’s just too out-of-left-field.

I find this to be weird, and I’d like to explore why it’s in the Bible. But also why it’s not in every Bible.

Turn to John 5, and let’s get weird.

0:00 - Introduction

2:00 - The Story and Context

8:00 - A Textual Error?

11:15 - An Angel- Just Like the Bible Says

19:10 - Next Time

21:00 - Closing Thoughts

Special thanks to the Two Witnesses Live podcast for inviting me on their show recently! Here is a link if you’d like to see/hear it: https://www.youtube.com/live/Mh0bTZhUKwk?si=vqVdx6KZx9tQIZSo

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

What happened when you got in the water at your baptism?

Guess what? You didn’t just get wet. 

You made a proclamation of faith- not just to any humans who witnessed your baptism- but a proclamation of faith that reverberated throughout the entire spiritual realm. 

And if you have no idea what I’m talking about, you’re in the right place, because this episode today is going to explain the significance of baptism in the demonic realm. 

And along the way, we’ll also explain one of the most puzzling passages in scripture: 

I Peter 3:18-22

18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, 

19 in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison,

20 because they formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water.

21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him.

Woah, baptism save us? This passage went off the rails real quick. I find this to be weird, and I’d like to explore why it’s in the Bible. 

Turn to I Peter 3, and let’s get weird.

0:00 - Introduction

2:10 - Dedication

4:45 - The Spirits in Prison

11:50 - Baptism Now Saves You?

19:15 - A Spiritual Loyalty Pledge

22:45 - Next Time

24:00 - What Happened at Your Baptism?

Special thanks to the Two Witnesses Live podcast for inviting me on their show recently! Here is a link if you’d like to see/hear it: https://www.youtube.com/live/Mh0bTZhUKwk?si=vqVdx6KZx9tQIZSo

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

Jonah chapter 2 is one of the weirdest chapters in the entire Bible. 

I mean, think about it: at the end of Jonah 1, he gets swallowed by a giant fish in the Mediterranean Sea. At the beginning of Jonah 3, he’s spat back out on dry land. In between those events, Jonah lifts up this prayer or lament about his situation to heaven, and that’s what chapter 2 consists of. But Jonah 2 has to be the only chapter in the whole Bible that takes place entirely inside of animal. 

That’s pretty unique. And kinda weird. And it’s an interesting factoid about that chapter that always sticks out to me every time I read it. 

But there may be an unconsidered angle to this story: was Jonah actually dead as he spoke these words and prayed that prayer? 

All my life, ever since I was a young kid, I’ve heard the story of Jonah, and it’s always been taught as if Jonah was alive the whole time he laid in that whale’s belly for three days. 

And if you watch the Veggie Tales version, you’ll know that was even a host of black choir singers in there as well!

But is it possible we misunderstood what was actually going on? Is it possible that Jonah was actually dead once he got swallowed by that fish, and then was resurrected back to life when he got spat out?

This theory has been around for a while, but it’s been making the rounds here lately on social media. 

I find this to be weird, and I’d like to explore whether it’s true in the Bible. 

Turn to Jonah 2, and let’s get weird.

0:00 - Introduction

2:40 - What Jesus Said in Matthew 12

4:30 - What the Book of Jonah Says

12:30 - But What if Jonah Was Alive?

14:30 - Mailbag

17:50 - Closing Thoughts

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

Night of the Living Dead. World War Z. Resident Evil. The Walking Dead. And… Matthew chapter 27. 

What do all of these have in common? They all contain zombies. 

Now, if you don’t believe me that the Bible has some zombies in it, then explain this verse to me. Matthew 27 is about the crucifixion. Now, don’t worry, I’m 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 you’ve 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 and…and then they’re never heard from again?

We’ll read this in-context in just a moment, but the context doesn’t 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 I’d like to explore why it’s in the Bible. 

Turn to Matthew 27, and let’s 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 weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

Entire books have been written about the thorny theological issue I want to talk about today.

James chapter 2. At face value, James 2 seems hard to reconcile with the rest of the New Testament. 

That’s because the rest of the New Testament pretty clearly teaches this doctrine of salvation by grace through faith not of works. That’s a direct quote, actually.

Ephesians 2:8-9 says

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 

Romans 4:2-3

For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.”

Galatians 2:16

yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ,

So it’s like, every page of the New Testament makes this clear: salvation is only by grace through faith. There is nothing you can do to earn your salvation. Works play no part in it.

And then James comes along and says this in his second chapter,

Verse 14

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 

Wait a second here. Let me read that again. (Re-read it)

Is James going against Paul? I can’t emphasize enough how much this seems to be saying the exact opposite of so many other verses in the Bible. 

Is James contradicting Paul? Is James contradicting the Bible? Is James contradicting God Himself? 

I find this to be weird, and I’d like to explore why it’s in the Bible. 

Turn to James 2, and let’s get weird.

0:00 - Introduction

3:00 - James 2

6:15 - The Context of James

11:30 - Going Back to the Greek

17:00 - Next Time

20:00 - Closing Thoughts

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

Let’s tackle one of the questions today that no Sunday School teacher wants to get: are Christian women supposed to wear “head coverings” according to I Corinthians 11? 

Because when you read it very simply and plainly, it certainly feels like they should. 

I Corinthians 11:5 says

But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head

Yikes! We don’t follow that one these days. Christians have all kinds of reasons to disregard some of the bizarre commandments and customs in the Law of Moses. But this one is a New Testament command. And it tells women that they should have some kind of covering over their heads.

It’s pretty clear. And yet almost no churches today follow this, at least in the Western world. 

And if you ask your pastor or your Sunday School teacher why, they probably aren’t too sure. I mean, it’s right there in the Bible in the New Testament, but we don’t do it.

I find this to be weird, and I’d like to explore why it’s in the Bible.

Turn to I Corinthians 11, and let’s get weird.

0:00 - Introduction

1:30 - I Corinthians 11 

6:00 - What is a Covering?

16:30 - What This Says about Gender and Nature

25:30 - Closing Thoughts

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

What if someone came to a pastor and said, “How do I go to heaven?” Should the pastor tell him how to go to heaven? What kind of pastor wouldn’t tell someone who came to him and asked how to go to heaven how to go to heaven? That’s a pastor’s dream: for people to come to him and ask him how to go to heaven. That’s why we go to Bible schools and Bible colleges and spend years interning and preparing to lead churches: so we can tell people how to go to heaven. 

And yet when a man came and asked Jesus how to go to heaven, Jesus didn’t tell him how to go to heaven. In fact, Jesus told him to do something else that wouldn’t even actually get him into heaven. 

I find this to be weird, and I’d like to explore why it’s in the Bible. 

Turn to Luke 18, and let’s get weird.

0:00 - Introduction

3:00  - The Rich Young Ruler Encounter (Luke 18)

9:00 - Mailbag

14:00 - What Was Jesus Doing?

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

So I’ve done 25 episodes now about Weird Stuff in the Bible, but I haven’t talked about Jesus too much yet. 

And I really need to, for two reasons. One, because everything in the Bible centers around Jesus. 

And two, because Jesus is weird. 

Now, I don’t mean that to be disrespectful. I just mean that He was odd. 

If you don’t think Jesus is weird, I don’t think you know Jesus very well. He’s completely bizarre. His actions and emotions seem random. He seems to get set off by things that don’t bother other people. He’s extremely loving and gracious one minute and the next he’s kicking over a table. People come to him for help and he doesn’t help them. He gives them something else that they didn’t want. People ask him a question and he hardly ever answers their question- he’ll go off about something else that seems totally unrelated.

And just when He starts making sense- just when it starts to feel like you’re on the same page with Him- He suddenly changes direction and does something totally unexpected. 

And I want to look at one of those stories today. Because I find Jesus to be weird. And I’d like know why He does what He does in the Bible.

Turn to Luke 4, and let’s get weird.

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

The Day of Pentecost had a lot going on; it probably had more going on than you even realized. This is one of the most significant stories in the Bible; it’s the birth of the church, recorded in Acts 2. And it says this in

verses 1-4 of that chapter

When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

So we see a lot of unique, strange things happening in these verses. There was wind. It said divided tongues as of fire came to rest on each of them. We’ll try to figure out what that means today. 

And then it said that they began speaking in other tongues by the power of the Holy Spirit. Tongues means languages. They suddenly started speaking other languages that they didn’t even know. And this was a sign that the Holy Spirit had come upon them. 

So a lot of this are so familiar with this story that we kind of acknowledge it and move on. But wait just a minute. There are many times that the Holy Spirit comes upon someone throughout the Bible and they become capable of amazing and even supernatural things. Samson with his strength. David with his musical gifting. Bezalel as he built the tabernacle. The prophets with their prophesying. 

And then you get to the New Testament birth of the church and the sign of the Holy Spirit is tongues; that they start speaking in other languages. Now, isn’t that a little random and weird?

I mean, I find it a little weird. I’m one of those Pentecostals. I’m one of those crazy charismatics. And I think it’s weird. 

And I’d like to explore why it’s in the Bible. 

Turn to Acts 2, and let’s get weird.

0:00 - Introduction

2:15 - Pentecost and the Gospel

10:40 - Back to Babel

19:00 - Mailbag & Closing Thoughts

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

When I was in the book of Enoch a couple episodes ago, something caught my attention. I was reading something from the book of Enoch’s chapter 15. I didn’t read the entire chapter on that episode, but I did read through it as I was doing my research, and there was a very interesting passage there about the spirits of the Nephilim. 

Enoch chapter 15 basically makes the claim that when a Nephilim dies, its spirit roams the earth, afflicts humans, and will do so until the world ends. 

In other words, the spirits of the Nephilim are demons. 

The Book of Enoch makes a distinction between fallen angels and demons, saying that the fallen angels are these beings who God originally created, but that the demons were essentially created when those fallen angels mated with human women, as told in Genesis 6.

That goes against what I’ve heard all my life in church, which is that demons and fallen angels are the exact same thing. That the 1/3 of the angels who rebelled against God are the demons we frequently read about in the New Testament. The Book of Enoch has a different perspective on these evil spirits.

But this is not a podcast about Weird Stuff in the Book of Enoch. This is a podcast about Weird Stuff in the Bible. I do not use the Book of Enoch to replace my biblical understanding, but I do wonder whether this idea about the origin of demons is congruent with what Scripture actually teaches. 

Because as we’ll see, scripture doesn’t outright state that demons and fallen angels are the exact same thing.

I find this to be weird, and I’d like to explore IF it’s in the Bible. 

Turn to Isaiah 26, and let’s get weird.

0:00 - Introduction

2:10 - Enoch 15

8:30 - Is this Biblical?

20:00 - Mailbag and Thanking Some Weirdos

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

So on this podcast, we’ve tackled the mysterious subject of Genesis 6 a few times when “the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose.”

That’s actually a direct quotation from that chapter. And it’s come up a lot on this podcast because it’s a podcast about weird stuff in the Bible, and this is probably the weirdest thing. If you don’t understand why it’s so weird, it’s because of who the Sons of God are: they are spiritual or angelic beings. 

The Sons of God are a collection of spiritual beings that God created and ordered to watch over mankind and report to Him on what mankind is up to. They were to be involved in the management of the earth. But a number of them descended from the heavens and, as the Scripture said, took wives from among women. The testimony of Genesis 6 is that the Sons of God mated with human women and produced children with them. 

So this raises a whole lot of questions- mainly: how? How did spiritual beings interact sexually with women- and not only that, impregnate them?

Is this something any angel is capable of?

Could it happen again? 

Does it even seem within the realm of possibility that angels have the abilities to manifest physical bodies and sexual organs like this? 

So I call it mysterious not because I wonder IF it happened. The Bible is clear: it did happen. 

I call it mysterious because I wonder HOW it happened. 

Even those who accept what the Bible is saying about the Sons of God and the Nephilim still wonder how it happened. 

I find this to be weird, and I’d like to explore why it’s in the Bible. 

Turn to Psalm 91, and let’s get weird.

0:00 - Introduction

2:10 - What Angels Can Do

19:00 - Mailbag

22:45 - Closing Thoughts

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

There is a lot of controversy around this Book of Enoch: Should Christians read it or not? Some get confused about whether it should be considered scripture- and if it isn’t, whether Christians are allowed to read it.

So on the past few episodes, I’ve established that even though it’s not canonical scripture, the authors of the Bible did indeed read it and believe it. Peter did. Jude did. John did. 

There’s actually a few places in Scripture where Jesus also might actually quote from Enoch as well. Seriously. 

I was actually at a prayer meeting a few weeks ago when someone was talking to me- and totally out of the blue- says “Did you know Jesus quoted from the Book of Enoch? I was like, “no. But I’d find that very interesting.” This woman didn’t even know what I’ve been studying here on this podcast or anything like that. But I listened to her tell me why she thought that. 

I found it to be weird, and I’d like to explore whether Jesus actually quotes from the Book of Enoch in the Bible. 

Turn to Matthew 22, and let’s get weird.

0:00 - Introduction

1:30 - It Started with a Question about Marriage

11:10 - Like the Angels in Heaven

19:10 - Mailbag

21:15 - Did Jesus Refer to Enoch as Scripture?

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

In Jude 14-16, he quotes from a prophecy of Enoch:

It says

14 It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, 15 to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage.

What’s weird about this prophecy is: it’s not found anywhere in the Old Testament. 

Enoch is. It specifically says which Enoch. There’s an Enoch in Genesis 4 and an Enoch in Genesis 5. This is the Genesis 5 Enoch; the one everybody knows about. It specifically says who he is. It quotes a prophecy that he gave. But this prophecy is recorded nowhere in the OT. 

So where did this prophecy come from? I mean, it’s a true prophecy. If it wasn’t true, it wouldn’t be quoted here in Scripture. So it’s a real prophecy; but where was it recorded? It was recorded in an ancient document called The Book of Enoch. And the Book of Enoch is not a book in your Bible. And yet, the Bible quotes from it and says it’s true. Jude quotes from a prophecy that is NOT in the Bible.

I find all this to be weird, and I’d like to find out why it’s in the Bible. Or in this case, why it’s NOT in the Bible.

So turn to the book of Jude and let’s get weird.

0:00 - Introduction

2:00 - What is Canon?

8:20 - Pseudepigrapha. Apocrypha.

16:00 - The New Testament Authors Quote Enoch

20:35 - Mailbag & Closing

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

I’ll have this debate with people about the rapture of the church, and I will hear this response all the time: the rapture isn’t biblical. I’ll even see it in the comments from today’s episode: the rapture isn’t biblical. 

And these days, my response when I hear it is always the same thing. If you want to tell me that the rapture is not biblical, then what happened to Enoch? 

Because here’s what Genesis 5 says about Enoch: 

Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.

On the previous episode, we talked about what this verse means, because it’s a little confusing at first. He was, and then he wasn’t. What exactly does that mean? Well in case there was any confusion, the New Testament makes it clear. 

Hebrews 11:5 says

By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him.

So Enoch was essentially taken to heaven without dying. There’s actually a theological word for this: a rapture. To be raptured is to be taken to heaven without dying. A lot of the keyboard warriors are cracking their knuckles right now because I just said the no-no word in eschatology. Every time I have done a podcast episode in the past about raptures, I get raked over the coals in feedback because I am told how how we are appointed to suffering, so this idea that God would take us to heaven without experiencing more of it is just thoroughly unbiblical. But my response to that is: then what happened to Enoch? 

Enoch was taken to heaven without dying. I call this a rapture. 

And there are actually more examples of this in scripture. Enoch was just the first one. 

If you find this to be weird, then let’s explore how much this comes up in the Bible. Turn to Genesis 5 and let’s get weird. 

0:00 - Enoch

2:00 - Methuselah

7:40 - Elijah

10:40 - New Testament Raptures

19:45 - Closing Thoughts

More about the pre-flood world: https://weirdstuffinthebible.transistor.fm/episodes/unveiling-the-nephilim-giants-dna-and-the-days-of-noah

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

Genesis 5 is one of those chapters people tend to read through pretty quickly. It’s a genealogy chapter. It’s a list of names: so and so the son of so and so, so and so begat so and so. 

Not only that, it’s a list of names of people from Adam to Noah. Why do we need a genealogy of people from Adam to Noah? The genealogy is gonna reset at Noah anyway. This seems extra. 

And yet, if you stop and smell the roses, you’re going to read about one guy in Genesis 5 who stands out above the rest. 

Genesis 5:21-24

21 When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered Methuselah. 22 Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 23 Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years. 24 Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.

Enoch walked with God, and he was not. Was not what? That’s a weird sentence. Enoch walked with God, and he was not…for God took him.

What’s going on in this verse? I find it to be weird, and I’d like to explore why it’s in the Bible. 

Turn to Genesis 5, and let’s get weird.

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

We are pressing forward in the book of Jude today. As I’ve said before, Jude is kind of like the Bible’s junk drawer. Everyone has a junk drawer at their house; it’s full of random objects that you just aren’t sure where else to put them, so you throw them all into one drawer and you call it your junk drawer. 

That’s how Jude is. It’s like a collection of things that you just aren’t so sure what to do with. Just about every verse of Jude contains a callback to a Bible story. Almost always a weird Bible story. And we just spent three weeks talking about Balaam because he comes up in Jude 11. Let’s read it again:

Jude 11

Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error; they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion.

As a reminder, or if you’re with us for the first time, the book of Jude is a book about apostates. Apostates are those who fall away from Christianity, and right here, Jude introduces the fate of apostates: they rely on their works like Cain, they are materialistic like Balaam, and then they will suffer the same fate of those in Korah’s rebellion. 

So what happened to the people in Korah’s Rebellion? 

Numbers 16:32-33 say

32 And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the people who belonged to Korah and all their goods. 33 So they and all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol [aka: hell], and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly.

Wow, there is a story in the Bible where the ground opened up under some people’s feet and literally dropped them straight into hell itself?

Why would God do this?

And this literally happened. Does this mean hell is literally inside the earth?

I find all this to be weird, and I’d like to explore why it’s in the Bible. 

Turn to Numbers 16, and let’s get weird.

0:00 - Introduction

2:20 - The Legend of Korah

13:15 - Where is Hell?

22:22 - Closing Thoughts

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

If you don’t know Balaam’s story, you are behind the 8-ball. Most Christians don’t really know who Balaam is, which is a shame, because he is one of the most-referenced characters in the Bible. Balaam’s name comes up 59 times in Scripture.

In comparison, Mary is only mentioned 14 times. And yet, every Christian knows who Mary is. But not many know about Balaam. Balaam is mentioned in the Bible more than Noah, more than Sarah, more than Levi, more than Rachel, more than Isaiah. So if you don’t know who Balaam is, it’s about time you do.

That’s why I’ve done a couple of episodes now on the prophet Balaam. He is a lightning rod for weird stuff, and that makes his story fertile ground for a podcast about weird stuff in the Bible.

Here’s a question I’ve been wondering about: was Balaam a true prophet or a false prophet? 

I ask because everything Balaam says comes true, and that’s the test of whether someone’s a true or false prophet, right? Except, 

II Peter 2, a chapter all about false prophets, says:

They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing, but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet's madness.

So, everything Balaam says was a true prophecy, yet the New Testament still implies that he was a false prophet. Is this confusing or what?

So I find this to be weird. 

I think I have a solution to this problem, and I’ll share it with you today. Turn to Numbers 23 and let’s get weird.

0:00 - Introduction

2:25  - Recap

5:50 - What Happened Up on that Mountain

10:40 - Balaam in the New Testament

12:20 - Motive Matters

16:45 - A Question for the Audience

17:45 - Closing Thoughts from Jude 11

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

“I just wanted to look.” That’s probably what Balaam was saying when he went with the princes of Moab. They kept offering him money to go up on this mountain and curse the Israelites. 

They wanted him because Balaam was a prophet for hire. Now, he was a real prophet in the sense that he could genuinely hear from God and speak God’s messages. But he was also a very greedy individual in that he would use his prophetic gift for evil purposes.

And then these men of Moab come along and offer him a bunch of money to go up on this mountain and curse the Israelites encamped down in the valley below. So Balaam agrees to go. He says he won’t curse the Israelites for money, yet he really really wants to, so he’s just gonna go up there and look. He just wants to look. That’s what he says outwardly, anyway.

And what happens next? It gets weird. How weird. Well, if you’ve ever heard that there’s a story in the Bible with a talking donkey…this is it. 

So turn to Numbers 22, and let’s get weird. 

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

God is not schizophrenic. OK? I just wanna put that out there first. God is the same yesterday, today and forever. God does not contradict Himself. And if He looks like He is, the problem is on our end, not His. Amen? OK. 

I just feel like I have to establish that because Numbers 22 starts the story of Balaam, and God in this story, Balaam does exactly what God says, and yet God decides to kill him for it. 

Numbers 22:20-22

20 And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men have come to call you, rise, go with them; but only do what I tell you.” 21 So Balaam rose in the morning and saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Moab.

Alright, so far so good, right? God says go. Balaam goes. 

22 But God's anger was kindled because he went, and the angel of the Lord took his stand in the way as his adversary.

And as you keep reading, this angel of the Lord was standing there with a sword to literally kill Balaam. 

Wait wait wait. As I said before: God is not schizophrenic. So why is he upset with Balaam here?- upset enough to literally kill him?

I find all of this to be weird, and I’d like to explore why it’s in the Bible.  Turn to Numbers 22, and let’s get weird.

0:00 - God is NOT Schizo

2:15 - Balaam the Greedy Prophet

12:40 - Why God Got Mad

16:00 - Closing Thoughts

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

The opening chapters of Genesis contain the first baseball game: In the big inning, Eve stole first, Adam stole second. Cain struck out Abel. Enoch was walked. The Giants and the Angels were rained out.

Now, as I hear that joke, it makes me realize: there’s a lot of oddities and weird stuff in the opening chapters of the Bible. And we’re going to be honing in on one of those weird stories today.

Genesis 4 tells the story of the first murder: when Cain killed Abel, because Cain was jealous of Abel, because God like Abel’s offerings, but not Cain’s. And it says,

Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. 

Now, here’s the million dollar question: WHY. Why did God accept Abel’s offerings but not Cain’s? I mean, both of them are giving something to God. Throughout the Bible, people are willing to give offerings of both animals and fruits and crops. So why is Cain’s offer being shut down in these early chapters of Genesis?

The text doesn’t outright tell us, and I find this to be weird, and I’d like to figure out why this is in the Bible.

So turn to Genesis 4, and let’s get weird.

0:00 - Introduction

2:00 - Jude 11 & Genesis 4

7:00 - Why Abel’s Offering Was Accepted

16:15 - Mailbag: “Satan Means Lawyer”

20:00 - Closing Thoughts

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

So guys, I’ve been terrible about responding to my mailbag! My comments and questions and all that kind stuff that you guys have been sending in! So I’m like: before I go any further in the Bible study, I would like to take a week and just respond to your questions. 

So we’re going to talk today about UFOs, demons, Iceland, naked Noah, the end of the world, and snakes with legs. Which, being a snake with legs kinda defeats the whole point of being a snake, right? So we’ll see what that’s all about, and at the end of today’s episode, I’ll share a few thoughts about the success of this podcast in just 14 episodes, which I’m very thankful for.

But what ties all these questions together today is that they deal with things that are WEIRD. So if you don’t want to hear about weird stuff, then I don’t know what you were doing here in the first place! But if you do like hearing about weird stuff, and how that weird stuff might intersect with Biblical truth, then you couldn’t be in a better place. Now let’s get weird!

0:00 - Introduction

1:45 - What’s Up with These UFOs?

8:45 - What was it like in the Days of Lot/Noah?

15:25 - Did Ham Create Rephaim?

18:35 - Did Snakes Have Legs?

22:30 - What’s Iceland Have to Do With Anything?

25:50 - THANK YOU

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Find out what it means to Thee.

Jude 9 is one of the strangest commands in the entire Bible to me. Well, let me start with 

Jude 8.

In the very same way, on the strength of their dreams these ungodly people pollute their own bodies, reject authority and heap abuse on celestial beings.

So it’s telling us that we need to be really careful in how we talk about spiritual things because there’s a lot going on in the unseen realm that we don’t understand. And we get into trouble when we assume things, because we can assume a lot of things that are wrong. 

If you’ve been listening to this podcast, I’ve tried to share things about the spiritual realm that most Christians don’t know about. The divine council. The Sons of God. The scope of God’s sovereignty. The unseen realm is more complicated than simply angels vs demons. 

So Jude warns us to be careful in how we talk about spiritual beings. It says we might even inadvertently blaspheme good beings because we call something evil that is actually good. 

And that brings us to Jude 9. One of the strangest commands in the entire Bible. It tells us to even temper the way in which we talk about God’s enemy: the devil.

Jude 9 says 

But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”

So it’s telling us right there: be careful how you talk about spiritual beings. Even be careful that you don’t disrespect the devil. 

Now, that’s quite an extreme example to go to when telling that we need to show respect. So extreme that I find it to be weird. And I’d like to explore why it’s in the Bible.

So turn to Jude 9, and let’s get weird.

0:00 - Introduction

2:50 - Respect Who?

7:00 - Michael vs Satan

9:45 - Honor All

18:05 - Next Time

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

Jude 8 says something really weird: 

“Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones.”

This is one of Jude’s triplets. It’s talking about apostates: people who once said they are Christians, but fell away. And it gives three details about them:

They defile the flesh. They reject authority. And they blaspheme the glorious ones.

We’ll talk about what that means today, but let’s talk about why they do this. What is their basis for doing these three things? They do it by relying on their dreams. What is that referring to?

It’s referring to people who try to change the Word of God by claiming to have a dream, a vision, a divine revelation. 

Now, there’s nothing wrong with getting a revelation from God, but if you do, it MUST be in line with what the Bible says. If it’s not in line with the Bible, that’s your first sign that this revelation or dream must be rejected. 

But Jude warns us about people who will claim to have a dream or vision and then lead us into apostasy. It said these people pollute their own bodies; go back to our lesson on Jude 7 if you want to know what this means, it’s talking about sexual immorality. 

The second thing it said is that they reject authority. The Bible tells us to respect and honor those in charge of us. 

And the third thing it said was that they will speak blasphemously against spiritual beings. And to illustrate this point, let’s read 

Jude 9

“But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment,”

Wait wait wait. Hold up a second. The archangel Michael. Contending with the devil. Disputing about…the body of Moses- I don’t know about you, but I missed THAT Sunday School class. Where did this idea come from. 

The answer is: we don’t have a story about this in the Bible. 

So in verse 8, it says to reject these dreamers whose messages are not in line with the Bible. And then to illustrate this in the very next verse, it refers to a story that’s not found in the Bible. 

So if you’re paying attention to what I’ve said so far, you should be pretty confused. I know I am. I find all this to be weird, and I’d like to explore why it’s in the Bible. Or in this case, NOT in the Bible. 

So turn to Jude, and let’s get weird. 

0:00 - Introduction

4:30 - The Death of Moses

9:00 - Michael vs Satan

11:40 - The Source of the Story

22:20 - Closing Thoughts

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

Why does God allow Satan to even exist?

That’s a pretty good question. Satan is the first rebel. He helped cause the fall. He has caused untold death, destruction and mayhem for thousands of years. He is God’s greatest enemy. Yet he is no match for God. God once backhanded Satan out of heaven. Someday God is going to kick Satan into the Lake of Fire for all eternity. 

So why wait? God could snap His fingers and send the devil there right now. So why doesn’t he? Why does Satan get to keep causing problems, meddling in our lives, tempting people into sin and into hell, every single day that goes by? 

I find this to be weird, and I’d like to explore why God puts up with- and makes us put up with- Satan. 

Turn to II Samuel 24, and let’s get weird.

This is episode 11 of Weird Stuff in the Bible.

0:00 - Introduction

2:00 - II Samuel 24 vs I Chronicles 21

4:20 - Coming to Our Census

11:25 - God Used David

14:30 - God Uses Satan

17:45 - God Can use Anyone

Dive into the bizarre and perplexing as Luke Taylor explores the peculiar passages of II Samuel 24 and I Chronicles 21 on the "Weird Stuff in the Bible" podcast. Unravel the enigma of why God allows Satan to exist, delving into the intricate relationship between divine sovereignty, human choice, and the devil's role in biblical narratives. Discover the unexpected twist in this tale of David's sinful census, as God's anger ignites against the Israelites. Explore the strange harmony between God's purpose, Satan's influence, and mankind's choices. Join Luke on a thought-provoking journey through the unusual landscapes of scripture, challenging conventional perspectives and shedding light on the weird and mysterious aspects of the Bible. Don't miss out on this intriguing episode that unravels the complexities of God's use of Satan in fulfilling His greater purposes. Subscribe now and embrace the weirdness in the pages of the Bible.

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

Happy Birthday, Ezekiel 28. This is episode 10 of Weird Stuff in the Bible.

• Explore the mysterious prophecy in Ezekiel 28:1-10 that was given on January 8, 585 BC, and released on the exact 2,608th birthday of this prophecy in 2024 AD.
• Dive into Ezekiel 28, one of the most peculiar chapters in the Bible, unraveling the backstory of the devil through the King of Tyre.

0:00 - Introduction

3:15 - Ezekiel 28, verses 1 through 10

11:20 - What is Wisdom?

13:05 - Evil, Wise People

20:30 - Wisdom is Not Enough

Verses 1-10, the Prince of Tyre:

• Contextualize the prophecy within Ezekiel's messages to Gentile nations, focusing on Tyre's pride and impending judgment.
• Examine the King of Tyre's arrogance, comparing himself to a god, accumulating wealth through wisdom, and the impending consequences.
• Highlight the parallels between the King of Tyre and Satan, emphasizing the strange compliment of being "wise" despite evil intentions.

What is Wisdom?

• Define wisdom as an understanding of how the world operates based on God's principles.
• Emphasize the distinction between wisdom and virtue, showcasing examples of morally compromised yet wise figures like Solomon and the devil.

Evil, Wise People:

• Explore Solomon's wisdom juxtaposed with moral failings, illustrating that wisdom alone does not ensure virtue.
• Delve into the Bible's portrayal of the devil as "full of wisdom," questioning the apparent contradiction between wisdom and expulsion from heaven.
• Highlight the Antichrist's foretold wisdom and success, reinforcing the idea that wisdom does not equate to moral goodness.

Closing Thoughts - Wisdom is not Enough:

• Encourage listeners to subscribe for upcoming episodes addressing the devil's tactics and strategies to combat him.
• Challenge the perception of the devil's intelligence, stressing the importance of relying on the Holy Spirit to resist him.
• Conclude with a reminder that wisdom alone is insufficient in the spiritual battle against the devil, advocating for submission to God as the key to victory.

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

Let’s end the debate. This is episode 9 of Weird Stuff in the Bible, where we solve the mystery of Sodom’s destruction. This is not an issue that should be considered ambiguous anymore. It’s time to stop arguing about what the Bible says and start exploring what it means.

0:00 - Introduction

2:35 - Genesis 19, The Historical Narrative

5:10 - Ezekiel 16, The Prophetic Account

7:30 - Jude 7, The New Testament Summary

10:20 - Mailbag

12:55 - Closing Thoughts

Introduction

In this episode of Weird Stuff in the Bible, Luke Taylor delves into the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, exploring the conflicting accounts in Genesis and Ezekiel. With a focus on Jude 7, discover the real reason behind these cities' demise. Warning: mature content discussed.

Genesis 19: Historical Narrative

God sends angels to investigate Sodom, leading to a shocking revelation. While Genesis 19:24-25 details the destruction, the reason remains unclear. Luke questions the prevalent assumption and looks deeper into the Bible's narrative.

Ezekiel 16: Prophetic Account

Ezekiel 16 provides a different perspective, listing Sodom's sins without mentioning homosexuality. Luke explores the implications and challenges the notion that Sodom's destruction was solely due to rampant homosexuality.

Jude 7: New Testament Summary

Jude 7 adds clarity, citing Sodom's sexual immorality and unnatural desires. Luke scrutinizes claims that seek to downplay the significance of homosexuality in Sodom's sins. The episode navigates through key biblical passages to unveil the truth.

Housekeeping/Mailbag

Looking ahead to 2024, Luke teases an exposé on Satan in upcoming episodes. The mailbag segment addresses theories about Nephilim surviving the flood, providing Luke's perspective and distinguishing between Phase 1 and Phase 2 Nephilim.

Closing Thoughts

As the episode concludes, Luke addresses the absence of homosexuality in Ezekiel's account, connecting it to the broader comparison with Jerusalem. Despite the discomfort of the topic, he emphasizes the importance of addressing sexual immorality in the context of apostasy, drawing connections to current societal trends.

Despite the discomfort, Luke encourages listeners to embrace the uniqueness of Christian beliefs. In a world questioning traditional values, he emphasizes the importance of staying true to biblical principles. As the episode wraps up, Luke challenges the perception of being "weird" for adhering to God's Word.

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

The Nephilim are not just in Genesis. This is episode 8 of Weird Stuff in the Bible, where we talk about Nephilim after the flood.

0:00 - Introduction

5:10 - Tracing the Giants

12:30 - Facing the Giants

18:50 - Erasing the Giants

Uncover the ancient mystery as we delve into the bizarre union of divine beings and human women, setting the stage for the peculiar Nephilim saga.

Join me on 'Weird Stuff in the Bible' as he traces the giants post the Great Flood, revealing connections, battles, and the enigmatic story of Goliath from Gath.

Understand the divine command to erase the giants and the implications for preventing Nephilim bloodlines, drawing parallels to challenges believers face today.

Embark on this journey, embrace the peculiar, and find inspiration to face your giants with faith. Subscribe now for more intriguing explorations into biblical mysteries!

Introduction:

• Explore the mysterious tale in Genesis 6:4 where the Sons of God intermingle with human women, creating Nephilim or giants.
• Tracing the Giants:
   
  • Delve into the aftermath of the Great Flood and the second wave of Nephilim, suggesting Noah's significance in the narrative.
•  
  • Uncover the descendants of Anak and their connection to the Anakim, shedding light on Numbers 13:33.
•  
• Facing the Giants:
   
  • Follow the Israelites' encounters with giants, including Og, the king of Bashan, and their battles near Mount Hermon.
•  
  • Connect biblical references, like Deuteronomy 3:11, revealing the peculiar traits of these giants and the ominous significance of Bashan.
•  
• Erasing the Giants:
   
  • Understand the divine command to annihilate the Anakim and its implications for preventing the resurgence of Nephilim bloodlines.
•  
  • Discover how giants like Goliath from Gath fit into the Nephilim lineage, emphasizing their extraordinary stature and significance.
•  
• Closing Thoughts:
   
  • Explore the faith and courage displayed by David in facing the giants, drawing parallels to challenges believers may encounter today.
•  

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

Ever wondered about the mysterious Sons of Anak and their connection to the post-flood reappearance of the Nephilim? This is episode 7 of Weird Stuff in the Bible, where we talk about Nephilim after the flood, as well as expounding on Jude 5 and 6. 

0:00 - Introduction

3:40 - The Numbers 13 Giants

11:30 - The Jude 5-6 Lesson

Join us for a journey through Numbers 13, unraveling the mystery of the Sons of Anak and their connection to the Nephilim. In this episode:

• Nephilim Resurgence: Explore Genesis 6's revelation of Nephilim returning after the flood. Luke speculates on the methods of the Sons of God and their intriguing reappearance.
• Numbers 13 Giants: Dive into Numbers 13, where the descendants of Abraham encounter the Sons of Anak, a lineage of Nephilim. Uncover a demonic plot to hinder God's promises with giant, wicked beings.
• Lessons from Deuteronomy 9: Discover God's response to the Israelites' fear of facing the Nephilim. Luke emphasizes confidence and obedience, drawing parallels to challenges in our lives.
• Lessons from Jude 5-6: Transition to the Book of Jude, where verses 5 and 6 shed light on apostasy and falling away from God. Explore the powerful reminder that Jesus, the Old Testament God, dealt with those who lacked faith.

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

In episode 6 of Weird Stuff in the Bible, we unravel the mysterious tale of the Nephilim, exploring their origins, characteristics, and the profound impact they had on the days of Noah. From their peculiar creation to their role in the pre-flood world, we delve into the biblical account that goes beyond the ordinary. Get ready for a journey into the weird and fascinating as we uncover the secrets of these giant beings.

0:00 - Recapping the Sons of God

4:55 - Meet the Nephilim

13:45 - Why God Sent the Flood

19:45 - Closing Thoughts

• "Ever wondered about the ancient giants who once roamed the earth? In this episode, we dive into a peculiar biblical tale that might just challenge your perception of the past. Ready to explore the world of the Nephilim?"
• "Discover how the Nephilim's existence, their supernatural origins, and their impact on human history may hold surprising parallels with challenges we face today. Join us as we uncover the mysteries that tie the past to the present."
• Benefits from listening today:
  1. "Gain a deep understanding of the Nephilim and their role in biblical history."
  2. "Explore the fascinating connection between ancient stories and archaeological finds."
  3. "Uncover the significance of the Nephilim in shaping the world before and after the flood."
• Ready to unravel the mysteries of the Nephilim? Hit play now and journey with us into the weird and intriguing world of giants, DNA, and the Days of Noah. Don't miss out – your understanding of biblical history is about to get a whole lot weirder!

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

This is episode 5 of Weird Stuff in the Bible, where we talk about the Sons of God in Genesis 6. 

0:00 - Laying the Groundwork

1:40 - Defining Our Terms

7:50 - The Sons of God Were Angels

19:30 - Mailbag

20:40 - Vocabulary is Hard

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

What's coming next? This is episode 4 of Weird Stuff in the Bible, where we introduce a book of the Bible that we’ll be studying together over the next few months.

0:00 - A Book that Makes you Pick a Side

2:30 - Verses 1-2, Who Was Jude?

10:15 - Verses 3-4, The Threat of Apostasy

15:00 - Strange Things about Jude

20:30 - Mailbag and Closing Thoughts

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

The Divine Council: How God Makes Decisions

This is episode 3 of Weird Stuff in the Bible, where we pull back the curtain on God’s decision-making process.

0:00 - Staff Meetings in Heaven

1:45 - Introducing the Divine Council (Psalm 82)

9:45 - I Kings 22, Micaiah’s Vision

18:15 - Mailbag

20:00 - Closing Thoughts (Isaiah 37 and I Samuel 16)

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

Warning: the devil doesn’t want you to listen to this episode. I’m going to tell you one way that he is able to stop your prayers from being answered- but if you listen until the end, I’ll also tell you how to overcome it. 

This is episode 2 of Weird Stuff in the Bible, where we pull back the curtain on spiritual warfare.

0:00 - Don’t Be Ignorant

2:15 - Daniel 10, Wrestling with Angels

8:15 - The Prince of Persia

11:45 - Demons can Stop your Prayers

15:45 - Always Pray and Never Give Up

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor