Old Testament Episodes

For three thousand years the prophets mocked the idols of the nations with a single taunt: "They have mouths, but they speak not... there is no breath at all in the midst of it" (Psalm 115:5; Habakkuk 2:19). Every idol in history was silent. Then Revelation 13 describes the day the silence ends — an image made by human hands, given breath, that speaks, deceives, and enforces worship. This podcast highlights a study that builds from the ground up, the way a Berean would. Four footings, poured ...

A great sermon always leads to a good conversation after church. Then pizza : ). Then home to feed and let the dogs out. But the subject never left my brain. I took a motorcycle ride on which the sermon kept playing back in my head. So back home in quiet time I found myself pondering how the serpent deceived Eve so easily. There was something there nagging at me. That led to the article you have in the source material: “The Deception Spectrum”. Note to the Deception Spectrum Episode Link:

We scoured the web for some of the top objections a Muslim person would raise against Christianity. Then we fed those questions into the Berean Teacher Search App to get a direct scriptural response. This was part of our plan to test the abilities of the Berean Teacher to respond to some of the toughest objections a Christian might face. When the question of lineage comes up, there is something the Berean app initially failed to bring up that completely reframes why Mary's genealogy is so imp...

I know the questions. I was a staunch atheist before I ever took the bible seriously. These will throw any Christian off his game: Where did the dinosaurs come from? Why aren’t pyramids ever mentioned in the bible? Our science dates the earth millions of years before Genesis… how does the Bible explain that? There are monolithic structures that not only pre-date the bible, they pre-date humanity if you consider the biblical timeline of 6000 years plus or minus. How was that possible? That’s...

Well, I started right where I should have in our journey tracing events in the bible where God has lived among men. The Israelites are about to construct the first human-built dwelling for God to live among them. I started today with Exodus 25 and didn’t get very far. I got to thinking about the last commandment (thou shalt not covet), about everything God is doing in this moment. I chased those thoughts. So today’s podcast isn’t not about the place where God lives … but then, as I think about i...

Typically when you embark on a journey to study end times in the bible you’re are bounced between Revelation, Daniel, Ezekiel, Zechariah with a little Matthew 24 and 24. Here, though, in season 5, As we walk through the Bible landing where God interacted with His creation, we are way back at the beginning and whatever the temple of the day was, we’re still seeing the connections leap off the page straight through the cross into Revelation. Honestly, we were hoping this would happen. We wanted to...

Today we're continuing our journey through one of the most important themes in all of Scripture: the temple. When most Christians hear the word temple, they think of a building in Jerusalem. Some think of Solomon's Temple. Others think of a future temple still waiting to be built. But what if the story begins much earlier than that? What if the temple was never primarily about a building at all? In this series, we're tracing the temple from its very beginning, following the thread from Eden th...

We are early in our journey tracing the trajectory of God’s direct interaction with his creation. What we’re already discovering is a very tender, very soft entry. God does not land abruptly, he lands softly and leads. Unfortunately, men don’t always listen. Still, as we track through this history, you’ll see the patience, the persistence and the love of a Father for his children. Today, we look at the first encounter between God and Moses. With a careful reading, you’ll find this encounter mor...

If I'm being honest with you, the last few episodes have been heavy. We've spent a lot of time in some dark corners — the Nephilim, the corrupt powers behind the nations, the idol systems, the way that ancient spiritual machinery shows up in modern institutions, if you know what you're looking for. And I don't regret any of it. I think it's important. I think you need to see it clearly. But I'll tell you — sitting with that material, researching it, recording it — there were moments where the we...

One of the temptations of reading ancient biblical text is to dismiss it as, well, ancient. Like it doesn’t apply to us. We are much more sophisticated, more cultured, wiser, smarter, more civilized. At least that is probably the thought running through a passive reading… until you pull back the curtain on today. Note for the Ancient War in Modern Dress Episode Link: https://www.rabbitholesandmeditations.com/the-ancient-war-in-modern-dress-looking-behind-the-curtain-of-modern-spiritual-warfare...

What is it about the word “No”? I don’t know about you, but for most people, the minute they are told they can’t have something, they want it. Or at the very least, they are curious. A friend of mine has a two-year-old, and up until now, he’s gotten everything he’s asked for. Now, he’s learning the word “no”. There is a reason we call this age the “terrible twos”! Inevitably, when the boundary is set, a person wants to see what is on the other side of the barrier. And that doesn’t stop at the a...

You might have thought that winning the ground was the grand finale. That should have been it. But the battle we fight is far deeper and far more pervasive. The battle you and I face as Christians is in the spiritual realm. Paul stated it plainly: “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” — Ephesians 6:12 Notes for the Air War Episode Link: https://www....

I think by this point, many of our listeners might be scratching their heads. I thought this season was about the end times! The inspiration for this season was that we think, and I believe the scriptures will get us there, is that most present-day biblical scholars on the end times are following the same dispensational track that is not supported by scripture. We’re not inventing or, rather, re-inventing doctrine. I don’t believe in the need for a secret return that the text never supports. W...

You can read the Bible as a historical text, but if you do that, you’ll be hard-pressed to explain several passages that God-fearing people are often pressed with. One such question that often goes unanswered is how a loving God can command the utter destruction of entire races. One such example: Deuteronomy 20:16-18 - However, in the cities of the nations the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes. 17 Completely destroy them—the Hittites, Amorit...

We begin a new series today in Season Five. We are going to walk with God through the bible. It’s a huge endeavor, but the goal is simple. To understand what God wants for mankind and how He actually accomplishes it. We’re not presenting systems or charts. We’re not inventing theology and secret returns to fit a narrative. We are listening and interpreting with the only thing we need, God’s word. You may recognize this as our Berean strategy. Welcome to season 5. It starts right where God start...

In our last study, we addressed the question of the rapture head-on. This taught me a lesson that I sometimes forget. Read the text! Understand the context. It seems that no matter what denomination and no matter how well-versed the pastor is, the theory of the rapture changes like changing the channel on the television. The pastor is the news anchor. If you don’t like CNN’s version, flip over to Fox. If you don’t like Fox’s version, flip over to MSNBC. Nobody seems to be reporting the event. Th...

So, I’m in the midst of writing a book and the first part takes place in Israel and I’m trying, as a Christian, to understand the Bible from a Jewish perspective. IT IS REALLY HARD! I don’t know if it’s just because I have not engaged the scripture so much from that side of the fence or not. In a game of Christian vs. Jew, the Christian ideology seems to make more sense of the text. The Jews have an obstacle that they have to dance around - namely Jesus and the Cross. Notes for Jews and Chris...

Now that we have walked through most of the Red Letters in the gospels, we can go back to some of the highlights. The Bible never ceases to amaze me with its depths and revelations. This is why you can read the Bible for your entire life and always find new nuggets hidden in plain sight. Today, we lean on Sam Shamoun to help us with the passage about the woman who was caught in adultery. She was brought before Jesus to trap him. A quick note about Sam Shamoun: What sets him apart is his remark...

As we were studying the burial of Jesus, this surfaced. We decided to do an entire podcast on it because it was such a cool revelation. Jesus has his footprints all over the Old Testament. But until you connect with it, sometimes, you just kind of read right over it. If you're like me, you read the information about the construction of the Mercy Seat in Exodus with maybe some mild interest. God instructs its construction with such incredible detail. You know it's significant, but in context, you...

This podcast follows the character in a Short Story - The Sure Mercies by Greg Newell. That story is a modern dramatic version of the same argument Paul gave in the synagogue in Athens. These are the scriptural basis for that short story. Additional notes are also provided for this Podcast. The argument Paul Adler makes in this story is not invented. It is derived entirely from the Hebrew scriptures. The reader is encouraged to read those scriptures first, on their own terms, before reading an...

As I was reading the account of Pilate's interaction with Jesus, it dawned on me how familiar it was. We often read the account in isolation, and I decided to dig deeper and consider its implications across the span of history. We've said it time and again through our podcasts. God is orchestrating this. Essay - The Evil That Men Do Episode Link: https://www.rabbitholesandmeditations.com/e/the-evil-that-men-do/

The disciples finally leave the upper room, but this is the proverbial out of the frying pan into the fire. They retreat to Gethsemane, and this is where we pick up in today's podcast. Specifically, we are looking at Matthew 26:36-45, Mark 14:32-41, and Luke 22:39-46. Notes and Commentary: The Cost and the Cup Episode Link: https://www.rabbitholesandmeditations.com/the-cost-and-the-cup/

Just so you know, we are not going to stop doing our Red-Letter Journey. However, we are adding a 2nd series today comparing current world events with biblical prophecy. What will become extremely useful in this endeavor is applying our Berean Filter application to current events and how they can be interpreted with respect to Biblical prophecy. We are completely open to suggestions regarding who you think provides good, sound biblical interpretation. Today, we focus on Jack Hibbs' recent dis...

Have you even sat in a business conference or meeting and totally missed the point? You look at the speaker and go "Wait........ What?" Like you thought you understood it until you just realized what he was saying is not what you were thinking. We've walked through the red-letters all the way to this point and never have the disciples let go of the idea that Jesus is the conquering king. They have been told at least three times that He would be killed. They've been told that He will return. The...