Old Testament Episodes

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...

Did you ever sit with the Lord's Supper and just think, I really don't get it. I know something big is happening here, but did anybody ever walk you through what "This is the NEW COVENANT in my blood means? When you read that, you should immediately think - OK, I need to go back and understand the OLD COVENANT. And more, I need to understand why we need a new covenant. Today, in our Red Letter Journey, we listened to Jesus pick up and offer the bread and the cup and we asked what it all means. ...

There are a LOT of books written about Matthew Chapter 24. This podcast is NOT the last word on the subject. It is a perspective, and we think one worth noting. Look, the discussion of End Times sells books! It gets clicks. But the question to ask is how it will change your perspective today. I think the beauty of prophecy is in the not knowing. It draws you to the text. It is human nature to want to know. But if Jesus had said His return happens Easter Sunday in the year 2253 (or whatever, pic...

Everyone is always looking for the major everts in prophetic literature. We've talked about prophetic compression before - the concept of two prophetic events that are spread out over time but stated very close together in biblical prophecy. When looking far into the future, you can see the peaks of the mountains, but you can't necessarily tell how far apart they are. [there are several examples within the source to draw from]. Today, we wanted to address prophetic compression from a differen...

Ok, if you want to know why we call this Podcast Rabbit Holes, you're about to follow how my brain works! I started today covering the last three woes and that ends in another lament by Jesus over Jerusalem. That got me wondering about the judgement that fell in AD 70. Then I thought, well, I don't really know what happened to the Jews after that. I know somehow, they survived, but how? So I followed that track all the way to 1948 where the Israel becomes a nation state. Then I think, ok, so why...

We step off the track for a second. In our last podcast, we saw how the pharisees created loopholes in the law bypassing: the land sabbath debt forgiveness every 7 years Jubilee During that study we blew right past something that we need to back up on. I had always heard that "forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors" as being solely about sin... but the actual translation is actually real debt. It has a double meaning and if you skip over it, you lose the connection to Deuteronomy. Yo...

Jesus is constantly being tested. We're in Passion week. They're looking for a defect in the Lamb. Today, something has changed. In our last podcast, we saw one of Scribes almost do a fist pump upon hearing Jesus response to the Sadducees regarding Resurrection. Why, because Jesus' answer was something that put the Sadducees back in their place. They were quieted... something the Pharisees had failed at for 100's of years. So for a brief moment, at least one of the scribes was siding with Jesus....

They continue to line up to confront Jesus. It's almost like whack a mole. The Sadducees pop up next and to some, it may seem that they have storyboarded a careful question that they believe represents a definitive argument against resurrection to trip Jesus up. It can seem like its a question out of a Sadduceeic think-tank for this very purpose. I think it's deeper. I think that this argument is core doctrine for the Sadducees. The question has not just arisen for this occasion; it sits at the...

Ok, I certainly didn't think this is where the conversation was going. I'm an American! Money is a good thing right? Well, the more I dig, the more I discover. The more my eyes are open. I'll be the first to admit that this deep dive caught me off guard and I'm supposed to be the one producing the podcast! What we arrived probably takes 4 years of economics undergrad study and boils it down to a 30-minute indictment of money in the world. In our last deep dive, we saw Jesus completely dismantle...

We are on the temple courts during Jesus' last week. The Parable of the Evil Vine-Growers is perhaps the most scathing indictment that Jesus has ever given confronting the religious elite head on. No stone is left unturned (pun intended). It should be no secret that we use AI in our Bible study with strict guardrails to only use scripture and not external interpretations or commentary. That is what we have commonly referred to as our Berean Filter. We let the Bible speak for itself and we us...

If you've ever watch one of those timelapse videos that show you the construction of a building, that is what it must be like to see inside of the brain of the Messiah. He sees everything historically, as it is laid out and He sees it all at once. We come upon a scene in Luke 19:41-44. Jesus is looking out at the city of Jerusalem and weeps. We need to fully understand the weight of that emotion and to do that, we went back and slowed down the events that rush past this moment. Let's us ...

Jesus didn't have a GPS, he had something better. He had ancient prophecy. And at this point in the journey, Jesus is the only one who can see the destination. The other disciples are blind and fearful. They are marching right where they think they ought not be traveling. Notes for Marching on the Roadmap Through Prophecy Episode Link: https://www.rabbitholesandmeditations.com/marching-on-the-roadmap-through-prophecy/

We approach one of the clearest passages in the gospels regarding Jesus and his mission. As they seek shelter in a Samaritan village on the way to Jerusalem, they are denied. The overzealous James and John want to rain down hellfire onto the village. If you have ever considered your understanding of the gospels to be slow and confusing at times, this passage should give you hope! Even the disciples walking with Jesus for 3.5 years didn't get it! Notes to No Thunder Today Episode Link: h...

I always harken back to that famous wrestling match that Jacob had with God. For me, it is a healthy connection to approaching scripture. I wasn't comfortable leaving the Rich Young Ruler where I left it. I felt like I should have been wrestling more with Jesus in that passage. So I went back and engaged directly with the context and the meaning. In this dialog, I am using myself and my situation to really wrestle with this. While the questions might be similar, your answers will necessarily di...

I think we've all heard the story of the Rich Young Ruler. But very often the entire story gets flattened to be about money and wealth. As we got into this, the entire theology of grace emerges. Once we came to the root of this passage, we got into a discussion about stewardship which was useful and then we circled back to probably the most profound point of the passage... a discussion of what is good, why try to do good and trying to understand the love of the Father. That last part comes from ...

While we are walking through the Red Letters in the New Testament, I just wanted to take a step back and show how that red thread weaves its way through ancient biblical text. We got the idea from a video on YouTube: The SECRET that connects the entire Bible. While overstated, is interesting. The idea of connecting Jesus to the Old Testament Stories is not merely hyperbole. Jesus makes some of the connections Himself. We tested the claims in the video and most of the claims do hold water albe...