What does it mean when the Bible speaks of gods being judged? Is wrath just God's angry impulse, or is it the just consequence of misplaced allegiance?

In this episode, Carey dives deep into Deuteronomy 32, reading it not just as a poetic song, but as a cosmic indictment—against Israel, against the nations, and against their gods. Drawing from biblical imagery, ancient Near Eastern thought, and cosmic geography, this episode unpacks why wrath in the biblical story often comes not through lightning bolts, but through the unraveling of covenantal faithfulness.

You'll explore:

• Why the mirroring of heaven and earth is key to understanding judgment
  
  
• How military destruction, pestilence, and exile are linked to divine powers
  
  
• Whether the Bible is de-mythologizing or re-mythologizing its spiritual worldview
  
  
• Why God’s wrath is giving people over to what they desire—and how that's an act of divine faithfulness
  
  
• Connections between Deuteronomy 32, Psalm 91, Habakkuk 3, and 1 Enoch
  
  

With respectful engagement of Dr. Michael Heiser’s work and thoughtful interaction with ancient context, this episode opens the gates to a deeper biblical theology of wrath, judgment, and restoration.

A blog post of interest: Gods, Idols, and the Battle for Worship: A Review of Thomas A. Judge’s Other Gods and Idols

Website: genesismarksthespot.com

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/GenesisMarkstheSpot

Music credit: "Marble Machine" by Wintergatan
Link to Wintergatan’s website: https://wintergatan.net/
Link to the original Marble Machine video by Wintergatan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvUU8joBb1Q&ab_channel=Wintergatan

• (00:00:00) - Dropping into Divine Council Worldview
• (00:03:25) - Disagreement and Reality of DCW
• (00:07:35) - Heaven and Earth: Mirror Realms and Spiritual Authority
• (00:13:48) - Are Judges Called 'Elohim'? The Importance of Representation
• (00:16:35) - Reading Deuteronomy 32: Enter the Song of Moses
• (00:17:37) - Wrath, Covenant, and the Enemy’s Undoing
• (00:21:26) - A Literary and Theological Breakdown of Verses 1–14
• (00:29:01) - High Places, Honey, and the gods of Bashan
• (00:36:05) - The Second Cycle: Idolatry, Demons, and Divine Jealousy
• (00:40:17) - Wrath as Relational Turn: Not Just Divine Rage
• (00:45:09) - Famine, Pestilence, and Deities of Destruction
• (00:48:10) - Psalm 91 and the Exorcism Context
• (00:52:35) - God Uses Agents: Angels and Rebels
• (00:57:30) - Psalm 58 and Wrath Imagery Expansion
• (01:03:29) - Exile, Nations, and Why the gods Lose
• (01:07:34) - Final Reflections: Wrath as Faithfulness
• (01:08:19) - Outro: Resources, Merch, and What's Next

What does it mean to drink the cup of wrath? And why does Scripture use the language of vineyards, vintage, and wine to describe divine judgment?

In this richly layered episode, Carey walks us through the biblical vineyard—from Genesis to Revelation—where wine is not merely a blessing but a mirror. Here, wrath is not divine temper but a giving-over: the slow fermentation of unrepentant desire, poured back upon those who distilled it.

Drawing from Mark Scarlata, Geoff Johnson, 1 Enoch, and a range of biblical texts, this teaching explores how judgment, joy, and justice are deeply entwined—and how even wrath can be redemptive in the hands of God.

• Why wrath is about relationship
• How joy and judgment grow from the same vine
• What the prophets, the land, and the nations show us about divine patience
• Why drinking deeply matters—and who offers the final cup

Featured sources and passages include:

• Wine, Soil, and Salvation by Mark Scarlata
  
  
• Storeroom of Scripture (YouTube, Geoff Johnson)
  
  
• 1 Enoch, Revelation 14 & 16, Hosea, Isaiah 51, Psalm 75, Habakkuk, Deuteronomy 29

Website: genesismarksthespot.com

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/GenesisMarkstheSpot

Music credit: "Marble Machine" by Wintergatan
Link to Wintergatan’s website: https://wintergatan.net/
Link to the original Marble Machine video by Wintergatan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvUU8joBb1Q&ab_channel=Wintergatan

• (00:00:00) - Joy Twisted, Desire Revealed
• (00:02:25) - Why Start with Joy?
• (00:09:00) - Wrath Is Giving Over
• (00:13:14) - Wrath and the Garden: Mercy in Exile
• (00:18:25) - Revelation and Habakkuk: Cupbearers and Carnage
• (00:22:59) - Wrath in the Prophets
• (00:23:56) - Hosea and the False Vineyard
• (00:24:47) - Wrath in Torah: Covenant, Land, and Curse
• (00:30:15) - The Cup as Inheritance
• (00:33:00) - When the Earth Itself Mourns
• (00:36:46) - Wine That Foams: Active Fermentation
• (00:41:07) - The Cup of Jerusalem and the Nations
• (00:44:56) - Babylon as the Golden Cup
• (00:46:46) - Habakkuk and the Ethics of Empire
• (00:47:40) - Dangerous Banquets and Deadly Feasts
• (00:53:18) - Jerusalem as Cupbearer
• (00:54:51) - Wine Withheld, Fruit Denied
• (00:57:03) - Poetry of Prophets: Salvation Twisted to Curse
• (00:58:58) - This Is Not Pagan Rage
• (01:00:26) - Fellowship and Judgment: A Shared Table
• (01:01:19) - What We Inherit Is What We Wanted
• (01:01:47) - Outro & What’s Next

In this mid-series episode of Genesis Marks the Spot, Carey takes a step between the Cup of Joy and the Cup of Wrath—into the vineyard itself. With the help of Mark Scarlata’s Wine, Soil, and Salvation in the Hebrew Bible and New Testament, we explore how the land, the vine, and the embodied experience of cultivation shape biblical theology.

From Genesis to Leviticus, from midrash to metaphor, we trace the deep roots of wine as both blessing and judgment. Why is God’s wrath described as a cup? Why is the soil cursed? Why does pruning produce better fruit? And how does wine connect us to presence, patience, and promise?

Topics include:

• Wine as a metaphor of presence, covenant, and complexity
  
  
• Frame semantics and why metaphors aren’t just symbols
  
  
• The soil as sacred, enmeshed with humanity and justice
  
  
• Noah, the vineyard, and post-flood theology
  
  
• Sacred time, agrarian calendars, and forbidden fruit
  
  

Listen in to understand how the ground beneath the cups tells the story—and why wrath cannot be fully understood without joy.

Website: genesismarksthespot.com

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/GenesisMarkstheSpot

Music credit: "Marble Machine" by Wintergatan
Link to Wintergatan’s website: https://wintergatan.net/
Link to the original Marble Machine video by Wintergatan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvUU8joBb1Q&ab_channel=Wintergatan

• (00:00:00) - The Cup of Wrath and a Necessary Pause
• (00:05:52) - "What If I Don't Drink Wine?"
• (00:07:12) - The Cultural Distance Around Alcohol
• (00:09:33) - Mark Scarlata and the Theology of Wine
• (00:11:08) - What's Wrong with Oil or Honey?
• (00:16:20) - Frame Semantics and Sacred Meaning
• (00:21:10) - Wine, Worship, and Covenant Memory
• (00:24:24) - Soil and Sin: The Ground We Come From
• (00:28:05) - Exile, Wrath, and the Withholding of Presence
• (00:30:46) - The Frames of Soil and Wrath
• (00:34:55) - Daily Life in the Vineyard
• (00:39:27) - Agricultural Calendar of Israel
• (00:43:08) - The Vine from Eden: a Jewish midrash
• (00:46:36) - Satan and the Vine
• (00:47:45) - What About Noah's Wife?
• (00:53:01) - Donkeys Love Wine, Too
• (00:57:28) - The Sacredness of the Vine
• (00:59:41) - Huh. Forbidden Trees...
• (01:02:20) - Conclusion: Cultivating Covenant Before Judgment