There was an incredible comment left on my last episode: “God is the biggest sci-fi nerd ever”

And I loved it because yeah, I know lately I’ve been talking about portals and gateways and UFOs and someone might wonder if I’ve been watching too much Star Wars instead of reading my Bible. But these concepts didn’t start with science fiction; we’re seeing that they go all the way back to ancient times, written in Scripture itself, and will have a profound impact on how we understand spiritual warfare today.

And yeah, I’ve probably been watching too much Star Wars as well, but that’s always true. A lot of these revelations I’ve been finding are actually new to me, including what I’ll be talking about in this episode.

So in the last two weeks, we established a few facts we can observe from the text of the Bible:

1- for spiritual beings to pass between our realm and the spiritual realm, they can’t just pop in anywhere they want to. There has to be a way made through; a gate.

2- there are gates of heaven and gates of hell, and these are for the angels/good spiritual beings and the demons/bad spiritual beings

3- the gates are tied to physical locations on planet earth

4- the gates can be tainted or closed, as we observed in the story of Bethel

5- once the gates open, they stay open. It’s not like Dr Strange where he opens a portal, jumps through it, and then closes it right behind him. Once the gate opens, it stays open.

But how does it open?

Well as I was reading about these locations where gateways had been established on the earth in Genesis 12 and 28 and 35 and I Kings 13 and several other places, there was a particular word that I would see come up again and again and again throughout these stories: “altar.”

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

Turn to Genesis 12, and let’s get weird.

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0:00 - Introduction

2:35 - Altars Defined

6:20 - Bethel Revisited

13:50 - Altars Throughout Scripture

19:00 - Good Altars

21:50 - Next Time and Newsletter

24:00 - The Occult, Witchcraft and Idolatry

If you want to get in touch, my email is 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!

This episode is going to pick up on some threads we left hanging last week in regard to portals into the spiritual realm.

To briefly recap, I submitted the idea last week that spiritual beings, such as angels and demons, cannot enter our world or our physical realm wherever and whenever they want to. I believe there are particular locations on planet earth- which we might call “portals” in modern times, but the biblical term for these are “gates”- which spiritual beings use to access our reality.

Now, that’s a lot to swallow for some people. That’s why I left it there for last week, but let’s build upon that idea this week. I want to study out one of these gates here in Scripture, the gate that was established in the city of Bethel.

Bethel is “the house of God.” This is the location where Jacob spent the night and had a spiritual experience where he saw a portal here: a stairway to heaven, with angels ascending and descending on it.

When he woke up, he said: “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”

As we talked about last week, this city was the gate of heaven: an entryway that angels used to enter our realm from the heavenly realm. We’re going to trace this out today and study Bethel’s story, because we’ll see that this was a physical location that was greatly blessed by God.

And yet in the prophets later on in the Bible we start to see them speaking against Bethel.

In fact, in Amos 5:5, he says

Do not seek Bethel… [and] Bethel will be reduced to nothing.

Why would the prophet say something like this? In fact, Hosea also even changes the name of Beth-el, which means ‘the House of God,’ to Beth-aven, which means ‘the House of Wickedness.’ Why would the prophets say this about such a sacred city?

What happened to the Gate of Heaven?

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

Turn to Genesis 28, and let’s get weird.

0:00 - Introduction

3:30 - Genesis 28

6:00 - Genesis 35

12:00 - Judges 20 and I Samuel 7

14:00 - I Kings 12

19:40 - II Kings, Amos and Hosea

24:00 - Closing Thoughts and What’s Coming Next

Link to sign up for the newsletter: https://weirdstuffinthebible.beehiiv.com/subscribe

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!

This might be an episode you have to listen to twice.

Something really caught my eye as I was reading through my Bible a few months ago, and digging into it has revealed a few things to me about the spiritual realm and how spiritual beings such as angels and demons can have access to our lives here on earth.

So I was reading about Jacob’s dream in Genesis 28, and how this location where he had his dream had the name changed from Luz to Bethel. If you have read Genesis or studied Jacob’s life, you’re probably familiar with this dream. It’s when he saw a ladder or stairway to heaven with the angels going up and down on it.

And when Jacob wakes up, he makes this statement in

Verse 17

“How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”

Something I’ve read over dozens of times before, but this time that phrase “the gate of heaven” really stood out to me. Because I wondered precisely what that means that this somewhat random location on earth was declared to be the gate of heaven.

Even more curiously to me, this is the only time in the entire Bible that the phrase “Gate of Heaven” is used.

I found that weird, and so I set out to explore why it’s in the Bible. And today I’ll give you my theories on that.

Turn to Genesis 28, and let’s get weird.

0:00 - Genesis 28 and Jacob’s Dream

6:45 - My Previous Theory of Higher-Dimensional Beings

12:45 - Let’s Throw Some Bible Into It

15:40 - Next Time

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!

Was Peter the First Pope?

What I’m going to talk about today is perhaps THE MOST misunderstood verse in the entire world today.

And I say that because there are about 1.4 billion Catholics in the world. If we were to consider Catholics a denomination of Christianity, then we Protestant denominations are far outnumbered. We who are Methodists, Pentecostals, Baptists, Southern Baptists, Free Will Baptists, Independent Fundamental Baptists, whatever those guys in Skillet are- all of us. If you added up all of the Protestant denominations together, you’d be under a billion, so we are far outnumbered by the Catholics.

And we Protestants agree with Catholics on a lot of things: the deity of Christ, the Trinity, Creation of the World from nothing, the authority of the Bible, the supremacy of Chick-Fil-A, lots of doctrines that we build our faith on.

But the reason I say that we’re tackling the most misunderstood verse in the whole Bible today is because Protestants have a very different take on this verse than Catholics do. And it’s this verse that suggests that the worldwide church was started with and built on Peter.

All because…Jesus said so. Or that’s what it sounds like, at least.

In Matthew 16, Jesus said,

And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

And Peter there, by the way, is Petros in the Greek, which means “stone.”

Wait a minute- do Protestants have this right? Is the church built on Peter? Was Peter truly the first pope?

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

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

0:00 - Introduction

2:00 - The Context

8:00 - Petros and Petra

14:15 - Next Time

16:40 - Closing Thoughts

If you want to get in touch, my email is 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 all know we have a soul. That our bodies may die, but we all have an eternal soul that will live on forever and ever.

All human beings have a soul. This is something that sets us apart from plants, animals and people who skip the theme song when they’re watching The Office.

And then the Bible also speaks sometimes of each of us having a spirit, and we think of that similarly to the soul. It’s that ghostly, non-physical part of us that only exists in the spiritual realm. We use the terms “soul” and “spirit” pretty interchangeably, as if they’re synonyms.

But then when you’re reading

I Thessalonians 5:23, Paul says

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Wait a minute: spirit and soul and body? You mean I’m not just a body and soul; I’m a body, soul and spirit? I always thought the spirit and the soul were the same thing, so why is I Thessalonians 5:23 talking about them as two different things?

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

Turn to Romans 8, and let’s get weird.

0:00 - Introduction

1:30 - Definition of the Spirit

10:10 - The Spirit’s Work Inside of Us

15:20 - The Spirit is a Point of Connection Between You and God

18:00 - Next Time and Closing Thoughts

If you want to get in touch, my email is 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!

One of the most puzzling verses in the whole Bible is

Malachi 1:3, where God says

“Jacob I have loved;But Esau I have hated”

If that doesn’t make you do a double-take while you’re reading your Bible, I’m not sure what will.

Again, that’s God speaking. It’s written by Malachi, but it’s a quote from God. The same God who will be telling us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us just a handful of pages later. The same God who says feed and clothe your enemies. The same God who gave us the story of the Good Samaritan, right here, is declaring His hatred for Esau.

Who had his problems, but really wasn’t such a terrible guy in my opinion. Especially not compared to his sniveling trickster brother, Jacob.

Now, some Christians swallow Malachi 1:3 without a second thought. They say, “If God hates Esau, then God hates him. Esau must have deserved it.” And while I appreciate their willingness to accept whatever the Bible says at face value, I gotta admit, I’ve struggled with this one.

I mean, I’ve done episodes on Scripture’s talking donkeys and demon-human hybrids, and I don’t even blush at those passages. But Esau I have hated- THAT’S the one where I have some hang-ups.

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

Turn to Malachi 1, and let’s get weird.

0:00 - Introduction

3:00 - Let’s Make it Worse

7:40 - Should you “hate” your mother and father?

13:25 - The Chosen

19:00 - Mailbag

22:50 - Closing Thoughts

If you want to get in touch, my email is 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!

Imagine sitting on a hill, wondering about your life, when suddenly the heavens open, and you see creatures so otherworldly they defy description. Four faces on each of their heads, gleaming metal, fire, and a throne surrounded by lightning. That’s where Ezekiel’s story begins—and where we’re headed today.

The prophet Ezekiel sees something that very very few people in the Bible ever saw: a vision of God on His throne. In the very first chapter of the book, God appears before Ezekiel, attended to by these spiritual beings known as the cherubim. There are four of them, and each of the creatures has four faces. It says in

Ezekiel 1:10

As for the likeness of their faces, each had a human face. The four had the face of a lion on the right side, the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and the four had the face of an eagle.

So Ezekiel gets off to a pretty strange start. Like I said, that’s just the first chapter. And right off the bat, Ezekiel sees something that even almost no other prophet gets to see. And not only that, he gets to see it again. Ezekiel has another experience of God and the cherubim in

Ezekiel 10:14

And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of the cherub, and the second face was a human face, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.

So, there’s a slight difference there between the description of the cherubim in chapter 1 vs the description in chapter 10. In chapter 1, one of the faces was described as an ox. In chapter 10, it was called the face of a cherub.

I find this to be weird, and I’d like to know why it changes from one chapter to the next. And along the way of exploring this question, we’ll actually discover the answer to another one: What does Satan look like?

It’s probably not a question you’ve ever dwelt on too long. You probably think I’m pretty weird for even asking it. But this is not a podcast for people who like talking about normal stuff in the Bible. This is a podcast for people who like to learn about weird stuff in the Bible.

So if that’s what you’re here for, turn to Ezekiel 1, and let’s get weird.

0:00 - Introduction

3:40 - Ezekiel 1 vs Ezekiel 10

14:00 - The Face of Satan

21:20 - Next Time & Closing Thoughts

If you want to get in touch, my email is 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!

This is a re-airing of a popular interview I did earlier this year with a man who has an amazing story of deliverance. He shares some of the story here, and gives some helpful advice for if you would come up in a similar situation in your own life.

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, 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!