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!

Most Christians are regularly outwitted by Satan, and most Christians have no idea about his schemes- his devices- his designs.

We like to blame Satan for a lot of problems in life. The degradation of society, the strife in our families, the flat tire I got last Tuesday, whatever happened to Marvel after Endgame…

And I think it’s a fair question to ask: what the heck is this guy’s problem? What’s his deal? How does he expect to possibly defeat God? What’s his master plan?

I find Satan to be weird, and I’d like to understand what he’s doing throughout the Bible.

Turn to Genesis 3, and let’s get weird.

0:00 - Introduction

2:50 - Genesis 3-4

6:50 - Genesis 5-6

11:00 - Genesis 12

15:00 - II Samuel 7

21:30 - 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!

I received a thought-provoking message from one of our listeners this week: Alana writes in:

I find it interesting in Acts 14 when the crowd claim that Paul and Barnabas are Zeus and Hermes that Paul and Barnabas do not deny that Zeus and Hermes exist. That Paul and Barnabas simply point out that they are only mortal men.

Now, there’s a couple ways you could read Paul’s deflection in this story, which we’ll study through in a moment. This took place in Lystra, where there was a temple of Zeus worship, and it ends with sacrifices being offered to him.

One way to read Paul’s comment is that he’s just ignoring Zeus as an irrelevant idol. Another way to read it is that Zeus is real. That despite the idols and temple of Zeus being meaningless structures, perhaps there is a spiritual entity behind them.

In fact, I Corinthians 10 even tells us that sacrifices to idols are offered to demons.

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

Turn to Acts 14, and let’s get weird.

0:00 - Introduction

2:20 - The Context in Acts 14

8:00 - The Identity of Zeus

18:15 - Next Time and Mailbag

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!

Where do demons like to hang out?

You know, other than the DMV, the Grammy Awards, or in that sauce they put in Chipotle wraps.

Where would you go- or perhaps a better way to say it, where should you avoid- if you want to stay away from demons?

Well if you asked the writers of the Bible, they had an idea about where demons liked to congregate. I mean, certainly you can find a demon just about anywhere. But what locations of the earth were considered the domain of demons?

Jesus made a strange (almost off-handed) comment in

Matthew 12:43, where He said:

When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none.

So what did Jesus mean about demons- AKA unclean spirits- who go through dry, waterless places when they are cast out of a human?

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

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

0:00 - Introduction

2:45 - The Context

4:45 - Unholy Ground

10:00 - Kingdom Authority

18:20 - 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!

Naaman the Syrian had it going on. A great job, a great reputation, all the money he needed- oh, and he had leprosy.

In those days, this was a death sentence.

In those days, a great job, a powerful position, favor with kings, all the money in the world, none of it meant anything if you had leprosy- because if you had leprosy, you were gonna die.

Desperate for an answer, Naaman travels to the land of Israel to meet with a certain miracle-worker named the prophet Elisha. But then, in one of the most amazing stories in the Bible, Naaman is totally cleansed and allowed to return home to Syria. He’s getting a second chance at life. And all he asks for after that are a couple of jars to take home some dirt with him.

Wait, what? Dirt?

I mean, we’ve all been souvenir shopping when we went somewhere special, or when we wanted to take a memory home with us. But why did Naaman request to take some dirt home with him?

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

Turn to II Kings 5, and let’s get weird.

0:00 - I’ve Got a Jar of Dirt

10:22 - Holy Dirt

15:45 - Mailbag and Next Time

17:10 - 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!

Today’s lesson is too important to wait.

And I almost didn’t do it. Because these verses that we’re studying today are going to come up again in the book of Enoch, and I’m planning on starting a book of Enoch series here on the podcast early next year. And so you might hear some of this information repeated again in a few months, and I almost didn’t create today’s lesson so that I wouldn’t be repetitive.

But it’s just way too important not to tell you this today, because it has the potential to revolutionize your prayer life. And it gives us some very practical application to this series of episodes we’ve been doing about spiritual warfare and demons for the past few months.

I mean, why spend all this time learning about the capabilities of spiritual beings like demons if we don’t also learn about the capabilities we have as Christians to stop them?

So in Matthew 16, Jesus informs His followers about the spiritual authority that we have.

He says In verse 19

I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

But this terminology has not shown up in the Bible before, so what in the world does it mean?

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 - Intro

2:20 - The Declaration of Who Jesus Is

6:50 - Wrong Theories About Binding and Loosing

9:45 - The Right Theory on Binding and Loosing

14:35 - How to Land on the Right Theory

16:45 - Change How You Pray

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!