Before we were arguing over flat earth vs round earth, before we were arguing over creation vs evolution, before were were arguing over whether Tom Holland has surpassed Tobey Maguire as the best portrayal of Spider-Man, there was another debate within the church: did God create the earth with a canopy around it like a dome or protective shield?

Now, perhaps you’ve never heard of this, but it centers around this mysterious firmament that comes up in Genesis 1:6 and 7.

The NKJV says

6 Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” 7 Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so.

What even is a firmament? The American dictionary says a firmament is “the vault of heaven.” The British dictionary says it’s “the expanse of the sky.” I don’t quite know what that means, and to be honest, I find it to be weird, and all I really care about is what the Bible says it is.

If you want to find out, too, turn to Genesis 1, and let’s get weird.

——

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Timestamps:

0:00 - Introduction

2:00 - Grossly Normal

4:30 - The Waters and the Firmament

7:25 - Theories on the Firmament

9:20 - The Firmament in the Scriptures

13:05 - The Firmament in Ezekiel

18:45 - The Sea of Glass

23:00 - The Living Creatures

27:50 - Closing Thoughts

Visit the Weird Stuff store!

https://luketaylorpodcasts.creator-spring.com

You can also find a list of past newsletters at that same link so you never have to miss one.

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!

Everyone’s heard of the Mount of Olives from the Scriptures.

• This is where Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.
• It’s where He gave the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24.
• It’s where He went to pray on the night He was crucified.
• It’s where He ascended to the heavens after His resurrection.
• And—it’s where prophecy says He will return at the Second Coming of Christ.

Obviously a pretty significant mountain. It must be pretty sacred and special to Jesus if He does all these important things there. This must be one of the holiest locations in the Bible, right?

Well actually, this was one of the most unholy mountains of the Old Testament. This was actually a demonic place of human sacrifice in ancient Israel, and a location known as the Mount of Corruption during the later kings; a spiritual abomination where pagans tried to access the Underworld.

We might even call it a cosmic mountain.

So just as two weeks ago I had you rethinking Eden, and last week I had you rethinking gardens, this week will have you rethinking the Mount of Olives.

Because I’m wondering: what were Jesus’ purposes for spending so much time there?

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

Turn to Matthew 21, and let’s get weird.

——

Sign up for the weekly newsletter! Get additional insights and Bible study tips for unpacking strange things in scripture. Enter your email here:

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Timestamps:

0:00 - Introduction

2:00 - Olives in the Time of Jesus

5:20 - Olives in the Old Testament

16:00 - Olives in the Future

19:00 - Next Time & Mailbag

22:15 - This Mountain (Again)

Visit the Weird Stuff store!

https://luketaylorpodcasts.creator-spring.com

You can also find a list of past newsletters at that same link so you never have to miss one.

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!

Alright guys, I’ve got an extra-weird one for you this time: does the Bible demonstrate some kind of connection between gardens and the Underworld?

Uh, what? When I first heard that, I thought it was one of the most bizarre ideas I’d ever read. While we might use a garden to grow our carrots and cucumbers, the ancient people of the Old Testament era thought of gardens as gateways to the spiritual realm. A place where one could make contact with the dead.

And as we explore various gardens of the Bible today, this concept will start to become very clear even in Scripture itself. And it goes all the way back to the very first one: the garden mountain of Eden.

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

Turn to I Kings 2, and let’s get weird.

——

Sign up for the weekly newsletter! Get additional insights and Bible study tips for unpacking strange things in scripture. Enter your email here:

https://weirdstuffinthebible.beehiiv.com/

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Timestamps:

0:00 - Introduction

2:00 - Gardens on Cosmic Mountains

6:20 - Kings and Gardens

15:15 - The Last Adam and the Last Garden

21:50 - I’m Going In

Visit the Weird Stuff store!

https://luketaylorpodcasts.creator-spring.com

You can also find a list of past newsletters at that same link so you never have to miss one.

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!

What exactly was Eden? I mean, we do know it was a garden, right?

Genesis 2:8 tells us

And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.

So it was a place of lush growth. Trees. Fruit. Vegetation. Water. Life. We all get these visuals of a green paradise in our heads as we read the opening chapters of Genesis. I mean, other than the devil showing up later, this sounds like a place of absolute tranquility.

But then we get another vital piece of the puzzle when God is later condemning this devil in

Ezekiel 28:14

You were an anointed guardian cherub.
I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God;
in the midst of the stones of fire you walked.

Wait, Eden was a mountain? What are these stones of fire? And what was Eden’s purpose?

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

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

——

Sign up for the weekly newsletter! Get additional insights and Bible study tips for unpacking strange things in scripture. Enter your email here:

https://weirdstuffinthebible.beehiiv.com/

Check out the website! www.weirdstuffinthebible.com

Timestamps:

0:00 - Introduction

2:00 - Mountain Gardens

8:55 - Eden’s Address

12:55 - The Cosmic Mountain

16:50 - The Axis Mundi

21:45 - Next Time & Mailbag

23:55 - Closing Thoughts

Visit the Weird Stuff store!

https://luketaylorpodcasts.creator-spring.com

You can also find a list of past newsletters at that same link so you never have to miss one.

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 hear it all the time- the claim that Satan is the god of the Underworld. That he runs and rules hell. That he has a throne down there and goes around jabbing people with a pitchfork.

But did you know that the Bible says nothing like that? Those ideas are assumptions, superstitions, myths and even lies.

The good news is: The Bible is abundantly clear about where Satan’s dominion lies—and the limits of his power.

The bad news is: Satan’s dominion is right here with you, in the earthly realm.

I’ll show you today, and it goes back to the curse pronounced upon the serpent in Genesis 3.

God said (Genesis 3:14)

cursed are you above all livestock
and above all beasts of the field;
on your belly you shall go,
and dust you shall eat
all the days of your life.

Now, what did God mean by that, casting him into the dust? Is that something spiritual or literal? Is this why snakes don’t have arms and legs, or is that just another superstition?

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

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

——

If you do want to know more about hell, check out my interview with Megan Medick on Uncommon Sense right here:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/uncommon-sense-with-meagan-medick/id1884935580?i=1000777122024

Sign up for the weekly newsletter! Get additional insights and Bible study tips for unpacking strange things in scripture. Enter your email here:

https://weirdstuffinthebible.beehiiv.com/

Check out the website! www.weirdstuffinthebible.com

Timestamps:

0:00 - Introduction

1:30 - The Curse on the Serpent

13:05 - The Ruler of This World

17:10 - Satan and Hell

20:45 - Gatekeeper Spirits

23:50 - Demons in Ephesians 6

Visit the Weird Stuff store!

https://luketaylorpodcasts.creator-spring.com

You can also find a list of past newsletters at that same link so you never have to miss one.

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!

You can breathe huge sigh of relief once you get to Revelation 21. Because not only are you almost done reading the whole Bible, but you’re also past all the bad stuff. The devil, the antichrist and false prophet have been taken care of. Judgement day is over. Sin and the corrupted world are wadded up and thrown away.

And Revelation 21 and 22 speak of eternity: the place we will spend the rest of our existence once this current world is done.

Revelation 21:1 says

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.

Holllld up. The sea was no more? Like, the oceans and rivers are gone? Does that mean there will be no swimming, no visits to the beach, and no more Avatar sequels in the eternal state?

Now, before you freak out, let me just say up front: this is code language. This is what Revelation does often: it uses symbols to speak of a deeper reality. It’s not saying there’s no oceans or no dolphins or no Hawaii in the new heavens and new earth. It’s using biblical code words to speak of something else.

In fact, if you’ve looked into it, you’ve probably heard it explained this way: that the sea is a word that represents chaos, and so by saying there was no more sea, that’s actually the Bible saying that there was no more chaos.

And that’s technically not wrong…but there’s actually something much deeper going on here beneath the surface. And by the end of today’s episode, you’ll know all about it.

I find Revelation 21:1 to be weird, and I’d like to explore why it’s in the Bible.

But to start, turn to Revelation 5, and let’s get weird.

——

Check out my interview with Megan Medick on Uncommon Sense right here:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/uncommon-sense-with-meagan-medick/id1884935580?i=1000777122024

Sign up for the weekly newsletter! Get additional insights and Bible study tips for unpacking strange things in scripture. Enter your email here:

https://weirdstuffinthebible.beehiiv.com/

Check out the website! www.weirdstuffinthebible.com

Timestamps:

0:00 - Introduction

3:25 - God Slays the Chaos Dragon

9:20 - The Three Realms of Revelation

16:05 - The Antichrist Emerges

18:40 - The Sea Gave Up the Dead

22:00 - No More Sea

Visit the Weird Stuff store!

https://luketaylorpodcasts.creator-spring.com

You can also find a list of past newsletters at that same link so you never have to miss one.

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!

On this podcast, we like to explore the strange things tucked away in Scripture. There are so many obscure and unfamiliar passages in your Bible that don’t often get studied, so that’s what we like to shine a light on with this show.

But there’s actually something pretty weird stuff that isn’t tucked away; it’s right there in the opening verses of Genesis. I mean we all know the first two verses of the Bible:

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

Right. Everybody knows that. Before there was light, before there was land, before there were dinosaurs, before there was anything else—apparently there was Kevin Costner because we had a Waterworld. It said the planet was totally covered with water. And from there, the Lord started working on creating the attributes of the earth, the beings who would populate that earth, and the astronomical features of our entire universe.

At least, that’s what it sounds like God is doing. But then you also have verses like these:

(Verses 6-7)

6 And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7 And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so.

Well, hold on a second? What is the expanse? What are the waters? Why did some waters stay down here on earth while other waters went up to heaven?

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

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

Sign up for the weekly newsletter! Get additional insights and Bible study tips for unpacking strange things in scripture. Enter your email here:

https://weirdstuffinthebible.beehiiv.com/

Check out the website! www.weirdstuffinthebible.com

Timestamps:

0:00 - Introduction

1:40 - A Hint of Something Deeper

7:45 - Code Words in Genesis

13:20 - Order Out of Chaos

17:00 - The Watery Underworld

26:55 - Next Time & Closing Thoughts

Visit the Weird Stuff store!

https://luketaylorpodcasts.creator-spring.com

You can also find a list of past newsletters at that same link so you never have to miss one.

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!