REVERENT AND REBELLIOUS

What do Tom Cruise, John Travolta, Kirstie Alley, Isaac Hayes, and Lisa Marie Presley all have in common? They are - or were - heavily entrenched in this strange religion called Scientology. It was the brainchild of science fiction writer turned professional hypnotist turned megalomaniacal mind controller L. Ron Hubbard. We call him Lafayette! This turned out to be a disorienting, dystopian, dark...

We're taking a well-deserved break from our wild ride through Revelation. We'll come back for Round 2 after the first of the year. Meanwhile - we are starting a mini-series by request - on cults - movements - and bizarre strains of Christianity. We're going to pull back the curtain and reveal what's behind some of these crazy religious trends that are sweeping the nation! First up - the Church of...

We've seen the LAMB open six of the seven seals. We eagerly await the breaking of the final seal - to see what is written in the scroll! But first - an interlude - a pause in the heavens to recalibrate - refocus - to prepare the universe for what is coming! The previous scene ended with a question. In the Day of the Lord - who can stand? The interlude answers that question. 144,000 - 12 X 12 X 1,0...

In the last episode, we were introduced to the LAMB - the risen - ascended Jesus - the only one worthy to open the scroll and break its seals. He takes the scroll from the right hand of the One who sits on the throne - there is a giant worship service - and then - in dramatic fashion - the LAMB begins to break the seals. As He breaks the first four seals in successions - each living creature says...

In today's episode, we see a continuation of the awesomeness of the throne room scene - complete with the four living creatures - elders - precious gems - and the rainbow of the covenant of life! John is taking it all in - and he sees a scroll - sealed with 7 seals - in the right hand of the One seated on the throne! A strong angel - with a loud voice asks a question. Who is worthy to open the scr...

John receives the 7 letters to the 7 churches. Then something magnificent happens! A door is open in heaven! The voice that sounds like a trumpet - Jesus - says come up here! I've got something to show you! Instantly John is caught up in the Spirit to a place that blows his mind and takes his breath away! Sights - sounds - thunder - lightning - creatures - elders - fire! John scrambles to find wor...

SEVEN LETTERS - SEVEN CHURCHES. Some are doing great - others are struggling. Some are tolerating immorality and false teaching - others are drawing the line and remaining faithful. Some persevere under persecution - others compromise with culture to maintain their status and livelihood. Jesus is here for it all - to encourage - challenge - motivate - rebuke. Some churches receive all good marks....

John has given us his vision of Jesus—the essence of God—all-knowing, all-seeing, all-powerful, glorious in every way! Now, Jesus turns His attention to the churches. He tells John to write to the angel of each church - the divine guardian - messenger - responsible for each community's care, instruction, and oversight. I know - I see what you're going through. Here's what you're doing right - here...

Revelation is a letter. It starts in a fairly ordinary fashion. Grace to you and peace. But suddenly it shifts - from natural to supernatural - from the real world to a dream world. John is "in the Spirit on the Lord's Day." He hears a voice - like the sound of a trumpet - and it's on! He sees a divine being. It's Jesus - the glorified Jesus! John scrambles to find vocabulary to describe this awes...

Speaking of weird things in the Bible - say hello to the Book of Revelation! Today we kick off a short series on this apocalyptic work of art tucked away at the end of the Book. What is this? Is it a letter - a book of prophecy - or a bizarre vision of the end times, complete with dragons, beasts, and lakes of fire? It's all that and more - and we're here for it! Join us as we dive headfirst into...

Here's a cute little story you heard in Sunday School - SAMSON - the strongest man who ever lived! For some reason - unbeknownst to anyone - he was endowed with super-human strength, and it's all tied to - his HAIR? This is a story that starts weird - gets weirder - and ends super weird! Samson is strong - chosen by God - anointed in the womb - but it turns out for most of the story he is...

This is one of the strangest and most controversial stories in the Bible. Angels appear to Abraham. They go down to check out these two cities that are rumored to be exceedingly wicked. Turns out they are! God says I'm going to destroy them. Abraham argues with God. What if some righteous people are in there - like my nephew Lot? The angels tell Lot to get the heck out of there. He does - and...

We are kicking off another series. I don't know if you've noticed - but there are some strange things in the Bible. Mediums, sorcerers, dreams, visions, freaks of nature, and supernatural phenomena. Most of the time we read right over them as if they don't exist, or skip them altogether. We have a phrase that we have adopted. If it's weird - it's important! Let's be honest....

Today is the final session of our series, in which we are talking about phrases that sound so good - we have heard and used them so often - we assume they come straight from Scripture. But - THE BIBLE DOESN'T SAY THAT! In this episode, we go rapid-fire! Is money the root of all evil? Does pride really go before a fall? And - despite what Disney says - should you really follow your heart? All o...

Welcome to Episode #45! we're almost to the 1-year milestone - and we thank all our followers and subscribers. You make all this worth it! You'll notice we had some technical difficulties producing this remote episode - but the content is so fire we had to push through! Please excuse our glitchiness! Today we tackle a couple of phrases we throw around all the time. They sound good! So good...

Today we continue our series where we unpack phrases and sayings that are so commonly used - we think they're in the Bible! Does everything really happen for a reason? Will God really never give us more than we can handle? It sounds good - wise - maybe even Biblical! But as we dig into these familiar tropes - we'll see that they are not only not in the Bible - they run counter to the very...

There are certain phrases woven into our existence - baked into our culture. They sound so good - so right! Wise words - pearls of wisdom we might say. We've heard and used them so frequently that we naturally assume they come from Scripture. They're in the Bible! Problem is - THE BIBLE DOESN'T SAY THAT! In fact - when we look closely and discern what they are really saying - we discov...

Is the planet Earth a globe - a sphere - suspended in space - spinning at a high rate of speed - surrounded by stars, planets, and galaxies - circling the fiery ball of gas we call the sun? Well, duh! Everyone in the world knows that is exactly what it is! Except - hundreds of thousands of people would say you're wrong! Earth is flat1 It's a stationary disk with an ice mountain rim around...

If you thought the whole Hebrew Roots thing was strange - it gets stranger! We're continuing down the road of movements and organizations that are - but are not cults. Cult-ish, if you will. Today we meet a RAPIDLY growing - highly motivated and mobilized group - the Hebrew Israelites. These people believe the original Israelites were of African descent. Thus they are the true descendants of A...

There is a movement sweeping rapidly across the Christian landscape today. It's a movement of small, tight-knit communities - and they're popping up everywhere! Their claim is - that the Christian Church has lost its way. It has been deceived - duped - for thousands of years! There is a missing piece of the puzzle. What is that missing piece? Torah observance! The Law - the Old Covenant -...

For centuries Christians have believed and accepted that Adam and Eve were the first and only humans - created by God - from the dust - and that all people can ultimately trace their lineage back to these two original humans. But - in light of modern scientific and archaeological discoveries - the many advances in DNA research and the mapping of the human genome - and the careful study of the Bibl...

Here's an uplifting topic! HELL. Is it a thing - is it a place - is it real? If so - what is it? What does it look like? Is it permanent? Did God create a cosmic torture chamber to torment forever those who reject Him? Who goes to HELL - what will it be like when they get there? Are there demons with pitchforks - fire - terror - weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth? We have so many questi...

Today we talk about what has become a phenomenon - perhaps even an epidemic in the church world over the last decade or so. It seems like every week we hear about another prominent pastor or major ministry leader who is forced to resign over accusations of immoral or toxic behavior. Aggressive or abusive leadership - spiritual abuse - adulterous affairs or sexual abuse - financial impropriety. It...

Now we get down to it! Today we're talking about the pew jumpers - the room runners - the tongue talkers - the holy rollers! It's the Pentecostals! Where did they come from, and why do they do what they do? And what's the difference between a Pentecostal and a Charismatic? Today we track through one of the greatest moves of God and expressions of faith in all of Church history! From th...

Big news! REV-REB is now available on all the major podcast channels - including Apple and Amazon! Go check us out and leave us a rating and review! also - today we have a Guest Host! Pat is out for a few weeks, so our good friend Drew Mathis is holding down the right side of the table! He offers some incredible insight on today's topic - the HOLINESS movement. Originally birthed out of Method...