REVERENT AND REBELLIOUS

In keeping with the Halloween-ish vibe this time of year, today we're talking about two of the most bizarre episodes in the New Testament. Both are a part of the passion narrative, and they are related in a strange sort of way. In Matthew 27, just as Jesus gave up His Spirit on the cross, three things occur. The veil in the temple is torn in 2, there is an earthquake, and the rocks split. Then...

What is the Day of the Dead? Perhaps you've noticed the decorations and all the paraphernalia. Skulls, colorful figures, and creepy candles. What's that all about? Some call it Mexican Halloween. As we found out, that's not accurate. As it turns out, it is a celebration with roots in the ancient Aztec tradition. It's a time to remember the ancestors and all that have gone on before...

This is the first in what we hope will be a bunch of these kinds of episodes. As a follow-up to our iconic 100th episode, we collected all of the questions we didn't have time to get to, and we answer them in exhaustive detail! We had a blast doing this! It sparked so much conversation between the three of us, and we learned a thing or two along the way!

Here it is! It finally happened! We reached our first milestone. 100 episodes in the books! We had a great and grand celebration with a bunch of our biggest fans live and in person! We had nachos prepared by our incredible youth pastor and her crew, some of the best cookies on the planet from Mt. Zion bakery, plenty of merchandise including mugs, coasters, stickers, and our signature REV-REB t-shi...

Psalm 91 is one of the most quoted Psalms among the 150. We read it as a Psalm of comfort and protection. He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High! You will not be afraid of the terror by night! No evil will befall you, nor will any plague come against you! That verse was everywhere during the great lockdown! Is there more to it? Have we just been skimming the surface? And why did Satan quote...

We read this iconic passage. A vision experienced by the prophet Ezekiel. a valley of dry bones. Can these bones live, God asks? Ezekiel has no idea. Only You know, he says. God tells him to prophesy to the bones! They come together! Now prophesy to the breath! They come alive! It's a great army! What is this communicating to us in our day? Does it mean we can prophesy to whatever is sick, wea...

1 Corinthians 13. You've heard it. Probably at every wedding you've ever been to. What is love? Love is patient - kind - does not boast - yaddah yaddah. It's a beautiful passage of Scripture! Paul outdoes himself! It's elegant and well-crafted. But is there something else going on beneath the surface? After all, this letter is a stern rebuke to a wayward church! It's full of re...

The evangelical church world has made an entire theology around the idea of being BORN AGAIN. It has become the litmus test for salvation in today's church culture. I know you claim to be a Christian, but are you a born-again Christian? It all comes from Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus in John 3. You must be born again! What is Jesus actually communicating, and what is Nicodemus actuall...

How did people in the Old Testament "get saved?" Is Abraham in heaven? How about Noah - Job - Solomon? They knew nothing about Jesus, and we are told in the New Testament that Jesus is the only way to forgiveness of sin, salvation, and eternal life! So, we go right to Leviticus. It was the sacrifice - the shedding of an innocent animal's blood - the atonement - temporary forgiveness....

When most people pick up the Bible and read it, they usually have questions. After all, the Bible can be a pretty intimidating book! Where do I start? How do I make sense of it? Many times, we end up landing on a verse or two, take it at face value, and make some sort of attempt to apply it to our lives or our current situation. But does that verse really mean what we think it means? Is that &quot...

We've spent quite a bit of time talking about TABOOS in the world of church, and Christianity in general. We've dug into yoga, meditation, foul language, smoking, and what kind of music should or shouldn't be off limits for people of faith. But did you know there are TABOOS in other cultures - other nations - around the world? Some have nothing to do with religion at all! Some are not...

Several years ago, a phenomenon swept through the church world, and it has been gathering momentum and exploding in popularity ever since! It's a personality type assessment, they say, an insightful tool designed to promote self-reflection and help you gain a deeper understanding of your inner self. It's the Enneagram, and we're talking about it! Where did it come from? Why are so many...

The world is abuzz with this new play toy. It's a financial platform - a new currency - a revolutionary system for creating wealth and exchanging funds without any government oversight, regulation, or control. It seems intangible - mysterious - but it is very real. Bitcoin is the granddaddy, with all sorts of smaller currencies called altcoins making their own splash. Some say this is the way...

Today, we continue our series on TABOOS. There's no doubt about it. The genie is out of the bottle - the toothpaste is out of the tube. AI is here, and it's not going anywhere. We interact with AI every single day, whether it's GPS technology or Alexa. Many of us have found AI to be extremely helpful and time-saving! This machine is our research buddy, our vacation planner, and in many ways our pr...

Today, we revisit a series we did some time ago - TABOO! Are there things in this world that Christians should not engage in? How holy - different - set apart should we be from secular life? Is it okay for Christians to smoke - drink - swear? Where do we draw the lines? There are things the Bible tells us are clearly off limits, clearly sinful. But what about things the Bible is silent about? We d...

Today, we conclude our series on how the Bible we know and read today came together - why these 66 books are included, which ones were left out, and why. We have the idea that the canon of Scripture - especially the New Testament - was decided upon by a group of old bishops with bad motives and a sinister agenda, huddled around a smoldering fire with their robes drawn tight. Actually, these sacred...

Between the Old Testament and the New Testament writings in our Bibles, there were 400 years. They call it the Silent Period. It was anything but silent! Jewish writers, rabbis, and scholars were feverishly writing. They produced volumes of works interpreting, commenting, and expanding on the wisdom contained in the Hebrew Bible. Some were historical fiction, some proverbs and oracles, and others...

Not every Bible is alike. If you look at a Protestant Bible, you'll find 66 books. That's what most of us are familiar with. But if you pick up a Catholic Bible, you'll discover 9 extra books! If you open an Orthodox Bible, you'll see 14 extra books! And if you happen to come across an Ethiopian Orthodox Bible, you might see up to 23 extra books! What are these books? Who wrote the...

Sometimes we view the Old Testament in our Bibles like Grandma's attic. We don't think about it. Sometimes we even forget that it's there! But when we go up there, we find some really cool stuff! In today's episode, we want to dispel that notion. The Bible is one story that points to Jesus. Let's stop calling it the Old Testament. Let's call it what it is - the Hebrew Bible...

After our exhaustive trek through Revelation, we decided to take a little side trip through the makeup and construction of this book we know as the Bible. How did it come together? Who decided which books to include, and which ones to set aside? We begin with this most important question. Why are there so many different English translations? Shouldn't one be enough? And because there are so ma...

We finally made it! Today, we look at - and celebrate - the last pages - the final scene of the whole Bible! What we find is - the end is just like the beginning. It's a new Eden - an eternal paradise! Earth has been re-created - returned to its original state of perfection, and has been rejoined with the heavenly realm, so that the presence of God permeates the atmosphere and saturates every...

The battles have been fought - the outcomes have been decided. It's final - it's over! Judgment has taken place - and it's final! Death has been put to death, and all evil has been thrown into the lake of fire that burns eternally! What does John see next? I saw a new heaven and a new earth - for the 1st heaven and the 1st earth passed away! Then - the holy city - New Jerusalem - is co...

We've done a lot of heavy lifting in our journey through this apocalyptic masterpiece - and today we go for all the marbles! We are tackling the most challenging and controversial topic in all of end times theology! It all has to do with a thousand years! The millennium, they call it. Satan is bound and thrown into the abyss for 1,000 years. Thrones are set up - and those who had not taken the...

We're finally here! It's the final showdown - for all the marbles! The dragon - the beasts - the kings of the earth, and their forces - are all gathered in this iconic place. Armageddon - or in Hebrew - Har-Magedon. It's that place we all know about - Megiddo! That's where it's all going to play out! Or is it? Is this wide spot in the desert really where the cosmic battle takes...

In this episode, we dive headfirst into the most iconic chapter of Revelation - chapter 19. There is so much packed in here that we decided to divide it into two parts. This is Pt. 1 - vs. 1-10. It begins with another heavenly worship scene around the throne. This time, all of the heavenly host sings Hallelujah! It's a celebration of the mighty acts of God - bringing down Babylon! Then comes t...