The Naked Bible Podcast

These two chapters launch that portion of Leviticus (17-26) that scholars refer to as the Holiness Code. The Holiness Code is oriented by the idea that the people of Israel bear the responsibility for holiness, a concept expressed in Lev 19:2 (“You shall be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy”). Though rare in Leviticus and the rest of the Torah, this statement is stated repeatedly in the holi...

Every year Mike attends the annual meetings of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS), the Institute for Biblical Research (IBR), the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) and the American Academy of Religion (AAR). This year Mike recorded short conversations with scholars, pastors, and other folks who were also attending. This episode is the second of two parts that shares those interviews with...

Every year Mike attends the annual meetings of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS), the Institute for Biblical Research (IBR), the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) and the American Academy of Religion (AAR). This year Mike recorded short conversations with scholars, pastors, and other folks who were also attending. This episode is the first of two parts that shares those interviews with...

This episode focuses on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) ritual. Unlike many popular commentaries teach, this important Old Testament ritual was about “resetting” the tabernacle/temple sanctuary, its priesthood, and the Israelite people to the state of ritual purity (holiness) evident when the entire Levitical system and the Tabernacle was originally sanctified in Leviticus 8. The episode reviews...

This episode covers Leviticus 12-15, chapters that speak to the ritual impurity of women after childbirth, skin diseases (commonly referred to as leprosy), and loss of bodily fluids. The episode discusses the theological and worldview rationale for the laws about ritual procedure to restore individuals falling into these categories to ritual purity.

This chapter of Leviticus describes the categories of clean and unclean animals allowed or disallowed for food. The Israelite “food laws” have long puzzled scholars. This episode overviews the various approaches to discovering a coherent rationale for these laws.

Leviticus 10 describes the deaths of the priests Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, for offering “strange fire”. The nature of their transgression and other admonitions from God to the priesthood are discussed in this episode.  

Leviticus 8-9 describes two distinct but related ceremonies: the consecration of the altar and Tabernacle, and the consecration of Aaron as High Priest (vv. 6–12) and his sons as priests. This episode focuses on some of the objects worn by the high priest (ephod, gold plate) and the enigmatic Urim and Thummim.

Our 7th Question and Answer episode! to support our show go to:  our Support page video referenced: Genesis & Creation – Class 3 of 4 – September 29, 2010 from Grace Church Bellingham on Vimeo .

Our 6th Question and Answer episode! to support our show go to:  our Support page papers referenced in the show: MAGIC-DPL-Arnold Magical Papyri-DNTB-Arnold

These two chapters of Leviticus present the “law” for each of the sacrifices described in chapters 1–5.  The earlier chapters emphasize the mechanics of the sacrifices (e.g., the preparation of sacrifices and their ingredients). Leviticus 6-7, on the other hand, focuses on the duties of the priesthood in regard to sacrificial offerings and how the priests participated in sacrificial meals. Analogi...

In this episode we take a break from Leviticus to talk to two friends of Mike who use the divine council worldview of biblical theology in a unique way – ministering to deliberately / ritually traumatized people (e.g., victims of human trafficking and satanic ritual abuse). For those who have read Mike’s novel, The Portent, sequel to The Façade, the name “Fern” will be familiar. The “Fern” of this...

Leviticus 5 focuses on the so-called “guilt offering” of the OT sacrificial system. As was the case with the “sin offering” of Leviticus 4, the terminology / translation “guilt offering” is misleading, due to how Christians naturally filter OT sacrificial talk through what happened on the cross. The episode discusses what the “guilt offering” really meant and accomplished (or not).

Leviticus 4 focuses on the instructions for, and meaning of, the so-called “sin offering” of the OT sacrificial system. In this episode, we talk about how the translation “sin offering” is misleading, due to how Christians naturally filter OT sacrificial talk through what happened on the cross. The episode discusses what the “sin offering” really meant and accomplished (or not).

Each of these two chapters covers a different offering: the grain offering (Lev 2) and the “peace offering” (Lev 3). This episode focuses on the theological messaging of prohibitions (leaven, honey) and requirements (salt) in the rituals.

Leviticus 1 focuses on one offering, the burnt offering. Our focus this episode is how an Israelite (not a modern Christian) would have processed the ritual and its meaning. The burnt offering was not about forgiveness of sin. Rather, it was designed to initiate contact with God—which was viewed as a dangerous thing.

Leviticus is a fascinating but neglected book. In this episode Dr. Heiser introduces the flow of the book and important concepts that will reoccur throughout the book: sacred space, holiness, and ritual impurity vs. moral impurity.  

Our 5th Question and Answer episode! to support our show go to: patreon.com/nakedbible

In this episode Mike interviews his friend and fellow divine council researcher David Burnett. David is a graduate student and teaching pastor in Texas. Mike and David discuss how they met, David’s research, and how he teaches Scripture framed by a divine council worldview at his church. David’s paper has been solicited by the  Journal of the Study of Paul and His Letters  and is waiting on...

This episode wraps up our study of the book of Acts. These two chapters focus on Luke’s account of Paul’s hazardous journey by ship to Rome. Through the course of his narrative, Luke drops some cryptic references to the theological concept of a promised land for the people of God and Paul’s role in reclaiming the nations disinherited at Babel, the heart of the Deuteronomy 32 worldview. Here is the...

Our 4th Question and Answer episode! to support our show go to: patreon.com/nakedbible paper referenced in the show: Chiel-The-Mysterious-Book-of-Jasher

These chapters cover the trials and imprisonments of Paul before setting sail for Rome to appeal to Caesar. Rather than focusing on the trial scenes, this episode of the podcast for the most part focuses on several statements of theological importance nestled amid the narrative, such as the what the Sadducees denied about angels, whether it is proper to say that Christianity was viewed as a heresy...

In an earlier episode (#50), we asked whether Paul’s stoning at Lystra in Acts 14 was the backdrop for the heavenly visionary experience he described in 2 Corinthians 12. Did Paul in fact have an NDE? We concluded that the chronology Paul alluded to in 2 Corinthians 12 didn’t align with the Lystra event and therefore dismissed that possibility. In this episode, we consider a more fruitful trajecto...

Acts 20-21 describes Paul’s last missionary trip before returning to Jerusalem where he was saved by Roman soldiers from rioting Jews who spotted him in the temple. His deliverance would ultimately result in an appeal to Caesar and subsequent journey to Rome. These two chapters include the story of Eutychus, an incident of surprising importance for (again) establishing Paul’s apostolic and prophet...

In this episode Mike chats with his friend and co-conspirator in divine council research, Dr. Ronn Johnson. Ronn and Mike met as undergraduates in Bible college in the early 1980s. Ronn has a PhD in Bible Exposition (Old and New Testament) from Dallas Theological Seminary. His dissertation focused on how the Deuteronomy 32 worldview of the gods of the nations influenced Paul’s thinking about princ...