Bible Encounters

You and I both know that the 'underworld' isn't below the earth. We also know that heaven isn't really 'up' there. These are directional ideas rooted in the ANE 3 tiered cosmology. So why does the Bible use this language to talk about 'where' Jesus went after he died on the cross? 

Did God tell Eve that giving birth to a child would be painful? Maybe not. Do you ever read about childbirth being painful in the Bible anywhere else? Could our translation there be off? Could it refer to difficulty having children? Does that relate to Genesis? Does that better connect with the story of the Bible? How does Mary relate to all this? I hope you find this interesting guys. Merry Christmas. 

The temple was the meeting place of the gods and humanity in the ANE. What is shocking is how God's temple presence would be found not on a high mountain but in a lowly girl from Nazareth. Here God takes common ideas and presents a very uncommon message. 

What does the Old Testament say about SHEOL and how about the New Testament word HADES? What relationship is their with their cultural neighbors? Are we to understand the location of this reality literally from the Bible of culturally?

Who are the Sons of God in Genesis 6? How do they relate to the serpent in Genesis 3? What do the Nephilim have to do with all this? You know, those crazy giants like Goliath? And finally, how does Jesus' birth relate? Let's dive in!

What/who is that serpent in the garden? Is it a chaos creature that was common to ANE literature? Is it an actual serpent? Is it a rebel spiritual being? I confess this study has me a bit confused the more I go down the rabbit hole. 

Hey, go look in the mirror right now. Do you know who you see? You see a royal priest. Do you know why? Because you see a human. What was said of only a few special individuals in the Ancient Near East, God says of all humans. And if this is true of us, you would expect this language to pop up in the NT with Jesus. I hope this lesson helps you think differently about you and your fellow humans you hang out with. 

Why did people bring food and drink to temples? Why did God want food brought to his temple? Why did Job's friends think Job had sinned when we are told from the very beginning that he had not sinned? Let's find out. 

So what does the garden of Eden, Mt. Sinai and the Temple have in common? Guess what, its the three-tiered cosmology. I know! Crazy stuff. 

Why does it say in Exodus 20 that no idol of God should be made in heaven above, the earth below, or the waters under the earth? Does the Bible present the world as 3 major tiers? If so, is the Bible wrong then? Or could there be another explanation? Let's dive in.