In Matthew 16:19; 18:18 Jesus tells the disciples they have the authority to “bind” and “loose” in heaven and on earth. What does this language mean? What is being bound or loosed? In what way does the “binding” and “loosing” operate? Is “heaven” the afterlife residence of believers or something else? This episode of the podcast explores these passages with the help of parallels from the Bible and Second Temple Period Jewish literature and reaches a fascinating conclusion: Binding and Loosing refers to exorcism and authority over supernatural powers of darkness.

In Luke 24:36-43 the resurrected Jesus appears to the disciples. To help cure their disbelief, Jesus asks them if they have something to eat. The passage records how Jesus is given a piece of fish which he eats before their eyes to establish his resurrection is physical. Some English Bible translations of Luke 24:42 include “some honeycomb” with the fish. Others omit the detail. This episode of the podcast discusses why English translations differ and what the honeycomb detail telegraphs in terms of the theology of the resurrected Jesus.

The Psalms of (or to) the sons of Korah are a small subset of the Psalter. However, their content is significant to the matter of whether the Old Testament has a theology of a positive afterlife, where the righteous are present with the Lord. The sons of Korah were the descendants of the Levite named Korah who rebelled against Moses and Aaron (Numbers 16). When Korah was judged by being swallowed up by the earth into Sheol (the grave in the earth), Numbers 26:1 tells us specifically that the sons of Korah were spared from Sheol. In this episode we discuss how this tradition informs several psalms, which in turn inform us about the afterlife for the righteous.

Recently Dr. Heiser reached out to his audience asking whether pastors who follow the podcast had tried teaching the content of his book, The Unseen Realm, to their congregations. The response was amazing, with close to 150 responses. The interest in sharing the experience of teaching the meta-narrative of Scripture to congregations stimulated the idea to have guest pastors and teachers on the podcast to tell us their stories. Join us as we listen to these people of diverse denominations and congregations talk about the impact of teaching biblical theology in its original context to their people.

Dr. Heiser answers your questions.

With the advent of the coronavirus threat and subsequent quarantine measures, many people are referencing Psalm 91 as though it were intended to provide immunity from the virus. This is an abuse of this psalm. In this episode of the podcast, we talk about the meaning of Psalm 91 – specifically, its characterization as an exorcistic psalm in the days of Jesus. That context has ramifications for its use by Satan to tempt Jesus into acting outside of God’s plan for salvation and Jesus’s rebuttal.

Links to articles:

Craig Evans, “Jesus and Evil Spirits in the Light of Psalm 91,” Baptistic Theologies 1 (2009): 43-58

Dr. Gerrit C. Vreugdenhil,  “Demonic doom: Psalm 91 and the threat of evil spirits and demons“

Naked Bible blog: “Would Jesus Say the Coronavirus is a Deserved Judgment on Wicked People?”

Having authored more than sixty books and appeared as a frequent guest on major cable and network television programs, Dr. Ben Witherington is one of the most widely read biblical scholars in the world. He has for many years serves as Professor of New Testament Interpretation at Asbury Theological Seminary in Kentucky and is an ordained minister in the United Methodist tradition. In today’s episode of the podcast we chat with Dr. Witherington about his recent book, Who God Is: Meditations on the Character of Our God (Lexham Press, 2020), his blogging ministry, and his fiction.

Dr. Louis is Professor of English at Houston Baptist University. He is an authority on C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien and also teaches courses on mythology, Classical Literature and Victorian and Romantic Literature. Dr. Markos recently reviewed Dr. Heiser’s book, The Unseen Realm, and found its emphasis on the supernatural metanarrative of the Bible not only fascinating, but quite important for contemporary believers, especially millennials. In this episode of the podcast, we talk to Dr. Markos about his work, his review, and the value of literature for theological thinking and apologetics. Enjoy more after conversation at the very end of the podcast.

Dr. Louis Markos’ Amazon Author Page

Dr. Heiser answers your questions.

Recently Dr. Heiser reached out to his audience asking whether pastors who follow the podcast had tried teaching the content of his book, The Unseen Realm, to their congregations. The response was amazing, with close to 150 responses. The interest in sharing the experience of teaching the meta-narrative of Scripture to congregations stimulated the idea to have guest pastors and teachers on the podcast to tell us their stories. Join us as we listen to these people of diverse denominations and congregations talk about the impact of teaching biblical theology in its original context to their people.