In this video, I explore Bel and the Dragon—a fascinating story preserved in the Greek version of the Book of Daniel (often included in the Apocrypha/Deuterocanonical books). Although it’s not found in the traditional Hebrew text of Daniel, this narrative offers a compelling window into how Jewish communities in the Second Temple period understood Daniel’s character and faith.

The story features the prophet Daniel exposing the fraud of the Babylonian god Bel, destroying a living dragon worshiped as divine, and once again surviving a lions’ den.

On the surface, it reads like a dramatic tale of courage and wit. But beneath that, it’s a powerful polemic against idolatry and a bold affirmation of the God of Israel.

In this overview, I ask an important question: What can we learn about biblical Daniel from an extrabiblical book? Rather than treating Bel and the Dragon as Scripture (for those traditions that don’t), I use it as a case study in how to read extrabiblical literature responsibly:

-How later Jewish writers interpreted Daniel

-How stories develop around revered figures

-What themes are emphasized (wisdom, fidelity, mockery of idols, divine vindication) What historical context might have shaped the narrative

-This is not about elevating extrabiblical texts to the level of canonical Scripture, nor is it about dismissing them outright.

Instead, it’s a practice in careful historical and theological reading—learning about the biblical world without confusing later tradition with the biblical text itself. If you’ve ever wondered how to use the Apocrypha responsibly, or how stories like Bel and the Dragon illuminate the faith and imagination of ancient Jewish communities, this video is for you.

Email: [email protected]

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TruthBeToldYouTube

Logo: Matt Hernandez

Music: Acoustic Indie Folk Years By MarkJuly

#faith #religion #spirituality #God #Jesus #Christ #theology #apologetics #JesusChrist #truthbetold #bible #biblical #biblestudy #faithful #hermeneutics #apocrypha #belandthedragon #daniel #danielandthelionsden #fypyoutube #fyp #oldtestament #newtestament #hope #love #apocryphal #extrabiblical

​When you read the story of Paul having dreams, the Apostles performing miracles, the first Christians speaking tongues on Pentecost - do you ever feel a disconnect?

I believe, as a Christian, that I have been given that same Holy Spirit and that the same God lives in me that lived in them. Why is there such a huge discrepancy, then, between the kinds of things that happened at that time as opposed to now?

In this episode we take a look at some of the claims and promises regarding what kinds of effects the Holy Spirit will produce in the lives of Christians and then ask ourselves some hard hitting questions to determine what's going on.

It's possible that we've been HEARING God speak through His Spirit, but not actually LISTENING to Him through it.

Email: [email protected]

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TruthBeToldYouTube

Logo: Matt Hernandez

Music: Acoustic Indie Folk Years By MarkJuly

#faith #religion #spirituality #Chrisitan #Christianity #spirit #HolySpirit #God #Jesus #Christ #JesusChrist #spiritual #conscience #advocate #helper #church #Scripture #bible #biblestudy #biblical #theology #apologetics #christianliving #truth #hope #love #OldTestament #NewTestament #miracles #fyp #fypyoutube

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During Noah's story, just after the flood, Genesis 8 continues the narrative with a section that has, for whatever reason, caused commentators, early church fathers, and lay-Christians to pause and ask, "Is something odd happening here that I need to pay attention to?"

Noah sends out two birds, a raven and a dove, from the ark to determine the state of the Earth. Something about the way this story is told causes us to pause and take note. Perhaps it is the description of events without explicit explanation as to why they're occurring. Perhaps it is the rhythmic, poetic way in which this story is told.

Some, however, would see Christians pausing at this section and feel incredibly confused. They might ask, "Isn't it just recorded this way because.. that's how it happened?" Maybe so.

Whether you read this account through a hyper-literal lens or a hyper-symbolic one, in this episode, we explore the theories others have put forward as to why Noah sends these two birds specifically and whether they might hold meaning beyond the surface.

It is in sections like this, where dogmatism isn't necessary, we don't KNOW for certain, opinions are divided, and there is equal value in seeing the literal as well as the symbolic, that people from across ideological aisles can come together and practice good discussion driven by interest and a desire to understand which views hold explanatory power.

Email: [email protected]

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TruthBeToldYouTube

Logo: Matt Hernandez

Music: Acoustic Indie Folk Years By MarkJuly

#faith #religion #spirituality #theology #apologetics #Genesis #creation #recreation #Noah #Moses #Torah #Pentateuch #raven #dove #ark #noahsark #flood #theflood #noahsflood #God #Jesus #Christ #JesusChrist #OldTestament #NewTestament #symbolism #hermeneutics #bible #biblical #holybible #holy #biblestudy #Christian #Christianity #hope #love #discussion #truth #podcast #fyp #fypyoutube #scripture #church

David is an iconic, biblical character, but sometimes he can tend to make people uncomfortable.

Sure, David is described as a man who chased after God's heart, but when we see some of his sins, we have a hard time seeing him as the hero that later biblical figures esteem him as.

What's more complicated is that, after David commits some of his most egregious sins, it seems as if he never faces the FULL weight of the consequences. While this is a beautiful lesson in the mercy of God, when we see others facing consequences on David's behalf, this can begin to feel unjust.

And none of us want to see God as unjust.

However, when we unpack David's story a bit more, we do begin to see the justice and mercy in perfect harmony which should also teach us a lesson about justice and mercy in our own lives as well.

Email: [email protected] 

Logo: Matt Hernandez

Music: Acoustic Indie Folk Years By MarkJuly

​ ⁨@TruthBeToldYouTube⁩   ⁨@TruthBeToldBiblePodcast⁩ 

Was Mary, the mother of Jesus, sinless? Did she NEED to be?

The sinlessness of Mary is a prevailing Catholic teaching formally defined as a Catholic doctrine in 1854 with roots that go back to the Early Church Fathers.

The idea is that, in order to be acceptable before God to fulfill this special role, she had to be without sin.

Often, when we hear Catholic apologists or teachers discuss this topic certain texts will be used that non-Catholic Christians don't recognize as authoritative in the same way that Scripture is. If a Catholic tells a Protestant that "the Apocrypha says..," and the Protestant believes that apocryphal source as a later addition, a fabricated text, or a contradiction to the 66 book canon, why would they accept it?

In this episode, however, we discuss 2 Instagram reels by Catholic pages that attempt to prove Mary's sinlessness by strictly using biblical truths and verses.

While the method is one I respect and appreciate because it meets non-Catholics where they're at, as a non-Catholic, it is pretty easy to see where these arguments fall off the tracks a bit.

So, what DOES the Bible say about Mary and which verses do Catholics use as support for this teaching that doesn't explicitly come from Scripture itself/alone?

Email: [email protected]

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TruthBeToldYouTube

Logo: Matt Hernandez

Music: Acoustic Indie Folk Years By MarkJuly

#faith #religion #spirituality #Christian #Christianity #Jesus #Christ #JesusChrist #God #theology #apologetics #Catholic #RomanCatholic #RomanCatholicism #Mary #virginMary #Maryology #sinlessness #sinless #sinlessMary #MarymotherofJesus #Catholicism #Protestant #sin #unclean #Leviticus #presence #bible #biblestudy #biblical #scripture #earlychurchfathers #apocrypha #hermeneutics #exegesis #immaculate #immaculateconception #doctrine #teaching #church #fyp #fypyoutube

I've noticed a tendency, in most Bible studiers, to categorize characters into "good guys" and "bad guys."

While the authors of the Bible DO use storytelling techniques to communicate historical truths, we do need to be careful of overgeneralizations of characters into good and bad categories.

When we aren't, there are a few pitfalls we can stumble into:

1. We don't study deeply into moments when "good characters" do less than good things.

2. We refuse to admit that the actions of "good characters" are actually bad and end up justifying evil.

3. We might not notice when stereotypically "bad" characters do good things.

4. We feel cognitive dissonance when we're told that certain characters are "good" but we read about them doing awful things, thus, disenfranchising the biblical text.

5. We feel the need to "play teams" with biblical characters, forgetting that the Bible is more concerned about GOD'S goodness and our discerning of it through people stepping in and out of alignment with His will and way, than it is about individual character's generalized goodness.

Instead, we need to be okay with the fact that Biblical characters are people. As flawed, if not (at times) more so, as you and me.

This will help us process complex individuals better, ensure we're looking through a human lens at.... humans, and keep our mind's focused on discerning good and evil through God's eyes rather than the categories we set up based on our feelings about certain characters.

Email: [email protected]

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TruthBeToldYouTube

Logo: Matt Hernandez

Music: Acoustic Indie Folk Years By MarkJuly

#faith #religion #spirituality #Christian #Christianity #Jesus #Christ #God #JesusChrist #Messiah #YHWH #religious #spiritual #faithful #bible #biblical #biblestudy #church #scripture #holybible #holy #theology #apologetics #hermeneutics #ezra #nehemiah #exodus #moses #pharaoh #egypt #israel #judah #josiah #truth #hope #love #oldtestament #newtestament #goodandevil #morality #characters #story #storytelling #fyp #fypyoutube

​ ⁨@TruthBeToldYouTube⁩   ⁨@TruthBeToldBiblePodcast⁩ 

Many Christians believe Elijah was taken directly to heaven in a chariot of fire—but does the Bible actually say that?

In this video, we examine Jesus’ own words that “no man has ascended into heaven,” the overlooked letter Elijah sent to King Jehoram after the chariot event, and the Hebrew meaning of “heaven” as it often refers to the sky or atmosphere.

When all the evidence is placed side by side, the traditional assumption about Elijah may not hold up.

This isn’t about attacking belief—it’s about interpreting Scripture honestly.

📖 Let’s take a closer look at what the Bible really says.

Email: [email protected]

Logo: Matt Hernandez

Music: Acoustic Indie Folk Years By MarkJuly

#faith #religion #spirituality #faithful #spiritual #religious #Christian #Christianity #Jesus #Christ #JesusChrist #God #bible #biblestudy #biblical #Elijah #Kings #prophet #chariotoffire #heaven #hell #heavenandhell #heavenandearth #soteriology #death #whathappensafterdeath #Enoch #holybible #scripture #truth #hope #love #spirit #church #catholic #protestant #fyp #fypyoutube

As part of God's Law, He determines that, in order to verify the truth of a matter in court, it must be brought before the leaders by the mouth of two or three witnesses. This would ensure that no single, jealous or angry party testifies falsely, wrongly condemning an innocent person.

In establishing the covenant with Israel, God appears to follow this by calling two witnesses of His own - Heaven and Earth.

The question this episode seeks to answer is, without eyes or ears to witness or a mouth to testify, how are Heaven and Earth valid witnesses, and what EXACTLY (or WHO exactly) are they witnessing about or against?

Email: [email protected]

Logo: Matt Hernandez

Music: Acoustic Indie Folk Years By MarkJuly

A few months ago, I received an email from an atheist outlining several supposed issues with Christian theology and thinking.

This email covered everything from miracle claims to morality and, it seemed to me, these questions were asked with sincerity.

In this episode we respond, systematically, to the concerns presented and, hopefully, come closer to clarity of understanding between people who believe and people who don't.

Atheists aren't bad people just because they don't believe in God. Christians aren't dumb people just because they believe in the text of Scripture. As often as we can reject these extreme narratives, come to the table, and have honest and open discussion with one another, the better.

Email: [email protected]

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TruthBeToldYouTube

Logo: Matt Hernandez

Music: Acoustic Indie Folk Years By MarkJuly

#faith #religion #spirituality #faithful #religious #spiritual #theology #apologetics #atheism #atheist #atheists #atheistic #Christian #Christianity #podcast #newtestament #oldtestament #hebrewbible #greek #JesusChrist #Jesus #Christ #God #bible #biblestudy #biblical #email #resonse #Christianresponse #atheistdebate #truth #hope #love #morality #objectivemorality #miracles #miracle #church #Catholic #Protestant #scripture

What does it mean to be "freed from the Law"?

Would you be surprised to know that the Bible doesn't actually ever state this?

Certainly there are sections of Scripture that discuss Law and the ways we now relate to it under the New Covenant in Jesus Christ. And, certainly, those sections do reflect a difference in HOW we relate to that same Law. But nowhere in Scripture does it say that we are FREED from obedience or rules or that God has no expectation of us as Christians.

So what DOES the Bible say?

When thinking about this, we have to ask ourselves - what do we even MEAN by this question?

I can't imagine finding ANY Christian who would state that we're freed from the Law meaning we are now free to sin at will. Most often, I see people interpreting these passages about Law as meaning we are freed from CERTAIN laws that seem outdated or overtly Jewish in nature.

Is THIS what the Bible means?

Next, we have to ask ourselves: what does the Bible mean by Law?

This might seem like an obvious question but.. it really isn't. Did Paul mean that Jesus had eased off the burden of Roman law in Israel? Did he mean the 10 commandments are no longer valid? What about the Oral vs. Written Law?

In this episode we take a look at what the Bible ACTUALLY says about Law because.. these sections can get really complicated.

Legalists will often accuse mainstream Christians of anti-nomianism (being against the Law). Other Christians even HEAR the word Law and accuse someone of being legalistic.

This episode seeks to take the Bible at its word, reject extremist viewpoints, and make sense of some confusing concepts in the Bible. When we do this we should be able to ease ourselves of cognitive dissonance.

Christians live as if there are moral standards that God, in His goodness, legislates, but to hear the word Law sounds too restrictive to many people.

Let's ease that tension.

Email: [email protected]

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TruthBeToldYouTube

Logo: Matt Hernandez

Music: Acoustic Indie Folk Years By MarkJuly

#faith #religion #spirituality #faithful #spiritual #religious #theology #apologetics #bible #biblestudy #biblical #holybible #Christian #Christianity #Jesus #Christ #JesusChrist #God #Law #Torah #Judaism #Obedience #Legalism #Antinomian #antinomianism #love #grace #gospel #gospels #apostlepaul #Romans #newtestament #oldtestament #church #scripture #fyp #fypyoutube