Weird Stuff in the Bible

Today’s lesson is too important to wait. 

And I almost didn’t do it. Because these verses that we’re studying today are going to come up again in the book of Enoch, and I’m planning on starting a book of Enoch series here on the podcast early next year. And so you might hear some of this information repeated again in a few months, and I almost didn’t create today’s lesson so that I wouldn’t be repetitive.

But it’s just way too important not to tell you this today, because it has the potential to revolutionize your prayer life. And it gives us some very practical application to this series of episodes we’ve been doing about spiritual warfare and demons for the past few months. 

I mean, why spend all this time learning about the capabilities of spiritual beings like demons if we don’t also learn about the capabilities we have as Christians to stop them?

So in Matthew 16, Jesus informs His followers about the spiritual authority that we have.

He says In verse 19

I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

But this terminology has not shown up in the Bible before, so what in the world does it mean? 

I find this to be weird, and I’d like to explore why it’s in the Bible. 

Turn to Matthew 16, and let’s get weird.

0:00 - Intro

2:20 - The Declaration of Who Jesus Is

6:50 - Wrong Theories About Binding and Loosing

9:45 - The Right Theory on Binding and Loosing

14:35 - How to Land on the Right Theory

16:45 - Change How You Pray

If you want to get in touch, my email is [email protected]

Hosted by Luke Taylor

If you’re intrigued by strange Bible stories, uncovering Bible mysteries, or learning about unusual biblical teachings, this podcast is for you! Dive deep into weird Bible facts, biblical controversies, and the supernatural in the Bible, while exploring the hidden stories of the Bible you may have never heard. Get a fresh perspective as we explain the Bible in ways that challenge the norm and uncover the unexpected. I’m so glad you’re here- don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE so that you never miss an episode!

There is a parable which I believe is not technically a parable- I believe it’s a true story- called The Rich Man and Lazarus. Jesus tells this story in Luke 16. And there’s a lot of strange things you could point out about this story, but what always sticks out to me is where Lazarus goes when he dies in this story.

Luke 16:22

So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom.

And as you read the story, you find that a rich man died and went to a fiery place of torment called hades, but the beggar named Lazarus went to a better place called Abraham’s Bosom. 

Now, we’ve all heard of going to heaven and hell when we die. And I don’t believe in purgatory. But what is Abraham’s Bosom?

And I’ll do you one better, where is Abraham’s Bosom?

And I’ll do you one better, why is Abraham’s Bosom in the Bible?

We’ll answer all these questions today, because I find this to be weird, and I’d like to explore why it’s in the Bible.

Turn to Isaiah 14, and let’s get weird.

0:00 - Intro

1:10 - Sheol

7:00 - Abraham’s Bosom

11:00 - Luke 16, The Rich Man and Lazarus

18:00 - Closing Thoughts

If you want to get in touch, my email is [email protected]

Hosted by Luke Taylor

If you’re intrigued by strange Bible stories, uncovering Bible mysteries, or learning about unusual biblical teachings, this podcast is for you! Dive deep into weird Bible facts, biblical controversies, and the supernatural in the Bible, while exploring the hidden stories of the Bible you may have never heard. Get a fresh perspective as we explain the Bible in ways that challenge the norm and uncover the unexpected. I’m so glad you’re here- don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE so that you never miss an episode!

The devil really really doesn’t want you to listen to today’s episode. Because this is going to blow the door wide open on one of Satan’s schemes that he uses to try and make us ineffective as Christians. But, I’ll also tell you how to overcome it. 

Last year, one of my pastor friends who was preaching through the book of Daniel and came across the strange story in chapter 10. And he commented that he didn’t know how he was going to teach it. 

And I was like, “what you do mean, how you’re going to teach it? You just teach it. You read what it says and make sure everyone understand it.” 

But I understand what he meant. Daniel 10 is weird. It deals with something we don’t hear about a lot in the spiritual realm.

But just because we don’t hear about it doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen every day. It’s a weird thing to us, but a totally normal thing in the spirit. 

In Daniel 10, it says that demons and fallen angels actually have a way to stop our prayers. That God can even hear our prayers, send an answer, and that Satan can stop it before the answer comes to us. Believe it or not, that’s something that devils can interfere with.

I find this to be weird, and I’d like to explore why it’s in the Bible. 

Turn to Daniel 10, and let’s get weird.

0:00 - Intro

1:30 - Daniel 10, Wrestling with Angels

6:00 - The Prince of Persia

8:25 - Demons Can Disrupt Our Prayers

11:00 - Mailbag

13:25 - Keep Praying and Don’t Give Up

If you want to get in touch, my email is [email protected]

Hosted by Luke Taylor

If you’re intrigued by strange Bible stories, uncovering Bible mysteries, or learning about unusual biblical teachings, this podcast is for you! Dive deep into weird Bible facts, biblical controversies, and the supernatural in the Bible, while exploring the hidden stories of the Bible you may have never heard. Get a fresh perspective as we explain the Bible in ways that challenge the norm and uncover the unexpected. I’m so glad you’re here- don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE so that you never miss an episode!

It was a dark and moonless night when King Saul, cloaked in fear and despair, wandered the desolate wilderness of Mount Gilboa. His once-mighty heart had grown heavy, for the Lord had turned silent—no dreams, no prophets, no answers. His enemies, the Philistines, loomed at his doorstep, and without divine guidance, Saul felt utterly forsaken.

Desperation drove the king to a forbidden path, one he had condemned in years past. He had ordered all the mediums and spiritists to be cast out of Israel, for the Lord forbade such practices. But now, Saul himself sought a medium—a woman who dwelled in the shadowed village of En Dor — known to whisper with the dead.

Did you know the Bible has a ghost story? Saul visits a woman known as a medium or a necromancer. A practice forbidden in Old Testament law, and still to this day. In fact, in the Old Testament, doing this resulted in the death penalty.

You might say, “now ghosts aren’t real. Once you die, you go to heaven or hell. You can’t drop back in and grab a cup of coffee with the living.”

And yet, as you’ll hear in a few minutes, Saul’s plan seems to work, and the ghost of a long-dead prophet is brought up from the grave. 

Or is it all a demonic trick? 

I find this to be weird, and I’d like to explore why it’s in the Bible. 

Turn to I Samuel 28, and let’s get weird.

0:00 - The Ghost of En Dor

5:45 - Real or Fake?

9:30 - Was it Actually Saul? Or a Demon?

18:30 - Vote

If you want to get in touch, my email is [email protected]

Hosted by Luke Taylor

If you’re intrigued by strange Bible stories, uncovering Bible mysteries, or learning about unusual biblical teachings, this podcast is for you! Dive deep into weird Bible facts, biblical controversies, and the supernatural in the Bible, while exploring the hidden stories of the Bible you may have never heard. Get a fresh perspective as we explain the Bible in ways that challenge the norm and uncover the unexpected. I’m so glad you’re here- don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE so that you never miss an episode!

I’ve been doing this podcast for about a year now and I can’t believe I haven’t done an episode about this yet. 

Today, we’re going to be talking about territorial spirits. And that phrase refers to the fact that spirits are assigned to certain sectors of the earth. 

Many Bible-readers aren’t aware of this little tidbit about how the spiritual realm works, and you may question whether this is in the Bible. 

In fact, it’s ALL THROUGH the Bible. We just encountered one place last week when we were studying the demoniac of Mark 5. This was the guy who had a “Legion” of demons within him, and Jesus ends up casting the demons into the pigs. 

What’s really strange, though, is a request from the demons not to be sent out of that territory. This was a spiritually dark place known as the Gadarenes- or some translations may say the Gerasenes. 

Mark 5:10 said

And he [and this is the demon-possessed man] begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country.

In other words, the demoniac begged Jesus earnestly not to send the demons out of the country.

Why were the demons so intent on staying within this location?

I find this to be weird, and I’d like to explore why it’s in the Bible. 

Turn to Genesis 11, and let’s get weird.

0:00 - Introduction

1:45 - The Deuteronomy 32 Worldview

10:00 - The Rest of the Bible

13:00 - Next Time and Mailbag

14:44 -  Closing Thoughts

If you want to get in touch, my email is [email protected]

Hosted by Luke Taylor

If you’re intrigued by strange Bible stories, uncovering Bible mysteries, or learning about unusual biblical teachings, this podcast is for you! Dive deep into weird Bible facts, biblical controversies, and the supernatural in the Bible, while exploring the hidden stories of the Bible you may have never heard. Get a fresh perspective as we explain the Bible in ways that challenge the norm and uncover the unexpected. I’m so glad you’re here- don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE so that you never miss an episode!

We’re going to continue our foray into demonology today, and we’ll wrap up this story of Jesus and the demoniac of Mark 5. 

If you’re not familiar with this story, it’s the guy who lived among the tombs and could break chains with his bare hands. 

This is the guy who said “I am Legion, for we are many.” There were potentially thousands of demons within this man.

And this is the story that ends with Jesus sending those demons out of the man and into a herd of pigs. Who then promptly run off a cliff into a lake a drown themselves.

But it’s super strange to me that He grants their request. Jesus doesn’t work for a radio station. Why is He taking requests? And of all people to grant a request, why does He do it with these demons? 

And what about the poor pig farmer who lost his whole livelihood that day? And did anyone call PETA to lodge a complaint about this Jewish exorcist who was wrecking the GDP of the Gadarenes?

There’s a lot of questions that come up in this story, and I’ll answer as many of them as I can today on this episode.

Turn to Mark 5, and let’s get weird.

0:00 - Introduction

1:45 - The Context

5:35 - Where did the pigs come from?

9:20 - Entering the Pigs

17:30 - Next Time and Mailbag

20:20 - Creating a Witness

If you want to get in touch, my email is [email protected]

Hosted by Luke Taylor

If you’re intrigued by strange Bible stories, uncovering Bible mysteries, or learning about unusual biblical teachings, this podcast is for you! Dive deep into weird Bible facts, biblical controversies, and the supernatural in the Bible, while exploring the hidden stories of the Bible you may have never heard. Get a fresh perspective as we explain the Bible in ways that challenge the norm and uncover the unexpected. I’m so glad you’re here- don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE so that you never miss an episode!

It was the week before Halloween in the fall of 1988 when Bill Scott picked up the phone at his job at a Christian radio station and his life was never the same. 

What follows is a story of demonic possession, deliverance, and a long list of what to do and what NOT to do when standing up to the powers of darkness. 

I’ve been doing a series on the abilities of demons here on this podcast. Bill joins me today to share his story with my listeners here. It’s going to add some insight and depth to your understanding of spiritual warfare. But let me warn you: parts of his interview will rock your world, get a little scary, and a lot weird. 

So if you’re ready, let’s get weird.

Find Bill's book right here: https://www.amazon.com/Day-Satan-Called-Encounter-Possession/dp/0892968982/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
The Day Satan Called: A True Encounter with Demon Possession and Exorcism. Available in paperback and on Kindle.

If you want to get in touch with me (Luke Taylor), my email is [email protected]

Hosted by Luke Taylor

If you’re intrigued by strange Bible stories, uncovering Bible mysteries, or learning about unusual biblical teachings, this podcast is for you! Dive deep into weird Bible facts, biblical controversies, and the supernatural in the Bible, while exploring the hidden stories of the Bible you may have never heard. Get a fresh perspective as we explain the Bible in ways that challenge the norm and uncover the unexpected. I’m so glad you’re here- don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE so that you never miss an episode!

Welcome back to Demonology class. 

I didn’t have this class in the school of ministry that I attended for three years. 

I’ve never heard of a Bible college offering a class in exorcism. 

I’ve never heard of a seminary giving a degree in demonology. 

And yet, when Jesus gave His disciples a job to do, He said to preach the Kingdom, heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, and cast out demons. Now, I don’t know about you, but most of those things are not a part of my weekly walk with God. 

I learned about preaching the Kingdom. That other stuff just kinda comes up once in a while. And even though we read about demons being cast out on almost every page of the four Gospels, most Christians have never studied how it works. 

And if you do talk about it too much, you get branded a weirdo. 

But is it weird for a Christian to do the stuff the Bible talks about? Or is it more weird if we don’t?

Turn to Mark 5, and let’s get normal.

0:00 - Introduction

1:20 - Schizophrenic Behavior

4:25 - Demons Know Jesus

6:40 - Demons Have a Day of Judgment

12:35 - Finding Out a Demon’s Name

19:00 - A Demon of Cigarettes?

27:00 - Next

If you want to get in touch, my email is [email protected]

Hosted by Luke Taylor

If you’re intrigued by strange Bible stories, uncovering Bible mysteries, or learning about unusual biblical teachings, this podcast is for you! Dive deep into weird Bible facts, biblical controversies, and the supernatural in the Bible, while exploring the hidden stories of the Bible you may have never heard. Get a fresh perspective as we explain the Bible in ways that challenge the norm and uncover the unexpected. I’m so glad you’re here- don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE so that you never miss an episode!

I remember being a younger Christian and sharing a meal with a couple of older pastors, who got to talking about a Bible story of demon possession. It may have been the one we’re in today, actually. 

And one of them just mentioned, quite offhandedly, that of course, demon-possessed people in the Bible were actually just dealing with sickness and mental issues. And the other quickly agreed. 

And I was like, a teenager at the time, and these were two longtime pastors, older men- I think they were Lutherans- so I didn’t say anything. I figured I must have misunderstood them, I didn’t want to look like an idiot, so I kept my mouth shut. 

But I had been raised Pentecostal. And I had no idea back then that some Christians didn’t really believe in the existence of demons. That they had alternative interpretations of all these passages where demons manifest, possess people, speak to Jesus or the apostles, inflict physical problems and sickness on people- and I had no idea that some Christians denied what the Bible clearly taught about evil spiritual beings. 

So I’m not going to let you remain ignorant today. The Bible says that demons are real, and they’re capable of doing things in the physical world, and the things they can do…are weird. 

And I’d like to explore what the Bible has to say about them. 

Turn to Mark 5, and let’s get weird.

0:00 - Introduction

1:40 - The Study of Demons

6:25 - The Powers of Demons (Super-Strength)

12:15 - Surrounded by Death

20:45 - Next Time

24:00 - Mailbag

If you want to get in touch, my email is [email protected]

Hosted by Luke Taylor

I said it on the first episode of this podcast: if you’re a modern Christian living in a westernized country, you’re weird. You’re living in a very weird time and weird place in human history. 

Because we are taught to accept rational, scientific explanations for things. We’re told that if you can’t find it in a test tube or with a telescope or see it with your own two eyes, then it probably doesn’t exist. 

Most people, and perhaps even most western Christians, have absolutely no concept of a spiritual battle taking place around them at all times. No awareness of angels and demons. 

Most Christians might be aware that yeah, there are spiritual forces that exist; but they never really think about them outside of church. Once Monday morning hits, most Christians often give no more thought to the spiritual realm than your average atheist.

I find this to be weird, and I’d like to explore what the Bible has to say about spiritual reality. 

Turn to II Kings 6, and let’s get weird.

0:00 - Introduction

1:30 - Behind-the-Scenes Code

4:00 - Elisha and Gehazi

8:15 - Your Eyes Can Deceive You

13:00 - Gehazi’s Eyes Opened

20:30 - Next Time

22:45 - All Around Elisha

If you want to get in touch, my email is [email protected]

Hosted by Luke Taylor