Weird Stuff in the Bible

You can WATCH this week's loooooong episode right here: https://youtube.com/live/AFtXdS1qvlg?feature=share

If you’re a Christian who has been saved and redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, why do you still struggle against the devil?
Why do we have destructive patterns, addictions and sins in our lives that we just can’t get free of?
What are some of the ways we give the devil legal access to our life without us even realizing it?
These are the questions we’re going to answer in this Masterclass on spiritual warfare where I’m going to break down everything we’ve been studying this summer about legal rights in the spirit realm. We’ll be looking at Genesis 1-3, Hebrews 2, Romans 6 and Ephesians in-depth tonight as we recap and review the past few months of our journey on the Weird Stuff in the Bible podcast.
One quick note: if you’re a faithful listener of the Weird Stuff in the Bible podcast and you feel like you’ve already got a good handle on what I’ve been covering, you probably don’t need this whole thing today because it’s mostly going to be recap and review. 
And if that’s the case, you can peace out, no hard feelings. There’s a little new content, but mostly it’s review.
I am putting this episode together because some listeners reached out to me asking me if I could do one long uncut teaching on spiritual legal rights. (I had that same idea in my head- I thought it could be beneficial to you all, so when I kept hearing that idea suggested by listeners, I took it as confirmation that God wants this to happen tonight.)
So if it sounds like it would be beneficial to you as well, turn to Genesis 1, and let’s get weird.

Check out the website! www.weirdstuffinthebible.com

Visit the Weird Stuff store!
https://luketaylorpodcasts.creator-spring.com

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You can also find a list of past newsletters at that same link so you never have to miss one.

0:00 - Introduction
4:30 - Part 1, The Dominion Mandate
11:00 - Part 2, Why Angels Were Created
17:00 - Part 3, Satan’s Agenda
32:00 - Part 4, Jesus’ Agenda
43:30 - Part 5, The Heavenly Realms
58:40 - Part 6, Defining Our Spiritual Enemies
1:12:00 - Part 7, How Our Spiritual Enemies Gain Access
1:37:45, Part 8, How to Find Freedom for Yourself and Others

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!

Besides this podcast, where else could you go for talks of aliens, spiritual warfare, resurrection, raptures, portals into the spirit realm, and how to cook with poop? 

I’ll tell you where else you could go: the Bible. Because the Bible has all those subjects in it. And we’re going to talk about all of them today.

To start: there is a dark and disturbing story in II Kings 3 where the Israelites are engaged in a battle against Mesha, the King of the Moabites. Mesha and Moab are way outnumbered. Not only that, the prophet Elisha in II Kings 3:18 had prophesied that Israel would easily win this conflict. And that’s how things look right up until the very last verse of the chapter.

Mesha is surrounded with no hope; the Israelites have all the momentum. In a moment of desperation, Mesha stands on the city wall and offers up a human sacrifice. 

When he does this, the Israelites turn around in fear and run right back home. So the question that will start us off today is: why? 

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

Turn to II Kings 3, and let’s get weird.

Visit the Weird Stuff store!

https://luketaylorpodcasts.creator-spring.com

Check out the website! www.weirdstuffinthebible.com

Sign up for the weekly newsletter! Get additional insights and Bible study tips for unpacking strange things in scripture. Enter your email here:

https://weirdstuffinthebible.beehiiv.com/

You can also find a list of past newsletters at that same link so you never have to miss one.

0:00 - Introduction

2:00 - Beau D

13:25 - Alana E

16:00 - Rick S

21:30 - Joe A

22:40 - Vicki V

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!

Back in the first episode of this show, I laid out several mysteries of the Bible that have always puzzled me. Things like talking donkeys, six-fingered giants, that time Michael got into a fistfight with the devil over the body of Moses… And I’ve done episodes on all these things.

But there’s one mysterious verse for which I never got around to finding an explanation, and that will finally change today.

In I Corinthians 6:3, Paul writes:

Do you not know that we are to judge angels?

Uh, no, I didn’t know that. I must have missed that day in Sunday School. Frankly, I don’t feel qualified to judge angels. I can’t even judge the difference in butter and Country Crock. And yet the Bible offhandedly says buckle up and get ready for some angel judging.

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

Turn to I Corinthians 6, and let’s get weird.

Visit the Weird Stuff store!

https://luketaylorpodcasts.creator-spring.com

Check out the website! www.weirdstuffinthebible.com

Sign up for the weekly newsletter! Get additional insights and Bible study tips for unpacking strange things in scripture. Enter your email here:

https://weirdstuffinthebible.beehiiv.com/

You can also find a list of past newsletters at that same link so you never have to miss one.

0:00 - Introduction

2:50 - The Context of I Corinthians 6

6:05 - Judging the World

13:50 - Judging Angels

17:45 - When Will We Judge Angels?

23:30 - Next Time & Mailbag

26:15 - Closing Thought

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!

Is sin a verb or a noun?

Is it an act you choose, or a power that chooses you?

Is sin something you do, or does it do something to you?

And the answer to all of those questions…is yes. 

Today I’m going to talk about what happens in the spiritual realm when we sin. 

We often focus on sin in the physical realm as something we choose. What we don’t realize is our sins actually create legal rights in the spiritual realm for evil spirits to harass and try to dominate us. 

So today’s episode will give you a greater context for the spiritual battles that we find ourselves in, especially in combatting the flesh or our own sinful desires. And it all begins where sin began, which is Genesis 3. Eve talked to the snake, she bit into the fruit, Adam had some, too, God comes up and asks what they’re doing, and here is what Eve said in

Genesis 3:13

“The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

Here’s something interesting about this word for “deceived me” in the Hebrew. It can also mean the serpent “put me in its debt.”

And that’s such a strange idea. We know who the serpent is- the devil. So how does sin put us in the devil’s debt?

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

Turn to Genesis 3, and let’s get weird.

Visit the Weird Stuff store!

https://luketaylorpodcasts.creator-spring.com

My columns in The Christian Post:

https://www.christianpost.com/by/luke-taylor

The Naked Man in the Garden when Jesus was Arrested (article on the site)

https://weirdstuffinthebible.com/2025/08/06/the-naked-man-with-the-linen-cloth/

Check out the website! www.weirdstuffinthebible.com

Sign up for the weekly newsletter! Get additional insights and Bible study tips for unpacking strange things in scripture. Enter your email here:

https://weirdstuffinthebible.beehiiv.com/

You can also find a list of past newsletters at that same link so you never have to miss one.

0:00 - Introduction

2:15 - Recap of the Dominion Mandate

4:05 - Nasha in Genesis 3

8:45 - Masal in Genesis 4

11:55 - How We Find Freedom in Romans 6

20:45 - Why would evil spirits follow spiritual laws?

26:15 - Announcement- Launch of the WSITB Store

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!

Ever since the Garden of Eden, we have been in a battle for dominion.

The devil seeks dominion over your eternity, but that’s not all. He wants dominion over your personal life, and he wants dominion over physical space on planet earth.

I don’t think most Christians realize that the devil is out to conquer territory. We often talk about the spiritual battle that we’re all in, and that can cause us to think that the physical world doesn’t matter so much. 

But if you read your Bible, you’ll see that obviously, this world matters to him. And it matters to God. And so we need to make it matter to us as well.

I mean, as we read scripture, Satan shows up in Ezekiel 28 as the principality of Tyre. He shows up in Isaiah 14 as the principality of Babylon. Daniel 10 tells us about the principalities over Persia and Greece. 

And Ephesians 6 tells us that we wrestle against these principalities. But what even is a principality, and how does it come to be in charge of a territory on planet earth?

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

Turn to Ephesians 6, and let’s get weird.

Check out the new website! www.weirdstuffinthebible.com

Sign up for the weekly newsletter! Get additional insights and Bible study tips for unpacking strange things in scripture. Enter your email here:

https://weirdstuffinthebible.beehiiv.com/

You can also find a list of past newsletters at that same link so you never have to miss one.

0:00 - Introduction

1:40 - Recapping Last Week

8:00 - Establishing a Principality

21:40 - Getting Rid of a Principality

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!

Most Christians don’t realize this: not every thought you have is your own thought. Some of them are the thoughts of the Pneumatikos. What are the Pneumatikos? They’re those things Paul warned us about in Ephesians 6:12.

Once of the most famous New Testament verses. You’ve heard it. I’ve heard it. We’ve all heard it.

Ephesians 6:12 says (in the ESV)

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

We’ve read that. We’ve heard sermons on it. We’ve understood it- or, we think we do. We understand that this is talking about spiritual warfare. Satan’s army. 

But what exactly are the rulers? What specifically are the authorities? Or cosmic powers? Or spiritual forces of evil? 

These names might sound like the bad guys in an episode of Power Rangers. But what do all these phrases mean?

These terms refer to the hierarchy of power, or the ranks in the devil’s kingdom. Just like our military might have generals, captains, lieutenants, and infantry, the devil also has an organized militia. They take orders. There’s a chain of command. And if you listen all the way through today, you’ll understand this verse deeper than ever before, and you’ll have a much clearer understanding of how Satan’s kingdom operates.

There are demonic minions who operate at a very low level. There are principalities who operate at a very high level. And there is a prince of darkness at the very very top. (And it was not Ozzy Osbourne.)

I did find Ozzy Osbourne to be weird. But even more-so, I find Satan’s kingdom to be weird, and I’d like to know everything about it that we can find in the Bible. 

And if you want to learn that, too, turn to Ephesians 6, and let’s get weird.

Check out the new website! www.weirdstuffinthebible.com

Sign up for the weekly newsletter! Get additional insights and Bible study tips for unpacking strange things in scripture. Enter your email here:

https://weirdstuffinthebible.beehiiv.com/

You can also find a list of past newsletters at that same link so you never have to miss one.

0:00 - Introduction

2:20 - Get Me to the Greek

5:15 - Arche or Principality

8:20 - Exousia or Power-Authority

13:50 - Kosmokrator or Cosmic Powers

15:50 - Pneumatikos or Spiritual Forces

17:30 - How Satan’s Kingdom Functions

26:00 - How to Repent

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 be in the book of Ephesians for the next couple of weeks, really centering around this famous verse at the end of the book:

Ephesians 6:12 (NIV)

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Next week, we’ll be looking at what these rulers, authorities and spiritual forces exactly are. All you need to know is that these refer to the hierarchy of Satan’s kingdom. Rulers and authorities, powers and spiritual forces, these are demons and fallen angels. 

For this week, I want to just explore this concept of “the heavenly realms.” 

We read that and we’re like, “well I know what that is: the spiritual realm. The supernatural realm. The unseen world. Behind the veil. The upside down. The Quantum Realm. Narnia.”Whatever you want to call it. It’s that spiritual plane of existence that angels and demons inhabit. 

But wait: what if I told you that “the heavenly realms” is a phrase that’s been used throughout the book of Ephesians- and not only that, it says we’re already there.

Ephesians 2:6 says

God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus

So how can we be there if we’re here?

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

Turn to Ephesians 1, and let’s get weird.

Check out the new website! www.weirdstuffinthebible.com

Sign up for the weekly newsletter! Get additional insights and Bible study tips for unpacking strange things in scripture. Enter your email here:

https://weirdstuffinthebible.beehiiv.com/

You can also find a list of past newsletters at that same link so you never have to miss one.

0:00 - Introduction

1:55 - Epouranios

5:45 - Ephesians 2:6

10:30 - Ephesians 1:3

12:00 - Ephesians 1:20

15:25 - Ephesians 3:10

23:00 - Next Time

25:40 - 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!

Who outranks who: angels or humans?

I mean, angels get to go to heaven and can turn invisible and beat up demons- and FLY- so it sounds like they’re better than people. Like angels are superior to humans.

And yet, Hebrews paints a different picture.

Chapter 1, verse 14 says

Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation? 

Those who inherit salvation are us. So angels are ministering spirits who serve us. Wow. So maybe humans outrank angels. But it’s going to say in the very next chapter,

verses 6 and 7

What is man, that you are mindful of him,
    or the son of man, that you care for him?

You made him for a little while lower than the angels…

Wait, so humans are lower than the angels? And that also speaks of Jesus- when Jesus was on earth, was He lower than the angels as well?

Make it make sense!

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

Turn to Hebrews 2, and let’s get weird.

Check out the new website! www.weirdstuffinthebible.com

Sign up for the weekly newsletter! Get additional insights and Bible study tips for unpacking strange things in scripture. Enter your email here:

https://weirdstuffinthebible.beehiiv.com/

You can also find a list of past newsletters at that same link so you never have to miss one.

0:00 - Introduction

1:55 - Lower Than the Angels

7:20 - What is Man?

15:30 - Psalm 8 and the Elohim

24:45 - 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!

Why did Satan tempt Adam and Eve into sin in the Garden of Eden?

You’ve probably wondered that before. You’ve probably wondered why Satan felt it was so important to bring sin into this world and to corrupt mankind. 

And you’ve probably heard answers like this: because Satan hates God, and humans are made in the image of God, so therefore Satan hates man.

And that answer’s fine, I guess, but it doesn’t really check all the boxes for me. Such as: what does Satan get out of it? What is his endgame? What does he get by attacking us?

I have an answer to those questions that will bring a greater context for this spiritual battle we’re in between God and the devil- and why this planet is the battleground. 

The Bible tells us why Satan relentlessly attacks God’s greatest creation, which is human beings. And I’m glad it tells us, because I find Satan’s actions to be weird, and I’d like to explore why he does what he does in the Bible. 

Turn to Genesis 1, and let’s get weird.

Check out the new website! www.weirdstuffinthebible.com

Sign up for the weekly newsletter! Get additional insights and Bible study tips for unpacking strange things in scripture. Enter your email here:

https://weirdstuffinthebible.beehiiv.com/

You can also find a list of past newsletters at that same link so you never have to miss one.

0:00 - Introduction

1:30 - Understanding Dominion

6:20 - How Satan Stole Our Dominion

11:55 - Satan God What He Wanted

15:00 - 3 Areas Where the Devil Seeks Control

23:15 - Next Time

25:15 - How the Gospel Gets Our Authority Back

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!

Genesis 3:1-2 say

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.

He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent,

Well wait, let’s stop right there. Why wasn’t Eve just running the other way at this point Why was Eve talking to a snake? Did animals used to have the ability to speak before the fall of man?

Possibly. But that’s kind of a strong claim to make without more scriptural support for it. I don’t know that animals were that smart.

I did see an article this past week where the headline said scientists have determined that dolphins are the second-most-intelligent beings on this planet. Not snakes, but dolphins. It said dolphins are second only to man.

It did not say where women rank in the lineup. I felt like that should have been part of the story, but the article never went there. 

But the smartest creatures we have on earth other than man are dolphins, and even dolphins can’t talk.

But Genesis 3 hits us with a talking snake.

And Eve talks right back to it. She even lets it convince her to commit the first sinful action ever taken by humans.

Now most of you are already ahead of me: duh, Luke, it’s the devil! (Satan, that serpent of old, as Revelation 12:9 says)

And yes, it’s totally the devil. But that makes the question even more challenging for us, because now we have to explain: how was the devil a snake, who did Eve think she was talking to, and why was she listening to him? We’ll answer all those questions today, because I find this to be weird, and I’d like to explore why it’s in the Bible. 

Turn to Genesis 3, and let’s get weird.

My column this week in the Christian Post: https://www.christianpost.com/voices/gods-will-or-not-in-modern-times-casting-lots-for-big-decision.html

NOTE: My reference to II Corinthians 10:14 was an error; I meant to cite II Corinthians 11:14.

Check out the new website! www.weirdstuffinthebible.com

Sign up for the weekly newsletter! Get additional insights and Bible study tips for unpacking strange things in scripture. Enter your email here:

https://weirdstuffinthebible.beehiiv.com/

You can also find a list of past newsletters at that same link so you never have to miss one.

0:00 - Introduction

2:00 - The Snake’s Identity

8:20 - Why Did Eve Listen to Him?

12:25 - Could Animals Talk?

15:35 - 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!