Rabbit Holes & Meditations - Understanding the Bible

Sometimes it can feel like you're lost in the weeds. We've been studying end times for quite some time on this podcast. We know it's important but at times, amidst all the dates and times and cryptic interpretations that go back and forth, we began to feel a little disconnected. Two things surface from our end times studies. One, there are a myriad of interpretations that can all look like sound biblical study. Only one interpretat...

I’ve found a fascination with the history of dispensational theology. It's amazing how pervasive it is in our modern interpretation of the Bible (and how deceptive). I bet if you asked people who thought that the rapture was going to happen before tribulation to raise their hand, you’d get an overwhelming majority. Further, I’m betting for anyone that has studied end times they also hold the following firmly:

1. Tribulation Perio...

Yesterday we suggested that the millennium might NOT be an actual 1000-year period following Christ's return. It could be symbolic of the church age. That really didn't sit right with me (and many listeners) so we forced the issue through our Berean filter. The process is probably more interesting than the final result. We were able to get even our Berean Filter to respond with both views! We've posted the unedited chat with ChatGP...

WOW! This is a deep one that I didn't expect!

So, I'm currently discipling a Christian who is deep into his Bible. But he feels something is missing. Honestly, I think God sent him to me, and not the other way around. In order to approach him at his level, I have to understand how he is viewing scripture. He has used the words "rightly divided" many times and I've come to understand that his biblical background is rooted in extreme...

RAPTURE THEORY

If you follow this podcast sequentially, you'll going to see inconsistencies in interpretations. We've left the podcasts out there specifically to point out the fact that you're witnessing a journey through scripture as one might actually encounter scripture and interpretations. All along the way, we believed whole-heartedly that what we were saying was right and correct. It wasn't! And we admit it!

The pivotal point...

As we walk through Daniel 12, we had some ground rules. We wanted to stay within scriptural context and not be swayed by interpretation. It seems through history, as a major theological figure creates an interpretative framework, they tend to build on the framework instead of checking against what scripture actually says. We see this playout with Rapture theology especially. So we investigate pointed questions that people have abou...

Daniel Chapter 11 beginning at verse 35 shifts to the end times. This is basically Daniel's version of the book of revelation. One can't help but speculate about this considering the world events as they are unfolding today. This is in many ways feeling all too real. We also go down the rabbit hole of rapture timing. Prophecy covers over 30% of the Bible in context. It is meant to be studied, to be understood. We recognize that spe...

We take a slow walk through the historical part of Daniel chapter 11. This could take an entire semester to teach, and Daniel tells it all in 35 verses. As we walk through this, we try not to take our eyes off what is going on in Israel and try to keep everything here in context. From this context, we know that Daniel is seeing 200 years into the future with incredible accuracy. If you are someone walking on the fence about your be...

The final part of Daniel Chapter 9 involves Gabriel showing up to respond directly to Daniel's prayer with an answer. And boy! what an answer. Gabriel lays it out! Down to the day, the entry of the Messiah is prophesied. Then, we get that final week. There is some speculation regarding the time as to when it occurs but WHAT occurs is spelled out clearly. Given that, we reconstruct the events and they map out onto the world stage to...

Daniels is triggered by the realization that the judgement over Jerusalem is coming to a 70-year close. This revelation comes from Jeremiah. He knows that Jerusalem has not repented. Daniel is anguished and this prayer is calling for the Messiah. In this, at a very foundational level, Daniel is showing us how to pray to the father. We could have drawn a lot of parallels with Daniels prayer and the Lord's prayer told by Jesus.

As we...

Daniel Chapter 8

Would you watch a football game if you knew how it was going to end? You might if you had placed a bet on that game! And what if the person who told you how the game would end had a history of telling events before they happened? We are sitting in such a game - in between two prophetic events told by Daniel. We know exactly how the prophecy in Daniel chapter 8 played out. We also see that same prophecy foreshadowin...

You spend time with your bible, but you don't read the Quran... and why would you. To be honest, we didn't read it either, but we did look at some very prominent theologians who did. We investigated the comparison of the end times from the Quran to the Bible. What if the savior of the Islamic world is the same person as the antichrist in the bible? Would that make you sit up and take notice? Buckle up!

The primary source for this w...

Daniel Seven | 1-14

I know we're late in producing this podcast. Mainly because we couldn't resist injecting our own interpretations from outside scriptural sources. We are trying to avoid that and remain true to the scriptural text (trying to avoid going down our own rabbit holes). Finally, we have raw, scriptural commentary that stays close to the text and doesn't stray. You will see in the notes some diversions worth looking at....

Daniel

I was marveling at the devotion and the character of Daniel. He's such a good example. And while considering that, I was thinking that in much of his circumstances, I might have reacted differently - not wrong - but different. Well, I come from the corporate world where we like to compartmentalize people (for the sake of diversity). So, I took my Myers Briggs training and applied it to characters in the Bible (including Dani...

Daniel Chapter Six

Let me ask you a question: Do you have faith or do you simply believe. Do you know the difference? This podcast will walk you through it! Consider the next time you hear someone say: "I believe in Jesus" what that might imply. It may mean that you have an opportunity standing before you. As I developed this podcast (you'll see it more clearly in the notes), I kept saying: "So, Darius looks like a convert!". But n...

The Book of Daniel

While studying out the Book of Daniel, I came to realize that Daniel never got to go back home. He sees his home beyond Jerusalem. He lives his whole life for the glory of God. I then reflected on others in the bible like this and got to thinking... ultimately, that is all of us in Christ. To keep that spirit alive, I then brought it back to maybe some actual movies that show this theme in action. 

Notes for Sojo...