There’s been a lot of talk online about how the advent of COVID-19 is an act of God specifically aimed at judging wicked people. While there’s no passage of Scripture that refers to the coronavirus (really … there isn’t), there is an interesting passage in the gospels...
judgment
Naked Bible Podcast Episode 144: Ezekiel 29-30
Ezekiel 29-30 are the first two of four chapters that preserve a series of oracles against Egypt and her Pharaoh. As in the case of the oracles against the prince of Tyre, Ezekiel’s imagery of cosmic, non-human forces of chaos that resist God’s order frames Yahweh’s...
Naked Bible Podcast Episode 136: Ezekiel 21-22
These two chapters of Ezekiel beat a familiar drum: Jerusalem is doomed (21) because of her unrelenting wickedness and apostasy (22). Chapter 21 consists of four oracles “clarifying” for hard-of-hearing Israelites what fate awaited them as Nebuchadnezzar moved toward...
Naked Bible Podcast Episode 122 – Ezekiel 14-15
The words of Ezekiel 14-15 were addressed to Jewish elders in Babylon who had come to Ezekiel for a word from the Lord. Knowing they were still idol worshippers in their hearts, God refused to give them comfort. Instead he lowered the boom: Jerusalem’s judgment was...
Naked Bible Podcast Episode 121 – Ezekiel 12-13
The prophet Ezekiel has telegraphed the doom of Jerusalem in a series of visual re-enactment signs, visions, and prophetic oracles. Chapters 12-13 continue with more sign acts, but shifts to God’s assessment of objections by the exiles as to the certainty of...
Naked Bible Podcast Episode 116 – Ezekiel 7
The episode is now live. In this episode, Dr. Michael Heiser walks through one of the most chilling chapters in the book of Ezekiel. Chapter 7 announces with repeated urgency: “The end has come.” This isn’t just a statement about the destruction of Jerusalem in 586...
Naked Bible Podcast Episode 115: Ezekiel 6
The episode is now live. In this episode, Dr. Michael Heiser explores the sixth chapter of Ezekiel, where the prophet delivers a scathing judgment oracle against the “high places” of Israel—the unauthorized and idolatrous worship centers scattered throughout the land....
Naked Bible Podcast Episode 114: Ezekiel 4-5
The episode is now live. In this episode, Dr. Michael Heiser explores one of the most memorable examples of performance prophecy in the Bible—Ezekiel’s symbolic acts in chapters 4 and 5. These prophetic dramas are not just eccentric behaviors; they are deliberate...
Naked Bible 90: Lake of Fire
This episode discusses why hellfire in the New Testament is associated with “the devil and his angels" (Matt 25:41). Where does that idea come from? There are in fact earlier books that are the basis for this language—inside and outside the Old Testament. Transcript...
Naked Bible 89: The Book of Life
There are over a dozen references in the Old and New Testaments to “books” in heaven. The idea of such books extends back to Sumer and Mesopotamian (“tablets of destinies”). In this episode, we trace the lineage of the idea through ancient Near Eastern examples, the...
ETS-SBL Musings: Imprecatory Prayer
Just got back from the week of conferences. A tough trip getting there (15 hours due to flight delays and three flight legs . . . I have a history of hard travel experiences). But easy coming back, thankfully. One of the papers I attended was on the theology of...
Second Follow Up on God and Haiti Post
This is another note in response to Jonathan’s question about my God and Haiti post. There are two causes of suffering in the world: natural disasters and human evil. The former is part of creation; the latter was not “arranged” by God, but was a...
Some Brief Thoughts on the “Sin Nature” and Reader Follow-Up
I decided I’d post a few quick thoughts on these items before the post on what happens to babies and other innocents. I promise, this is the last post on this part of the topic, unless I get an answer to its final sentence. I’m still getting replies that...
Does Prophecy Fail? An Inquiry into Handling Unfulfilled and Altered Prophecies in the Bible
Thanks to Mr. Molina for this convenient suggestion. I don’t have to do much work here to start this off, and maybe this post will be all the farther this goes. A friend of mine, Dr. Bob Chisholm from Dallas Seminary, wrote a paper for a regional ETS meeting on...