The episode is now live.
Naked Bible Podcast Episode 105 features another round of listener-submitted questions, covering a wide range of biblical and theological topics that reflect Dr. Michael Heiser’s deep knowledge and consistent focus on context and original languages.
Among the questions explored:
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What’s the difference between seraphim and cherubim?
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Is the “Lake of Fire” eternal punishment or annihilation?
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How do pseudepigraphal texts like the Books of Adam and Eve relate to Scripture?
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Does Romans 9:5 clearly affirm the deity of Christ?
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What’s Heiser’s view on the fate of those who’ve never heard the Gospel?
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Old Earth vs. Young Earth: what’s the best biblical approach?
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How should we understand Lucifer in Isaiah 14?
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Does New Testament grammar affect key doctrines like atonement or deity of Christ?
Heiser also touches on dispensationalism, the nature of resurrection, and how biblical theology works across Testaments.
Whether you're a longtime Naked Bible listener or diving in for the first time, this Q&A is packed with biblical insight grounded in the original context—free from denominational baggage.
Timestamps and Questions
00:00 – Introduction
01:46 – Why was the serpent cursed to crawl in Genesis 3:14 if it already did?
06:08 – Differences between cherubim and seraphim
14:05 – Old Earth vs. Young Earth creationism
18:38 – Isaiah 14 and “Lucifer” – Satan or Babylonian king?
24:18 – Romans 9:5 and the deity of Christ
29:36 – Eternal torment vs. annihilation – What is hell?
37:04 – Christus Victor or penal substitution – which atonement view?
42:38 – What about those who never hear the Gospel?
49:08 – View on pseudepigraphal Books of Adam and Eve
53:32 – Greek article use in John 1:1 and Jesus’ deity
58:11 – Closing remarks
BAT 126b = Babylonian Talmud, tractate Baba Bathra, page 126 second folio (the “b” simply means the second side of the page/second folio)
thanks!
Original cultural context of Scripture may not always be God’s only intended audience. I say this because of an amazing story told by Bible translator Marilyn Laszlo (https://files.tyndale.com/thpdata/FirstChapters/978-0-8423-3881-3.pdf).
I actually heard her tell this story. She lived in Hauna Village, Papua New Guinea. She said that when someone got sick, a doctor–called a “Spitter”–would chew on plants and then spit on the affected body part. When Marilyn translated the story of Jesus healing the blind man by spitting in the dirt, these people realized that Jesus is the most powerful “Spitter” in the world!
In the podcast you told how the spit could be telegraphing Jesus as creator but for the Hauna people the spit showed him to be the most powerful doctor, which for them meant power over spiritual forces of darkness causing disease and death.
@drmsh,
I understand transcripts take time and that the new website is a work in progress. Please understand we are all very grateful for everything you guys do, so I don’t want to come off as demanding… I just noticed one hadn’t been done since the new website and wanted inquire about them and make sure they hadn’t been done away with.
Are transcripts still a thing?
Respectfully,
Nathan
Mr. Tudor (who does transcripts) had some vacation time. That’s the issue, plus some of the recent episodes have been lengthy.
Thank you Mr. Tudor for all that you do! Vacation well earned I’m sure!
Nathan
Yes, but this is actually a dissertation level question. If you wanted to read something of that length looking for this sort of thing, you’d want to read Beale and Carson’s Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament. It’s great, but long and detailed (and having some Greek and Hebrew helps, though they transliterate a lot).
Sort of the “textbook case” that is referenced for something like this (a word level interpretation) is the way Paul zeroes in on the singular “seed” vs. “seeds” in Gal 3:16. But there are a number of instances where the LXX translator interpreted a grammatical form that could have more than one parsing a particular way, and the NT writer uses that, or the NT writers opts for the alternative.
Thanks, I just bought that book. Will definitely look into it further. I find this topic very interesting, mainly because I sat under my uncle’s teaching (he was my pastor until I was 17), which never attempted to connect any OT and NT dots. Learning the value of keeping OT theology in mind revolutionized the way I see many passages in the NT. To this day, my uncle’s favorite thing to say is that we see everything as through a glass, dimly, and that we know everything we need to know when it comes to salvation. Anything that requires some careful thinking seems to be dismissed fairly quickly. But I am probably one of those 5 people in every church you mentioned in the past, I like to keep digging.
I am fluent in Russian and knowing how languages work makes the Bible study much more exciting. I first noticed the language discrepancies in various passages when I started to read the Bible in English about 10 years ago, it puzzled me at first, but then led me to study the original languages more. That’s how I found your website and your youtube materials. I really enjoy your work and the the work of other scholars you mention from time to time. Thanks!
Very interesting (the language discrepancies); you’re welcome!