Rabbit Holes & Meditations - Christian Bible Study

Stick with us (me). I generated this content by asking ChatGPT the meanings of names and then to put those meanings into a cohesive sentence. Then I finally asked ChatGPT to take the full list and create one cohesive story. I've attached the result here so you can read it for yourself.
The Story Behind the Meaning Behind the Names

I sandwiched this conversation between two scenes. The conversation over glorifies the knowledge of Will Hunting in the movie so I wanted to temper that that with the scene in the park where Robin Williams knocks Will down a notch in a very loving way. 

Puzzled as to why Noah curses Canaan, Hams son and not Ham himself? Or for that matter any of Hams other sons. Why specifically Ham's son? 

So for today's Christians who may dismiss the whole spiritual nature of the Bible, this podcasts helps you understand how the recognition of the spiritual side of religion has shaped your devotion to God... whether you believe in the supernatural or not. 

The New Testament authors did not shy away from the spiritual realm. I think in today's culture, we dismiss the spiritual as "not scientific". Big mistake. 

Sometimes you have to put aside your preconceived notions of reality and take the Bible quite literally. Often, when you do that, the picture of what is going on, especially with regards to the Old Testament can make a lot more sense. 
We live in a world where if we can't see, feel, touch, taste or smell it... it doesn't exist. We live in a world that must be explainable by science. This might actually be a obstacle to your faith, I know it was mine! But the more I dig in, the more faith I have that there is more than meets the senses of our reality. 
So stick with me as we begin a set of conversations that will stretch your belief system. Whether you think it possible or not, it will help you understand the Bible and your role in this infinite cosmos that you can't possibly know everything about. Just rest with that fact and let God take you on a journey. 
Genesis 6:1-2 (KJV):And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were bornunto them, That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took themwives of all which they chose.
Genesis 6:4 (KJV):There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in untothe daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were ofold, men of renown.
Genesis 6:13 (KJV): And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth isfilled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
Genesis 6:9 (KJV): These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.

Understanding the divergent nature of sin, the long term effects and even some geographical theology. 

Prayers To God Do Not Have To Be Complicated or Deep...   This is the story of Jabez. Simple and effective prayer comes from the heart. 

This is a deeper conversation warning about the allure of buying into prophecy and numerology. Be descerning, be critical, and skeptical. 

This is interesting, fascinating and not necessarily real... BUT we take three YouTube videos and dissect them to help us understand how biblical numerology can be used for interpretation and prophecy. In my own personal experience with numerologist, it always seems like the conclusion guides the interpretation rather than blindly finding a conclusion based on what the numbers say. I've always entertained numerology with a degree of skepticism AND fascination. When you combine something as precise and true as math with a prophetic undertone, you give credibility to the prophecy by weaving in elements of raw truth. I'll point you to novels that do this very well like the DaVinci Code and the Harbinger. 
So let's go down this rabbit hole with a degree of skepticism and fascination. 
Messiah 2030 Part 1: https://youtu.be/4AG_nJNcTjM?si=gRoie8GasAhtGaS9
Messiah 2030 Part 2: https://youtu.be/AwsjrcUtNhU?si=N59YNyK5J-gbfXjR
Messiah 2030 Part 3: https://youtu.be/SdcBodrOKA0?si=oHvg4cWk8UmveGNX
 

Numbers are all over the Bible and their use is not random. When you start paying attention, you see their meaning everywhere and perhaps even prophecy. 

The Scapegoat has such significance. We often think of the Scapegoat in a negative way... someone using and excuse to get away with something. But that's not what the scapegoat was. Dig into this deep dive.
References
Jonathan Cahn Yom Kippur Sermon: https://youtu.be/2C14ZTM0uE4?si=h8lmHXEHukOSqTsn
 

This is Leviticus but don't go away! Understanding Leviticus will help you in your daily walk! People often skip this in the Bible. 
Inspiration for Podcast: https://youtu.be/Cc_itOtvK80?si=iUCfAJFyBl9aHEnz&t=3400
The Unseen Realm by Michael Heiser

I'm neither a scientist nor a theologian. This is a deep dive into possibilities and wrong or right, I don't think it even scratches the surface of understanding God. This is a work in progress - as am I - but I am having so much fun with this concept, I wanted to share. I definitely will come back and update this. And the paper referred to is not close to being finished. But I will make sure to post it when I have it done. 

This just stopped me and made me think. This message was in one of those short takes on YouTube that was taken from Instagram. I captured the content on Instagram to create this short quick-byte. You can see the original Instagram posts here, follow Mike Donehey, and listen to his music. 
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C-_B8eZpi0L/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
https://www.instagram.com/reel/C_-7UTEpZiR/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUeoA-XDnwOgidL9eIMlWbA 
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2jKlK6gsKyZDItyVP36II2?si=ARA_eJc4SB-pa7ZFj7-Euw 

Understanding Cain and Abel starts with understanding the motivations to glorify God. Upon first reading, one is often puzzled as to why God rejects Cain's offering. Listen to this deep dive.
Genesis 3:15 - And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers...
Genesis 4:3-5 - In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.
Hebrews 11:4 - By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.
Genesis 4:8 - Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
Genesis 4:10 - The LORD said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.
Genesis 4:15 - But the LORD said to him, “... anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” Then the LORD put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him.
Genesis 4:25-26 - and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, “God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.” Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh. At that time people began to call on the name of the LORD.
1 John 3:13 - Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous

I realized that many have not read or even care to read Ayn Rand and her book "The Fountainhead". I have loved this book but as I have grown in my own faith, I began to question the basic premise of Ayn Rand's view of life and philosophy and wondered if a Howard Roark (her main character) could have existed as essentially the same person but one how believed in God. The climax of that novel is a courtroom scene where Howard Roark is defending his act of blowing up an apartment complex that he created because others had taken his creation and built it with and for their own selfish purposes. I don't think Howard Roark would have blown it up as a Christian but to remain true to the speech, I assumed he did. The first speech is from the movie - The Fountainhead. The 2nd speech is my rewritten version. I wish I could make my AI guy act as well as Gary Cooper in the 1949 film but you'll get the gist and the differences... so stick with me. 

For most of my adult life, I was an athiest. Ayn Rand was one of my heroes. Sometimes an Athiest will come very close to God but not quite get there. In this article, we take Ayn Rand's speech by Howard Roark in The Fountainhead and rewrite it as if Ayn Rand's character was a Christian. With all the respect due to Ayn Rand as an incredible thinker and author, the rewritten version gives Howard Roark more depth as a person of God, and might have even help define his motivations better within the context of Ayn Rands own story. I'm sure she's rolling over in her own grave and cringing as I do this but I think it is illustrative of what God can bring to the dynamic. 
Here is Howard Roark's speech REWRITTEN:
Thousands of years ago, the first man discovered how to make fire. He was guided by God, inspired to bring forth a gift that would forever change mankind. He may have been condemned by those who feared what they could not understand, burned at the very stake he had taught his brothers to light. But God had gifted him the vision and the courage to bring fire to the world. Afterward, men had fire to keep them warm, to cook their food, to light their caves. He had fulfilled a divine purpose, and by following the path set for him, he had lifted darkness from the earth.
 
Centuries later, another man invented the wheel. He too may have suffered at the hands of those who could not see God’s greater plan for progress. They may have torn him on the rack he had taught them to build, but through him, God opened the roads of the world. Men could travel beyond any horizon, carrying not only goods but the knowledge and spirit that God had placed in them. These gifts, inspired by God, have always come to man through those willing to follow their calling, no matter the cost.
 
That man—the first, the visionary—stands at the beginning of every great chapter in human history. Even Christians would be persecuted for the beliefs - some to their very death, Christ the supreme example. Yet in each legend, somewhere in the shadows of its memory, mankind knows that its greatest moments began with the courage of one, and that one paid for his boldness.
 
Throughout the centuries, there have been men and women who took first steps down new roads, guided by nothing but the vision God placed in their hearts. Their goals differed, but they had this in common: that the step was first, the road was new, and the vision was given to them, unborrowed from the world, but borrowed from a higher source. And the response they received? Often, it was hatred. The great creators—thinkers, artists, scientists, inventors—stood alone against their time. Every great thought was opposed. Every great invention was denounced. The first motor was considered foolish. The airplane was deemed impossible. But God’s vision moves forward through those willing to listen. And in their suffering, they found strength. In their faith, they persevered.
 
No creator was motivated by the praise of men, for his brothers often rejected the gift he offered. But that gift was not meant for approval; it was meant for the glory of God and the betterment of His creation. A symphony, a book, an engine, a philosophy, an airplane, or a building—these were not created for the users alone but to fulfill the divine purpose laid out for the creator. The act of creation itself was a prayer, a reflection of the Creator. These men held to the truth God had placed in their hearts, and they stood by it, above all things, and against all opposition.
 
Their vision, their strength, and their courage came not merely from within, but from the Creator who breathed life into their souls. A man’s spirit is not only his self—it is the breath of God within him. To think, to feel, to judge, and to act are gifts of the Divine. They are not born of selfishness but of purpose, and each person is called to fulfill that purpose to the fullest.
 
The creators were not selfless in the way the world often teaches, but they were selfless in a higher sense: they served a purpose greater than themselves. They lived not for worldly approval but for the glory of God, and in doing so, they became vessels of divine will. The creator serves a purpose and a calling higher than anything of this earth.
 
Man cannot survive without the mind God has given him. He comes into the world unarmed, save for his intellect and spirit. His brain is his tool, his heart his compass, and his hands his instruments of work. From the simplest task to the greatest religious truth, everything mankind has comes from one attribute: the reasoning mind, a gift from God. But this mind is the gift of the individual, not of the collective. God does not give His vision to groups, but to individual hearts and minds.
 
The mind of man is where God's will takes root. There is no collective brain, no collective thought. God's truth is written upon each soul individually. We may learn from one another, share our achievements, but each thought, each moment of creation, comes from the sacred dialogue between the individual and God.
 
Nothing is simply given to man on earth. All that he needs must be sought, discovered, and created through the gifts God has provided him. And here, man faces a choice: to live by the gifts of his mind, or to live parasitically by the minds of others. The creator, guided by God's purpose, seeks to harness the world around him for the benefit of mankind. The parasite, seeking his own comfort, borrows the fruits of others' labor, without contributing his own vision.
 
The creator’s concern is with the fulfillment of his calling. The parasite’s concern is with the conquest of others. One seeks to fulfill God's purpose, the other seeks to dominate man.
 
The creator lives for his work, not for fame or recognition, but because that work is his worship, his prayer, and his service to God. The parasite lives second-hand, needing the approval and sustenance of others. The creator, independent and faithful, listens to God alone.
 
The basic need of the creator is independence, for God’s calling can only be heard in solitude. His mind, his heart, his hands—they are tools of God’s will. He must be free to think, free to act, and free to follow the path God has laid out for him. He cannot be subjected to the whims of others, for his loyalty lies with God alone.

John 15:1-4 - “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
Genesis 1: 28-31 - “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so. God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
Colossians 3:23-24 - Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
Genesis 2:15-17 - The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
Proverbs 14:12 - There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.
Genesis 3:15 - And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and hers; he will crush strike your head, and you will strike his heel.”
Romans 5:19 - For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
Hebrews 11.6 - And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Ephesians 2:10 - For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Matthew 6:6 - But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
 

And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good...
 
Genesis 1: 2-5 - Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
Psalm 115:105 - Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.
1 John 1:7 - But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
1 John 2:10 - Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble.
1 John 1:6 - If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth.
Proverbs 4:19 - But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble.
Ephesians 5:8 - For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.
Matthew 5: 14-16 - “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."
 
 

The Bible is not meant to be read passively like a novel. It requires careful study, reflection, and a willingness to grapple with complex ideas.
Interpretations and Translations: The Bible has been translated and interpreted in numerous ways. Understanding the nuances of different translations is crucial for forming your own understanding.
The Role of Commentary: Commentary can be helpful, but it's important to remember that it's not scripture itself. Use commentary as a tool for understanding, but always return to the text and form your own conclusions.
Personal Engagement: Your relationship with the Bible is personal. Engage with the text, ask questions, and seek understanding through prayer and reflection.
God's Intentionality: The Bible presents creation as a deliberate act of God, imbued with purpose and intention.
This all suggests that God is not something you have to Wind up on Sunday (listen to: Wind Up by Jethro Tull). Your Pastor is one cog in the engine of knowledge. Some of my favorite ways to study the Bible include using online resources like Blue Letter Bible, which allows you to access many translations simultaneously. If you are confused about a specific passage, it is helpful to see the various translations, and collectively, you'll get a better and integrated understanding of the passage's meaning. And indeed, go down the rabbit hole. The Bible is an interactive work of non-fiction. You are one of the characters. Your mission is to understand your role in the creation, to understand how you can connect with God, the author of your story and how you can bring God into the story with you. Ask him for help - he is your best resource to understanding all this.

You are living your life as an interactive novel with God as the author and humans as the characters, highlighting the balance between God's sovereignty and human free will. Your journey is different from everyone else's. Each of us has a story. Let's explore why God wants to be part of that journey. 
 
Isaiah 46.10 - I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’
Deuteronomy 30:19 - This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live...
Ephesians 1:11 - In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will...
Psalm 139: 1-4 - You have searched me, LORD, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely.
John 1:14 - The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 14.26 - But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
Romans 5:8 - But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Revelation 21:3-4 - And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’[fn] or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”