Redeeming God

Liberating you from bad ideas about God

Learn the MOST ESSENTIAL truths for following Jesus.

Get FREE articles and audio teachings in my discipleship emails!


  • Join Us!
  • Scripture
  • Theology
  • My Books
  • About
  • Discipleship
  • Courses
    • What is Hell?
    • Skeleton Church
    • The Gospel According to Scripture
    • The Gospel Dictionary
    • The Re-Justification of God
    • What is Prayer?
    • Adventures in Fishing for Men
    • What are the Spiritual Gifts?
    • How to Study the Bible
    • Courses FAQ
  • Forum
    • Introduce Yourself
    • Old Testament
    • New Testament
    • Theology Questions
    • Life & Ministry

How to read and teach the Apocalyptic Literature of the Bible

By Jeremy Myers
Leave a Comment

How to read and teach the Apocalyptic Literature of the Bible

apocalyptic literatureHave you ever tried to study or teach the books of Daniel and Revelation?

If so, you know how challenging they can be. This is partly because these books are two of the “Apocalyptic” books in the Bible. The apocalyptic books of the Bible are some of the hardest to read, study, understand, and teach.

I recently read an excellent book on how to study and teach these apocalyptic sections of the Bible. It is the book Interpreting Apocalyptic Literature by Richard Taylor.

In this book, Taylor provides an excellent summary of what Apocalyptic Literature is and why it is so difficult for modern readers to understand. He then moves on to provide numerous suggestions and guidelines for studying Apocalyptic Literature and teaching it to others (e.g., p 118f). Taylor also includes several warnings about the pitfalls that many ancient and modern Christians have fallen into when they study and teach these difficult portions of the Bible (p. 130f).

Apocalyptic Literature Richard TaylorI found this book to be one of the best introductory books I have read on Apocalyptic Literature in the Bible, and highly recommend it for anybody who wants to study, teach, or preach through any of the Apocalyptic books or sections of the Bible. This is especially true if you plan on teaching the book of Daniel. I say this because the Taylor uses the book of Daniel to provide practical examples of how to read and teach Apocalyptic Literature. As such, this book almost serves as a good mini commentary on Daniel.

Of course, if you are studying Revelation, this book by Taylor will be helpful too, but there are not nearly as many tips or suggestions on Revelation as there are on Daniel. This is probably the only downfall to Taylor’s book, since Revelation tends to be more difficult to read and understand than Daniel. But I have previously provided some tips on reading Revelation, and there is another book in the series which focuses specifically on Revelation.

So, do you want to study and teach Daniel and other apocalyptic books of the Bible? Interpreting Apocalyptic Literature by Richard Taylor will lead you in the right direction.

God is Redeeming Scripture Bible & Theology Topics: Bible Study, Books I'm Reading, Daniel, Preaching, revelation

Advertisement

Jonah 1:2 – God Calls Jonah

By Jeremy Myers
Leave a Comment

Jonah 1:2 – God Calls Jonah
Audio Player
http://media.blubrry.com/one_verse/feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/307991145-redeeminggod-65-jonah-12-god-calls-jonah.mp3
00:00
00:00
00:00
Use Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or decrease volume.

Jonah 1 2Do you have an enemy? Maybe it was President Obama. Maybe now it is President Trump. Or maybe it’s the Islamic terrorists in Iran. Or the religious nut jobs here in the United States.

Maybe it is someone you don’t necessarily think of as an enemy, but you just can’t stand to be around them. Maybe a family member, a coworker, or a neighbor?

Anyway, imagine what you would do if God showed up in your living room later today, and said, “Hey! You know that person you just can’t stand? Well, I can’t stand them either, and I have a message of judgment I want you to tell them.”

If that happened to you, what would you do?

Well, that is exactly what happened to Jonah.

In Jonah 1:2, God calls Jonah to go preach against Nineveh. This podcast episode looks at why God said this, and concludes with a brief look at Jonah’s Jonah’s surprising response.

Jonah 1:3

The Text of Jonah 1:1-3

Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness has come up before me.”

But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish …

In this discussion of Jonah 1:2 we look at:

  • A reminder that Jonah was a popular prophet
  • A bit about how evil Nineveh was
  • Why God wanted Jonah to preach against Nineveh
  • Jonah’s surprising response to God’s instructions

Resources:

  • Redeeming God Discipleship Area
  • Subscribe and Leave a Review on iTunes

Downloadable Podcast Resources

Those who are part of my online discipleship group may download the MP3 audio file for this podcast and view the podcast transcript below.

You must join a discipleship group or login to download the MP3 and view the transcript.

Membership-become-a-member

Thanks for visiting this page ... but this page is for Discipleship Group members.

If you are already part of a Faith, Hope, or Love Discipleship Group,
Login here.

If you are part of the free "Grace" Discipleship group, you will need to
Upgrade your Membership to one of the paid groups.

If you are not part of any group, you may learn about the various groups and their benefits here:
Join Us Today.

Membership-become-a-member


Do you like learning about the Bible online?

Do you like learning about Scripture and theology through my podcast? If so, then you will also love my online courses. They all have MP3 audio downloads, PDF transcripts, quizzes, and a comment section for questions and interaction with other students.

If you want to deepen your relationship with God and better understand Scripture, take one (or all) of these courses. They are great for personal study or for a small group Bible study.

You can see the list of available courses here, and if you join the Discipleship group, you can take all the courses at no additional cost. Go here to learn more and join now.

God is Redeeming God, Redeeming Scripture Bible & Theology Topics: enemies, honor, Jonah, Jonah 1:2, judgment, One Verse Podcast, shame

Advertisement

Jonah 1:1 – Who Was Jonah?

By Jeremy Myers
2 Comments

Jonah 1:1 – Who Was Jonah?
Audio Player
http://media.blubrry.com/one_verse/feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/306833192-redeeminggod-64-jonah-11-who-was-jonah.mp3
00:00
00:00
00:00
Use Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or decrease volume.

Do you think God would ever allow the country of Iran or Iraq to invade the United States and win? There are many people in the United States who claim that such a thing could never happen.

But what if it did? What would you think about God and how He is running the world? What would you think about the claims that some people make today about the United States being the best nation on earth and under the protection and blessing of God?

Well, surprisingly, it is exactly these sorts of questions that the book of Jonah helps answer. This is what we are discuss in this episode of the One Verse Podcast when we look at Jonah 1:1.

who is Jonah

It is critically important as we begin our study of the book of Jonah to understand some of the historical background to the book. If you do not understand the background, you will not understand the point of this story either. Once we understand this background information and what was going on in the days of Jonah, we will see that the message of the book of Jonah is quite appropriate for us today as well.

The Text of Jonah 1:1

Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,

In this discussion of Jonah 1:1 we look at:

  • When the events in the book of Jonah take place
  • When the book of Jonah was written
  • Who wrote the book of Jonah
  • Why the book of Jonah was written
  • The background story of Jonah

Resources:

  • Join my online discipleship group and receive free courses and ebooks
  • Subscribe and Leave a Review on iTunes

Downloadable Podcast Resources

Those who are part of my online discipleship group may download the MP3 audio file for this podcast and view the podcast transcript below.

You must join a discipleship group or login to download the MP3 and view the transcript.

Membership-become-a-member

Thanks for visiting this page ... but this page is for Discipleship Group members.

If you are already part of a Faith, Hope, or Love Discipleship Group,
Login here.

If you are part of the free "Grace" Discipleship group, you will need to
Upgrade your Membership to one of the paid groups.

If you are not part of any group, you may learn about the various groups and their benefits here:
Join Us Today.

Membership-become-a-member


Do you like learning about the Bible online?

Do you like learning about Scripture and theology through my podcast? If so, then you will also love my online courses. They all have MP3 audio downloads, PDF transcripts, quizzes, and a comment section for questions and interaction with other students.

If you want to deepen your relationship with God and better understand Scripture, take one (or all) of these courses. They are great for personal study or for a small group Bible study.

You can see the list of available courses here, and if you join the Discipleship group, you can take all the courses at no additional cost. Go here to learn more and join now.

God is Redeeming God, Redeeming Scripture Bible & Theology Topics: Jonah, Jonah 1:1, One Verse Podcast

Advertisement

Is Genesis History?

By Jeremy Myers
8 Comments

Is Genesis History?

I was given access to preview the documentary, Is Genesis History? It is a movie which provides positive, evidence-based arguments for the reliability of the Bible as history. It is showing on February 23 in select theaters, and you can learn more here.

Is Genesis History

No matter what you believe about the Bible or about account of Creation and the Flood, this is a great movie for you to watch. If you believe that much of the Bible is fiction, this documentary will challenge you to consider some facts you might not have encountered before. If you believe the Bible is historically accurate, then this movie will provide you with further evidence to support your view.

Is the Bible True? Of course!

As for myself, I believe the Bible is 100% accurate and true, but (if you have read my blog or listened to my podcast for a while), I have a somewhat different approach to this belief than is commonly taught. For example, in my One Verse Podcast episodes on Genesis 1, I go to great length to show how this creation account was not written to provide a scientifically accurate account of how the world began, and so it is a mistake to read it that way. But this doesn’t mean Genesis 1 is in error. Far from it! Instead, when we understand the point that the author is making, Genesis 1 becomes “more true” than ever before! The critical truths that Genesis 1 is actually teaching are way more important than just to provide an historical account of how the world began.

Is Genesis History?

Anyway … this is not really the point of the documentary, “Is Genesis History?” The point of this documentary is more focused on events in the Bible like the flood account of Genesis 6-8. And on this event, I agree that what we have in the Bible is historically accurate.

Now, personally, I don’t care too much if someone reads Genesis as literal history or as literal theology. It is true either way.

What does bother me, however, is when someone rejects the historic reliability of Genesis based on “scientific evidence.” As much as I love and value science, I sometimes find that scientific evidence is based on cherry-picking scientific facts to prove a pre-determined scientific conclusion.

What about the Flood?

The flood is the perfect example. Many reject the historicity of a worldwide flood based on questionable scientific presuppositions. For example, the idea that there is not enough water on earth to cover all the mountains of the earth ignores the possibility that maybe not all the mountains of the earth were always as high as they are now, nor the oceans as deep. Scientists have pointed out that if all the mountains were thrown into the sea so that all “land” was of equal altitude, the water of the earth would cover all land by a distance of 1.7 miles. Therefore, we don’t need water high enough to cover Mount Everest, we just need some geological plate shifting so that mountains rise up and ocean floors drop.

Similar arguments can be made about where all the water came from (and where it sent), how Noah and the animals fit in the ark, and other related questions. Places like the Grand Canyon also receive a much simpler explanation than the theory (which is rapidly losing favor) that the Grand Canyon was formed over millions of years by a small trickle of water. Is that what happened? Maybe. Maybe not. But the fact that the Mount Saint Helens canyon, which is hundreds of feet deep, formed over the period of a few weeks in 1980 makes thinking people wonder about the formation of the Grand Canyon. Yes, the Grand Canyon is much deeper and larger, but the water and sediment from a worldwide flood is also much deeper with higher volume.

Look, I am not a scientist, and I don’t claim to be one. I am a theologian. In theological studies, however, I frequently encounter people who read a text of Scripture that seems difficult to them and their preconceived ideas of what should be in the Bible, and when they read these troublesome texts, they jump straight to the conclusion that best fits their current theological system. They say, “It’s an error! This is an error in the text. The Bible is wrong.”

Is Genesis HistoryI have found, however, the most valuable of jewels lie under the hardest of rocks. With some hard work and creative thinking, I have found reasonable explanations for nearly every troublesome text in the Bible. And some of these explanations have led me into new insights and deeper understandings of God, Scripture, Jesus, sin, salvation, and humanity, that I never would have found if I had simply gone with the flow and said, “Oh! An error!”

In Scripture and theological pursuit, those who resort too quickly to “Error in the text” often miss the deepest truths of Scripture.

So also with science. I am not “anti-scientific.” Nor am I a fundamentalist Christian. I want all people to consider all the evidence with an open mind.

Many people have been taught the theory of evolution as the method by which we got the world as we now see it. If that’s you, consider some other lines of evidence as well. Watch “Is Genesis History?” and see what you can learn.

In this documentary, Dr. Del Tackett talks to experts in geology, biology, astronomy, archaeology, the Bible and more—seeking answers to centuries-long questions surrounding the book of Genesis:

  • Was the universe created in six literal days?
  • Did humans evolve?
  • Were Adam and Eve real?
  • Was there a global flood?
  • What happened to the dinosaurs?

“Is Genesis History?” presents a positive, evidenced-based case for the Bible’s historical reliability.

Below is the trailer for you to get an idea of what is in this great documentary. After you watch the trailer, you can learn more about the movie and get tickets here: Is Genesis History: The Movie.

God is Redeeming Scripture Bible & Theology Topics: apologetics, flood, Genesis

Advertisement

Jonah Introduction – What is God Like?

By Jeremy Myers
Leave a Comment

Jonah Introduction – What is God Like?
Audio Player
http://media.blubrry.com/one_verse/feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/305658926-redeeminggod-63-jonah-introduction-what-is-god-like.mp3
00:00
00:00
00:00
Use Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or decrease volume.

Jonah

This podcast episode begins a study of the Book of Jonah.

If you think you know the story of Jonah, stick around anyway. I predict you will learn some things from Jonah that you have never seen in this story before.

In this discussion of Jonah we look at:

  • Why you don’t know the story of Jonah
  • How the “big issues” of Jonah are non-issues when the story is really understood
  • Since Jonah is an excellent story … it must be read as a story
  • One central question in the book is “What is God like?”

Resources:

  • Join my online discipleship group
  • Subscribe and Leave a Review on iTunes

Downloadable Podcast Resources

Those who are part of my online discipleship group may download the MP3 audio file for this podcast and view the podcast transcript below.

You must join a discipleship group or login to download the MP3 and view the transcript.

Membership-become-a-member

Thanks for visiting this page ... but this page is for Discipleship Group members.

If you are already part of a Faith, Hope, or Love Discipleship Group,
Login here.

If you are part of the free "Grace" Discipleship group, you will need to
Upgrade your Membership to one of the paid groups.

If you are not part of any group, you may learn about the various groups and their benefits here:
Join Us Today.

Membership-become-a-member


Do you like learning about the Bible online?

Do you like learning about Scripture and theology through my podcast? If so, then you will also love my online courses. They all have MP3 audio downloads, PDF transcripts, quizzes, and a comment section for questions and interaction with other students.

If you want to deepen your relationship with God and better understand Scripture, take one (or all) of these courses. They are great for personal study or for a small group Bible study.

You can see the list of available courses here, and if you join the Discipleship group, you can take all the courses at no additional cost. Go here to learn more and join now.

God is Redeeming God, Redeeming Scripture Bible & Theology Topics: Jonah, One Verse Podcast

Advertisement

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 33
  • 34
  • 35
  • 36
  • 37
  • …
  • 59
  • Next Page »
Join the discipleship group
Learn about the gospel and how to share it

Take my new course:

The Gospel According to Scripture
Best Books Every Christian Should Read
Study Scripture with me
Subscribe to my Podcast on iTunes
Subscribe to my Podcast on Amazon

Do you like my blog?
Try one of my books:

Click the image below to see what books are available.

Books by Jeremy Myers

Theological Study Archives

  • Theology – General
  • Theology Introduction
  • Theology of the Bible
  • Theology of God
  • Theology of Man
  • Theology of Sin
  • Theology of Jesus
  • Theology of Salvation
  • Theology of the Holy Spirit
  • Theology of the Church
  • Theology of Angels
  • Theology of the End Times
  • Theology Q&A

Bible Study Archives

  • Bible Studies on Genesis
  • Bible Studies on Esther
  • Bible Studies on Psalms
  • Bible Studies on Jonah
  • Bible Studies on Matthew
  • Bible Studies on Luke
  • Bible Studies on Romans
  • Bible Studies on Ephesians
  • Miscellaneous Bible Studies

Advertise or Donate

  • Advertise on RedeemingGod.com
  • Donate to Jeremy Myers

Search (and you Shall Find)

Get Books by Jeremy Myers

Books by Jeremy Myers

Schedule Jeremy for an interview

Click here to Contact Me!

© 2025 Redeeming God · All Rights Reserved · Powered by Knownhost and the Genesis Framework