In this episode, we are truly REVERENT - and most definitely REBELLIOUS! We are tackling one of this book's most difficult and controversial chapters. We have just come through Ch. 10, where John is told to eat a little scroll - and continue to prophesy. Clearly, this shows the urgency of the message of Jesus - persistently proceeding out into the world - even in the midst of the escalating chaos! Now - Joh is told to measure the temple - the altar - and the people who worship in it. To mark them off for protection. Then these two witnesses appear - with authority - testifying - prophesying - breathing fire and doing miracles! The beast from the abyss makes war with them and kills them! They lie in the streets - but not for long. After 3 1/2 days the breath of life from God comes into them! They rise again and are taken up to heaven in a cloud! Who are these witnesses? when will all this craziness happen? The answer will shock you! The meaning will amaze you! This is not what any of us was taught - but it is absolutely a revelation! Jump on in!

In our previous two episodes, we saw the devastation of the first 6 trumpets. So, in this chapter, we naturally expect the 7th. What do we get? Another interlude! We see another strong angel - clothed with a cloud - a rainbow on his head - his face like the sun - and feet like pillars of fire! Who is this angel and what is he up to? He cries out with a loud voice, and 7 thunders utter their voices! What do they say? We'll never know, because John is told to not write it down! The nerve! Next - John is told to take a little scroll from the strong angel - and eat it! He does - and it is sweet in his mouth but makes his stomach bitter. How can we possibly make sense of all this? Join in as we find out what in Heaven's name is going on!

In this episode, God sends an angel DOWN - to the abyss! He gives him the key - and tells him to unlock the abyss and release whatever's in there! He does - and smoke pours out. Out of the smoke comes a massive swarm of locusts - like horses - with human faces and teeth like lions' teeth! They have scorpion tails, and torment people with their stings for 5 months! If that were not enough - 4 angels of destruction and an army of 200 million on horses are released - killing a third of the people with the fire, smoke, and brimstone coming out of their mouths! What in the wide, wide world of sports is going on here? Are these Apache helicopters - heat-seeking missiles - weapons of mass destruction? That's what we're going after - and we're here for it!

We're back! It's Revelation round 2! We're kicking off this phase of our journey through the Book of Revelation with Chapter 8. The 7th seal is finally broken, and all of heaven can now see what's written on the scroll. It's the ultimate plan of God to exact judgment on - and bring redemption to the world! It is so dramatic and terrifying that a hush falls over the universe. There is silence in heaven for half an hour! An angel with a censer mixes much incense with the prayers of the saints and brings it to the altar. Then - in dramatic fashion - he fills it with fire and casts it to the earth! The plan is set in motion! There is no going back from here! 7 angels with 7 trumpets prepare to sound them! All heaven breaks loose! Hail - fire - a mountain uprooted and thrown into the sea! A great star falls from heaven! The water is turned to wormwood! A third of the sun moon and stars go away! Then there is an eagle with a message! He's flying in midheaven crying woe - woe - woe! What does all this mean? Jump in with us as we break it down, trace it through, and discover just how faithful and powerful our God is!

We're going to put a cap - for now - on our series about sects, cults, and bizarre expressions of Christianity by looking at the cult-iest of all cults - and the granddaddy of all narcissistic, power-hungry, pieces of skubalon that ever existed! His name was Jim Jones, and his "church" was the People's Temple. From his humble and twisted beginnings in Indiana to orchestrating the largest human massacre of its time in Guyana, this guy's rise to power and reign of terror is unprecedented and almost unfathomable! How did he coerce 900 people to follow him to a remote location in the jungle - set up a delusional commune - and then exercise such a level of mind control that they all committed "revolutionary suicide" by drinking cyanide-laced Flavor Ade? That's what we are exploring in today's episode. Join us if you dare!

Today we make some space and take some time to go down memory lane. What actually happened in the world this past year? What in the wide wide world of sports went on? And politics - and church world? Who died? What did the weather throw at us? What were the best books - songs - and movies? And why in the middle of our episode were we visited by drones? Join us as we look back on 2024 - REV-REB style!

Christmas carols. We sing them every year - enthusiastically - with great joy! We love the images - the ornate language - the artful way the Christmas story is woven into the classic melodies. But did you know - there is more to these iconic songs than meets the ear? Some are ancient - some are more modern. Others have a dark history and are filled with veiled references to myth and mystery. Still others are born out of tragedy - or composed under duress! Did you know - more than one Christmas carol caused a 24- hr. cease-fire in the chaos of a major war? This is what we're here for in the aftermath of the most wonderful time of the year! Join us as we slip behind the shiny veneer of our favorite Christmas carols and hear the real story behind Silent Night - Good King Wenceslas - O Holy Night - and many more!

Welcome to the oldest fraternal organization in the history of civilization. It's the Masons - who meet in the Masonic Lodge! What do they do in there? Why so secret? Is this the group that pulls the strings behind every government of every nation? Do they secretly control the stock market 0 the black market - and the free market? This is an organization that started simply! Really - a bunch of actual stone masons! Over the centuries it turned into something much different - much bigger. In fact - this is a global phenomenon! Every country in the world has at least one Masonic Order! They claim to be spiritual - even religious. Are they? If so - who is their deity? To whom does their worship go? Join us as we go freebasing the Freemasons!