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Hello brothers and sisters.

This is one of the most common questions Christians ask. Walk into any church small group, post it on any Christian forum, or ask any pastor after service, and you’ll get the same question in a dozen variations:

“Which Bible translation is the most reliable?”

“What’s the best Bible for serious study?”

“Should I read the ESV or the NIV?”

“Is the KJV still the best?”

I saw a version of this question just the other day here on Substack, and it stopped me in my tracks. Not...

The foundation for everything that follows

Hello brothers and sisters.

Welcome to part 1 of a multi-part, deep dive paid series from my Substack. We will be exploring one of Scripture’s most mysterious and fascinating concepts. This is just a taste of the eight installments where we explore the Divine Council as popularized by Michael Heiser and give some critical push-back on the way he presented this idea in his book, The Unseen Realm.

For the full exploration, you can get a premium...

Hello brothers and sisters.

I need to tell you something a little embarrassing.

The first time I heard Casting Crowns’ “If We Are the Body,” I almost laughed.

It came on while I was driving, streaming the Christian Rock station on Amazon Music. I was barely into my walk with Jesus at the time.

Okay, that’s actually overstating it. I wasn’t even a believer yet, to be honest. I was still in the exploration phase, still trying to figure out whether any of this was actually true. I had started...

Hello brothers and sisters.

If you’ve read Genesis 27 more than once, you’ve probably noticed something strange about it.

Now before we go any further, I want to thank Sarah over at Extra Biblical Librarian on Substack for inspiring me to dig into this. We were talking about the bless/curse paradox in the angelic court in Job and she brought this one to my attention. If you’d like to read Sarah’s post on this you can check it out HERE.

Jacob deceives his father. He steals his brother’s blessing....

Hello brothers and sisters.

This is the finale of a 4-part series exploring replacement theology (supersessionism), its historical roots, its biblical problems, and why it matters for every Christian.

In Part 1, we examined the real-world consequences of this theology and introduced the core problem: if God broke His covenant with Israel, no promise He’s ever made is secure.

In Part 2, we traced how replacement theology developed through history; not from careful exegesis, but from cultural...

Hello brothers and sisters.

This is Part 3 of a 4-part series exploring replacement theology (supersessionism), its historical roots, its biblical problems, and why it matters for every Christian. In Part 1, we examined the real-world consequences of this theology and introduced the core problem: if God broke His covenant with Israel, no promise He’s ever made is secure. In Part 2, we traced how replacement theology developed through history, not from careful exegesis, but from cultural...

Hello brothers and sisters.

This is Part 2 of a 4-part series exploring replacement theology (supersessionism), its historical roots, its biblical problems, and why it matters for every Christian.

In this installment, we’re going to trace the actual historical development of replacement theology through the writings of the church fathers, the political decisions of emperors, and the theological choices that shaped how the church understood its relationship to Israel.

We’re going to look at...

Hello brothers and sisters.

This is part 1 of a 4-part series exploring replacement theology (supersessionism), its historical roots, its biblical problems, and why it matters for every Christian.

This series is not about creating division among believers. I do not consider this a salvation issue, and I want to be clear about that from the outset. Godly, faithful men and women have held this view throughout church history without it reflecting on their salvation or their love for Christ.

But I...

Hello brothers and sisters.

We’ve spent three weeks exploring some of the most dramatic differences between the Hebrew and Greek versions of Job:

In Part 1, we wrestled with the “bless or curse” paradox: how Satan’s prediction in the heavenly court reveals the danger of transactional faith and empty worship.

In Part 2, we discovered Job’s “lost ending”: the Septuagint’s epilogue with its royal genealogy, connection to Genesis 36, and explicit promise of resurrection.

In Part 3, we examined the...

Job 19 in Two Distinct Voices

Hello brothers and sisters.

In our journey through the Septuagint’s book of Job, we’ve encountered some fascinating surprises.

In Part 1, we discovered that the Greek text preserves a literal “bless” where we expect “curse,” creating a paradox that reveals the difference between authentic worship and empty religion.

In Part 2, we explored the Septuagint’s explicit promise: “It is written that he will rise again with those whom the Lord raises up.” Clear, unambiguous...

Resurrection and Royal Genealogy

Hello brothers and sisters.

Today I want to ask you a question: How does the book of Job end?

If you’re reading a standard English Bible, the answer is simple and somewhat anticlimactic:

Job 42:17 (NRSV): “And Job died, old and full of days.”

That’s it. Job is restored, blessed with a new family, lives 140 more years, sees four generations of descendants, and then dies at a ripe old age. The end.

It’s a good enough ending. Satisfying in its simplicity. Job’s...

The Angelic Court Paradox in Job 1-2

Hello brothers and sisters.

If you’ve read the book of Job in any English translation, you know the setup: Job is a righteous man whom Satan challenges in the heavenly court. Satan claims that Job only serves God because God has blessed him with wealth, family, and health. Take those away, Satan argues, and Job will curse God to His face.

It’s one of the most famous scenarios in all of Scripture. The ultimate test of faith. Will Job curse God when everything...

How Jesus Preached from the Greek Bible His Disciples Knew

Hello brothers and sisters.

When Jesus sat down on that Galilean hillside and began, “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” He wasn’t inventing a new theology. He was doing what every great rabbi did: He was opening the Scriptures.

But here’s what most Christians miss: the Scriptures Jesus was opening weren’t in Hebrew. They were in Greek.

By the first century, the Septuagint— the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible completed between 270...

Numbers 20 and the Sin That Cost Moses the Promised Land

Hello brothers and sisters.

In Part 1, we explored the first time Moses struck a rock to bring forth water. God positioned Himself at Horeb, Moses struck the rock with the rod of judgment, and water flowed. It was a beautiful picture of Christ: struck once, that living water might flow to all who would drink.

But there’s a second water-from-the-rock incident. And this one doesn’t end well.

This one ends with Moses— faithful Moses, who led...

Part 1: Exodus 17 and the Mystery of the First Strike

Hello brothers and sisters.

There’s a moment in Exodus that almost slips by unnoticed. The Israelites are thirsty. They’re complaining (again). Moses is exasperated (again). God provides water from a rock.

Miracle accomplished, crisis averted, and the story continues.

Except it’s not that simple.

Because when you slow down and look carefully at Exodus 17:1-7— and especially when you compare the Hebrew Masoretic Text with the Greek Septuagint —...

Because trials aren't a maybe, they're a sure thing

Hello brothers and sisters.

Have you ever felt like you were drowning? Not literally, but that suffocating sensation when life’s troubles pile so high you can barely breathe? Or maybe you’ve felt the heat, when pressure mounts and circumstances close in like walls of flame?

I think it’s safe to say we’ve all been there. The financial crisis that threatens everything you’ve built. The relationship fracturing under unbearable strain. The...

The Metaphor’s Ancient Roots and Hebrew Foundations

Hello brothers and sisters.

Welcome to part 1 of a multi-part, deep dive paid series from my Substack. We will be exploring one of Scripture’s most pervasive and profound metaphors. This is just a taste of the eight installments where we trace the “woman in travail” idiom from its ancient Near Eastern origins through the Hebrew prophets and into Jesus’ own eschatological discourse. Along the way, we compare how the Masoretic Text and...

How a seventh-century saint’s story proves the Greek Old Testament wasn’t a “bad translation” but a living theological tradition

Hello brothers and sisters.

There’s a story that captivated early Christians for over a millennium, read annually in Orthodox churches, commemorated in icons, and celebrated by both East and West… yet most modern western Christians have never even heard of it.

It’s the story of Mary of Egypt: a woman who ran away at twelve to become a prostitute in Alexandria, lived...

A Deep Dive into Psalm 46:10 and What Gets Lost (and Found) in Translation

Hello brothers and sisters.

You know the verse. You’ve seen it on coffee mugs, Instagram posts, and inspirational wall art. Maybe you’ve clung to it during a crisis, whispered it during a panic attack, or heard it quoted in a sermon about trusting God.

“Be still, and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)

It’s beautiful. It’s comforting. It’s true.

But here’s something you probably didn’t know: the Greek translation of this...

When the Book of Giants meets the Dragon of Job

Hello brothers and sisters.

We’ve spent three posts establishing that Job 41 describes a dragon, that ancient translators understood it as such, and that cultures worldwide preserve similar memories. Now we come to the strangest— and perhaps most significant —part of our investigation.

Because the biblical tradition doesn’t just give us dragons. It gives us giants.

According to some ancient sources, those two phenomena are directly connected.

Welcome...