Weird, Mysterious Things in the Bible
God’s Mysterious World
Today’s Verse and Thought
“God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”(John 4:24)
It’s A Mystery
I’ve always enjoyed reading mystery stories. I think I’ve read all the Nancy Drew series. They weren’t exactly mind-bending thrillers, but for a young person, they brought me years of cheap entertainment. Even now, I like to discover and explore weird and mysterious things in our world. There are so many unexplained and interesting puzzles to solve.
The Bible is full of mystery - like strange creatures, bizarre imagery, and unbelievable events. For years I struggled with many of them; they seemed beyond comprehension.
I understood the basic principals and moral commands, but there was so much more. And many of the weird things were never addressed by any church I attended. I assume the priest and ministers must have been puzzled by them too.
The various churches I went to over the years often taught from a single verse, or short passage. It always seemed that behavioral lessons were the focus, especially in the Protestant churches.
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”(2 Timothy 2:15)
When I began to study on my own, I finally began to see how rich the stories were in the Bible as God revealed His truth through it.
“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.”(John 16:13)
The Bible is loaded with ancient history and customs, beautiful poetry, practical advice, dramatic stories, humor, prophecy, weird creatures, and lots of mysterious, strange, supernatural events.
And the most amazing thing to me is that it’s actually one continuous story running through its 66 books. There’s a “metanarrative” to Scriptures.
“A metanarrative (also called grand narrative) is an overarching story or storyline that gives context, meaning, and purpose to all of life. A metanarrative is the “big picture” or all-encompassing theme that unites all smaller themes and individual stories. In building a house, there are many workers doing many individual jobs—plumbing, sheet rock, electrical work, roofing, etc.—but all of those contractors are working toward the same thing—completing a house. The blueprint is the “big picture,” the metanarrative that gives meaning to each contractor’s work. The plumber isn’t fitting pipes to nowhere; he is involved in a larger scheme.” (source)
Disassembling the Bible’s Metanarrative
“Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.”(Proverbs 30:5)
For all of creation, over thousands of years, humans credited life’s events to the spirit realm. Whatever happened was due to the will and actions of “the gods.” These supernatural entities were presented as real, tangible beings in ancient texts across all cultures. For the last 1000 years, however, science slowly changed our supernatural worldview, including our approach to Scriptures.
During the advent of the Enlightenment, and the new age of reason and science, a great change took place in our world. Science and human reasoning began to anchor itself as the only standard by which we understood our world. The cult of science replaced any supernatural explanation.
We couldn’t theoretically “prove” the supernatural by accepted forms of human “evidence,” therefore the supernatural simply didn’t exist. The spirit world soon faded into legends and myths as scientific proof took over.
It was a convenient way for Satan to discredit God as a fairytale. God became a mythological character - like Santa, Father Time or Mother Earth. According to intellectuals, only the uneducated and weak clung to God like some kind of lucky rabbits foot.
“But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong…”(1 Corinthians 1:27)
In the Church, the Bible’s grand story was impacted by our scientific approach to it. We dissected it into its individual parts (verses), and examined each to prove its value or validity.
It’s much like our scientific approach to Western medicine which breaks down the body into specialties and subspecialties - down to the cellular level. We hyper-focus on a detail but often forget the whole. This approach can lead to error and misinterpretation, both in medicine and theology.
As an example, I’ve heard many teachers over the years quote Revelation 3:20 as an invitation to Salvation.
(Source)
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”(Revelation 3:20)
As a stand alone single verse, this seems accurate. But when we read it in context, we discover that it was directed at God’s church at Laodicea; it’s not an invitation to unbelievers in this passage.
The church at Laodicea had closed the door on Jesus, trusting in their own wealth and abilities instead. The church had expelled the Truth. Jesus was outside knocking, trying to get back in.
It didn’t have to do with Jesus knocking on an unbelievers heart; it was on the prodigals heart He knocked. It’s a beautiful Salvation picture, but inaccurate in context. In this instance, we lose the importance of the story when it’s misapplied.
I used to read the Bible this way, and realize now that it was causing me to misunderstand the fullness of the mystery in the Scriptures. The scientific method requires us to examine something closely, but the whole - the context - can’t be ignored.
Regaining a Supernatural Worldview
I love science. I believe it’s just our human way of trying to understand and explain God and His mysterious creation. Science and religion aren’t enemies; they are actually complimentary when applied properly. For instance, as we gain a deeper understanding of space, we have dismantled some of the things that were taught as scientific “truth” from the past, leaving us with hints of “something” out there and questioning our understanding of the beginning of the universe.
I keep waiting for the James Webb telescope to see the giant eye of God looking back at us. That would be hilarious! Unlikely…but it would be funny!
The best way to approach scripture is with the right worldview, first and foremost. We need to reclaim the supernatural. Only by accepting that the supernatural worldview is “real” can we understand God to the best of our ability.
Just because something is fantastic, doesn’t make it imaginary.
God is Spirit. He is in the realm of the supernatural. When we approach the Bible with a supernatural worldview, it can lead to amazing discoveries and even tangible “proofs” of the stories in the Bible that the “experts” have a hard time refuting. For instance, archeologist have made incredible discoveries that “prove” things in the Bible to be historically accurate.
Many churches shy away from science, but when viewed properly, it’s a great tool to support Scriptures. The Bible is full of accurate “scientific” facts, even when our science books are full of speculation or error.
“…Young’s General Astronomy, published in 1898, is full of errors. Yet, the Bible, written over 2,000 years ago is devoid of scientific error. For example, the shape of the earth is mentioned in Isaiah 40:22. Gravity can be found in Job 26:7. Ecclesiastes 1:6 mentions atmospheric circulation. A reference to ocean currents can be found in Psalm 8:8, and the hydraulic cycle is described in Ecclesiastes 1:7 and Isaiah 55:10. The second law of thermodynamics is outlined in Psalm 102:25-27 and Romans 8:21. And these are only a few examples of scientific truths written in the Scriptures long before they were “discovered” by scientists.”(source)
All of the weird mysteries in the Scriptures - and in God’s creation - are better understood when we begin to approach it through the Spirit first. When we read all the verses - the pieces and parts - from the lens of the supernatural whole, the mysteries begin to reveal themselves.
And then when we look around at all the mysterious things in the world from the supernatural metanarrative vantage point, we begin to have a better context and understanding of the mysterious.
To be continued…
“And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.”(1 Corinthians 2:13)
Today’s Question
Verses to Explore
“This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.”(2 Samuel 22:31)
“Prove me, O Lord, and try me; test my heart and my mind.”(Psalm 26:2)
“…even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”(John 14:17)
Today’s Prayer
Father I pray that each of us realign our understanding through your worldview. There is so much happening today that unsettles us, but understanding events through the Biblical lens helps us see what you are doing in the world. Even in times of trouble we can rest assured that you are involved in it. Father open our eyes to see and help us gain an appreciation for the mysterious things you have revealed to us. As we close out our age of Grace, we will encounter more and more strange wonders. Some things we may never be able to understand, but we trust in you. You know all of it. You control the metanarrative and invite us to participate. Thank you Father for allowing us the privilege of seeing things that others are mystified by. And thank you for giving us peace when we can’t understand. We are like little children exploring the wonders of your world. I pray that we gain a sense of awe as we consider just how amazing your creation is. Thank you Father for giving us the life we have. We pray that all we do brings praise and glory to your name. Amen.❤️