I’m often on the lookout for content that encourages thinking about the spirit realm in helpful ways for seers and those of us who love them. That’s why I’m excited to recommend the book Jezebel, by Brian Godawa, and the series on Judges by the podcast Faith and Other Oddities.
Jezebel by Brian Godawa
Brian is an author, Hollywood screenwriter (including the award-winning film “To End All Wars”) and teacher. Brian sees a lot of value in using movies to think through the problem of evil and the clash of worldview. Check out his website to learn more.
I first followed Brian’s work through his Noah series. We met through the Peeranormal podcast. I’ve previously recommended Tyrant: Rise of the Beast. I’ve found his perspective quite helpful when evaluating claims and teachings made by “spiritual” Christians. I consider him a good friend although we’ve only met in person a few times.
Jezebel was released late last year and is a fictionalized telling of the biblical story of King Ahab and his queen Jezebel. It is Book One of the Chronicle of the Watchers series. A watcher is a class of powerful spirit mentioned in the Bible that was part of God’s council of heavenly beings which were to keep watch over and protect (or judge) an allotted territory.
It is a very frank portrayal of what was going on in the culture of ancient Israel, as well as a sensationalized portrayal of what the spiritual forces behind the scenes were doing. Some of the spiritual beings have been introduced in Brian’s earlier books (particularly some of the angels), but it’s not necessary to have read them to get what’s going on with the characters.
Brian is not a seer, but some of how he describes things in the spirit realm mimic first-hand accounts of what some seers described seeing to me.
In addition, the portrayals of the culture, including the rampant sexual idolatry and child sacrifice, are all rooted in scholarly work, which somehow seem to get ignored in most churches or daily Bible reading plans.
Folks, the culture of Ancient Israel during Jezebel was utterly depraved. It reminds me a lot of modern America.
Brian gets us into Jezebel’s head. And at one point, he does it so successfully, I found myself sympathizing with her, understanding her worldview, and how it clashes with the Kingdom of God and the identity as God’s imagers that Israel was supposed to portray to the nations.
I was horrified, saddened, and disgusted, because the spirits behind her age are the spirits behind of our age. A
nd that’s the age which Jesus defeats, and calls us out of, so that we can experience eternal life, – life in the Kingdom age – now.
And as seers and those who love them, we’re called to engage the age of darkness we see around us and use that revelation to empower the advancing Kingdom of Light, to find ways to bring God’s dynamic rule to the darkness.
Jezebel is a brilliant work of epic fiction, and I recommend it, with this warning: Ancient Israel was a porn-loving culture. Their gods and followers were obsessed with sex because paganism (and Gnosticism) will produce sexual depravity. Sexual sin is a form of idol worship, whereas monogamous marriage a form of following God Most High, and Jezebel isn’t shy about the root and effects of paganism.
Faith and Other Oddities Podcast Series on Judges
A few months ago, I participated in a couple of podcast discussions with the Raven Creek Social Club. The first was a Commentarians episode on the movie The Frighteners (a movie about a seer) and also Changed My Mind regarding how my thinking about ghosts evolved over time. They have another podcast called Faith and Other Oddities, hosted by Nathan Underwood and Emily Dixon.
Nathan is a worship leader who helps bridge the gap between the scholarly content in the show to everyday life. Emily is the author of Scandalous: Things Good Christian Girls Don’t Talk About, But Probably Should. She teaches theology classes at a local college, and brings the scholarly background to the podcast. Emily also hosted the Commentarians episode on The Frighteners and disclosed on that episode that she was quite familiar with things in the spirit realm, and why. It’s worth listening to, even if you haven’t seen the film.
I started listening to the Faith podcast a few weeks ago, starting with Episode 38 “Preparing for Weirdness: Intro to Judges.” I’ve been completely riveted, and now am up to Episode 50.
While listening, I’ve been continually reminded of the world and culture portrayed by Brian Godawa in Jezebel. (When I get caught up, I’ll then go back to listen to their Genesis series).
Although Jezebel came along a couple hundred years after the events covered in Judges, the worldview clash between the people of God and the surrounding pagan cultures was basically the same…. and just as relevant to us today.
If you like podcasts and a scholarly deep-dive into the Bible, this show is for you. I’ve learned a ton and have been challenged in how I’ve thought about some biblical events. A couple weekend ago, I was working on some home improvement projects, and painting just flew by as I listened to several episodes in a row. I love it!
I hope you check both the book and the podcast out.
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