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Zechariah Chapter 4: Bible Study by Atheists
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In this episode of Sacrilegious Discourse, Husband and Wife dive into the enigmatic world of Zechariah Chapter Four. With their unique blend of humor and curiosity, they tackle the bizarre imagery of golden lampstands, olive trees, and the cryptic message to Zerubbabel. What does it all mean, and why does it seem like the Bible loves to keep us guessing?
The couple playfully debates the significance of the visions, including the symbolic meaning behind the olive trees and the ever-flowing golden oil. They share their confusion and laughter as they attempt to unravel the text's mysteries, all while drawing amusing parallels to classic movies and childhood memories.
💬 What are your thoughts on the symbolism of the lampstand and olive trees? How do you interpret Zerubbabel's role in this chapter? Join the conversation in the comments or on social media!
🎧 Get ready for a lively discussion filled with laughter, insightful commentary, and a critical examination of Zechariah's visions as they prepare for the upcoming Q&A episode!
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1. Malachi Chapter 1: Bible Study by Atheists
47:01||Season 39, Ep. 1Malachi, Messenger of Mayhem: When God Hates Esau and Slams Your Goat Sacrifices📝 Episode Summary:Welcome to the divine roast of Malachi Chapter 1, where God kicks things off by saying “I love you” and then immediately follows it up with a detailed description of how much he hates Esau. Romantic, right? In this snark-laced breakdown, your favorite atheist duo dives into the last book of the Hebrew Bible—Malachi (or as we like to call it, Malarkey). Whether Malachi is a prophet, a messenger, or just some anonymous guy with opinions, nobody knows... and honestly, nobody in this book seems to either.We dig into theories about Malachi’s identity—Ezra? A Levite? God's celestial DoorDash angel?—and laugh through the hot mess of post-exilic tantrums disguised as prophecy. God is once again displeased (shocker), this time because priests are grilling up garbage-tier sacrifices and the people are phoning in their worship. There’s plenty of contempt, judgment, and a whole lot of theological gaslighting. Bonus: we compare God to Trump, decide Lindsay Graham might be Esau reincarnated, and try to figure out why the Almighty is obsessed with being feared more than loved.Come for the biblical takedown, stay for the rant about taxes, governors, and why giving God your blind goat is apparently the ultimate insult.👉 Listen now at sacrilegiousdiscourse.com👉 Join our godless rebellion on Discord: discord.gg/VBnyTYV6nC👉 Support the snark on Patreon: patreon.com/sacrilegiousdiscourse📌 Topics Covered:“God proves love by absolutely wrecking Esau’s descendants”“Priests caught whining over crappy sacrificial food they approved”“Malachi: prophet, Ezra, or Yahweh’s anonymous pen pal?”“The Governor test: If your pet wouldn't eat it, why would God?”“Fear me, says the Lord—because love is too mainstream”“400 years of silence incoming… and we get it”💬 Best Quote from the Episode:“Do you love us?” — “Well, I hated Esau, so… what do you think?”24. Bible Study by Atheists Weekly: Zechariah Chapters 12 - 14 Q&A, Wrap Up, Contradictions and Specials!
07:17:55||Season 38, Ep. 24Zechariah’s Zombie Apocalypse, Divine Meltdowns, and a Bible Book Wrap-Up from Hell📝 Episode Summary:Hold onto your prophetic horses—this ain’t your grandma’s Bible study. In this irreverent breakdown of Zechariah Chapters 12–14, we hit peak theological absurdity: God turns Jerusalem into a drunken stumbling block, demands loyalty through magical fountains and plague-stricken horses, and ends with a bizarre image of people being forced to worship him with threats of drought and divine pestilence. Because nothing says “love me” like supernatural weather terrorism.But wait—there’s more! This oversized episode packs in our Q&A session (yes, we read your spicy, chaotic questions), a full Book of Zechariah Wrap-Up, a hearty helping of contradictions and inconsistencies, and even a couple of off-topic specials that spiral into discussions of Christian nationalism, prophecy bros, and how the apocalypse is apparently God’s favorite aesthetic. We laugh, we rant, we side-eye... and yes, we call out every ridiculous “prophecy” that’s aged like holy milk.If you’ve ever wondered how many ways one book can contradict itself—or how a divine war fantasy turns into mandatory holiday attendance—this one’s for you.👉 Listen now at sacrilegiousdiscourse.com👉 Join our godless rebellion on Discord: discord.gg/VBnyTYV6nC👉 Support the snark on Patreon: patreon.com/sacrilegiousdiscourse📌 Topics Covered:“Jerusalem becomes a stumbling cup of wrath... whatever that means”“Zombie plagues, eye rot, and divine horse punishment—classic Yahweh”“Q&A chaos: listener questions about prophecy, politics, and pet peeves”“Zechariah’s greatest hits (and misses): a contradictory wrap-up”“How Christian nationalists weaponize these verses—and why it’s terrifying”“Bonus mini-episode: Why does God need feasts if he’s omnipotent?”“Spoiler: End Times theology still doesn’t make sense”23. Zechariah Contradictions: Bible Study by Atheists
39:40||Season 38, Ep. 23Zechariah's Contradictions: God Is Furious. Unless He Isn't.📝 Episode Summary:Buckle up, heretics—it's our last dance with Zechariah, and we’re sending him off with a contradictions episode so absurd, even God might need a flowchart. In this glorious finale, our snarky hosts debate whether Zechariah was Iddo's son or grandson (because apparently genealogy is as hard for the Lord as kindness). Then it's on to God’s rage issues: is He full of “great fury” or just pretending not to be? Depends on the verse, the day, and how smitey He’s feeling.But the real theological whiplash hits when we ask: how should strangers be treated? One verse says love them like family, the next says kill them without mercy. You know, totally normal divine guidance. It all spirals into hilarious chaos as the hosts quiz each other on Zechariah’s bizarre visions, measuring lines, oily trees, and that one moment where Joshua gets a celestial wardrobe makeover.There’s also a deep dive into the dangerous allure of black-and-white moralism, a pop quiz with suspiciously many “C” answers, and yes—a Star Trek reference about pretend nukes and incinerator death lotteries. Because why not?👉 Listen now at sacrilegiousdiscourse.com👉 Join our godless rebellion on Discord: discord.gg/VBnyTYV6nC👉 Support the snark on Patreon: patreon.com/sacrilegiousdiscourse📌 Topics Covered:“Was Zechariah Iddo’s son or grandson? Depends on the Bible's mood.”“God says He's not furious—except when He absolutely is.”“Strangers: love them, unless you're told to murder them instead.”“Golden lampstands, olive trees, and God's bizarre Pinterest board of visions”“Why Old Testament morality is the original gray-area gaslighting”“A pop quiz where ‘C’ is suspiciously the right answer 80% of the time”“The shepherd-messiah who got ghosted harder than your Hinge date”💬 Best Quote from the Episode:“I’m God, I can be whatever the f* I want. Mostly I’m a dick—that’s what I choose.”**22. Zechariah Wrap Up: Bible Study by Atheists
01:20:52||Season 38, Ep. 22Zechariah's Prophetic Fever Dream: Donkeys, Flying Scrolls, and the Jesus Retcon📝 Episode Summary:Hold onto your chariots, folks—this episode is a wild theological autopsy of Zechariah, where prophecy, PTSD, and political propaganda come together like a DIY apocalypse starter kit. The hosts finally wrap up the Book of Zechariah, dissecting its two-part structure (First Zechariah: dreams and dates, Second Zechariah: undated messianic mayhem) while dunking on the absurd Christian rewrites that claim Jesus was foreshadowed by every flying scroll and basket-bound woman in sight. Spoiler: he wasn’t.We get into the scholarly consensus that multiple authors likely Frankensteined this book together, and how Christians conveniently ignore that to force Jesus into every metaphor. Dirty laundry becomes spiritual cleansing. Donkeys become messianic Uber rides. And “The Branch”? Apparently a divine pseudonym no one asked for. The hosts also riff on everything from religious power grabs to their own family political drama—because nothing says “holy scripture” like Thanksgiving table trauma.There's talk of satan not being Satan, visions that feel like bad acid trips, and the inevitable hijacking of Jewish apocalyptic literature to justify modern Christian nationalism. Bonus content: a mini rant on King James being a flaming homo and why that makes evangelicals accidentally hilarious.👉 Listen now at sacrilegiousdiscourse.com👉 Join our godless rebellion on Discord: discord.gg/VBnyTYV6nC👉 Support the snark on Patreon: patreon.com/sacrilegiousdiscourse📌 Topics Covered:“Zechariah’s visions: acid trip or divine surveillance program?”“Why every Christian thinks a donkey equals Jesus”“Spoiler alert: the 30 pieces of silver thing was just a petty insult”“Jewish scholars: this is national trauma, not divine foreshadowing”“Flying scrolls, women in baskets, and other biblical acid flashbacks”“Christian nationalism hijacks apocalyptic literature—again”“Why ‘The Branch’ is just another vague poetic nothingburger”“Zechariah: a desperate messiah grab wrapped in Persian politics”Sunday Assembly
01:04:03|Godless Congregations & The Joy of Non-Stick Spirituality: Sunday Assembly Exposed📝 Episode Summary:What happens when you take out the hymns, prayers, and judgment—but keep the community, music, and awkward potlucks? You get Sunday Assembly, the non-religious, non-doctrinal, definitely-not-a-church that’s somehow more wholesome than your average church barbecue. In this very special episode, we dive into the rise of so-called “atheist mega churches” (spoiler: they’re not mega and they’re not churches), and discover how secular folks across the globe are gathering to celebrate life—without the ghost stories.We cover how Sunday Assembly started with two comedians who just wanted a god-free community vibe, how it now spans continents (even Idaho, somehow), and why the word “church” makes both fundamentalists and cranky atheists foam at the mouth. The hosts rage lovingly about why religious people don’t own words, why community isn’t just for the sanctified, and why this whole thing is basically the Unitarian church... minus the apologetic whispers of “God, maybe?”If you've ever wanted a book club meets TED Talk meets karaoke night without being guilt-tripped about hellfire—this is your jam. We also talk petty atheist highway cleanups, how to start your own chapter (spoiler: it starts with a YouTube watch party), and why we desperately want one in Ohio.Find links to local chapters and livestreams here: https://sacrilegiousdiscourse.com/blog/sunday-assembly-a-godless-community-for-atheists-and-secularists👉 Listen now at sacrilegiousdiscourse.com👉 Join our godless rebellion on Discord: discord.gg/VBnyTYV6nC👉 Support the snark on Patreon: patreon.com/sacrilegiousdiscourse📌 Topics Covered:“Why Sunday Assembly isn’t a church—but still has better music than yours”“Science talks, karaoke, and no hymns? Where do we sign up?”“Live Better, Help Often, Wonder More—no gods required”“How to start a local group without burning out or burning bushes”“The irony of atheists arguing over whether they need friends”“Religious people mad that secular folks discovered community? Shocking”“Petty atheism done right: cleaning up near the Ark Encounter”💬 Best Quote from the Episode:“If I want to call it a church, I will. And you don’t have to like it. I didn’t ask you.”God’s Top 10 Kill Streaks (episode 1)
01:20:09|Lot’s Wife, Onan’s Pullout Fail, and the Egyptian Baby Massacre📝 Episode Summary:Welcome to the blood-splattered kickoff of our new series, “God’s Top 10 Kill Streaks – Old Testament Edition,” where your favorite heathens dive headfirst into Yahweh’s most unhinged murder sprees. Starting at number 10, we salt-shame Lot’s wife who was turned into a sodium statue for the crime of looking back while her hometown gets nuked. That’s right: no name, no dialogue, just divine vaporization for having a human moment.Coming in hot at number 9, we tackle the infamous case of Onan, who was smote for pulling out. Spoiler: this has nothing to do with masturbation and everything to do with inheritance, manipulation, and patriarchal BS. And rounding out this murdery trio, the pièce de résistance...God’s mass execution of Egyptian firstborns (Exodus 12:29). Babies. Animals. Prisoners. All dead in one holy tantrum... and we celebrate it with freaking Passover? What the literal hell?With plenty of righteous rage, historical breakdowns, and off-the-rails commentary (yes, there’s a “Girls Gone Wild: Seder Edition” tangent), we call out the hypocrisy of divine justice and ask: if God’s so powerful, why does he kill like a toddler throwing a fit? Don’t miss this episode if you like your theology with a side of “what the fuck?”👉 Listen now at sacrilegiousdiscourse.com👉 Join our godless rebellion on Discord: discord.gg/VBnyTYV6nC👉 Support the snark on Patreon: patreon.com/sacrilegiousdiscourse📌 Topics Covered:“Lot’s wife looked back—and God lost his damn mind”“Salt: not just seasoning, now also divine punishment”“Onan spills his seed and gets executed—calm down, Yahweh”“Spoiler: it’s not about masturbation, it’s about inheritance and patriarchy”“Egypt’s firstborns get mass murdered… and we made it a holiday?”“Collective punishment: still God’s favorite kink”“Modern leaders would be tried for war crimes—but Bible God gets worshiped”“Does God really need blood to feel loved?”💬 Best Quote from the Episode:“God’s trying to teach love through mass murder—and somehow, we're the immoral ones?”21. Zechariah Chapters 12 -14 Q&A: Bible Study by Atheists
01:37:30||Season 38, Ep. 21Zechariah’s Endgame: Plagues, Prophets, and WTF Apocalypse Fuel📝 Episode Summary:It’s the final chaotic cluster of Zechariah—chapters 12, 13, and 14—and oh boy, it’s less “holy scripture” and more “political manifesto meets acid trip.” Your favorite atheist duo dives into post-exilic fever dreams where Jerusalem gets divine superpowers, horses go blind, and God plays Mad Max with cups of judgment and supernatural rocks. Bonus: apparently the real apocalypse involves killing prophets, lying about your career path, and stamping “Holy to the Lord” on cookware.We get messy with interpretations: is God pierced? Is it a metaphor for guilt? A prophecy about Jesus? Or just a confusing editorial mess written centuries after the fact to shore up priestly power? (Spoiler: probably that last one.) Expect tangents about nuclear war panic, theocracy creep, and why every chapter seems to be written by a different guy with anger issues. And if you thought things couldn’t get weirder—get ready for rivers of blood, horse bells, and sacrificial meat cookpots. Because Yahweh’s final mic drop is... sacred Tupperware?This one’s jam-packed with snark, scholarship, political fury, and a healthy dose of Butthole Surfers. Yep, that happened.👉 Listen now at sacrilegiousdiscourse.com👉 Join our godless rebellion on Discord: discord.gg/VBnyTYV6nC👉 Support the snark on Patreon: patreon.com/sacrilegiousdiscourse📌 Topics Covered:“Divine intoxication, blind horses, and drunken geopolitical chaos”“That time God killed ⅔ of his own people and called it purification”“Why prophets suddenly needed to fake farm experience”“The priesthood's jealous power grab dressed up as holy reform”“How apocalyptic revenge fantasies replaced temple-building hope”“Seriously—why does God care so much about pots and pans?”“No gods, just goat blood, guilt, and theological gaslighting”💬 Best Quote from the Episode:“Zechariah can lick my ass. How about that?”20. Zechariah Chapter 14: Bible Study by Atheists
36:50||Season 38, Ep. 20Zechariah’s End-Times Dumpster Fire: Rape, Rotting Flesh, and Holy Crockpots📝 Episode Summary:Brace yourselves, heathens, we’ve reached the flaming finale of Zechariah, and boy, does it go out with a bang (and some divine rot). In this final chapter, God makes sure Jerusalem is properly plundered, the women are raped (again—because Yahweh loves a war crime), and half the city gets dragged into exile before He bothers to lift a celestial finger. The hosts dive headfirst into the horror show, side-eying a deity who lets atrocities happen before swooping in to flex His holy muscles. Spoiler alert: God’s big plan still sucks.It’s an apocalyptic fever dream featuring melting eyeballs, earthquake valleys, and yet another “Day of the Lord” that reads like a mix of a B-movie and divine temper tantrum. We get discussions of biblical sci-fi, nuclear plagues, and God’s bizarre obsession with sacred kitchenware; because nothing says holiness like a glowing crockpot and a plague-ridden donkey.The hosts don’t just critique the theological carnage, they blow it wide open with pop culture jabs (Star Trek meets Leviticus), rants about religious trauma, and exasperated geography fails that would make a fifth-grade social studies teacher weep. You’ll laugh, you’ll rage, and you’ll definitely never look at a Sunday school lesson the same way again.👉 Listen now at sacrilegiousdiscourse.com👉 Join our godless rebellion on Discord: discord.gg/VBnyTYV6nC👉 Support the snark on Patreon: patreon.com/sacrilegiousdiscourse📌 Topics Covered:“God lets Jerusalem get sacked before bothering to help. Classic.”“Raping, rotting, and religious trauma—just another day in the Old Testament.”“Eclipses and earthquakes = signs of divine tantrums, apparently.”“The Festival of Tabernacles makes a confusing comeback.”“Holy cooking pots and zombie plagues—God’s weird endgame.”“Geography fails and theology flops: the Canaanites get banned (again).”“When religion shapes law, even science becomes heresy.”💬 Best Quote from the Episode:"Could you imagine saying you're so shitty that I'm just gonna let all of y’all get raped?"19. Zechariah Chapter 13: Bible Study by Atheists
15:22||Season 38, Ep. 19Zechariah’s Final Purge: Stabbings, False Prophets, and a Holy Bloodbath📝 Episode Summary:Welcome to the most stab-happy, prophet-purging, guilt-soaked chapter yet—Zechariah 13. This episode dives straight into the divine mayhem where God allegedly opens a “fountain of cleansing” but immediately follows it up with a kill order on prophets, false or otherwise. Because nothing says forgiveness like stabbing your own kid for dreaming too loud.Our hosts break down the bizarre logic of a God who says, “No more prophets, and if your kid has a vision—stab ‘em.” Naturally, we explore the implications of outlawing divine visions while still clinging to a book full of them. Is this theology or just a celestial cancel culture? Plus, we get a good laugh at the idea of parents going full slasher-flick because little Timmy accidentally prophesied in his sleep.Also featured: awkward God porn metaphors, prophetic shame spirals, a garment of hair (??), and a not-so-fun remnant that gets “refined” via fire because trauma builds character, apparently. If you've ever wondered what would happen if Fox News, a confused medieval prophet, and a sadistic deity walked into a bar—this chapter's your answer.👉 Listen now at sacrilegiousdiscourse.com👉 Join our godless rebellion on Discord: discord.gg/VBnyTYV6nC👉 Support the snark on Patreon: patreon.com/sacrilegiousdiscourse📌 Topics Covered:“God opens a fountain of purity, then asks you to shank your kid”“Zechariah out of a job? No more prophets allowed!”“False prophecy = family stabbing time”“Garment of hair? We prefer our cults polyester, thanks”“Two-thirds die, the rest get fire-tested—cool, cool”“Divine trauma as character building, Old Testament style”“Fox News parenting meets biblical horror show”💬 Best Quote from the Episode:“Could you imagine your mom going, ‘I can’t believe you had that vision—get over here so I can stab you’?”