The most disturbing parts of the Bible

The following article was obtained through the website, Stars Insider.

The Bible is a fascinating book, but one that also has its fair share of horror stories. Some passages of the Bible are disturbing for a variety of reasons, including being really graphic when it comes to detailing a gruesome event. Of course, some of these stories can be interpreted in different ways, the use of allegories being one of them. Still, parts of the Bible can be truly shocking for some people.

The beheading of John the Baptist

King Herod attended to the sadistic desires of his stepdaughter, Salome, who during a party asked him for the head of John the Baptist. The gruesome story is detailed in Matthew 14:8-11: "And she, being before instructed of her mother, said, 'Give me here John Baptist's head in a charger.' And the king was sorry: nevertheless for the oath's sake, and them which sat with him at meat, he commanded it to be given her. And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison. And his head was brought in a charger, and given to the damsel: and she brought it to her mother."

The judgment of Solomon

King Solomon did not split a child in two, but he did find that to be the best course of action to find out who the real mother of a child was. Luckily there was no bloodshed, but it's still quite a scary story. 1 Kings 3:16-28 reads: "And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king. And the king said, 'Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.'"

Zombies

The vision of Ezekiel, as described in Ezekiel 37:7-8, is really creepy, akin to a zombie horror movie. He basically sees a valley filled with dry bones, and then they all come together and begin to form skeletons. The especially disturbing part is that they are like zombies: they remain dead. "So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them."

Cannibal mothers

2 Kings 6:28-29 tells the story of two starving women who agree to eat their own children. Though after eating the first child, the mother of the second child hides her son in an attempt to save him. This is the passage: "And the king said unto her, 'What aileth thee?' And she answered, 'This woman said unto me, 'Give thy son, that we may eat him to day, and we will eat my son to morrow.' So we boiled my son, and did eat him: and I said unto her on the next day, 'Give thy son, that we may eat him: and she hath hid her son.'"

Job's boils

God strikes a weird deal with Satan to test Job's faith. Job not only loses everything, but he's afflicted with boils all over his body. The details can be found in Job 2:7-8: "So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown. And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes."

Child murder

Psalms has lots of uplifting verses, but Psalm 137:9 couldn't be darker. This is a response to the Babylonians, who enslaved the people of Jerusalem, but it's still disturbing. It reads: "Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones."

Stoning

Casting stones is mentioned in several parts of the Bible. Things such as being a rebellious son (Deuteronomy 21:18-21) or not being a virgin upon getting married (Deuteronomy 22:13-21) would be valid reasons for the punishment. 

Bears attacking children

2 Kings 2:23-24 tells the story of how God sent in bears to attack a group of children who mocked prophet Elisha. Though there are interpretations that say that the "children" could have been a group of young men. The passage goes like this: "And he went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, 'Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head.' And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them."

Abraham sacrifices his son Isaac

The story of God asking Abraham to sacrifice his son as a test of faith is one of the most popular in the Bible, and quite a disturbing one. Though in the end, an angel stops him. Genesis 22:9-10 reads: "When they came to the place where God told them to go, Abraham built an altar. He carefully laid the wood on the altar. Then he tied up his son Isaac and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached for his knife to kill his son." 

Jephthah sacrifices his daughter

Jephthah swears to God that if he wins a battle, he'll sacrifice whatever comes out of the door when he gets home. It was his daughter. "After the two months, she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed. And she was a virgin. From this comes the Israelite tradition," (Judges 11:39).

Noah

Noah's story not only mentions genocide, but it also implies i n c e s t. After all, God tells Noah in Genesis 9:7: "As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it.” Except, only Noah's family was alive...

Judas Iscariot death

Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus, but he too suffered a not-so-peaceful death, as described in Acts 1:18: "With the payment he received for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out."

King Herod's death

King Herod also had quite a gruesome death, as described in Acts 12:23: "And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost."

Sodom and Gomorrah

Genesis 19:4-26 details what happened to the original sin cities: "Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven." Lot and his family managed to escape the devastation, except for Lot's wife, who disobeyed God's instruction to never look back. She did so, and as a result turned into a pillar of salt.

Lot

After Lot's wife was turned into a pillar of salt, God found a way to keep Lot's lineage alive. Lot's daughters got their father drunk and in the end both became pregnant, as described in Genesis 19:30–38. "Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve offspring from our father,” reads Genesis 19:32.

The fall of Samaria

Gomer is unfaithful to her husband, Hosea, and the adultery is used as an allegory for the people of Samaria not worshiping the one and only God. They do reconcile in the end, but the threat of God is a scary one. Hosea 13:16 reads: "Samaria shall become desolate; for she hath rebelled against her God: they shall fall by the sword: their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their women with child shall be ripped up."

Circumcision

Moses' wife, Zipporah, circumcises her son while Moses travels to Egypt to warn them of the coming plagues. The graphic account is found in Exodus 4: 24-25: "And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the LORD met him, and sought to kill him. Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, 'Surely a bloody husband art thou to me.'"

Slavery

Exodus 20-21 not only details the Ten Commandments, but it also talks about "masters" and "servants" and even goes as far as giving instruction on punishment of slaves. For instance: "And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die under his hand; he shall be surely punished. Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished: for he is his money."

Women

There are numerous passages about women that can be found disturbing. From being "unclean" from having a period or a baby (Leviticus 12) to Deuteronomy 22:28–29, which reads: "If a man happens to meet a virgin who is not pledged to be married and rapes her and they are discovered, he shall pay her father fifty shekels[a] of silver. He must marry the young woman, for he has violated her. He can never divorce her as long as he lives."

Levite and the concubine

A woman Levite called his "concubine" was murdered one night, but the most gruesome part comes next. Judges 19:29 details it: "When he reached home, he took a knife and cut up his concubine, limb by limb, into twelve parts and sent them into all the areas of Israel."

God threatened priests

God threatened priests who had become lazy in praising him. Malachi 2:3 details it: "Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts; and one shall take you away with it."

Division

People would speak the same language in the Tower of Babel, but God decided to punish humankind for their pride by dividing people through language. Genesis 11:7-9 reads: "Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city.  Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth."

Sources: (Ranker) (Grunge) 

See also: Science confirms these parts of the Bible are true

Fulfilled Old Testament prophecies about Jesus

The following article was obtained through Stars Insider.

The Messiah is mentioned in several books of the Old Testament, but these were not just mere descriptions of a potential savior that would be sent by God. The Old Testament includes numerous prophecies about the Messiah. The fascinating thing is that many of these prophecies were fulfilled, and we can find evidence of this in several books of the New Testament. According to these biblical accounts, it looks like Jesus Christ was indeed the Messiah.

MESSIAH WOULD BE BORN OF A WOMAN

The prophecy that the Messiah would be born human can be found in Genesis 3:15. Matthew 1:20 and Galatians 4:4 confirm this. The latter reads "[...] God sent his Son, born of a woman [...]"

MESSIAH WOULD BE BORN IN BETHLEHEM

Bethlehem was the birthplace of Jesus, and this was prophesized in the Old Testament, more specifically in Micah 5:2, which reads: "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans[a] of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times." The location of Jesus' birthplace is then confirmed in Matthew 2:1 and Luke 2:4-6.

MESSIAH WOULD BE BORN OF A VIRGIN

Mary as a virgin and the mother of Jesus is described in the Old Testament in Isaiah 7:14, which reads "[...] The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son [...]." The prophecy is then fulfilled in Matthew 1:22-23 and Luke 1:26-31.

MESSIAN WOULD COME FROM THE LINE OF ABRAHAM

Both Genesis 12:3 and Genesis 22:18 mention this. The latter reads "and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.” Matthew 1:1 then confirms this in the Genealogy of Jesus the Messiah. And so does Romans 9:5.

MESSIAH WOULD BE A DECENDENT OF ISAAC

Genesis 17:19 mentions that the descendants of Isaac will carry an everlasting covenant with God. Genesis 21:12 also touches on this subject. Luke 3:34 then confirms the ancestry of Jesus as "the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor."

MESSIAH WOULD BE A DECENDENT OF JACOB

Numbers 24:17 says that "A star will come out of Jacob." Matthew 1:2 gives us the fulfilment of the prophecy.

MESSIAH WOULD COME FROM THE TRIBE OF JUDAH

"The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his," reads Genesis 49:10. Luke 3:33 calls Jesus "the son of Judah," and Hebrews 7:14 confirms this.

MESSIAH WOULD BE HEIR TO KIND DAVID'S THRONE

2 Samuel 7:12-13 and Isaiah 9:7 prophesized this. The latter reads "[...] He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom [...]." Luke 1:32-33 says that "The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David," and Romans 1:3 confirms Jesus' ancestry to King David.

MESSIAH WOULD SPEND A SEASON IN EGYPT

"When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son," reads Hosea 11:1. Matthew 2:14-15 in the New Testament confirms it: "So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: 'Out of Egypt I called my son.'"

A MASSACRE OF CHILDREN WOULD HAPPEN AT MESSIAH'S BIRTHPLACE

Jeremiah 31:15 foresees the massacre of the innocents, and the fulfilment of the prophecy is then confirmed in Matthew 2:16-18. The prophecy was as follows: "A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more."

A MESSENGER WOULD PREPARE THE WAY FOR MESSIAH

Isaiah 40:3-5 says that "the glory of the Lord will be revealed." And this indeed happened, as described in Luke 3:3-6: "He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet."

MESSIAH WOULD BE REJECTED BY HIS OWN PEOPLE

Both Psalm 69:8 and Isaiah 53:3 prophesized how Jesus would be "despised and rejected by mankind" (quoting the latter). Then, in the New Testament, John 7:5 states: "For even his own brothers did not believe in him."

MESSIAH WOULD BE A PROPHET

"The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him," reads Deuteronomy 18:15. A prophecy that was confirmed in Acts 3:20-22.

MESSIAH WOULD BE DECLARED THE SON OF GOD

Psalm 2:7 reads: "I will proclaim the Lord’s decree: He said to me, 'You are my son; today I have become your father.'" Then in Matthew 3:16-17, following Jesus' baptism, God says: "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."

MESSIAH WOULD BRING LIGHT TO GALILEE

"The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned," reads Isaiah 9:1-2; a prophecy confirmed in Matthew 4:13-16.

MESSIAH WOULD SPEAK IN PARABLES

Both Isaiah 6:9-10 and Psalm 78:2-4 ("I will open my mouth with a parable") mention this prophecy. The prophecy is confirmed in Matthew 13:34-35, and Jesus explains why he speaks in parables in Matthew 13:10-15.

MESSIAH WOULD BE SENT TO HEAL THE BROKENHEARTED

"He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted," can be read in Isaiah 61:1-2. The fulfillment of this prophecy is described in Luke 4:18-19.

MESSIAH WOULD BE A PRIEST AFTER THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK

While "Christ did not take on himself the glory of becoming a high priest," (Hebrews 5:5-6) God's message was there in Psalm 110:4: “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”

MESSIAH WOULD BE BETRAYED

Psalm 41:9 reads: "Even my close friend, someone I trusted, one who shared my bread, has turned[a] against me." This topic is also covered in Zechariah 11:12-13. Both Luke 22:47-48 and Matthew 26:14-16 described the betrayal of Judas.

MESSIAH WOULD BE FALSELY ACCUSED

"Ruthless witnesses come forward; they question me on things I know nothing about," reads Psalm 35:11. And then we find "some stood up and gave this false testimony against him" in Mark 14:57-58.

MESSIAH WOULD BE SPAT UPON AND STRUCK

Isaiah 50:6 reads: "I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting." Then Matthew 26:67 confirms it: "They spit in his face and struck him with their fists. Others slapped him."

MESSIAH WOULD BE HATED WITHOUT CAUSE

Both Psalm 35:19 and Psalm 69:4 confirm this. The latter reads: "Those who hate me without reason outnumber the hairs of my head." John 15:24-25 details the fulfillment of the prophecy.

MESSIAH WOULD BE CRUCIFIED WITH CRIMINALS

Isaiah 53:12 mentions this, as well as Matthew 27:38 ("Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left,"). We see this again in Mark 15:27-28.

MESSIAH WOULD BE GIVEN VINEGAR TO DRINK

Psalm 69:21 reads, "They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst." Matthew 27:34 and John 19:28-30 confirm it: "A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips."

MESSIAH'S HANDS AND FEET WOULD BE PIERCED

"Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet (Psalm 22:16). Zechariah 12:10 also mention this prophecy. John 20:25-27 then confirms its fulfillment.

MESSIAH WOULD BE BURIED WITH THE RICH

Isaiah 53:9 mentions that Jesus was "assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death." Matthew 27:57-60 confirms it.

MESSIAH WOULD RESURRECT FROM THE DEAD

The resurrection of Jesus is mentioned in both Psalm 16:10 and Psalm 49:15. In the New Testament, this is confirmed in both Matthew 28:2-7 and Acts 2:22-32.

MESSIAH WOULD ASCEND TO HEAVEN

The ascension of Christ was prophesized in Psalm 24:7-10, and later confirmed in the New Testament in both Mark 16:19 and Luke 24:51, the latter which reads: "While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into Heaven."

MESSIAH WOULD BE SEATED AT GOD'S RIGHT HAND

Both Psalm 68:18 and Psalm 110:1 mention this prophecy. The latter reads: "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” Then Mark 16:19 says: "After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into Heaven and he sat at the right hand of God." In addition, Matthew 22:44 also makes reference to this prophecy.

MESSIAH WOULD BE A SACRIFICE FOR SIN

The prophecy can be found in Isaiah 53:5-12, part of which reads: "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities." Romans 5:6-8 confirms the fulfilment of this prophecy. "Christ died for the ungodly [...] God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Sources: (Learn Religions) (Diocese of Westminster)

See also: The shockingly accurate predictions of Nostradamus