TIME TRAVELERS CLUB

Access bonus content and ask questions on air!

$6.99/month

Biblical Time Machine

Helen Bond & Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones

Join Helen and Lloyd as they travel back in time (metaphorically… it’s a podcast) to explore the real history of the people, places and events of the Old Testament, New Testament and everything in between.

  1. 23 HRS AGO

    Did Jesus Rise from the Dead?

    In this Easter special, Prof Lloyd Lewellyn-Jones interviews our resident expert, Prof Helen Bond, on the evidence for Jesus' resurrection. They discuss the data about the resurrection in early Christian literature, whether there was an empty tomb, and various naturalistic attempts to explain the resurrection belief.  SUPPORT BIBLICAL TIME MACHINE If you enjoy the podcast, please (pretty please!) consider supporting the show through the Time Travellers Club, our Patreon. We are an independent, listener-supported show (no ads!), so please help us continue to showcase high-quality biblical scholarship with a monthly subscription. In this week's bonus episode, Professor Helen Bond unpacks a tricky text in 1 Peter which some have read as the biblical basis for the harrowing of hell.   Support the show Theme music written and performed by Dave Roos, creator of Biblical Time Machine. Season 4 produced by John Nelson.

    51 min

  2. MAR 30

    Did Jesus go to Hell?

    What happened to Jesus on Easter Saturday? The apostles creed claims that Jesus 'descended into hell', reflecting a wider Christian motif called the 'Harrowing of Hell.' To find out more about this belief, Lloyd Lewellyn-Jones asks our resident expert, Helen Bond, who is currently writing a book on the subject. They explore questions like: Is the 'Harrowing of Hell' alluded to in the gospels? When did Jesus go to hell and what was he doing there? How strong is the biblical foundation of this idea? How is the Harrowing depicted in the Gospel of Nicodemus? SUPPORT BIBLICAL TIME MACHINE If you enjoy the podcast, please (pretty please!) consider supporting the show through the Time Travellers Club, our Patreon. We are an independent, listener-supported show (no ads!), so please help us continue to showcase high-quality biblical scholarship with a monthly subscription. In this week's bonus episode, Professor Helen Bond unpacks a tricky text in 1 Peter which some have read as the biblical basis for the harrowing of hell.      Support the show Theme music written and performed by Dave Roos, creator of Biblical Time Machine. Season 4 produced by John Nelson.

    41 min

  3. MAR 16

    The Garden of Eden

    We have all heard the story of Adam and Eve. But what was the Garden of Eden which they inhabited? In this week's episode, Helen and Lloyd travel back to the dawn of time with Dr Dylan Johnson as their guide to this mythical landscape. Together, they get to the bottom of questions like: Was the Garden of Eden meant to be a real place, or a symbolic vision of paradise?Is Genesis borrowing from older Mesopotamian stories about divine gardens? Was Adam imagined as a king placed in God’s garden to rule on his behalf?Is Eve really to blame for “the fall,” or is that a misreading?And who exactly is the serpent, before later tradition identified him with Satan?SUPPORT BIBLICAL TIME MACHINE If you enjoy the podcast, please (pretty please!) consider supporting the show through the Time Travellers Club, our Patreon. We are an independent, listener-supported show (no ads!), so please help us continue to showcase high-quality biblical scholarship with a monthly subscription. In this week's bonus episode, Dylan Johnson unpacks whether Eden is a Temple.  Support the show Theme music written and performed by Dave Roos, creator of Biblical Time Machine. Season 4 produced by John Nelson.

    39 min

  4. MAR 16 ·  BONUS • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    BONUS: The Temple of Eden

    The Garden of Eden is often read by scholars as a Temple. In this exclusive bonus episode, Helen and Lloyd sit down with Dr Dylan Johnson to see whether this is the case.

    10 min

  5. MAR 9

    Child Sacrifice in Ancient Religion

    We have all heard rumours that ancient religions used children in ritual sacrifice. But did it really happen? To discuss the evidence, Helen and Lloyd are joined in the Time Machine by Dr Eve MacDonald, lecturer at Cardiff University and author of the acclaimed, Carthage: A New History of an Ancient Empire (Penguin, 2025).  Dr MacDonald answers questions like:  Did human sacrifice really occur in the ancient world, and what does the archaeological evidence actually show?What happened in the Great Death Pit at Ur, and what does it reveal about ancient burial rituals?Why do ancient myths and biblical stories so often centre on the sacrifice of young girls?Did the Carthaginians really practise child sacrifice, and what does the evidence from the Tophet suggest?How did Greeks and Romans use accusations of shocking religious practices to demonise their enemies—and even early Christians?SUPPORT BIBLICAL TIME MACHINE If you enjoy the podcast, please (pretty please!) consider supporting the show through the Time Travellers Club, our Patreon. We are an independent, listener-supported show (no ads!), so please help us continue to showcase high-quality biblical scholarship with a monthly subscription. Support the show Theme music written and performed by Dave Roos, creator of Biblical Time Machine. Season 4 produced by John Nelson.

    42 min

  6. MAR 9 • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    BONUS: Child Sacrifice & Early Christianity

    In this exclusive bonus episode, Helen and Lloyd ask Dr Eve MacDonald about the rhetoric of child sacrifice in the context of early Christianity.

    10 min

  7. MAR 2 ·  BONUS • SUBSCRIBERS ONLY

    BONUS: Lost in (Greek) Translation?

    What happened when Jesus' Aramaic teachings were translated into Greek? In this exclusive episode, Helen and Lloyd ask Professor Bruce Chilton to find out.

    10 min

  8. MAR 2

    The Language Jesus Spoke

    This week in the Biblical Time Machine, Helen and Lloyd travel back in time to hear and read Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke. Helping them to uncover the language is world-leading Jesus historian, Bruce Chilton, the Bernard Iddings Bell Profesosr of Religion at Bard College, NY.  Professor Chilton is the author of numerous books, including Rabbi Jesus: An Intimate Biography and most recently, Aramaic Jesus: Tradition, Identity, and Christianity's Mother Tongue. On the show, he answers questions like:  What is Aramaic and why did Jesus speak it?Was Aramaic the only language Jesus spoke?Did Jesus have a 'regional' accent?Can we uncover Aramaic sources behind the gospels?How does Aramaic shed light on Jesus' teaching? SUPPORT BIBLICAL TIME MACHINE If you enjoy the podcast, please (pretty please!) consider supporting the show through the Time Travellers Club, our Patreon. We are an independent, listener-supported show (no ads!), so please help us continue to showcase high-quality biblical scholarship with a monthly subscription. In this week's bonus episode, Bruce Chilton unpacks whether some of Jesus' teachings were lost in (Greek) translation.  Support the show Theme music written and performed by Dave Roos, creator of Biblical Time Machine. Season 4 produced by John Nelson.

    46 min
See All (230)

Hosts & Guests

4.8
out of 5
32 Ratings

About

Join Helen and Lloyd as they travel back in time (metaphorically… it’s a podcast) to explore the real history of the people, places and events of the Old Testament, New Testament and everything in between.

Information

  • Creator
    Helen Bond & Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    230
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Biblical Time Machine
  • Show Website
    Biblical Time Machine
  • Provider
    David Roos

You Might Also Like