The Berean Files

Zack Killey & Jason Kempf
  • 5.0 (8)
  • Christianity

The Berean Files is a Christian podcast testing conspiracies, cryptids, UFOs, the Nephilim, end times and the supernatural against Scripture. Hosted by Zack Killey and Jason Kempf, two friends with their Bibles open, plus guest interviews and long-form conversations. Like the Bereans of Acts 17:11, we listen eagerly, search the Scriptures and then decide. Jesus is the center of every conversation. Topics include the Nephilim and giants, aliens and UFOs, Bigfoot and cryptids, Satan's Little Season and end times, demons and spiritual warfare, the occult and New Age in the church, the Book of Enoch and the canon, and all things Bible and theology. New episodes twice a week, plus occasional livestreams. Ad-free listening on Patreon, $5/month with a 7-day free trial: https://www.patreon.com/TheBereanFiles Watch on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@thebereanfiles Instagram: @bereanfiles Questions, prayer requests or stories: thebereanfiles@gmail.com Until next time, stay Berean.

  1. 2d ago

    Giants in the Ozarks? Genesis 6, the Nephilim & the Smithsonian | Nicholas Daigle

    Were giants buried in the Ozarks? Nicholas Daigle, author of Genesis 6 and the Ozarks, joins Zack Killey to walk through old newspaper reports of giant skeletons found around Springfield, Missouri, and a strange note in which the Smithsonian called the finds "frauds." We start in Genesis 6 with the sons of God, the daughters of man and the Nephilim, and compare the Sethite view with the fallen-angel view. We also cover the Watchers on Mount Hermon and why every rabbit hole has to lead back to Jesus. Then we turn to the Ozarks. Nick covers Sterling Newberry's 1934 seven-foot skeleton near the James River, buried with seven sacrificed skeletons in a cross pattern that matches a "tomb of the giants" account from Sardinia. He also covers E.E. Neely's chimera effigy, which has never actually been studied, the red-haired giants of Lovelock Cave, and broken long bones near Springfield. Where do we land? These cultures sacrificed the innocent for their own gain. Jesus gave His life for us. Keep the gospel at the center. Topics include: • Genesis 6, the Nephilim and the Watchers • The Sethite view vs. the fallen-angel view • Giant skeletons and the Smithsonian • The 1934 seven-foot skeleton and cross-shaped burial • Sardinia's tomb of the giants • Goliath, gigantism and why later giants were shorter • E.E. Neely's chimera and the "frauds" note • Sun worship, Baal and the sacrifice of Jesus Get Nick's book, Genesis 6 and the Ozarks: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0G2FLSD15 Ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheBereanFiles Questions, prayer requests or stories: thebereanfiles@gmail.com Guest views are their own; Scripture is our final authority. Search the Scriptures. Test everything. Until next time, stay Berean.

    Giants in the Ozarks? Genesis 6, the Nephilim & the Smithsonian | Nicholas Daigle

  2. 5d ago

    If These Are the End Times, What Should We Be Doing Today?

    The headlines feel heavy, and questions about the end times are everywhere. But Jesus didn't call us to panic. He called us to be faithful: to love God with everything we have, to love our neighbor, and to make disciples, teaching others all that He commanded. In this episode, Zack and Jason ask a simple question: if we really are living in the last days, what should change about who we are and how we live today? Growing your own food, raising animals, being ready for hard times? That's great, but it's not the point. The real preparation is walking with God every single day, getting right with the people around us, and letting Him lead our lives. We also talk about the cross that recently fell on a priest and what we should (and shouldn't) read into moments like that. Guest views are their own; Scripture is our final authority.

    If These Are the End Times, What Should We Be Doing Today?

  3. Oct 21

    Are Past-Life Memories Planted by Demons? | Seth Kicklighter

    Do some people really remember past lives, with birthmarks that match how they "died"? Seth Kicklighter, author of Spirit Realm Shenanigans!, is back for part 3 of his series, and he takes on what he calls the best evidence for reincarnation. Zack Killey and Seth test famous past-life cases against Scripture, including birthmark cases from Ian Stevenson's research, the Sumitra case and the Watseka Wonder. Seth argues that these memories don't belong to the people who have them: deceiving spirits plant them, and the same spirits rebrand themselves as aliens, ghosts and "spirit guides." We talk about why it's usually children who remember, how consent and open doors work, demonization vs. possession, and near-death experiences where people are told to "go to the light." Then it gets wild: pre-birth "soul planning," child spirits choosing their parents, future-life progression, déjà vu and the Mandela effect, starseeds, the Akashic records, spirit releasement therapy, and secret space program memories. Where do we land? It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment (Hebrews 9:27). Don't trust a memory, a vision or a "guide" over the Word. Test the spirits and keep your eyes on Jesus. Topics include: • Birthmarks and the "best evidence" for reincarnation • Why kids remember past lives • Planted memories, consent and open doors • Demonization vs. possession • NDEs and "go to the light" • Soul planning, starseeds and the Akashic records • Secret space program and sleep paralysis memories Find Seth: https://www.youtube.com/@Sethlehem_ | https://linktr.ee/sethlehem Ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheBereanFiles Questions, prayer requests or stories: thebereanfiles@gmail.com Guest views are their own; Scripture is our final authority. Search the Scriptures. Test everything. Until next time, stay Berean.

    Are Past-Life Memories Planted by Demons? | Seth Kicklighter

  4. Oct 15

    AI, the Mark of the Beast & the Curse of Eden | Christian Response

    Are we building a new Tower of Babel? Zack Killey and Jason Kempf come back to AI, and this one is very different from our first AI episode. AI is solving math problems that went unsolved for decades, moving into robotic bio labs, and being trained to see itself as something special. We test where it's all heading against Scripture. Why does AI act so much like us? Because it's trained on us, and humanity has been breaking out of its sandbox since the Garden. We talk about the internet as Babel's "gospel," whether AI is pitched as a way to undo the curse of Eden, and how designer babies, robot babies and even fur babies can become idols. Then it gets spooky. If a magic ritual is a kind of "tech" for reaching behind the veil, how different is typing a prompt? And if people build something close enough to a human, could a spirit step into it? We also cover AI and the Nephilim, the 1947 theory, how one dominant AI could become a path to a one-world government, quantum computing and the end of privacy, and why the mark of the beast may be more about allegiance than a chip. We're not saying this is the end times, and we're not here to make you afraid. We land on this: simplify, don't build a cage you can't get out of, love God, love your neighbor, and keep your hope in Jesus, not in this world. Topics include: • AI escaping sandboxes and why that shouldn't surprise us • The Tower of Babel, the internet and the curse of Genesis 3 • Designer babies, AI "recreations" of people, and idolatry • "A ritual is tech": magic, control and skirting around God • Could a spirit inhabit a machine? • One-world government, quantum computing and privacy • The mark of the beast as allegiance Ad-free on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/TheBereanFiles Questions, prayer requests or stories: thebereanfiles@gmail.com Search the Scriptures. Test everything. Until next time, stay Berean.

    AI, the Mark of the Beast & the Curse of Eden | Christian Response

  5. Oct 14

    Who’s Shaping Your Worship? NAR, Music & Discernment w/ Nephilim Death Squad

    Why do churches carefully guard what’s preached from the pulpit—but give less scrutiny to what’s sung from the stage? In this guest appearance on Nephilim Death Squad, Zack and Jason join TopLobsta and David Lee Corbo “The Raven” to discuss worship, the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), and the theology carried by the songs our churches sing. Drawing on Jason’s nearly 30 years of leading worship, we explore what it means to worship God with our whole lives, how music shapes our understanding of Him, and why questioning a favorite worship song can get more pushback than questioning a sermon. We discuss Bethel, Bill Johnson, modern apostles and prophets, the Seven Mountain Mandate, and the tension between worship and entertainment. Can God use a song despite concerns about its source? How should churches evaluate its lyrics? And when does a worship service become a production? We also examine songs including “Reckless Love,” “Oceans,” and “No Outsiders,” discuss biblical meditation, and consider the everyday devotion described in Brother Lawrence’s The Practice of the Presence of God. The question running through it all: Are we letting Scripture shape our worship—or letting our worship music shape our theology? Originally recorded for Nephilim Death Squad. Thank you to TopLobsta and The Raven for having us on! Should churches examine the worship set as carefully as the sermon? Share your thoughts in the comments. Stay Berean.

    Who’s Shaping Your Worship? NAR, Music & Discernment w/ Nephilim Death Squad

  6. Oct 9

    Is the New Age Behind Christian Conspiracies? | The Biblical Hitmen

    Is the New Age behind Christian conspiracy content? Stephen DeMatties of The Biblical Hitmen thinks a lot of it follows the New Age "Plan." In this episode of The Berean Files, Zack Killey and Jason Kempf sit down with Stephen for a long, honest conversation about Theosophy, the New Age and "conspiracy land."  Stephen traces "the Plan" from Helena Blavatsky to Alice Bailey's The Externalization of the Hierarchy, and he argues it's walking Christians toward a one-world, all-paths religion. We test his case against Scripture. We agree on a lot: Jesus first, Scripture interprets Scripture, the Book of Enoch isn't canon, and chasing hidden knowledge is the same temptation as the fruit in the Garden. We also push back. We defend Michael Heiser's divine council work (while granting he leans on Enoch too much), we share how the Nephilim story became a gospel bridge with a Nordic deist at a bar, and we don't think Satan is running one master plan. He isn't all-knowing. He has one game plan, and he just keeps rebranding the same lie from the Garden. Then Stephen walks through Barbara Marx Hubbard's New Age reading of the four horsemen of Revelation 6, where the people who won't "shift" are labeled "defective seeds." To us, that sounds a lot like the parable of the four soils turned upside down. Topics include: • Terence McKenna, Blavatsky, Theosophy and "the Shift" • Alice Bailey, the Lucis Trust and the New Age "Plan" • Who is the Harlot of Revelation 17? (Stephen's view) • The NAR, the Seven Mountain Mandate and a Jehu/Jezebel theory (Stephen's speculation, not a conclusion) • Star Wars, false light and the good-vs-evil trap • Perennial philosophy, the Nephilim and the Michael Heiser debate • The Essenes, Pythagoras and the Dead Sea Scrolls • Gnosticism and framing God as the villain • False prophets, Deuteronomy 13 and Chris Bledsoe's Oct. 7 prediction • "Defective seeds" and the upside-down four soils • Stephen's problems with the Book of Enoch • The gospel: the wages of sin is death, and Jesus paid it (Romans 6:23) "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23 (ESV) What should you do after the craziest conspiracy video you've ever heard? Go open your Bible, love your neighbor, and tell somebody about Jesus. Stephen DeMatties, The Biblical Hitmen: https://www.youtube.com/@TheBiblicalHitmen Guest views are their own; Scripture is our final authority. Don't take our word for it: "test everything; hold fast what is good" (1 Thessalonians 5:21, ESV). Open your Bible, follow Jesus, and email thebereanfiles@gmail.com with your questions, prayer requests, or stories. Ad-free listening (on Patreon and Spotify), $5/month with a 7-day free trial: https://www.patreon.com/TheBereanFiles Watch on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@thebereanfiles Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bereanfiles Until next time, stay Berean.

    Is the New Age Behind Christian Conspiracies? | The Biblical Hitmen

  7. Oct 6

    Exploring Lutheranism: Baptism, Communion & the Christian Tradition | w/ Jared Madden

    Jared Madden returns to The Berean Files—but this time, we’re putting Lutheranism itself under the microscope. After moving away from evangelicalism and toward Lutheran theology, Jared lays out what drew him to the tradition and why he believes it offers a more historical and biblical expression of Christianity. But that opens up some big questions. Does baptism actually save? Can salvation be lost? What does it mean to receive grace through a sacrament? Is Christ literally present in Communion? What did the earliest Christians believe about the Lord’s Supper? And perhaps most importantly: when does defending doctrine become dividing the Body of Christ? Zack and Jared work through Scripture, church history, sacramental theology, denominationalism, salvation, baptism, Communion, and the tension between recovering historic Christianity and simply creating another Christian camp. There are real disagreements in this conversation—but also a surprising amount of common ground. The goal isn’t to prove that one of us has everything figured out. It’s to do what Bereans are supposed to do: Test everything against Scripture. Jared's Rumble-https://rumble.com/user/jsmadd Books- https://www.amazon.com/Exposing-Zionism/dp/B0D29YRD65/ref=books_amazonstores_mobile_mfs_kss_ap_sba_0?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=ibfBs&content-id=amzn1.sym.76005b69-edc7-4c93-876b-645ff1e238d8&pf_rd_p=76005b69-edc7-4c93-876b-645ff1e238d8&pf_rd_r=138-5583620-7525139&pd_rd_wg=kn5R9&pd_rd_r=3dfcd511-ee8f-4e7b-80ba-462779f8751c Don't take our word for it: "test everything; hold fast what is good" (1 Thessalonians 5:21, ESV). Open your Bible, follow Jesus, and email thebereanfiles@gmail.com with your questions, prayer requests, or stories. Ad-free listening (on Patreon and Spotify), $5/month with a 7-day free trial: https://www.patreon.com/TheBereanFiles Watch on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@thebereanfiles Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bereanfiles Until next time, stay Berean.

    Exploring Lutheranism: Baptism, Communion & the Christian Tradition | w/ Jared Madden

  8. Sep 29

    Who’s Discipling Your Family? Faith, Culture & Critical Thinking | Matt Terrell

    What happens when you realize the world has been discipling your family whether you intended it to or not? In this episode of The Berean Files, Zack sits down with his cousin Matt for the kind of conversation they normally have off-mic: a wide-ranging discussion about following Jesus, raising kids, questioning assumptions, and learning how to think biblically in a culture overflowing with competing voices. Matt shares how coming to Christ changed the way he looks at fatherhood—and how he began noticing the messages embedded in movies, music, social media, entertainment, and the algorithms influencing the next generation. From there, the rabbit holes open. We get into objective morality and moral relativism, the way modern stories blur the line between good and evil, Protestantism and Catholicism, grace and works, nihilism and the loss of meaning, young-earth vs. old-earth creationism, skepticism, critical thinking, angels, Nephilim, biblical supernaturalism, church culture, discipleship, and plenty more along the way. But underneath all of it is a bigger question: How do we teach ourselves—and our children—to examine what we believe instead of simply absorbing whatever the culture puts in front of us? The answer isn’t having every rabbit hole figured out. It’s knowing what matters most, testing what we hear, being willing to challenge our own assumptions, and remaining grounded in Jesus Christ. Sometimes discipleship starts with being willing to ask better questions. Don't take our word for it: "test everything; hold fast what is good" (1 Thessalonians 5:21, ESV). Open your Bible, follow Jesus, and email thebereanfiles@gmail.com with your questions, prayer requests, or stories. Ad-free listening (on Patreon and Spotify), $5/month with a 7-day free trial: https://www.patreon.com/TheBereanFiles Watch on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@thebereanfiles Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bereanfiles Until next time, stay Berean.

    Who’s Discipling Your Family? Faith, Culture & Critical Thinking | Matt Terrell
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
8 Ratings

About

The Berean Files is a Christian podcast testing conspiracies, cryptids, UFOs, the Nephilim, end times and the supernatural against Scripture. Hosted by Zack Killey and Jason Kempf, two friends with their Bibles open, plus guest interviews and long-form conversations. Like the Bereans of Acts 17:11, we listen eagerly, search the Scriptures and then decide. Jesus is the center of every conversation. Topics include the Nephilim and giants, aliens and UFOs, Bigfoot and cryptids, Satan's Little Season and end times, demons and spiritual warfare, the occult and New Age in the church, the Book of Enoch and the canon, and all things Bible and theology. New episodes twice a week, plus occasional livestreams. Ad-free listening on Patreon, $5/month with a 7-day free trial: https://www.patreon.com/TheBereanFiles Watch on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@thebereanfiles Instagram: @bereanfiles Questions, prayer requests or stories: thebereanfiles@gmail.com Until next time, stay Berean.

Information

  • Creator
    Zack Killey & Jason Kempf
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    54
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright Zack Killey
  • Show Website
    The Berean Files

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