Revelation 21–22 (The New Heavens and the New Earth) with Dr. Jonathan Moo

Dr. Jonathan Moo (Whitworth University) guides us through Revelation 21–22. We discuss:

* The importance of judgment preceding the new heavens and earth (20:10–15)

* The continuity and the discontinuity between first earth and the new heavens and earth (21:5)

* Why there is no sea in the new heavens and earth (21:1)

* John’s repeated identification of things that in the new heavens and new earth are, “no more.”

* The first and second death, why some people are excluded from the new heavens and earth, and the contrasting life to which John calls his audience (21:7–8, 27; 22:14–15)

* The architecture of the new Jerusalem (22:9–22)

* The lamb’s book of life and how one finds their name written in there (21:27)

* The river of the water of life, and the tree of life (22:1–2)

* The name on the foreheads (22:4)

* The repeated emphasis on Jesus coming (22:7, 12, 16–17, 20)

* Why not seal up the prophecy? (22:10)

* Why should the evil doer still do evil? (22:11)

* What it means to neither add to nor subtract from the words of the prophecy? (22:18–19)

Works by Dr. Jonathan Moo

* "Fourth Ezra and Revelation 21:1-22:5: Paradise City." In Reading Revelation in Context: John's Apocalypse and Second Temple Judaism. Edited by B. C. Blackwell et al. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2019

* Creation, Nature, and Hope in 4 Ezra. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2011.

Dr. Jonathan Moo recommends

* Roderick Beaton, The Greeks: A Global History. Basic Books, 2021

* Practicing not being on media first thing in the morning, but rather in Scripture and prayer.

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The Two Testaments takes you on a guided journey through Scripture with leading experts on the Bible, hosted by Rony Kozman and Will Kynes

Visit our website at thetwotestaments.com, where you can subscribe, access all episodes, and meet our guides through Scripture. Sign up now so you don’t miss an episode.Find us on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Vurbl, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, and Pocket Casts.

You can also watch us on Youtube.

This episode is co-sponsored by Samford University and the Alabama Humanities Alliance, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this episode do not necessarily represent those of the Alabama Humanities Alliance, the National Endowment for the Humanities or Samford University.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thetwotestaments.substack.com

Revelation 19:11–20:15 (The Horse and Rider, Lake of Fire, Millennium, and the Great White Throne of Judgment) with Dr. Tom Schreiner

Dr. Tom Schreiner (Southern Seminary) guides us through Revelation 19:11–20:15. We discuss:

* The white horse and its rider, Jesus (19:11)

*  The various names given to the rider including “word of God,” “faithful and true,” “King of Kings and Lord of Lords,” and that “he has a name inscribed that no one knows but himself” (19:11–16)

* The significance of the blood on Jesus’s robe (19:13)

* The sword in his mouth (19:21)

* The battle between the beast’s armies and the rider’s armies and the great feast (19:17–21)

* The beast and the prophet who deceive those who receive the beast’s mark, and who are thrown into the lake of fire (19:20; 20:10)

* Options for understanding the millennial reign and the binding of Satan, and Tom’s view of “new creation millennialism” (19:4–6)

* Satan and the final battle (19:7–10)

* The judgment and the great white throne (19:11–15)

* the books that are opened, and the book of life (19:12, 15)

* Judgment according to works (19:13)

Works by Dr. Tom Schreiner

* Revelation. BECNT. Baker Academic, 2023.

* New Testament Theology: Magnifying God in Christ. Baker Academic, 2008.

Dr. Tom Schreiner recommends

* Daniel James Brown, The Boy in the Boat: Nine Americans and their Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Penguin Random House, 2013

* Saul David, Operation Thunderbolt: Flight 139 and the Raid on Entebbe Airport, The Twentieth Century's Greatest Special Forces Mission. Little, Brown, 2015

* Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamzov

* Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina

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The Two Testaments takes you on a guided journey through Scripture with leading experts on the Bible, hosted by Rony Kozman and Will Kynes

Visit our website at thetwotestaments.com, where you can subscribe, access all episodes, and meet our guides through Scripture. Sign up now so you don’t miss an episode.Find us on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Vurbl, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, and Pocket Casts.

You can also watch us on Youtube.

This episode is co-sponsored by Samford University and the Alabama Humanities Alliance, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this episode do not necessarily represent those of the Alabama Humanities Alliance, the National Endowment for the Humanities or Samford University.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thetwotestaments.substack.com

Malachi with Dr. Julia O'Brien

Dr. Julia O'Brien (Lancaster Theological Seminary) guides us through the book of Malachi. We discuss:

* What do we know about Malachi and the historical context of the book?

* Major themes of the book including the corrupt priesthood, Malachi’s tone and frustrated attitude, and the repeated use of family language and metaphors

* Issues involved in translating gendered language in the Bible

* How disputations structure the book’s development

* Malachi’s place in Jewish and Christian canons and how Malachi is related to the Book of the Twelve

* How Malachi has been interpreted and its value for today including the importance of religious institutions, and behavior/practice.

* Whether Malachi is talking about marriage or using marriage as a metaphor (2:14–15)

* How God’s destruction of Edom demonstrates God’s love for Israel (1:2–5)

* God’s accusation of the Priests and the importance of the sacrificial system (1:6–2:9)

* Issues involved in translating 2:16, which has often been translated as “I hate divorce” and if this passage is about marriage or idolatry?

* The messenger whom God is sending (3:1) and the tradition of Eijah’s return (4:5)

* God’s invitation to test him by bringing the tithe (3:10)

Works by Dr. Julia O'Brien

* The Oxford Handbook of the Minor Prophets. Edited by Julia O'Brien. Oxford University Press, 2021.

* Micah. Liturgical Press, 2015

* Challenging Prophetic Metaphor. Westminster John Knox, 2008

* Nahum through Malachi. AOTC. Abingdon, 2004

* Nahum. Sheffield Academic, 2001

* Priest and Levite in Malachi. Scholars Press, 1990

Dr. Julia O'Brien recommends

* Joerg Rieger, Theology in the Capitalocene: Ecology, Identity, Class, and Solidarity. Fortress, 2022.

* Cli-Fi (Climate Fiction) books and movies such as:

* Richard Powers, The Overstory, Norton, 2018

* The movie, Dune

Subscribe and don't miss an episode

The Two Testaments takes you on a guided journey through Scripture with leading experts on the Bible, hosted by Rony Kozman and Will Kynes

Visit our website at thetwotestaments.com, where you can subscribe, access all episodes, and meet our guides through Scripture. Sign up now so you don’t miss an episode.Find us on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Vurbl, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, and Pocket Casts.

You can also watch us on Youtube.

This episode is co-sponsored by Samford University and the Alabama Humanities Alliance, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this episode do not necessarily represent those of the Alabama Humanities Alliance, the National Endowment for the Humanities or Samford University.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thetwotestaments.substack.com

Revelation 17:1-19:10 with Dr. Michelle Fletcher

Listen here as Dr. Michelle Fletcher (King's College London) guides us through Revelation 17:1-19:10 we discuss:

* The city represented by the woman sitting on the beast, and the accusations against her (17:1–6)

* The beast and its seven heads and ten horns (17:3, 7–9)

* The cooperative relationship between the woman and the beast, and then the beast and kings turn on the woman  (17:12–18)

* The lament and rejoicing over Babylon (18:1–24)

* The indictment against Babylon for fornication (17:2; 18:3, 9)

* The lamb’s battle and marriage (17:14; 19:6–9)

Works by Dr. Michelle Fletcher

* "Exodus in Revelation." In Exodus in the New Testament. Edited by S. Ehorn and S. Whittle. T&T Clark, 2022.

* "Revelation." In The Reception of Jesus in the First Three Centuries. Edited by J. Schröter et al. Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2019.

* "Apocalypse Noir: The Book of Revelation and Genre." In T&T Clark Companion to The Bible and Film. Edited by R. Walsh. Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2018.

* Reading Revelation as Pastiche: Imitating the Past. T&T Clark, 2017.

* “Flesh for Frankenwhore: Reading Babylon’s Body in Revelation 17.” In The Body in Biblical, Christian, and Jewish Texts. Ed. Joan E. Taylor. T&T Clark, 2014

* “Behold, I’ll Be Back: Terminator, the Book of Revelation and the Power of Sequels.” In Now Showing: Film Theory in Biblical Studies. Ed. Caroline Vander Stichele and Laura Copier. SBL Press, 2016.

Dr. Michelle Fletcher recommends

* Taking a cross country trip by train.

Subscribe and don't miss an episode

The Two Testaments takes you on a guided journey through Scripture with leading experts on the Bible, hosted by Rony Kozman and Will Kynes

Visit our website at thetwotestaments.com, where you can subscribe, access all episodes, and meet our guides through Scripture. Sign up now so you don’t miss an episode.Find us on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Vurbl, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, and Pocket Casts.

You can also watch us on Youtube.

This episode is co-sponsored by Samford University and the Alabama Humanities Alliance, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this episode do not necessarily represent those of the Alabama Humanities Alliance, the National Endowment for the Humanities or Samford University.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thetwotestaments.substack.com

Haggai and Zechariah with Dr. Marvin Sweeney

Listen here as Dr. Marvin Sweeney (Claremont School of Theology) guides us through the books of Haggai and Zechariah we discuss:

* The historical context of Haggai and Zechariah in the Persian period

* The major themes of Haggai and Zechariah.

* How Haggai and Zechariah fit in the Book of the Twelve including how they each take up Isaiah 2:4, “He shall judge between the nations and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation; neither shall they learn war any more.”

* The significance of Zerubbabel in both Haggai and Zechariah

* The reasons for the delay in rebuilding the temple (Hag 1:2–15)

* The splendor of the rebuilt temple (Hag 2:1–9) and what it means for wealth from the nations to be brought to the temple in Jerusalem.

* The importance of the Temple to be rebuilt given its central role in creation (Hag 2:10–23)

* The significance and symbolism of Zechariah’s 8 night visions (1:1–6:8): the horsemen, the horns and the blacksmiths, the man with the measuring line, Joshua and the satan, the lamp stand and olive trees, the flying scroll, the woman and the basket, and the four chariots.

* Zechariah’s promises of the future restoration of Zion (Zech 8)

* Zechariah’s contrast between a coming king and the corrupt shepherds/leaders of Judah (9:9–17; 10:3; 11:4–17)

* Zechariah’s coming day of the LORD (ch 14), and if it is eschatological

Works by Dr. Marvin Sweeney

* The Twelve Prophets. Liturgical Press, 2000.

* Jewish Mysticism from Ancient Times through Today. Eerdmans, 2020.

* Isaiah 41–39. Eerdmans, 1996.

* Isaiah 40-66. Eerdmans, 2016.

* Reading Prophetic Books: Form, Intertextuality, and Reception in Prophetic and Post-Biblical Literature. Mohr Siebeck, 2014.

* Reading Ezekiel. Smyth and Helwys, 2013.

Dr. Marvin Sweeney recommends

* The American Western TV show "1883" (Paramount+)

Subscribe and don't miss an episode

The Two Testaments takes you on a guided journey through Scripture with leading experts on the Bible, hosted by Rony Kozman and Will Kynes

Visit our website at thetwotestaments.com, where you can subscribe, access all episodes, and meet our guides through Scripture. Sign up now so you don’t miss an episode.Find us on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Vurbl, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, and Pocket Casts.

You can also watch us on Youtube.

This episode is co-sponsored by Samford University and the Alabama Humanities Alliance, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this episode do not necessarily represent those of the Alabama Humanities Alliance, the National Endowment for the Humanities or Samford University.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thetwotestaments.substack.com

Revelation 15–16 (The Seven Bowls) with Dr. Jamie Davies

Dr. Jamie Davies (Trinity College) guides us through Revelation 15-16. We discuss:

* God’s wrath coming to end (15:1)

* The sea of glass mixed with fire (15:2)

* Those who conquer sing the song of Moses and of the Lamb (15:3–4)

* The temple of the tent of witness in heaven (15:5)

* The bowls being poured into the earth and the sea and the resulting “ecological collateral damage,” and the altar crying out (16:1–3)

* The people cursing God for his judgments (16:9, 11, 21)

* The interlude of Jesus coming like a thief (16:15)

* The beast, the prophet, and the dragon from whose mouths comes three frogs who gather the kings of the earth for the final battle of Armageddon (16:10–16)

* The final angel pours the bowl that splits Babylon in three parts, and the islands fleeing and the mountains disappearing (16:17–21)

Works by Dr. Jamie Davies

* Reading Revelation: A Literary and Theological Commentary. Smyth & Helwys, 2023.

* The Apocalyptic Paul. Cascade Companions. Cascade, 2022

* Paul Among the Apocalypses? An Evaluation of the ‘Apocalyptic Paul’ in the Context of Jewish and Christian apocalyptic literature. LNTS 562. T&T Clark, 2016.

Jamie Davies recommends

* Saint Augustine of Hippo, The Confessions, Books 10 and 11

Subscribe and don't miss an episode

The Two Testaments takes you on a guided journey through Scripture with leading experts on the Bible, hosted by Rony Kozman and Will Kynes

Visit our website at thetwotestaments.com, where you can subscribe, access all episodes, and meet our guides through Scripture. Sign up now so you don’t miss an episode.Find us on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Vurbl, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, and Pocket Casts. You can also watch us on Youtube.

This episode is co-sponsored by Samford University and the Alabama Humanities Alliance, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this episode do not necessarily represent those of the Alabama Humanities Alliance, the National Endowment for the Humanities or Samford University.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thetwotestaments.substack.com

Zephaniah with Dr. Heath Thomas

Dr. Heath Thomas (Oklahoma Baptist University) guides us through the book of Zephaniah. We discuss:

* Zephaniah’s context and major themes including the idea that God is sovereign over all the nations

* The day of the LORD as a coming event (1:1–18)

* God as an agent of violence

* The “perhaps” of escaping God’s wrath (2:3)

* Israel’s corporate identity and the rescue of the remnant (2:7, 9; 3:12)

* God’s judgment as disciplinary

Works by Dr. Heath Thomas

* A Manifesto for Theological Interpretation. Edited with C. Bartholomew. Baker Academic, 2016

* Faith Amid the Ruins: The Book of Habakkuk. Lexham Press, 2016

* Poetry & Theology in the Book of Lamentations: The Aesthetics of an Open Text. Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2013

* Holy War in the Bible: Christian Morality and an Old Testament Problem. Edited by Heath Thomas et al. IVP Academic, 2013

Dr. Heath Thomas recommends

* The works of Umberto Eco

* Art and Faith: A Theology of Making written by Makoto Fujimura

Subscribe and don't miss an episode

The Two Testaments takes you on a guided journey through Scripture with leading experts on the Bible, hosted by Rony Kozman and Will Kynes

Visit our website at thetwotestaments.com, where you can subscribe, access all episodes, and meet our guides through Scripture. Sign up now so you don’t miss an episode.Find us on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Vurbl, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, and Pocket Casts.

You can also watch us on Youtube.

This episode is co-sponsored by Samford University and the Alabama Humanities Alliance, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this episode do not necessarily represent those of the Alabama Humanities Alliance, the National Endowment for the Humanities or Samford University.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thetwotestaments.substack.com

Habakkuk with Dr. Heath Thomas

Dr. Heath Thomas (Oklahoma Baptist University) guides us through the book of Habakkuk. We discuss:

* The historical context of Habakkuk

* Major themes of: divine judgment and the use of foreign nations to execute God’s judgment; the significance of payer and praise; divine and human faithfulness;

* God using a foreign nation to discipline his people (1:6). and Habakkuk’s complaint against God doing this (1:13)

* The vision that Habakkuk is to write down (2:2)

* The meaning of Habakkuk 2:4: “the just will live by his faith”

* The divine theophany in which God touches down to earth and marches through the wilderness to rescue his people (3:1–15)

Works by Dr. Heath Thomas

* A Manifesto for Theological Interpretation. Edited with C. Bartholomew. Baker Academic, 2016

* Faith Amid the Ruins: The Book of Habakkuk. Lexham Press, 2016

* Poetry & Theology in the Book of Lamentations: The Aesthetics of an Open Text. Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2013

* Holy War in the Bible: Christian Morality and an Old Testament Problem. Edited by Heath Thomas et al. IVP Academic, 2013

Dr. Heath Thomas recommends

* The works of Umberto Eco

* Makoto Fujimura, Art and Faith: A Theology of Making, Yale University Press, 2021

This episode is co-sponsored by Samford University and the Alabama Humanities Alliance, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this episode do not necessarily represent those of the Alabama Humanities Alliance, the National Endowment for the Humanities or Samford University.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thetwotestaments.substack.com

Dr. Olivia Stewart Lester (Loyola University Chicago) guides us through Revelation 12-14. We discuss:

* The woman who gives birth and is chased by the dragon (12:1–6, 13–16)

* The conflict between the woman’s child and the dragon as a combat myth and how Revelation critiques the Apollo-Python combat myth

* The two wings of the great eagle that the woman receives, and her escape to the wilderness (12:14)

* The beast who receives its authority from the dragon, the beast’s mortal wound (13:1–8), and how Daniel 7 helps us understand the beast

* The prophetic warning and call to endurance in 13:9–10.

* The second beast that marks people’s foreheads with the number 666 (13:11–18)

* The 144,000 who have the name of the lamb and of the Father on their foreheads and their masculine-virginal description (14:1–5)

* The mysterious song that John hears (14:3)

* The three angels who speak and deliver messages of God’s judgment (14:6–12)

* Whether the description that “the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever” indicates a never-ending conscious punishment (14:11); and how to understand the depiction of God’s violence (14:10–11)

* The Son of Man, the angels, and their sickles for harvest (i.e., judgment; 14:14–20)

Works by Dr. Olivia Stewart Lester

* "Revealed History as Prophetic Rivalry: John's Apocalypse, the Sibylline Oracles, and the Prophecy of Apollo," Early Christianity 10 (2019): 461–480

* Prophetic Rivalry, Gender, and Economics: A Study in Revelation and Sibylline Oracles 4–5. WUNT 2/466. Mohr Siebeck, 2018.

Dr. Olivia Stewart Lester recommends

* The TV show, The Bear 

Subscribe and don't miss an episode

The Two Testaments takes you on a guided journey through Scripture with leading experts on the Bible, hosted by Rony Kozman and Will Kynes

Visit our website at thetwotestaments.com, where you can subscribe, access all episodes, and meet our guides through Scripture. Sign up now so you don’t miss an episode.Find us on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Vurbl, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, and Pocket Casts.

You can also watch us on Youtube.

This episode is co-sponsored by Samford University and the Alabama Humanities Alliance, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this episode do not necessarily represent those of the Alabama Humanities Alliance, the National Endowment for the Humanities or Samford University.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thetwotestaments.substack.com

Dr. Beth Stovell (Ambrose University) guides us through the book of Nahum. We discuss:

* Nahum’s emphasis on God’s anger

* The vivid description of a battle scene (Nahum 2)

* Nahum’s metaphor of the city of Nineveh as a prostitute (3:4)

* What it means that "her infants were dashed to pieces" (Nahum 3:10)

* How Nahum is hopeful

Works by Dr. Beth Stovell

* The Book of the Twelve, with David Fuller. Cascade, 2022

* Theodicy and Hope in the Book of the Twelve. Edited with G. Athas et al. T&T Clark, 2021

* Minor Prophets I (Hosea-Micah) and Minor Prophets II (Nahum-Malachi). The Story of God Bible Commentary Series: Old Testament. Zondervan, forthcoming 

* Mapping Metaphorical Discourse in the Fourth Gospel: John's Eternal King. Brill, 2012

Dr. Beth Stovell recommends

* The works of Dr. Juliana Claassens, Professor of Old Testament at Stellenbosch University (South Africa)

* The Africana Bible: Reading Israel's Scriptures from Africa and the African Diaspora. Fortress Press, 2009

Subscribe and don't miss an episode

The Two Testaments takes you on a guided journey through Scripture with leading experts on the Bible, hosted by Rony Kozman and Will Kynes

Visit our website at thetwotestaments.com, where you can subscribe, access all episodes, and meet our guides through Scripture. Sign up now so you don’t miss an episode.Find us on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Vurbl, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, and Pocket Casts.

You can also watch us on Youtube.

This episode is co-sponsored by Samford University and the Alabama Humanities Alliance, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this episode do not necessarily represent those of the Alabama Humanities Alliance, the National Endowment for the Humanities or Samford University.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thetwotestaments.substack.com