Readings:Revelation 22 John sees a river flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb, this is an allusion to the river in Eden and what Ezekiel prophesied when he saw the water flowing fr… Read More

Readings:Revelation 21 John sees the final vision of Revelation and it takes up the last two chapters of the book. He sees the end of all, after the battles, after the millennium, after… Read More

Readings:Revelation 20 The main topic and theme of this chapter is something called the Millennium or Millennial Reign. Interpretation of this 1000 year period is broken down into three m… Read More

Readings:Revelation 19 John hears a large choir of voices singing a song of praise, and it begins with a word not found very often in the New Testament, but commonly used in the Old Testa… Read More

Readings:Revelation 17-18 One of the angels that poured out the bowl judgments approached John to show him in detail what happened to the harlot that rides on the beast. She’s descr… Read More

Readings:Revelation 16 Now we come to the last set of judgments being poured out, these ones aren’t to spur repentance but to dole out justice and divine wrath for persistence in si… Read More

Readings:Revelation 14-15 John sees the Lamb on Mount Zion, this hill in Jerusalem is traditionally identified with the Temple Mount, but also is used throughout the Old Testament as anot… Read More

Readings:2 Maccabees 14-15Revelation 13 2 Maccabees 14-15 This chapter starts with Demetrius landing up around what’s now modern day Lebanon and the former high priest comes up a… Read More

Readings:2 Maccabees 12-13Revelation 12 2 Maccabees 12-13 After the peace made in the previous chapter the people of Joppa and Jamnia decided they don’t want to abide by its term… Read More

Readings:2 Maccabees 10-11Revelation 11 2 Maccabees 10-11 These chapters recount events we’ve already read in 1 Maccabees, but again the writer here focuses not just on recountin… Read More

Readings:2 Maccabees 7-9Revelation 10 2 Maccabees 7-9 The story of the woman and her seven sons is gut wrenching and difficult to get through because it’s just a taste of the hor… Read More

Readings:2 Maccabees 5-6Revelation 9 2 Maccabees 5-6 The writer tells of a mini civil war between the former high priest Jason, and the man that replaced him. Jason slaughters many of… Read More

Readings:2 Maccabees 3-4Revelation 8 2 Maccabees 3-4 The narrative begins with a spat between a leading citizen of Jerusalem named Simon and the holy high priest Onias. They had a disa… Read More

Readings:2 Maccabees 1-2Revelation 7 2 Maccabees 1-2 The book of Second Maccabees is not a sequel to First Maccabees, it’s a separate account of the Maccabean revolt and is more… Read More

Readings:1 Maccabees 15-16Revelation 6 1 Maccabees 15-16 As was often the case in the ancient near East, and especially when concerning the Jews, Antiochus VII at first offers friendsh… Read More

Readings:1 Maccabees 12-14Revelation 5 1 Maccabees 12-14 Jonathan writes a letter to Rome to renew and confirm their treaty of friendship, and while the emissaries are crossing the sea… Read More

Readings:1 Maccabees 10-11Revelation 4 1 Maccabees 10-11 Alexander, the son of Antiochus V, whom Demetrius had deposed, lands in Ptolemais to try and retake his father’s throne… Read More

Readings:1 Maccabees 8-9Revelation 3 1 Maccabees 8-9 The beginning of this chapter tells a quick history of the Roman republic that was a rising power in the Mediterranean basin. Rome… Read More

Readings:1 Maccabees 6-7Revelation 2:12-29 1 Maccabees 6-7 After a failed invasion of a Persian country to the east of Mesopotamia, Antiochus IV becomes ill and dies. His son becomes k… Read More

Readings:1 Maccabees 3-5Revelation 2:1-11 1 Maccabees 3-5 Judas inherited the military leadership from his father and is so successful in early battles that Antiochus puts together a s… Read More

Readings:1 Maccabees 1-2Revelation 1:9-20 1 Maccabees 1-2 The books of the Maccabees follows a couple hundred years after the events in Ezra and Nehemiah. In the intervening centuries… Read More

Readings:Nehemiah 11-13Revelation 1:1-8 Nehemiah 11-13 The final three chapters contain a lot of numbering, record keeping and appointments of people to different roles in the temple a… Read More

Readings:Nehemiah 8-10 The people gather to hear Ezra read the book of the law of Moses to them. They were to renew their commitment to the covenant and how could they promise to abide by… Read More

Readings:Nehemiah 4-7 Sanballat and the other opponents of the Jews begin to mock them as they build the wall, but when that didn’t deter them they change tactics and the builders f… Read More

Readings:Nehemiah 1-3 This book is named after the main character in the story, but most scholars don’t think he was the actual author. Until the early Middle Ages, this book was ca… Read More

Readings:Ezra 7-10 We have a bit of a time jump here, with the first 6 chapters being Ezra’s recounting of recent history and chapters 7-10 are Ezra’s first hand accounts afte… Read More

Readings:Ezra 4-62 Timothy 4 Ezra 4-6 The people who’d been living in the land the last 70-100 years are now resenting the returning exiles. This is understandable, but these pag… Read More

Readings:Ezra 3Haggai 1-22 Timothy 3 Ezra 3 They erected an altar to God for sacrifices but they failed to build the temple. This changes when Haggai confronts them with his prophecy t… Read More

Readings:Ezra 1-22 Timothy 2 Ezra 1-2 Ezra was a priest and scribe living in Babylon when he was sent to Jerusalem to teach the Torah to the already returned exiles. While there he wit… Read More

Readings:Zechariah 12-142 Timothy 1 Zechariah 12-14 Another messianic prophecy in this chapter by Zechariah. This one is even quoted in the Gospel of John when the soldiers pierce the… Read More

Readings:Zechariah 9-11 The opening of chapter 9 contains a prophecy against some of Israel’s most tenacious enemies. They will be brought low for their sins and their antagonism ag… Read More

Readings:Zechariah 6-81 Timothy 6 Zechariah 6-8 The four chariots seems to be a foreshadowing of the four horsemen from Revelation. They go to the four cardinal directions and “p… Read More

Readings:Zechariah 4-51 Timothy 5 Zechariah 4-5 The fifth vision has a golden lamp stand, like the kind found in the temple, with seven lit lamps on it. The angel says these represent… Read More

Readings:Zechariah 1-31 Timothy 4 Zechariah 1-3 The prophet Zachariah lived towards the end of the exile, and began prophesying at a time after the first couple waves of exiles already… Read More

Readings:Esther 9-101 Timothy 3 Esther 9-10 The Jews rise up in defense of their communities and with the backing of the crown. They slay their enemies, but they don’t engage in… Read More

Readings:Esther 6-81 Timothy 2 Esther 6-8 In an ironic twist of events, Haman arrives at the palace to propose having Mordecai impaled on a stake, but the king is looking to have Morde… Read More

Readings:Esther 3-51 Timothy 1 Esther 3-5 After the two chapter into we read yesterday, now we get into the main part of the story; Haman’s plot. This is what drives the story, a… Read More

Readings:Esther 1-22 Thessalonians 3 Esther 1-2 The Book of Esther is well known among Jews and most Christians. It contains the story of a woman who is put into a position of influenc… Read More

Readings:Tobit 11-142 Thessalonians 2 Tobit 11-14 Tobias gets close to Nineveh and Raphael reminds him about the fish’s gallbladder and they run ahead to see his father. When he… Read More

Readings:Tobit 8-102 Thessalonians 1 Tobit 8-10 Tobias retires to his bedroom for the night and remembers the things that Raphael told him about burning the fish parts as incense. The… Read More

Readings:Malachi 3-4Tobit 6-7 Malachi 3-4 Todays reading from Malachi starts out with a prophecy of a coming messenger who will come and prepare the way before God himself arrives to v… Read More

Readings:Malachi 1-2Tobit 4-5 Malachi 1-2 The name Malachi means “my messenger” in Hebrew so we aren’t sure if that is the name or title of the prophet who wrote this… Read More

Readings:Daniel 13-14Tobit 2-3 Daniel 13-14 Chapter 13 contains a story that only survives in the Greek translation of the Old Testament although most scholars agree that it was likely… Read More

Readings:Daniel 11-12Tobit 1 Daniel 11-12 This is the prophetic telling of the future story of the Persians and Greeks. The fourth king mentioned is Xerxes who launched an invasion of… Read More

Readings:Daniel 10Judith 13-161 Thessalonians 5 Daniel 10 Daniels fourth and final vision is recounted over the next three chapters. In this vision he first sees an angel who’s a… Read More

Readings:Daniel 9Judith 10-121 Thessalonians 4 Daniel 9 Daniel is meditating on the prophecy of Jeremiah that Jerusalem will lay desolate for 70 years. If you start counting at the fir… Read More

Readings:Daniel 8Judith 8-91 Thessalonians 3 Daniel 8 Daniel’s second vision is recounted here, and it’s a couple years after his previous one. In this vision he sees a ram… Read More

Readings:Daniel 7Judith 5-71 Thessalonians 2 Daniel 7 This chapter begins the second part of the book of Daniel, wherein he has four visions of things to come. This is very different f… Read More

Readings:Daniel 6Judith 2-41 Thessalonians 1 Daniel 6 Now Daniel, who was already a trusted adviser in the Babylonian court, is elevated to a high position in the Persian court and is… Read More

Readings:Daniel 4-5Judith 1 Daniel 4-5 Nebuchadnezzar has another dream, and just like the first dream, his court magicians and wise men are unable to interpret it for him, so he calls… Read More

Readings:Daniel 3Colossians 3-4 Daniel 3 This story is extremely well known, especially if you went to any kind of Sunday school or Bible classes as a kid. The three men in the fire is… Read More

Readings:Daniel 1-2Colossians 2 Daniel 1-2 We start a new prophetic book today, and one of the major differences between this book and the last few Old Testament books we’ve read… Read More

Readings:Ezekiel 47-48Colossians 1 Ezekiel 47-48 Ezekiel sees water flowing from the temple, and this is an echo of the prophecy from Zechariah, where he said “On that day living… Read More

Readings:Ezekiel 45-46Philippians 4 Ezekiel 45-46 These two chapters contain some regulations for the temple once it’s rebuilt. It also reinstates the festivals and feasts of the… Read More

Readings:Ezekiel 43-44Philippians 3 Ezekiel 43-44 Ezekiel is still in Jerusalem (either literally or in a supernatural kind of way) and he has another vision like the original one he h… Read More

Readings:Ezekiel 40-42Philippians 2 Ezekiel 40-42 Ezekiel is taken in spirit, much like he was to the valley of dry bones, and is places on a mountain in Israel while an angel measures… Read More

Readings:Ezekiel 38-39Philippians 1 Ezekiel 38-39 These two chapters are prophesies against Gog and Magog. Who or where they are is a matter of debate, and really comes down to your es… Read More

Readings:Ezekiel 37Ephesians 5-6 Ezekiel 37 This chapter begins with Ezekiel being taken to a valley filled with sun bleached bones. These bones represent the dead-in-sin Israelites th… Read More

Readings:Ezekiel 35-36Ephesians 4 Ezekiel 35-36 Ezekiel is given a prophecy against Mount Seir, this is another name for the Kingdom of Edom. These people were the closest relatives of… Read More

Readings:Ezekiel 33-34Ephesians 3 Ezekiel 33-34 This portion of Ezekiel’s prophecies gives us a glimpse of the Old Testament foundations of what’s now called sins of omissi… Read More

Readings:Ezekiel 31-32Ephesians 2 Ezekiel 31-32 Ezekiel speaks another prophecy against Egypt and against pharaoh in particular. He’s likened to a large tree that has grown proud… Read More

Readings:Ezekiel 29-30Ephesians 1 Ezekiel 29-30 A regular foe of Israel from the time of Moses until the later stages of the divided kingdom, Egypt is now in the spotlight for the prop… Read More

Readings:Ezekiel 26-28Titus 3 Ezekiel 26-28 These several chapters are prophetic pronouncements against Tyre, a city in what is now Lebanon. Tyre was a Phoenician trading hub and so be… Read More

Readings:Ezekiel 24-25Titus 2 Ezekiel 24-25 The Word of the Lord comes to Ezekiel now in the year 588 BC when the siege of Jerusalem begins. God gives another allegory about Jerusalem… Read More

Readings:Ezekiel 22-23Titus 1 Ezekiel 22-23 The sins listed here against Jerusalem are as bad or worse than what Sodom and Gomorrah were up to before they were completely destroyed. In… Read More

Readings:Ezekiel 17-21 Focusing completely on Ezekiel today, we start in chapter 17 with a couple of prophecies that track closely with some parables that Jesus told his disciples. Verse… Read More

Readings:Ezekiel 162 Corinthians 12-13 Ezekiel 16 God gives a prophecy for Ezekiel to proclaim to the people. It it he makes the point that every single thing that Israel has received… Read More

Readings:Ezekiel 13-152 Corinthians 11 Ezekiel 13-15 Ezekiel is given a prophecy against false prophets. They were encouraging Israel it remain in sin and giving false assurances when… Read More

Readings:Ezekiel 10-122 Corinthians 10 Ezekiel 10-12 Ezekiel has another encounter with the four faced creatures and ones that looked like spinning wheels of eyes, the first ones are r… Read More

Readings:Ezekiel 6-92 Corinthians 9 Ezekiel 6-9 In case they forget, Israel is once again reminded that the reason they’re in this situation is idolatry. Plain and simple, all th… Read More

Readings:Ezekiel 3-52 Corinthians 8 Ezekiel 3-5 The scroll we first see in yesterday’s reading is given to Ezekiel with the command to eat the scroll. He says it’s sweet ta… Read More

Readings:Ezekiel 1-22 Corinthians 7 Ezekiel 1-2 Ezekiel was a prophet in Babylon during the period of exile there that overlaps with Baruch and the latter part of Jeremiah’s mini… Read More

Readings:Baruch 5-62 Corinthians 6 Baruch 5-6 Baruch gives a consoling prophecy to Jerusalem, that the people have been led away in exile but not only will God allow them to eventually… Read More

Readings:Baruch 3-42 Corinthians 5 Baruch 3-4 Baruch praises wisdom, and tells all about how good and honorable it is to seek after wisdom. He also condemns the folly and destruction o… Read More

Readings:Baruch 1-22 Corinthians 4 Baruch 1-2 This book, included in the Bibles of most Christians around the world, but removed from Protestant bibles in the mid 16th century AD, is w… Read More

Readings:Habakkuk 1-32 Corinthians 3 Habakkuk 1-3 Not much is known about the prophet Habakkuk or where he came from. Most other prophets introduce themselves with some biographical in… Read More

Readings:Micah 5-72 Corinthians 2 Micah 5-7 The opening verses today should be instantly clear to anyone with familiarity of the gospel of Matthew. First of all the king is struck with… Read More

Readings:Micah 1-42 Corinthians 1 Micah 1-4 This book is another of the writings of the minor prophets. This one takes us back about 150 years from the time of the destruction of Jerus… Read More

Readings:Lamentations 4-5Hebrews 13 The book ends with Jeremiah pleading for mercy from God. He acknowledges the sins of the people being great, he himself prophesied against them, but he… Read More

Readings:Lamentations 1-3Hebrews 12 Lamentations 1-3 Today we start another book, and this one is a natural progression from the book of Jeremiah. One reason for this is the topic, it… Read More

Readings:Jeremiah 50-52 Now the prophecies turn against Babylon. Although it and it’s king we’re chosen to be instruments of judgment on the nations, it too was a wicked place… Read More

Readings:Jeremiah 48-49Hebrews 11 Jeremiah 48-49 God gives Jeremiah prophetic words to speak to several of the neighbors of Israel and Judah. Remember that God has consistently call Ne… Read More

Readings:Jeremiah 45-47Hebrews 10 Jeremiah 45-47 Baruch, Jeremiah’s scribe, is offered personal words of comfort. He’s told that even though the world is falling apart arou… Read More

Readings:Jeremiah 42-44Hebrews 9 Jeremiah 42-44 Jeremiah is approached by the people left in the land and asked for advice on where they should go. So he goes away and prays for 10 day… Read More

Readings:Jeremiah 40-41Hebrews 8 Jeremiah 40-41 Jeremiah is freed by the Babylonian captain who was leading people to captivity in Babylon because he recognized on some level that Jere… Read More

Readings:Jeremiah 38-39Hebrews 7 One of the nobility has heard Jeremiah and instead of heeding the warnings, he takes enough offense at them to ask the king to have him killed. The king s… Read More

Readings:Jeremiah 36-37Hebrews 6 Jeremiah 36-37 God directs Jeremiah to write all the words he’s spoken to him on a scroll, and to read it to the people so that they get the whol… Read More

Readings:Jeremiah 33-35Hebrews 5 Jeremiah 33-35 Jeremiah is jailed still and he receives another prophecy. He’s told that although all looks bleak now, a time will come when Jeru… Read More

Readings:Jeremiah 31-32Hebrews 4 Jeremiah 31-32 Jeremiah’s oracle from God about the return from exile continues in this chapter. This would be something to hang your hat on and… Read More

Readings:Jeremiah 29-30Hebrews 3 Jeremiah 29-30 Jeremiah writes a letter to the first exiles that are now in Babylon. They’re told that this isn’t a short term situation… Read More

Readings:Jeremiah 26-28Hebrews 2 We have a flashback here to the early days of the previous king, before the first siege of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. Jeremiah goes and preaches the wo… Read More

Readings:Jeremiah 24-25Hebrews 1 Jeremiah 24-25 We start out with another example and analogy by God. It can be a little confusing but there were two separate sieges of Jerusalem by th… Read More

Readings:Jeremiah 21-23Sirach 50-51 Sir fin Jeremiah 21-23 The king asked Jeremiah to intercede with God on his behalf, but to say it didn’t go according to plan is an underst… Read More

Readings:Jeremiah 19-20Sirach 48-49 Jeremiah 19-20 God gives instructions to Jeremiah for another visual demonstration of the prophecies being given against the people. It’s a pr… Read More

Readings:Jeremiah 18Sirach 47Zephaniah 1-3 Jeremiah 18 Jeremiah is instructed to go watch a potter at his wheel, and God spoke to him using it as an analogy for chastisement of his peo… Read More

Readings:Jeremiah 17Sirach 46Nahum 1-3 Jeremiah 17 God tells Jeremiah that the sin of idolatry is rooted in people having a lack of trust in God. They put their trust in themselves or… Read More

Readings:Jeremiah 14-16Sirach 44-45 Jeremiah 14-16 There’s a severe drought in the land and Jeremiah can’t help but to call out to God, but he’s told not to intercede… Read More

Readings:Jeremiah 12-13Sirach 42-43Obadiah 1 Jeremiah 12-13 Jeremiah complains to God that even though the wicked have angered him and done great evil in turning their backs on him for… Read More

Readings:Jeremiah 11Sirach 412 Peter 3 God calls on Jeremiah to preach a message of condemnation on the land because of their idolatry. They’re reminded that they’ve broken th… Read More

Readings:Jeremiah 10 Sirach 402 Peter 2 God takes aim at the lifeless idols of the nations around them. When a real, living God, that rescued your fathers out of slavery with power and si… Read More