The Two Testaments
A guided journey through Scripture with Rony Kozman and Will Kynes. We interview scholars to discuss the meanings of verses, passages, and books of the Bible. Think of us as an audio Bible commentary—but more exciting! thetwotestaments.substack.com
Episodes
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...
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 on...
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 disputatio...
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 (17:12–1...
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 arb...
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,” a...
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 j...
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 (...
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 aut...
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 B...
Obadiah with Dr. Beth Stovell
Dr. Beth Stovell (Ambrose University) guides us through the Book of Obadiah. We discuss:
* the historical context of Obadiah
* How Obadiah relates to the Book of the Twelve
* A major theme of Obadiah: appealing for God’s justice against Edom
* Obadiah’s use of “the day of the LORD” and the universal judgment of all the nations and Israel (Obadiah 1:15)
Works by Dr. Beth Stovell
* The Book of the Twelve, with ...
Dr. Ian Boxall (St. Stephen's House, University of Oxford) guides us through Revelation 8:6–11:19 (The Seven Trumpets). We discuss:
* The angels blowing trumpets (8:6)
* The significance of the great burning mountain and the star being thrown into the waters (8:8-11).
* The striking and darkening of the sun, moon, and stars (8:12)
* The eagle that cries woes upon the earth (8:13)
* The bottomless pit, the smoke, and the bizarre locusts ...
Micah with Dr. Mark Gignilliat
Dr. Mark Gignilliat (Beeson Divinity School) guides us through the Book of Micah. We discuss:
* Micah’s historical context
* Loving God and loving neighbor as the key themes of Micah
* The significance of Micah’s position between Jonah and Nahum
* The interplay of God’s judgment against Israel and the nations
* The significance of Micah 3:12 in the center of the Twelve, and its theme of the death and resurr...
Revelation 6:1-8:5 with Dr. David deSilva
Dr. David deSilva (Ashland Theological Seminary) guides us through Revelation 6:1-8:5. We discuss:
* The four bizarre creatures of Revelation 4–5 that appear again in chapter 6.
* The significance of the four horses and riders (6:1–8).
* The lament of the martyrs in the heavenly temple, their cry for justice, and the rationale for God’s delayed vengeance (6:9–11).
* The 144, 000 from the tribes...
Jonah with Rev. Dr. Vanessa Lovelace
Rev. Dr. Vanessa Lovelace (Lancaster Theological Seminary) guides us through the Book of Jonah. We discuss:
* What we can know about Jonah’s historical context
* Major themes in Jonah including repentance and forgiveness
* God relenting from judging Nineveh in Jonah compared to God judging Nineveh in Nahum
* Jonah as the anti-prophet
* If Jonah is meant to be taken as a universal or particular message
...
Dr. Juan Hernández Jr. (Bethel University) guides us through Revelation 4-5. We discuss:
* The significance of the repeated title, "him who sits on the throne"
* The four living creatures around the throne
* The twenty-four elders who lay down their crowns and their hymn
* Why the scroll cannot be opened
* John's presentation of the lamb as having seven horns and seven eyes.
* Why the lamb's blood is said to ransom people
* John's high ch...
Amos with Dr. M. Daniel Carroll R.
Dr. M. Daniel Carroll R. (Wheaton College) guides us through Amos. We discuss:
* God as the main theme of Amos
* The interplay of ethics, theology, and worship
* The meaning of one of the most well-known verses of Amos: “But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an everlasting stream” (5:24)
* The judgment of the nations in Amos 1–2 as a strategy of suspense rather than entrapment
* ...
Dr. Jeffrey Weima (Calvin Theological Seminary) guides us through Revelation 2-3. We discuss:
* The significance of the form of the addresses to the seven churches as sermons rather than letters
* Why John writes to these seven churches, and the significance of their arrangement
* What it means that the church in Ephesus "abandoned the love you had at first" (2:4)
* Who are the Nicolaitans and what did they do and teach? (2:6, 15)
* The...
Joel with Dr. Christopher Seitz
Dr. Christopher Seitz (Wycliffe College, University of Toronto) guides us through the Book of Joel. We discuss:
* How to read a book (like Joel) that does not situate itself historically and temporally
* The significance of the four locusts in Joel–the swarming locust, the hopping locust, the destroying locust, the cutting locust (Joel 1:4)
* How Joel’s phrase “the day of the LORD” can refer to two days
*...
Revelation 1 with Dr. Robyn Whitaker
Dr. Robyn Whitaker (Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity) guides us through Revelation 1. We discuss:
* The rhetorical/persuasive and iconic function of vivid imagery
* Whose apocalypse is this, and what does it mean that it is a prophecy?
* Which John is responsible for Revelation and why is he in Patmos?
* John's descriptions of: God; the seven spirits; and Jesus Christ
* The vision ...
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