Commuter Bible

As God’s wrath is poured out in seven phases, you’ll be reminded of the plagues poured out on Egypt when pharaoh refused to let God’s people leave and go to the Promised Land. Water turns to blood, the people are stricken with sores, demonic spirits appear like frogs, enormous hail stones fall, all under the direction of God Almighty and his angels. Following the seventh bowl of God’s wrath, we’ll...

Revelation is full of imagery and symbolism that continues to spark discussion and debate among believers, but the overall impression that we should get from these prophecies is that the end is under God’s full control; in his sovereignty and power He will execute his just wrath upon those who oppose Him, and those who trust Him are secured eternally, though not without temporary hardship. The bea...

In our last episode, Jesus appeared to the apostle John with instructions for seven churches. After this, John sees God seated on His throne, attended by four living creatures and 24 elders in white robes. One like a slaughtered lamb appears in the midst of the throne to open a scroll that has seven seals. In today’s episode, the lamb begins to open those seals. The first four seals release riders...

Sometimes when you’re studying the Bible you can get so deep into study that you miss the forest for the trees. Such is often the case with the book of Revelation, as we try to peer deeply into symbolism and the order of events to decipher what the end of days will look like. One big takeaway that we ought not miss is this: Jesus is absolutely glorious and eternally victorious. Take notice of the...

Not much is known about the prophet Malachi, (whose name means “my messenger”), but contextual clues suggest that this was written after the exile had ended. Enthusiasm for right worship of God had waned, and Malachi exhorts the priests to honor the Lord. Uniquely, Malachi presents his prophesy using a conversational pattern between the priests and the Lord God, wherein God makes a claim, the prie...

In our final episode in the book of Zechariah, the prophet proclaims that Jerusalem will be secure from warring nations. They will be blessed further through spiritual reconciliation with God. He will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the house of David and on Jerusalem, and they will mourn for the one they pierced. On that day a fountain will be opened to wash away their sin and impurity....

Zechariah prophesies that judgment is coming for Zion’s enemies, but in a surprising reversal after their punishment, God will call them to be a part of his people as a remnant. Later, Zion is called to rejoice, for their king is coming. He is described as being victorious, righteous and humble all at once, even riding a donkey instead of a mule as was customary for kings. The Lord promises to res...

We’re picking up where we left off in the collection of visions that Zechariah saw, today looking at visions six, seven and eight. The vision of the flying scroll is an indication that God’s just law is about to be executed in the land. Wickedness is personified as a woman who is taken captive and sent away to Babylon to be worshiped. The eighth vision, like the first, includes four horses who pat...

The prophet Zechariah was a contemporary of the prophet Haggai; both prophesy to those exiles returning to Jerusalem, but while Haggai focuses mainly on rebuilding the temple, Zechariah sees visions of a future king. As such is the case, the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John incorporate more passages from Zechariah than from any other prophet. In today’s reading, Zechariah prophesies throug...

In Peter’s second letter, the apostle writes to encourage the church to confirm their calling and election by exercising the divine power given to them for life and godliness. Peter warns them against false teachers who claim Christ but in reality are self-glorifying and treacherous, exploiting the church in their greed with made-up stories. Finally, Peter encourages the church to patiently await...

Like Jonah before him, the prophet Nahum preaches devastation and ruin for Ninevah, the capital of Assyria, a place of unparalleled power and wealth. Though they thought themselves to be secure from danger, their downfall came after nearby rivers flooded the city and destroyed part of the city wall, allowing Babylon to enter easily and set it ablaze. Later in Habakkuk, the prophet of the same name...

The prophet Zephaniah extends an urgent invitation to seek the Lord and only the Lord. At the time of Zephaniah’s prophecy, even the priests in the house of the Lord were worshipping other gods. He predicts that a day of the Lord is approaching to eliminate those who rebel against Him, but in His grace, he will leave a meek and humble remnant. Later, in 2 Thessalonians, Paul writes to the church c...

As we finish out the second half of the book of Micah, we’ll immediately see another crystal clear prophecy; this one predicts that the coming Messiah will be born in Bethlehem, a small town that was unlikely to have anything significant take place within it. God promises that one day he will remove those earthly and idolatrous occupations which keep his people from worshipping him rightly, assert...

Given the time frame established by the prophet himself, Micah’s prophecies are astoundingly clear and accurate, as he clearly pronounces the fall of Samaria, the destruction of Jerusalem, and the coming captivity in Babylon. The people had grown comfortable in religious activity but they were excusing sin and denying the possibility of judgment. He urges God’s people to consider the nature and ch...

Joel is one of the shortest books of the Old Testament and is divided in two parts. The first half describes a plague of locusts that invade the land and destroy the land’s produce, threatening the survival of animals, people, and even grain offerings before the Lord. That section ends with a plea for God’s people to confess their sins, transitioning to the second half of the book, which contains...

On his second missionary journey recorded in Acts, Paul stopped in the port city of Thessalonica, preached in the synagogue, and a church formed in the city. In just a few short weeks, a riot began, and Paul was forced to leave the fledgling church body. Here in today’s passage, Paul attempts to answer some unresolved questions that they have covering an array of topics. Though they had some misun...

Contrary to Victorian era illustrations and Michelangelo’s chubby cherubs in the Sistine Chapel, angels are always described as glorious and fear-inducing.  Whenever someone sees a vision of an angel in Scripture, the person who sees them is dumbfounded and crippled by fear. In most instances, the angel has to tell the person not to fear and followed by supernatural help to recuperate. Such is the...

We are now in the second half of Daniel which focuses on the dreams and visions that Daniel himself received. These visions include imagery of beasts, animals, and horns, representing kingdoms and the kings who come from them. Some of what Daniel sees is explained within the text itself while some remains the topic of debate and speculation to this day. Some, however, has clearly been fulfilled, l...

There are a few different ways to look at the structure of the book of Daniel, and one of them is to note that the first six chapters are comprised of narratives that contain prophecy, while the last six chapters are prophecies that contain history. These next three chapters each happen in successive time periods under successive kings whom Daniel served under, however, later chapters do not maint...

The book of Daniel is an extraordinary account of a young Judean exile who receives interpretation and prophecy from the Lord while serving foreign kings. Of particular significance in today’s passage is the statue that Nebuchadnezzar sees in a dream. The statue’s head of gold represented Babylon; its silver chest and arms: the Medo-Persian empire; the bronze stomach and thighs: the Greek empire;...

The disciple Jesus loves, better known as John, continues to give us his account of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. As in the rest of his gospel, John points out the ways in which the death of Jesus fulfilled the Scriptures that preceded him. While all of the gospel accounts include the resurrection of Jesus, each one gives unique perspectives from the participants of what happened afte...

As Jesus walks to the garden where he will spend his final moments with the disciples, he continues to divulge the relationship between the persons of the Trinity. The Spirit comes from the Father and submits to the Son. The Son commands the Spirit but submits to the Father. And the Father has authority over the Son and the Spirit while still honoring both as equal in divinity. Jesus prays for His...

Here in John’s gospel, we get a lengthy behind-the-scenes look at the Last Supper. As Jesus eats the Passover meal with his disciples, he knows that the hour of His crucifixion is drawing near. As both Lord and servant, Jesus leads by example and washes the disciples’ feet and commands them to love one another. It’s revealed that Judas will betray Jesus, and he departs from the other disciples to...

Our reading begins with a miraculous and undeniable sign: Jesus heals a man who was born blind, and the Pharisees can’t believe it. Later, Jesus raises his friend, Lazarus, from the dead in front of large crowd. This is Jesus’s seventh messianic sign given before the crucifixion, and this one points forward to his own resurrection and his power over death. As many in people in Bethany had witnesse...

In today’s passage, Jesus feeds 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish. Those who received this free meal begin looking for Jesus, not because of the sign itself but because of what they can get out of it. Here, Jesus begins teaching strange things, saying that his disciples must eat his flesh and drink blood, and after hearing this, many abandon Jesus. Later, during the Festival of Shelters,...