Bern Leckie and Owen Lynch share thoughts and feelings about the book of Revelation.

Is this the most intriguing book of the Bible? There is a huge variety of views about what this book means and, even if we can understand it, what we should do with that understanding today.

Bern and Owen start by looking at the culture it was written into, the challenges Christians were facing towards the end of the first century, and how words from Jesus and visions of future battles, judgements and resolutions would have been received.

Jesus had notes for every regional church, and the theme of “repent” - changing of mind - was consistent. Could our understanding of this today be too small? Did Jesus want to “come in and eat” only with new converts to faith, or with every believer throughout life?

John’s prophetic visions were dramatic and packed with meaningful symbols from stories across the whole of the Bible. But was this a code people needed to crack, or more of an encouragement to suffering people that they were richly connected to the God who had always promised to rescue and deliver them?

The world as they knew it was coming to an end - as the world sometimes looks to us too - but they could look forward to a better future. God and his love wins.

Thanks for listening! You can review the whole of our Bible listening plan and hear every episode of this podcast at severnvineyard.org/bible.

Bern Leckie and Owen Lynch share thoughts and feelings about the books of Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi, as well as Psalms 132 to 150.

Covering a broad stretch of history from before, during and after the exile of God’s people, the last minor prophets in the Old Testament are sharing words from God in different situations, looking from a broad range of viewpoints.

The different angles of their approaches might even mean that the work they saw God doing looked surprisingly different to them.

Bern refers to a physical picture of this - a sculpture with a complex shape that looks like a pair of giraffes from one angle but like an elephant from a different angle a short walk away. (This is hard to imagine, so have a look here: https://youtu.be/S2iq8fYVNt4)

Some people in history have seemed to dig in and defend particular viewpoints, giving them certainty that God’s kingdom was all about how it looked from their angle - for example, the Sadducees saw it about life centred on a physical temple, while the Pharisees saw it more about what God was doing to bring temple-like life into every home. We can think of modern examples where we’ve heard conflicting groups argue about what church should be focusing on today.

God’s people had to move and change their perspective during the time of these prophets, and God seemed to deepen the understanding of people who would listen. A picture of where God was taking people and what his promised Messiah would be like were emerging. But would anyone really understand until they met him?

In the next and final part of our boxset, we finish the Bible by listening to the book of Revelation. Listen along at your own pace at severnvineyard.org/bible.

Bern Leckie and Owen Lynch share thoughts and feelings about the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, as well as Psalms 120 to 131.

The story of how Jerusalem and the temple began to rebuilt was a major cause for celebration for God’s exiled people. Much in this story - formerly a single book - points people to God and the benefits of gathering together, faithfully observing his law and making the best possible effort to avoid the mistakes of the past.

But is there more to this story? Had people really taken onboard the fresh perspectives given by God through the prophets about what he really wanted from them, and what he was promising to do next?

Looking at how people were proceeding by their own best efforts, doubling down on some traditional ideas but skewing the law in the process, could this really be more of a warning against certain kinds of leadership instead of an encouragement to emulate the leaders described here? And can we see parallels which should give us caution and encouragement today?

The “Psalms of ascent” also give encouragement and cause for reflection to people gathering for festivals and worship. When gathering people put their hope in God, was this only to expect good life in the gatherings, or was God going to do something to transform life afterwards too? What are our hopes about this?

In the next part of our boxset, we finish the Old Testament by listening to the minor prophets Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi, as well the rest of the Psalms, 132 to 150. Listen along at your own pace at severnvineyard.org/bible.