The Two Testaments

Romans 5–6: The Rise of Two Empires
Dr. Rony Kozman (Samford University) guides us through Romans 5–6. We discuss:
* Paul’s use of royal-military language and how Sin and Death came to rule the whole world
* Which law Paul has in view in Rom 5:12–14 and 20–21, and Paul’s use of the ancient Jewish tradition of Adam’s law
* Law’s role in the drama of Sin and Death’s Imperial reigns and how this fits with what Paul says about law throughout Romans
* The repeated comparison between Adam and Christ and if Paul is a universalist
* The image of slavery and how it relates to human agency
Works by Dr. Rony Kozman
* Adam’s Wisdom and Israel’s Law: Paul, Early Judaism, and Natural Law Tradition. Baylor University Press, 2025.
* “When Law Came to Adam: The Origin Story of Sin and Death in Romans 5,” in “Paul among Jews and Christians: Redescribing the ‘Jewishness’ of Paul and His Receptions,” ed. Rafael Rodriguez, special issue, Religions 15 (2024), 1552.
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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, Will Kynes, and Alex Kirk
Visit our website at thetwotestaments.com, where you can access all episodes .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 is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thetwotestaments.substack.com

Rony and Will give an update on The Two Testaments podcast. They introduce a new host with whom they discuss plans for Season 4.—————The Two Testaments takes you on a guided journey through Scripture with leading experts on the Bible.Visit our website at http://thetwotestaments.com, where you can subscribe and access all episodes. Subscribe wherever you find podcasts, and watch us on YouTube.


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 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.
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 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
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

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