Daily Bible Reading Podcast

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000: 2026 Daily Bible Reading Introduction and How-to's Dec 31, 2025

Show notes

Hi there!

I'm so glad you have clicked to listen to this introduction to the Digging Deeper Daily Bible reading plan and podcasts for 2025.

If you want to read the Bible in a great reading plan that will hold your attention and enable you to stay with the program, you are in the right place.

If you want to listen, the complete Bibles I have recorded following my reading plan are the New Living Translation and the Good News Bible.

If you can, do both: listen to the podcast while reading along.

My name is Phil Fields. I'm almost 75 years old and happily married to Gale. We have three children, and five grandkids. In 1983, when our kids were still small, our family went as Bible translators to Papua, Indonesia. We finished a New Testament translation for the Orya people in 2005. Since that time I have been leading an organization which is translating the Bible into the national language of Indonesia. We're hoping that the entire Bible in the Plain Indonesian Translation will be finished at the end of 2025. Our sponsoring organization is Pioneer Bible Translators.

When I started the Daily Bible Reading Podcast in 2014 the primary audience I had in mind was my grandkids. I wanted to make a set of Bible recordings for them, to leave behind what I would tell each one of them if, and when, they fall into difficult times.

Here's a list of what I will cover:

Our web addresses
How to contact me
Podcast release schedule
Take a look at the How-to's at our site.
Different ways to follow the Digging Deeper Daily reading plan
Choose a Bible translation that makes sense for you for daily reading.

Please note these web addresses:

For NLT podcasts and How-to information, go to http://ddeeper.today, or http://dailybiblereading.info.

For GNT podcasts and How-to information, go to http://dailygntbiblereading.info.

You can listen to the podcasts at the websites just listed, but it is a better user experience to use a podcast app for listening.

How to contact me:

My favorite way for you to contact me is via the contact button at the top of all my websites.

Podcast release schedule:

Every Sunday, seven podcasts will be released covering the next week of listening. Sometimes an eighth bonus episode will also be released.

How-to's:

If you would like pointers on podcast listening apps, please see the How-to's, linked in the banner of the websites above. A good podcast app

makes it easy to see the episode notes,
remembers your place and will automatically queue up your next episode,
and lets you speed up my reading to 1.20%.

Please also see the How-to pages for detailed information about the Digging Deeper Daily reading plan.

Different ways to follow the Digging Deeper Daily reading plan:

READ in a real-book Bible: To do that, download the Digging Deeper Daily reading plan PDF. See the banner at our website and click on Plan.PDF.

Follow the Digging Deeper Daily reading plan using the YouVersion Bible app on your phone or tablet. To find the 3D plan, go to the Plans page, choose Find Plans, and search for the name, Digging Deeper.

How about READing and LISTENing?! Open your podcast player and start the introduction to your next episode. While listening to my greeting, you'll have time to open the YV app to your next day in the Digging Deeper Daily reading plan.

When you sign up for a YV reading plan, you are given an option to do the plan privately or share it with your friends. If you share the plan with friends, at the end of each day's readings, you will be given the opportunity to share something you gleaned from the readings. This is fabulous and a great way to connect with your friends through the Bible app. But since the Digging Deeper Daily plan is for the whole Bible in 365 days, I suggest you share with a select group of close friends, or maybe 1-2 other people, or just do the plan privately.

Choose a Bible translation that makes sense for you and for a year-long reading program. Many churches use literal translations like the ESV. My own church uses that translation. But the ESV is not very well suited for a year-long reading program, especially if this is your first time reading the whole Bible. I strongly recommend the NLT or the GNT for following the Digging Deeper Daily reading plan. Please take my advice as a Bible translator: Using a translation like the NLT or GNT is even more important if you will be listening to your Bible readings while doing something like driving to work. For more information about Bible translations, see the READ heading in the How-To pages.

NL-Day004 Genesis 7-8; Job 4; Mark 3 Dec 28, 2025

Show notes

Most people find out about the DBRP through the YouVersion Bible reading app on their smart device. If you are one who has found out about these podcasts through some other means (such as via Apple Podcasts), then I want to make you aware that the Bible app created by YouVersion is wonderful. You can subscribe to the Digging Deeper Daily reading plan within the app, then reading along with these daily podcasts is very easy. Just start your episode using your podcast player, then go to your day in the YouVersion Reading Plan. Please be aware that you can turn on the YouVersion app's audio for the Digging Deeper Daily reading plan. If you do this, a very nice Alexa/Siri-like voice will read the devotional introductions to the three readings for the day, and after that the voice for the Bible you select will read the Bible readings. This makes a great way to add variety to your daily listening if you get tired of my voice, however, there will be no prayer at the end.

I again want to express my gratitude to Tyndale House Foundation for their permission to publish the full audio of the NLT Bible through this podcast series. The full copyright attribution text is found at the end of the episode notes for each podcast.

Based on my experience as a Bible translator, I have made a few changes to the text of the NLT for these podcasts. These are for the sake of clarity and naturalness for those who are only listening to the recordings without reading along. All of my changes are documented in the episode notes, sometimes with brief explanations.

GENESIS 7-8: In Genesis 5, we heard the overview of the descendants of Adam and Eve up to Noah. In chapter 6, Noah was further introduced. Also the reason for the flood was explained.

JOB 4: In chapter 3 Job cursed the day he was born and expressed his deep misery.

Remember that in the speeches of Job's three friends we will see a mixture of truth and error. In particular, we should not follow Eliphaz's example in today's chapter. The Bible tells us repeatedly that we are not to trust or listen to communication from spirits. We will read the second chapter of Eliphaz' response tomorrow.

MARK 3: In Mark 2, Jesus shocked his listeners by first forgiving a paralyzed man's sins before actually healing the man's body. And in three other events in chapter 2 we can see the beginnings of the conflict between Jesus and the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees.

———————

NLT Translation notes: Job 4:6 How come//Doesn't] your reverence for God [doesn't/0] give you confidence?

[Perhaps you place too much confidence in your own integrity.//Doesn't your life of integrity give you hope?]

[Translation note: I have interpreted the two questions in v6 as rebuking rhetorical questions and translated them as statements. See the note

at the end of Mark 3.]

====

Mrk. 3:10 He had healed many people that day, so all the [other/0] sick people eagerly pushed forward to touch him.

23 Jesus called them over and responded with an

illustration. [It is not possible that Satan would drive out his own demons."//"How can Satan cast out Satan?" he asked.]

33 Jesus replied, ["Let me show you the kind of people whom I regard as my mother and brothers!"// "Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?]

[In verse 23, Jesus was not asking a real question. He was using a rhetorical question to open the topic he was going to teach about. In our translations in Indonesia, we frequently changed Jesus' rhetorical questions to statements. This is because in many languages (and really even in English) people do not use rhetorical questions as their topic sentence at the beginning of a teaching. So if we didn't change such questions to statements, our readers would wrongly think that Jesus was unsure about what He was talking about and that He often started by asking his audience for advice.]

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

NL-Day003 Genesis 5-6; Job 3; Mark 2 Dec 28, 2025

Show notes

How can you get more out of your Bible reading this year? My top advice is to SLOW DOWN! The readings in this plan take around 20 minutes if read aloud. If you read silently, you might finish in only 10 minutes. But if you skim through like that, you won't retain very much! I suggest these two ways to slow down:

1. Read out loud to yourself. Read expressively. When you find that your first attempt didn't quite have the right intonation, go back and read the sentence again. Take time to think about— and pray about, what you have just read.

2. Read along while listening to the Daily Bible Reading Podcast. This will definitely slow you down.

One advantage of listening to the podcasts is that each one ends with a short prayer that is aimed at helping you apply what you have just read. By the way, I normally don't say an Amen at the end of the prayers. This is because I hope you keep on praying after the episode ends.

GENESIS 5-6: In chapter 3 of Genesis, the Lord gave his judgment against the serpent. God talked about the woman's offspring (which is a collective singular noun) when speaking to the serpent, and said,

"her offspring and yours will always be enemies. Her offspring will crush your head, and you will bite her offspring's heel."

This is the very first prophecy looking forward to a Messiah and Redeemer who will crush Satan's head. Just before that, there is another picture worth noting: God provided clothes for the man and woman made from animal skins. This is the first hint of the sacrificial system that prefigures Christ.

JOB 3: Today we read Job's first speech. In the Bible— and especially in Job and the Psalms, we find out that God thoroughly understands and takes into account the fact that humans suffer. This is shown in the fact that such deep expressions of suffering are found in God's Word— right from the earliest writings.

MARK 2: Yesterday in the second half of Mark 1, we read of Jesus miraculously healing people in Capernaum, and his refusing to stay only there. He preached and cast out demons all over the region of Galilee. The healing of the man with leprosy is notable because of the exchange between Jesus and that man, and also the results of the man's not following Jesus' instructions.

———————

NLT Translation notes:

Mrk. 2:5 Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, "My child, [PET: I have forgiven your sins.//your sins are forgiven.]"

[I will occasionally quote from the PET, which is the Plain English Translation. That is the English translation that matches our Plain Indonesian Translation (TSI). The PET was first created as part of the checking process for the TSI, and some parts have been published because so many Indonesians desire to learn English.]

9 [PET: Certainly you will have difficulty accepting that I said to this paralyzed man, 'I have forgiven your sins.' Will it be easier for you to accept it if I say to him, 'Get up, pick up your mattress and go home'?//Is it easier to say to the paralyzed man 'Your sins are forgiven,' or 'Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk'? ]

10 So I will prove to you that [I, the Son of Man have//the Son of Man has] the authority on earth to forgive sins." Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, 18 Once when John's disciples were fasting and the Pharisees were [also] fasting, some people came to Jesus and asked, "Why don't your disciples fast like John's disciples and the Pharisees do?"

[The translation should not give the impression that the two groups were joining together to fast.] 28 So [I,] the Son of Man [am/is] Lord, even over the Sabbath!"

NL-Day002: Genesis 3-4; Job 2; Mark 1:29-45 Dec 28, 2025

Show notes

It is possible to listen to these podcasts on YouTube or Facebook, but these ways are not optimal. The How-to pages pages linked in the banner of http://dailybiblereading.info give various ways to conveniently listen to these podcasts using any kind of smart device, including smart speakers. Use the Listen menu item of the How-to pages to find this information.

You will note that I read most Bible names phonetically— rather than the using normal English pronunciation. This means that the letter A will have a consistent sound 'ah' and the letter I will be pronounced 'ee'. This happens to match Indonesian pronunciations and that of many other languages. This also makes the pronunciation a little more like that of the source languages, Hebrew and Greek.

GENESIS 3-4: In chapter 2 of Genesis, we saw that Eve was created and introduced to Adam. And the pair at the end of the chapter were "naked and not embarrassed/unashamed." As I said in yesterday's introduction, I have seen first-hand in my work in Indonesia that when a people group misunderstands and twists the story in Genesis 1-3, it will have far-reaching consequences for their lives. In the case of the Orya people, twisting the story of the fall caused much suffering and misery among families.

JOB 2: At the close of chapter 1 of Job, Job had lost virtually everything he had, including his possessions, livestock, and children. He said, "I came naked from my mother's womb, and I will be naked when I leave. The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord!"

MARK 1b: Mark does not specifically identify himself as the author of this Gospel, but the church fathers unanimously say that the John Mark mentioned several times in the New Testament was the one who wrote it. Mark was a companion of Peter, and the eyewitness content in this book is that of Peter.

I previously held a view based on internal evidence and made popular in the 20th century that Mark was the first Gospel to be written, with Matthew and Luke using Mark's record as a resource. But now I think that the testimony of the church fathers is more likely to be true: Matthew and Luke were written before this Gospel, and Mark transcribed what Peter taught about the life of Jesus, either shortly before or after Peter's martyrdom in Rome— which happened somewhere between 64-67 AD.

If Mark wrote this account in Rome, that would help to explain why he gives background information to some Jewish customs that would have been unknown to his Roman readers, and why he doesn't include teachings of Jesus which were based on the Jewish Scriptures and religion. Instead he tells us the plain story of Jesus and his miracles, so that the reader finds out who Jesus is.

Yesterday in chapter 1 of Mark, Jesus was baptized by John, called his first disciples, and cast out an evil spirit from a man in a synagogue.

NLT Translation notes:

Mrk 1:34 So Jesus healed many people who were sick with various diseases, and he cast out many demons. [Because//But because] the demons knew who he was, he did not allow them to speak.

38 But Jesus replied, "[No. ]We must go on to other towns

as well, and I will preach to them, too. That is why I came."

NL-Day001: Genesis 1-2; Job 1; Mark 1:1-28 Dec 28, 2025

Show notes

Hey there! Welcome to this day number 1 in the NLT series for the Digging Deeper Daily reading plan. These podcasts are hosted at dailybiblereading.info. Today in this episode number 1 we read Genesis 1-2, Job 1, and the first half of Mark 1.

It's great that you're starting TODAY on a life-transforming journey through the Bible! The Digging Deeper Daily plan will help you be successful in your commitment to read the whole Bible in a year. The unique order of the readings— together with the brief devotional notes, will help you see the various threads that unify the message of the Old and the New Testaments. I hope that my notes will help you remember what you have read the day before, and hint at the deep and incredibly rich treasures in God's Word. But the most satisfying treasures that you find this year will be the ones you dig to discover for yourself! Please check out the How-to pages that are linked in the banner of dailybiblereading.info. When you are curious about a Bible verse, I recommend the collection of 'Shovels' I have collected to aid you in digging deeper in your study. See the Shovels page under 'About' menu entry in the How-to pages. The How-to pages also give good suggestions for podcast listening apps and Bible reading apps.

If you hear mistakes, have questions, or would like to comment, please feel free to contact me via the contact link at dailybiblereading.info.

I want to express my heartfelt thanks to Tyndale House Foundation for the permission to record the whole NLT Bible in these podcasts. The full copyright notice is found on the front page of dailybiblereading.info and at the end of each day's episode notes.

GENESIS 1-2: The first five books of the Bible are the Jewish Torah, and the Bible refers to them collectively as 'the Law'. Many other books in the Bible attribute the authorship of these five books to Moses. Genesis is the foundational book of the whole Bible. When we were in our first Bible translation project among the Orya in Papua, Indonesia, I witnessed how getting a little detail of the foundation wrong (such as, how the first sin happened) can wreck the whole building that is being constructed. The result can be misery. This book of Genesis tells us what God wants us to know about the beginning of our world, the beginning of sin, mankind's rebellion against God, and who God and Satan are.

JOB 1: The story of Job is set in the period of the patriarch Abraham, and it takes place in the land of the East. What I did not realize until recently is that signs indicate that this book was written at a later time and almost certainly by an Israelite. By the author writing that Job was "the richest man in the East", it places the author in the West, in the land of Israel. The author frequently uses the name of 'Yahweh', which I think would not have been done in Abraham's time— which was long before God's name was revealed to Moses at the burning bush. The author was a highly educated man. All of the book— except the first two chapters, are in exquisite poetry. The author displays an in-depth knowledge of mythology, the constellations, and the then current wisdom concerning the world— including the underworld and traits of exotic animals. I might as well say it: The philosophy of this book is worthy of Solomon.

Whoever he is, the author displays incredible wisdom. One would expect an ancient book that is didactic in nature to end with a neat answer that sums up the author's opinion. Or one would expect an ancient author to create a debate where the hero is totally right and the other speakers are clearly wrong. Instead, all the human speakers in the book of Job mix truth and error. It is a mark of inspired wisdom that in the end, the book of Job leaves us still pondering and searching for some answers.

MARK 1a:Mark does not specifically identify himself as the author of this Gospel, but the church fathers unanimously say that the John Mark mentioned several times in the New Testament was the one who wrote it. Mark was a companion of Peter, and the eyewitness content in this book is that of Peter. I will give more introductory information about Mark's Gospel in tomorrow's podcast.

NLT Translation notes:

Gen. 1:3Then God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4And God saw that the light was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light "day" and the darkness "night." And evening passed and morning came, marking the [end of the] first day. … And evening passed and morning came, marking

the [end of the] second day.

…and so forth.

====

Mrk. 1:1 This is the Good News about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God. It began 2 just as the prophet Isaiah had written, … [quoting what God said to his son:]

6 [John reminded people of the prophet Elijah,] because his clothes were woven from coarse camel hair, and he wore a leather belt around his waist. And he ate food such as locusts and wild honey.

NL-Day365 Malachi 4; Isaiah 66; Revelation 22 Dec 28, 2025

Show notes

As I finish this podcast series, I am really thankful for this year-long experience. If you are one of the faithful ones who have listened through a year's worth of daily podcasts— and no matter whether this has taken longer than a year, I say Way to go! I sincerely hope these podcasts have been a blessing for you— as they have been for me. I hope that nothing that I have said has caused you to stumble or decreased your desire to study God's Word. I started this project in the hope that my four grandchildren would— in some future year, listen to this series of recordings. Now we have five grandchildren. If you are Luke Fields, Laura Fields, Ava Baughn, Joel Baughn, or Devan Baughn, know that Grampa loves you and that I desired to share spiritual treasures with you. I am proud of you and wish that we could have shared these readings in person. I urge you to stay centered upon God's Word. And to ALL of you in the family of Christ Jesus our Savior, I send warm greetings and love. May the Lord bless you as you continue your journey with Him!

MALACHI 4: As people like Simeon and Anna (Luke 2) waited for the Messiah to come, I am sure that they were thinking of verses like Malachi 3:1:

Mal. 3:1 NLT "Look! I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. Then the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his Temple. The messenger of the covenant, whom you look for so eagerly, is surely coming," says the LORD of Heaven's Armies.

Re-reading ISAIAH 66: Isaiah ends with blessings and promises that foreshadow Revelation, such as these:

Is. 66:12 GNT The Lord says, "I will bring you lasting prosperity; the wealth of the nations will flow to you like a river that never goes dry. … 22 "Just as the new earth and the new heavens will endure by my power, so your descendants and your name will endure.

In stark contrast to the promises and blessings, Isaiah also ends with vivid warnings against judgments and punishments that are like those in Revelation. Jesus himself quoted that final verse about the worms and the unquenchable fire. (Mark 9:48) You can take that as Jesus' stamp of approval on all that Isaiah said!

REVELATION 22: In chapter 21 we heard the invitation to receive free life-giving water for anyone who is thirsty, and that invitation is repeated in today's chapter. The culmination of everything promised and the healing of everything sick and broken occur here. God says, "Look, I am making all things new." There is again symbolism in every aspect of the New Jerusalem— including even the shape of a huge cube. As noted above at the end of Isaiah, in stark contrast to the eternal blessings for God's people are the vivid ending warnings of eternal judgment in the last two chapters of Revelation.

In Rev. 22:8-9, most translations make it sound that John made the same mistake twice— bowing down again to the angel that was showing everything to him. But the Greek in those verse in chapter 22 can be understood to be retelling that event that happened in chapter 19, and I think that makes better sense. The probable reason that John included the story twice was to emphasize that angels should not be worshipped. Let's beware of such heresy! Because such false teaching keeps on resurfacing and some forms of Gnosticism remain to the present day.

Congratulations on finishing the Digging Deeper Daily reading plan!

NLT Translation Notes: Rev. 22:1b On each side of the river grew [the/a] tree of life, 8b And when I heard and saw them[— as I said before], I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me. 16b I am both the [founding] source of David

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

NL-Day364 Malachi 3; Isaiah 66; Revelation 21 Dec 28, 2025

Show notes

MALACHI 3: In chapters 1-2 yesterday, we heard how skeptical and sassy the Israelites had become. This came out in the way Malachi has the people of Israel talk back to God. The first is like this:

Mal. 1:2 NLT "I have always loved you," says the LORD. But you retort, "Really?

Topics for such exchanges included offering sacrifices that don't show appropriate honor to God, breaking covenants of marriage through divorce, and not honoring God as the God of justice. Two more sassy exchanges happen in today's reading.

ISAIAH 66: I highlight verse 17 from chapter 65, as it foreshadows what we will read in Revelation today and tomorrow:

Is. 65:17 NLT "Look! I am creating new heavens and a new earth, and no one will even think about the old ones anymore.

And I believe that these moving verses from that same chapter portray the torment of the lake of fire:

Is. 65:13 GNT And so I tell you that those who worship and obey me will have plenty to eat and drink, but you will be hungry and thirsty. They will be happy, but you will be disgraced. 14 They will sing for joy, but you will cry with a broken heart.

REVELATION 21: In chapter 20, we read about the millennium or the thousand year reign of Christ, the defeat and imprisonment of Satan, his brief release following the 1,000 years, and his eventual eternal judgment in the lake of fire. Death and the Grave were also abolished in the lake of fire.

NL-Day363 Malachi 1-2; Isaiah 65; Revelation 20 Dec 28, 2025

Show notes

MALACHI 1-2: We heard a very difficult conclusion to Zechariah yesterday. Chapter 14 started out with horrendous news for Jerusalem. But the Lord himself steps in:

Zec. 14:3 NLT Then the LORD will go out to fight against those nations, as he has fought in times past. 4 On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem. And the Mount of Olives will split apart …

We will see the following from Zech 14 very soon in Revelation:

Zec. 14:5c NLT "Then the LORD my God will come, and all his holy ones with him. 6 On that day the sources of light will no longer shine, 7 yet there will be continuous day! … 8 On that day life-giving waters will flow out from Jerusalem, half toward the Dead Sea and half toward the Mediterranean, flowing continuously in both summer and winter."

We turn now to the last book of the Old Testament, Malachi. The name means, "my messenger." There is debate as to the date of the writing of this post exilic prophet, but generally speaking it is true that there is a 400 year gap between this last Old Testament prophet and New Testament. It could be that Malachi prophesied in Nehemiah's day. Both Malachi and Nehemiah dealt with priestly laxity (Mal. 1:6; Neh. 13:4-9), neglect of tithes (Mal. 3:7-12; Neh. 13:10-13), and intermarriage between Israelites and foreigners (Mal. 2:10-16; Neh. 13:23-28)."

Re-reading ISAIAH 65: Note that the chapter starts with a verse that Paul quotes in Romans 10.

REVELATION 20: After the judgment wreaked against Babylon (chapter 18), we heard songs praising God's justice in chapter 19. Then we saw the appearing of Christ riding on a white horse. Typical of John's reticence to name deity, Christ is not named, but is beautifully described. Note that even Jesus has a name written on his person which only He understands. And like in John 1:1, Christ's title is the 'Word of God'. It is possible that this account of His appearing may not be in chronological order in its position following the destruction of Babylon. Although Christ's army is mentioned, note how the victory is won by Christ alone.

NL-Day362 Zechariah 14; Isaiah 65; Revelation 19 Dec 21, 2025

Show notes

ZECHARIAH 14: Unfortunately, we have not yet seen the fulfillment of this prophecy from the end of Zechariah 12:

Zec. 12:10 NLT "Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the family of David and on the people of Jerusalem. They will look on me whom they have pierced and mourn for him as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for him as for a firstborn son who has died.

(The podcast notes for the previous episode contain a translation note on this verse.)

However, this part has been fulfilled from the beginning of chapter 13:

Zec. 13:1 "On that day a fountain will be opened for the dynasty of David and for the people of Jerusalem, a fountain to cleanse them from all their sins and impurity.

This from Zechariah 13 was referred to by the Lord Jesus in Mark 14:27 in— or on the way to, the garden of Gethsemane:

Zec. 13:7 NLT "Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,| the man who is my partner," says the LORD of Heaven's Armies. "Strike down the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn against the lambs.

ISAIAH 65: In chapter 64, there is a mixture of hope, regretful repentance, and supplication— including these verses:

Is. 64:4 NLT For since the world began, no ear has heard and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for him! 5 You welcome those who gladly do good, who follow godly ways. But you have been very angry with us, for we are not godly. We are constant sinners; how can people like us be saved? 6 We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags.

REVELATION 19: In Revelation 18 we heard the chapter of doom against the city of Babylon (or Rome, or the united evil world system based on immoral commerce). If chapter 18 sounded familiar, it is because you were remembering Ezek 27.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

NL-Day361 Zechariah 12-13; Isaiah 64; Revelation 18 Dec 21, 2025

Show notes

ZECHARIAH 12-13:Several times I have noted Zechariah and other prophets who use the figure of shepherding a flock— picturing God's people. In chapter 11, there were puzzling verses where Zechariah evidently performed an outward demonstration involving two staffs. Other prophets did such demonstrations. In this one, evidently Zechariah stood in for the Messiah. The two staffs were named Favor and Union. Our Messiah, Jesus, came to restore us to God's favor and give us unity as God's people— no matter from what race. The 30 pieces of silver is spoken of with irony: "this magnificent sum at which they valued me." Remember this shepherd picture!

ISAIAH 64:Yesterday in chapter 63, we heard the people of Israel ask a whole series of questions about the Lord, like:

Is. 63:11b NLT "Where is the one who brought Israel through the sea, with Moses as their shepherd?

And here is another verse:

Is. 63:15 NLT LORD, look down from heaven;look from your holy, glorious home, and see us.Where is the passion and the mightyou used to show on our behalf?Where are your mercy and compassion now?

The chapter ended with deep pathos:

Is. 63:18 NLT How briefly your holy people possessed your holy place,and now our enemies have destroyed it.19 Sometimes it seems as though we never belonged to you,as though we had never been known as your people.

However, don't forget how the chapter started, with the Lord wearing blood-stained robes from trampling out the grapes (yes, 'grapes of wrath')— the nations who oppressed his people. This is a picture of the grape harvest that we saw so recently in Revelation 14. Note that in Isaiah the Lord does the trampling alone. And so we see also in Revelation, the final battle is won by the Lord acting alone.

REVELATION 18:The part that puzzles me most in chapter 17 is this:

Rev. 17:8 NLT The beast you saw was once alive but isn't now. And yet he will soon come up out of the bottomless pit and go to eternal destruction. And the people who belong to this world, whose names were not written in the Book of Life before the world was made, will be amazed at the reappearance of this beast who had died.

While that is confusing, the important thing is clear: Satan is the sponsor of the beast.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations in these podcasts are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

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