Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• Scope
  The events recorded in Genesis stretch historically from Creation to Joseph's death, a period of at least 2500 years. The first part of the book (ch. 1-11) is not as easy to date precisely as the second part (ch. 12-50). The ...
• Message10
  Joshua reveals that God hates sin because He loves people. (This is the message statement.) Of course He also hates sin because it offends His holiness. However in Joshua I believe the emphasis is on God's concern for the Isr...
• 3. The request of Nehemiah 2:1-8
  Nehemiah prayed for four months about conditions in Jerusalem before he spoke to Artaxerxes about them (cf. 1:1; 2:1). Artaxerxes' reign began in the seventh Jewish month, Tishri (late September and early October), of 464 B.C...
• The first oracle against Babylon 13:1-14:27
  The reader would expect that Isaiah would inveigh against Assyria since it was the most threatening enemy in his day and since he referred to it many times in earlier chapters. However, he did not mention Assyria in this sect...
• The preservation of God's people within a world under divine judgment 24:1-20
  Isaiah revealed that the Lord's people are at the center of His plans for the world (cf. 14:2; 21:10). He will preserve them even though He will judge sinful humanity.227This passage contains many connections with the flood n...
• Universal judgment to come 25:30-38
  25:30 Jeremiah was also to announce that God would prepare to judge all the inhabitants of the earth (v. 29). As a lion announces its intent to attack with a roar, so Yahweh would one day announce His attack on earth dwellers...
• Jacob's distress and deliverance 30:4-11
  30:4 This oracle concerns all the Israelites, those of both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms.30:5-6 A time of great terror, dread, and unrest was coming. Men would behave as though they were in labor; they would hold themse...
• The enemy of restored Israel 38:1-9
  38:1-2 The Lord commanded Ezekiel to utter an oracle of judgment against Gog (cf. 1 Chron. 5:4; Rev. 20:8), who was the prince (king) over Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. His land was Magog (cf. Gen. 10:2; Rev. 20:8).The identity o...
• Events following the defeat of the enemy 39:1-16
  "Chapter 39 retells the story of God's attack and defeat but with a slightly different emphasis from that of the prior chapter. Not much attention is given to the attack itself (merely vv. 1-2), whereas a great deal of space ...
• Bibliography
  Ackroyd, Peter R. Exile and Restoration. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1968.Alexander, Ralph H. Ezekiel. Everyman's Bible Commentary series. Chicago: Moody Press, 1976._____. "Ezekiel."In Isaiah-Ezekiel. Vol. 6 of The Expo...
• The deliverance of Israel 12:1-3
  Whereas the previous verses have focused on the Antichrist, those in this pericope concern Israel. Here we learn that this "end time"will definitely be a time of intense persecution of Jews. This section constitutes the clima...
• 4. The invincibility of the army 2:10-11
  2:10 The earth trembles as this army advances. The heavens also tremble. The sun and the moon grow dark, and the stars fade from view. Cosmic disturbances like these are common in biblical descriptions of Yahweh waging war (c...
• A. Israel's spiritual renewal and deliverance 2:28-32
  2:28-29 After this, namely, after the deliverance from the northern invader just described, God promised to pour out His Spirit on all mankind without gender, age, class, or position distinction.29In Old Testament times God g...
• A. The judgment on the world 1:2-3
  1:2 Yahweh revealed that He would completely remove everything from the face of the earth (cf. 2 Pet. 3:10-12). This is one of the most explicit announcement of the total devastation of planet Earth in the Old Testament (cf. ...
• 1. The cause for Judah's judgment 1:4-6
  1:4 Yahweh announced that He would stretch out His hand in judgment against Judah and the people of Jerusalem. Stretching out the hand is a figure of speech that implies a special work of punishment (cf. Exod. 6:6; Deut. 4:34...
• 3. Jesus' general description of the future 24:7-14 (cf. Mark 13:8-13; Luke 21:10-19)
  Jesus proceeded to give His disciples a general picture of conditions just before He will return to end the present age and inaugurate His kingdom.24:7-8 Wars, famines, and earthquakes will anticipate the end of the present a...
• 4. The abomination of desolation 24:15-22 (cf. Mark 13:14-20)
  Having given a general description of conditions preceding His return and the end of the present age, Jesus next described one particular event that would be the greatest sign of all.24:15 "Therefore"or "So"(Gr. oun) ties thi...
• 5. The Second Coming of the Son of Man 13:24-27 (cf. Matt. 24:29-31; Luke 21:25-28)
  These verses do not describe the destruction of Jerusalem but the Tribulation at the end of the present age and the Second Coming that will follow it. The Second Coming is the climax of the Olivet Discourse.32013:24-25 In con...
• 2. The need for faithful perseverance 21:10-19 (cf. Matt. 24:7-10; Mark 13:8-13)
  21:10-11 Luke's interruption of Jesus' teaching suggests a break of some kind in His thought. It seems clear from what follows, in verse 11 especially, that Jesus now broadened His perspective from the wars that would precede...
• 4. The second coming of the Son of Man 21:25-28 (cf. Matt. 24:29-31; Mark 13:24-27)
  Luke omitted Jesus' warnings about false prophets that Matthew and Mark recorded (Matt. 24:23-28; Mark 13:21-23). Perhaps he did this because he had included similar warnings in his account of Jesus' earlier teachings (17:21-...
• 2. The command to witness 1:6-8
  The key to the apostles' successful fulfillment of Jesus' commission was their baptism with and consequent indwelling by the Holy Spirit. Without this divine enablement they would only have been able to follow Jesus' example,...
• B. The Rapture 4:13-18
  Paul next turned to another subject on which his readers needed instruction in view of their newness in Christ (cf. 3:10). He outlined the immediate hope of his readers. He did this to explain that those of their number who h...
• C. Personal watchfulness 5:1-11
  In view of the imminency of Christ's return Paul exhorted the Thessalonians to be ready to prepare them to meet the Lord at any time."The former [paragraph, i.e., 4:13-18] offered instruction concerning the dead in Christ; th...
• 2. The Vindication of Christ 3:18-22
  Peter now reminded his readers of the consequences of Jesus' response to unjustified persecution. He did so to strengthen their resolve to rededicate themselves to follow God's will wholeheartedly and confidently. He also wan...
• Message8
  The subject of the Book of Revelation is Jesus Christ (1:1). It is an unveiling ("revelation") of Him. What does this book reveal about Christ? The Book of Revelation is the unveiling of the person of Jesus Christ, the power ...
• Outline
  I. The preparation of the prophet ch. 1A. The prologue of the book 1:1-81. The preface 1:1-32. The address and doxology 1:4-63. The theme 1:7-8B. The commission of the prophet 1:9-201. The first commission to write 1:9-112. T...
• 1. The preface 1:1-3
  The Apostle John wrote these opening verses to introduce to his readers the main subject dealt with in this book and his purpose for writing it.1:1 "The revelation of Jesus Christ"is the subject of this book. "Revelation"mean...
• 2. The source of the commission 1:12-16
  John turned to see the person who had given him his commission. These verses describe what he saw.1:12 When John turned to see the person who spoke to him he saw a majestic figure clothed in a long robe standing among seven l...
• 3. The amplification of the commission 1:17-20
  John's response to this revelation was similar to Daniel's response to the vision God gave him (cf. Dan. 10:7-9). Jesus then proceeded to give John more information about what He wanted him to do.1:17 This revelation of Jesus...
• 3. Promise 3:9-11a, 12
  Jesus Christ gave no rebuke to this church, as was true of the church in Smyrna. He gave the Christians five promises instead.1. Their Jewish antagonists would eventually have to acknowledge that the Christians were the true ...
• III. THE REVELATION OF THE FUTURE 4:1--22:5
  John recorded the rest of this book to reveal those aspects of the future that God wanted His people to know (cf. 1:19). He revealed the events in chapters 4-18 to enable the readers to understand events leading up to Jesus C...
• A. Introduction to the judgments of the Tribulation chs. 4-5
  Chapters 4 and 5 prepared John, and they prepare the reader, for the outpouring of judgments on the earth that follow. They present the place from which these judgments originate and the Person from whom they come. Before rev...
• The glory of God 4:2-8
  4:2 As soon as John heard this invitation, he entered another ecstatic state (cf. 1:10). His body remained on the earth, but he saw a throne and someone sitting on it in heaven (cf. Ezek. 11:1, 5). "Throne"occurs 45 times in ...
• The worship of God 4:9-11
  4:9 Whenever it is appropriate and possible the four living creatures give praise to eternal God. They glorify and honor Him for His perfections, and they thank Him for His great works, especially His creation (v. 11).4:10 Th...
• 2. The Lamb on the throne ch. 5
  John next recorded the revelation of the sealed scroll and its recipient. He did so to continue the revelation of what will be going on in heaven before God pours out the judgments to follow on the earth (chs. 6-18). This cha...
• The worship of the Lamb 5:6-14
  5:6 As with our dreams, John's vision contained some unusual features. John saw the Messiah as a Lamb.229The Lamb is a symbol of Jesus Christ at His first advent, meek and submissive to a sacrificial death as our substitute (...
• 6. The sixth seal 6:12-17
  The scene now shifts back to earth."The entire passage in every clause utilizes well known prophetic anticipations of the day of the Lord, and by his use of these images John identifies the day for his readers. One may check ...
• 2. The salvation of the great multitude 7:9-17
  There are a number of contrasts between the 144,000 and this great multitude. The number of the first group is not only smaller but definite whereas the number of the second group is larger and indefinite. People from the 12 ...
• 3. The instruction of the mighty angel 10:8-11
  10:8 God or Christ (v. 4) then commanded John to take the little book from the strong angel with authority over the whole planet.10:9 Evidently the little scroll symbolizes God's revelation that John was about to set forth. I...
• G. The seventh trumpet judgment 11:15-19
  John's revelation continued to unfold future events as God revealed these to him in his vision. The scene John saw next was in heaven. The seventh trumpet judgment did not begin immediately (cf. 8:1-5), but John received info...
• The dragon's hostility toward the male child 12:1-6
  This pericope furnishes the plot for the drama that unfolds in the rest of the chapter.12:1 John saw a "sign,"something that signified or represented something else (cf. v. 3; 13:13-14; 15:1; 16:14; 19:29). Usually John used ...
• The dragon's expulsion from heaven 12:7-12
  12:7 Michael the archangel (Jude 9) is the leader of God's angelic army. He is Israel's special patron (Dan. 10:13, 21; 12:1). He evidently holds high rank among unfallen angels as Satan does among the fallen. John saw him en...
• The beast out of the earth 13:11-18
  Most interpreters who see the first beast as an individual also see the second beast as one. Others who see the first beast as a power or movement tend to view the second beast similarly. Many of the Reformers identified the ...
• The reaping and treading of God's harvest 14:14-20
  This is the final scene that furnishes background information before the revelation of the seven bowl judgments. Again what John saw was mainly on the earth."The total scene in 14:14-20 closes the section on coming judgment (...
• 2. Preparation for the bowl judgments ch. 15
  John recorded what he saw in this chapter to heighten further his readers' expectation for the climactic judgments of the Great Tribulation that we read in chapter 16 (cf. 8:1-5). This chapter continues supplementary revelati...
• The announcement of the seven last judgments 15:1
  This verse serves as a superscription for chapters 15 and 16 and even, perhaps, for the rest of the book.499"And I saw"(Gr. kai idou) again introduces a new scene, this time in heaven (cf. 13:1, 11; 14:1, 6, 14; 15:2, 5). The...
• The preparation of the agents of judgment 15:5-8
  15:5 "After these things I looked"(Gr. meta tauta eidon) indicates a transition to a new vision and a new subject: the bowl judgments. These are in a category of their own. John saw the heavenly temple opened. This gave the s...
• 1. The commencement of the bowl judgments 16:1
  The voice John heard was evidently God's (cf. 15:8; 16:17). The fact that God told all seven angels to pour out their bowls seems to indicate that these judgments will follow each other in rapid succession.The frequent use of...
• 8. The sixth bowl 16:12-16
  The final three bowl judgments all have political consequences.16:12 The problem that this judgment poses for earth-dwellers is not a result of the judgment itself but its consequences, namely, war. It does not inflict a plag...
• 9. The seventh bowl 16:17-21
  16:17 This final judgment has the greatest impact of all since the air into which the angel pours his bowl is what humans breathe.535The loud voice is probably once again God's since it comes from the throne in the heavenly t...
• The judgment of the harlot 17:15-18
  17:15 The angel next helped John understand the identity of the waters (v. 1). Water is a common symbol for people in the Old Testament (e.g., Ps. 18:4, 16; 124:4; Isa. 8:7; Jer. 47:2). The harlot exercises a controlling infl...
• The second angelic announcement of judgment 18:21-24
  18:21 The angelic act of throwing the millstone into the sea is symbolic of Babylon's fate (cf. Jer. 51:63-64). As it is impossible for that huge stone to rise to the surface, so the economic system that has driven this world...