The Bible in Small Steps

About The Bible in Small Steps

The Bible in Small Steps is a gentle, chapter-by-chapter walk through Scripture for anyone who wants to understand the Bible without feeling rushed or overwhelmed. Each episode lingers over a single chapter or passage, taking time to explore its meaning, historical setting, and place in the wider story of God’s Word. Rather than hurrying ahead or pulling verses out of context, the show moves at a steady, thoughtful pace—inviting listeners to slow down, listen closely, and grow in understanding one small step at a time.

Publisher

Jill from The Northwoods

Category

religion & spirituality · religion & spirituality · religion & spirituality

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

26 Dec 2023

Latest episode

14 Aug 2026

Latest episodes

322 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   14 Aug 2026

   Revelation 14 - The 144,000 and the Final Harvest

   Jill’s Links https://jillfromthenorthwoods.com/ (https://jillfromthenorthwoods.com/) - Find my podcasts, videos, downloads and ways to contact me https://www.youtube.com/@smallstepswithgod (https://www.youtube.com/@smallstepswithgod) https://www.buymeacoffee.com/smallstepspod (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/smallstepspod) https://x.com/NorthWoodsJill (https://x.com/NorthWoodsJill) Email the podcast at NorthwoodsJill@fastmail.com (Email the podcast at NorthwoodsJill@fastmail.com) “Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.” Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers. “The Scriptures quoted are from the NET Bible® http://netbible.com (http://netbible.com/) copyright ©1996, 2019 used with permission from Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved”. Bible Maps and images used with permission from https://www.bible.ca/maps/ (https://www.bible.ca/maps/) or https://www.freebibleimages.org/illustrations/bj-ot-world/ (https://www.freebibleimages.org/illustrations/bj-ot-world/) Copyright 2014 Faithlife / Logos Bible Software. Free for non-commercial use by individuals or organizations. May be presented before live audiences; may be posted on social media; may be re-distributed. May not be used commercially. May not be modified or included in published works without permission; contact permissions@faithlife.com (mailto:permissions@faithlife.com). Attribute as: “Copyright 2014 Faithlife / Logos Bible Software ()”. By choosing to watch this video or listen to this podcast, you acknowledge that you are doing so of your own free will. The content shared here reflects personal study, faith perspective, and opinions and is intended for informational and inspirational purposes only. I am not a licensed pastor, seminary-trained theologian, or biblical scholar. Any scriptural interpretation, commentary, or reflections offered should not be considered a substitute for guidance from your own pastor, church body, or faith community. Theological understanding is a lifelong journey — I encourage you to study alongside your own tradition and trusted spiritual leaders. You are solely responsible for any decisions or actions you take based on this content.

2. 

   12 Aug 2026

   Revelation 13 - What 666 Actually Means

   Last time, the dragon was thrown down from heaven — defeated but furious, turning his war against every believer since Christ. Chapter 13 shows his new strategy: he doesn’t fight directly anymore. He raises up two allies, a beast from the sea and a beast from the earth, to carry his authority forward on his behalf. This is probably the chapter people ask about most, and it deserves the time. The Beast From the Sea In the ancient world, the sea represents chaos and the unknown — Daniel 7’s four beasts rise from a churning sea to represent successive earthly empires. John’s beast combines a leopard, a bear, and a lion — echoing all four of Daniel’s beasts at once — suggesting something like the concentrated, accumulated power of every worldly empire that has opposed God’s people, rather than one single nation or ruler. A Parody of Worship The beast’s head has a mortal wound that heals, and the world follows it in amazement, asking “who is like the beast?” — a deliberate, unsettling parody of Israel’s own worship language in Exodus 15. Whether this describes a single figure or something bigger, the show holds its long-standing position: no wanted poster, no name pinned to the page. The 42 Months, and the Book of Life The beast is permitted authority for 42 months — the same three-and-a-half-year figure traced through chapters 11 and 12. All who dwell on earth worship it, except those written in the Lamb’s book of life before the foundation of the world. That’s the real dividing line in this chapter: not everyone worships the beast. The Second Beast — the False Prophet A second beast rises from the earth, gentle-looking with lamb-like horns but speaking like the dragon. It performs counterfeit miracles — even fire from heaven, echoing Elijah — to draw worship toward the first beast rather than toward the Lamb. The Mark and the Number No buying or selling without the mark of the beast — 666, or in some manuscripts 616. We walk through the most common scholarly reading (Hebrew/Greek gematria pointing to “Nero Caesar”), and the symbolic reading (seven as completeness, six as falling short — 666 as a persistent, three-times-over falling short of God’s perfection). Either way, the number’s real point is simpler than the speculation around it: counterfeit power that always falls short. Endurance, Not Fear The mark isn’t just about violence — it’s economic and social pressure to conform, something the earliest Christians actually experienced when guild and temple worship controlled who could buy and sell. What I’m meditating on this week is verse 8 — not that our own strength or willpower keeps us standing, but that we’re already sealed and secured in Christ. Next time: relief. The Lamb stands on Mount Zion with the 144,000 we first met back in chapter 7. Jill’s Links https://jillfromthenorthwoods.com/ (https://jillfromthenorthwoods.com/) - Find my podcasts, videos, downloads and ways to contact me https://www.youtube.com/@smallstepswithgod (https://www.youtube.com/@smallstepswithgod) https://www.buymeacoffee.com/smallstepspod (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/smallstepspod) https://x.com/NorthWoodsJill (https://x.com/NorthWoodsJill) Email the podcast at NorthwoodsJill@fastmail.com (Email the podcast at NorthwoodsJill@fastmail.com) “Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.” Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers. “The Scriptures quoted are from the NET Bible® http://netbible.com (http://netbible.com/) copyright ©1996, 2019 used with permission from Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved”. Bible Maps and images used with permission from https://www.bible.ca/maps/ (https://www.bible.ca/maps/) or https://www.freebibleimages.org/illustrations/bj-ot-world/ (https://www.freebibleimages.org/illustrations/bj-ot-world/) Copyright 2014 Faithlife / Logos Bible Software. Free for non-commercial use by individuals or organizations. May be presented before live audiences; may be posted on social media; may be re-distributed. May not be used commercially. May not be modified or included in published works without permission; contact permissions@faithlife.com (mailto:permissions@faithlife.com). Attribute as: “Copyright 2014 Faithlife / Logos Bible Software ()”. By choosing to watch this video or listen to this podcast, you acknowledge that you are doing so of your own free will. The content shared here reflects personal study, faith perspective, and opinions and is intended for informational and inspirational purposes only. I am not a licensed pastor, seminary-trained theologian, or biblical scholar. Any scriptural interpretation, commentary, or reflections offered should not be considered a substitute for guidance from your own pastor, church body, or faith community. Theological understanding is a lifelong journey — I encourage you to study alongside your own tradition and trusted spiritual leaders. You are solely responsible for any decisions or actions you take based on this content.

3. 

   10 Aug 2026

   Revelation 12 - The Woman, the Dragon, and the War You Can’t See

   Chapter 12 does something Revelation hasn’t done yet — it steps back from the seals and trumpets sequence to show us a flashback of the deeper story running underneath everything we’ve read so far. A woman, a child, and a dragon waiting to destroy them both. This is one of the most symbolic, dense chapters in the entire book, and it compresses the whole biblical storyline into a single vision. Who Is the Woman? A great sign appears: a woman clothed with the sun, the moon under her feet, a crown of twelve stars, pregnant and crying out in labor. Catholic and Orthodox tradition often reads her as Mary; others see Israel (the twelve stars matching the twelve tribes, echoing Joseph’s dream in Genesis 37); still others read the church as a whole. The strongest reading holds these together: she represents God’s covenant people across both testaments — Israel, who brought forth the Messiah, and by extension the church that continues to bear witness to Him. The Dragon Named A great red dragon appears with seven heads, ten horns, and seven royal crowns — real, if illegitimate, earthly authority. Verse 9 names him plainly: the ancient serpent, called the devil and Satan. This is Genesis 3, finally named outright after centuries of different names and imagery throughout Scripture. Birth, Ascension, and War in Heaven The woman’s son — a direct quotation of Psalm 2:9 — is caught up to God’s throne, skipping straight from birth to ascension. This chapter isn’t retelling the gospel events; it’s showing the spiritual warfare happening behind them. Michael and his angels fight the dragon and cast him down to earth. Jesus’ own words in Luke 10:18 and John 12:31 confirm: this defeat is already accomplished at the cross, not something still pending. The Accuser, Silenced A loud voice declares victory: the accuser has been thrown down. Revelation 12:11 tells us exactly how believers overcome him — not by their own strength, but by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. This is the same thread running through this entire study: it’s never our own doing. Dangerous, But Running Out of Time Satan’s defeat is total and certain, but he knows his time is short — which makes him more dangerous, not less. He pursues the woman into the wilderness, and when he tries to sweep her away with a flood from his mouth, the earth itself opens up to protect her. Furious, he turns his war against the rest of her offspring — every believer in every generation since. What I’m meditating on this week is Revelation 12:11 — if you’re carrying shame or hearing the accuser’s whisper of your own failures, the answer isn’t your own righteousness. It’s the blood of the Lamb, already applied and already enough. Next time: two more figures rise to carry out the dragon’s war — a beast from the sea and a beast from the earth. Jill’s Links https://jillfromthenorthwoods.com/ (https://jillfromthenorthwoods.com/) - Find my podcasts, videos, downloads and ways to contact me https://www.youtube.com/@smallstepswithgod (https://www.youtube.com/@smallstepswithgod) https://www.buymeacoffee.com/smallstepspod (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/smallstepspod) https://x.com/NorthWoodsJill (https://x.com/NorthWoodsJill) Email the podcast at NorthwoodsJill@fastmail.com (Email the podcast at NorthwoodsJill@fastmail.com) “Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.” Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers. “The Scriptures quoted are from the NET Bible® http://netbible.com (http://netbible.com/) copyright ©1996, 2019 used with permission from Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved”. Bible Maps and images used with permission from https://www.bible.ca/maps/ (https://www.bible.ca/maps/) or https://www.freebibleimages.org/illustrations/bj-ot-world/ (https://www.freebibleimages.org/illustrations/bj-ot-world/) Copyright 2014 Faithlife / Logos Bible Software. Free for non-commercial use by individuals or organizations. May be presented before live audiences; may be posted on social media; may be re-distributed. May not be used commercially. May not be modified or included in published works without permission; contact permissions@faithlife.com (mailto:permissions@faithlife.com). Attribute as: “Copyright 2014 Faithlife / Logos Bible Software ()”. By choosing to watch this video or listen to this podcast, you acknowledge that you are doing so of your own free will. The content shared here reflects personal study, faith perspective, and opinions and is intended for informational and inspirational purposes only. I am not a licensed pastor, seminary-trained theologian, or biblical scholar. Any scriptural interpretation, commentary, or reflections offered should not be considered a substitute for guidance from your own pastor, church body, or faith community. Theological understanding is a lifelong journey — I encourage you to study alongside your own tradition and trusted spiritual leaders. You are solely responsible for any decisions or actions you take based on this content.

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