Narration for the Visual Overview Chart of the Bible

Visual Overview of the Bible:Narration to Go Along with 21 Drawings 1 Narration for the Visual Overview Chart of the Bible

Introduction for the Teacher. There are twenty-one drawings that are attached that depict an overall scope of the entire Bible. The following is a description of the main events represented by each drawing. It is not intended to include all of the contents of Scripture. This suggested narration will give you the highlights to include as you present the material. The entire narration can be delivered in approximately 45 minutes.

You may choose to separate the pictures and have them made into a banner that can be mounted on the wall in your classroom. Another suggestion is to reduce the size of each page and make copies to distribute to your students. Or you may want to keep the drawings as a flip chart and paste the following descriptions on the back of the previous page to be used as a plan in your presentation.

The history of the Bible can be divided into three main sections. 1. God's perfect relationship with mankind initially and mankind's sin against God. 2. God's promise to restore the relationship and mankind's problems due to sin. 3. God's perfect fulfillment of the promise in the person of Jesus Christ to mankind and mankind’s response.

Drawing 1: Creation God Perfect Plan Creation, Genesis 1, 2 The first act of God was His Creation. It was a Perfect Plan. In the beginning there was nothing. It was void of shape or sound. The results of God's handiwork are then seen; the earth, the stars, and the water. God created Adam and Eve in His image. God created human beings to need to relate, just as He is relational. He gave men and women a living soul so that they could communicate and interact spiritually with God. God gave mankind the authority to rule over the earth, just as He has dominion over all of creation. They were told to spread out over all the earth and fill it with people. There was a perfect, intimate relationship that existed between mankind and God in the beginning. This relationship was for the pleasure and enjoyment of God. They interacted daily and God fulfilled all of the human beings needs. Peace reigned when Adam and Eve were in a right relation to God. God's perfect relationship with mankind.

21 Drawings can be found at www.BibleDiscoveries.org Visual Overview of the Bible:Narration to Go Along with 21 Drawings 2 Drawing 2: Beginning Adam/Eve Problem/Promise Adam and Eve’s Disobedience, Separation, Genesis 3-11 Adam and Eve were created by God, but they sinned, and destroyed God's original plan for human beings. This was mankind's sin against God. Eve was tempted by Satan to eat from the tree of life, which God had commanded them not to do. Adam and Eve rebelled, sinned. The perfect relationship between human beings and God was gone. God was grieved. So God banished Adam and Eve from the garden of Eden. But God’s love for people was still evident in two facts. When He sent them out of the garden, He clothed them in the skins of animals. God made a sacrifice and covered these two people. The second evidence of His love is that He made a promise to send a savior from their future generations that would crush the head of Satan—the serpent who had deceived them. In Genesis 3:15 God promised that Satan will be crushed by our Savior and that Satan will strike at His heel, (In 1 John 3:8 it states that Jesus appeared to destroy the works of the devil).

21 Drawings can be found at www.BibleDiscoveries.org Visual Overview of the Bible:Narration to Go Along with 21 Drawings 3 Drawing 3: Beginning Noah Products of Sin

The Effects of sin, Noah, Genesis 4-10 Adam and Eve had two children, Cain and Abel. And the sins of the parents were passed on to their children. Cain became bitter when his brother offered a better sacrifice to God than he did. Instead of changing his sacrifice, he became jealous and revengeful. He murdered his own brother Abel although Abel had done nothing wrong. Later God gave another son to Adam and Eve, Seth. God’s promise could not be carried out through Cain because of his sin, and thus it came through the descendents of Seth. Mankind no longer enjoyed a good relationship with God or with his fellow man. Sin spread and continued in a downward spiral to the point that God was determined to destroy all life. But there was Noah, a man of righteousness and who desired to live in a holy relationship with Him. God gave instructions for Noah to build an ark which was the means of escape from the destruction for himself and the animals and birds. God sent a flood to destroy all of the wickedness God brought an end to all of the wickedness and evil of mankind before they could destroy themselves and not fulfill the His promise of a savior. He then established a new covenant or promise that He would never again destroy all of life with a flood. The rainbow serves as a sign of this covenant.

Tower of Babel, Genesis 11 God commanded the descendants of Noah to spread out and subdue the earth. In direct disobedience to Him, they built a tower so that they could reach to the heavens and be like God. It would keep them together and bring glory to themselves. God did not allow them to continue in disobedience so He confused or mixed up their language and made many languages. Since the people could not understand one another, they separated and moved apart--this was the beginning of the nations. Up to this point the Bible has recorded the history of the entire world; from this point onward, Scripture follows God’s interaction with one man and his descendents.

Time span: Approximately 2,000 years

21 Drawings can be found at www.BibleDiscoveries.org Visual Overview of the Bible:Narration to Go Along with 21 Drawings 4 Drawing 4: Family Abraham 3 Promises Given Abraham, Genesis 12-23 God's plan of redemption now took a different turn as God chose one man through whom a nation would be born. "Blessed be the Lord God of Shem", (Noah's son) from the line of Shem comes Abraham. This nation was the source of the promised Savior that God had promised in Genesis 3:15. God chose Abraham (Genesis 12-23) from the land of Ur of the Chaldeans and made three promises to him: 1. a country (land, Genesis 15:18), and 2. descendants, a nation, Exodus 19:5,6 (seed), 3. a blessing, a savior, that would impact the entire world (Genesis 12:2,3). Even though Abraham was 75 years old when God made this covenant with him, Abraham believed God (Genesis 17:1-22). Abraham's son Isaac (Genesis 24-26)was born when he was 99 and his wife, Sarah was 89. Isaac became the father of two sons, Esau and Jacob. Jacob had twelve sons and these would become the twelve tribes of the nation of Israel; Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher (Genesis 27-35). Through Jacob God promised that a savior would come from Judah. Although these people sinned and lived in rebellion against God, God in His mercy still had a plan to redeem mankind and re-establish the right relationship for which mankind was created. Another of Jacob’s sons, Joseph, was sold as a slave by his brothers (Genesis 37-50) and ends up in Egypt. Joseph lived in a way that honored God in this strange country and God put Joseph in a position of leadership. When a famine struck the land, Jacob and all of his family went to Egypt where they were saved from starvation by Joseph. The brothers were afraid of Joseph, but he forgave them and thus restored the family once again.

21 Drawings can be found at www.BibleDiscoveries.org Visual Overview of the Bible:Narration to Go Along with 21 Drawings 5 Drawing 5 Exodus Joseph/Moses Pharaoh’s Slaves Moses, Exodus 1-18 The Hebrew people prospered in Egypt over the generations. They were 70 when they entered Egypt and grew to over 2 million! They increased so much that the Pharaoh feared them and made them all slaves. They remained slaves for 400 years. These people knew of God’s promises to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob but their current position was not one of blessing. They cried out to God and He heard them. God sent Moses to lead His people out of the slavery in Egypt back to the land that He had promised Abraham. The pharaoh would not listen to Moses and his declarations from God. God sent ten plagues upon the Egyptians that proved His power over their deities and finally convinced Pharaoh to let the Israelites go. The final plague was the death of the first born. God sent His angel of death who went throughout the land and killed every first born of the people and the animals. But he passed over the homes where the blood of the Passover lamb was spread on the door frame. God had instructed the people in how to avoid death and apply this saving blood. He also instructed them how to eat their final meal in this land of slavery. God led His people up out of Egypt. He led them to a place where there was nowhere to go but right through the Red Sea (or the Sea of Reeds). This group of over two million people had to trust God and walk through the water on dry ground. The army of Pharaoh followed closely behind but they were covered by the water of the Red Sea!

21 Drawings can be found at www.BibleDiscoveries.org Visual Overview of the Bible:Narration to Go Along with 21 Drawings 6 Drawing 6: Exodus Moses Promised Nation (1) Mt. Sinai, Exodus 19-40 The twelve tribes of Israel, the Hebrew people, then took on the form of a nation. They traveled to Mt. Sinai where God gave Moses the Ten commandments. God explained the terms of His covenant with the children of Israel. These were the moral law by which they were expected to live. The first four commands deal with their relationship to God; and the other six commands are how they are to live with each other. It is interesting to note that while Moses was on the mountain talking with God, the people were making and worshipping a golden calf that they had made. Even after all the deliverance that they had experienced and the blessings of food and water, the people were quick to forget God and rebel against Him. God also gave Moses instructions on how to build the tabernacle, the place where He would dwell among His people. Aaron, the brother of Moses, and the tribe of Levi were God’s chosen priests. Even as the people were rebelling, God wanted to fellowship with them. But God is a Holy God and He promised blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience.

21 Drawings can be found at www.BibleDiscoveries.org Visual Overview of the Bible:Narration to Go Along with 21 Drawings 7 Drawing 7: Exodus Moses/Aaron Perish in Desert Numbers 10—Deuteronomy 34 Moses led Israel from Mt Sinai and they traveled to Kadesh Barnea which is at the edge of the land God promised Abraham. He sent twelve spies to scout and return with some very specific surveys of how they would be able to take the promised land. The twelve spies returned and reported their findings (Numbers 10-14). The land was indeed "flowing with milk and honey", but there were also giants that lived there. Ten of the spies said that the people of Canaan had built strong fortified cities that could not be taken. They also suggested that they should not attack even though God has promised victory. Two spies, Joshua and Caleb, tried unsuccessfully to convince the people to trust God. The Hebrew people do not trust God and would not follow Him into the promised land. Thus that generation was sentenced to forty years of wandering in the wilderness (Numbers 20-36) until they all died. Even during this period of nomadic living, God still showed mercy to His people. Even when they were punished for their disobedience, God also provided a means of salvation. On the occasion when they complained against God and God sent fiery snakes to bite them, He also provided Moses with the plan of the brass serpent on the end of the staff so that the people could look to the serpent and be saved from death. Moses led the people right to the edge of the land. He is permitted to view the land but because of his disobedience, died without entering it Moses left the Nation of Israel camped outside the promised land under the direction of a new leader.

Time span: 39 years

21 Drawings can be found at www.BibleDiscoveries.org Visual Overview of the Bible:Narration to Go Along with 21 Drawings 8 Drawing 8: Conquest Joshua Promised Land (2) Joshua, Joshua The successor of Moses, Joshua, was also picked by God. He proved to be a faithful leader and a masterful commander of the army of Israel. He led them across the Jordan river with the priests carrying the ark of the covenant (Joshua 1-5)in front of the people. The city of Jericho was a fortress at the eastern gate of the promised land. The Lord instructed Joshua to march around the city once a day for six days. On the seventh day they marched around the city seven times and the walls fell. Jericho was defeated (Joshua 6). Over the next six years Joshua led the army on to conquer all the land of Canaan. God gave the boundaries and the apportionment to the twelve tribes (Joshua 13-20). God told the Israelites that He would go before them and He continually showed the people His presence and power.

21 Drawings can be found at www.BibleDiscoveries.org Visual Overview of the Bible:Narration to Go Along with 21 Drawings 9 Drawing 9: Judges Samuel Pattern – Sin Judges, Judges The land of Canaan was now the Promised Land but there was still much darkness. During this time the nation of Israel was led by political- military leaders call judges (Judges). There were four major judges Deborah, Gideon, Samson, and Samuel. This time of the judges was a dark period in the nation’s history. In the book of Deuteronomy 7:1-5 God had commanded the people to do three things: 1) Destroy all the inhabitants of Canaan, 2) Not to intermarry with the Canaanites, and 3) Not to worship the Canaanite gods. Yet Israel failed on all three accounts. For approximately 350 years Israel lived out a vicious cycle. 1) Israel would sin; 2)God would discipline them by using the surrounding nations to fight against them until the people would cry out to God; 3) Israel repented and asked God to forgive them; and finally, 4) God would raise up a judge to deliver them. They would then enjoy a time of peace until they would again sin again God. The phrase, "every man did that which was right in his own eyes," is a recurrent theme of this dark period. During this tumultuous time of the Judges, lived a woman named Ruth. Ruth did not worship the false gods of her homeland Moab but worshipped the true God of her mother-in-law, Naomi. There is a great contrast between Ruth, this woman from a pagan country, and the Israelites, the people of God. While others have forgotten God and neglected the needs of others, Ruth remains faithful to her mother-in-law and obeys God’s commandments. God blessed her obedience and faithfulness. God gave her a new husband and she is in the lineage from Abraham of the promised Savior to come.

Time span: Approximately 350 years for the judges, Ruth 30 years, 1 Samuel 40 years

21 Drawings can be found at www.BibleDiscoveries.org Visual Overview of the Bible:Narration to Go Along with 21 Drawings 10 Drawing 10: Kingdom David Palaces David, 1 and 2 Samuel The people begged God for a king so that they could be like the nations around them (1&2 Samuel). Although God warned them of the consequences, they persisted. God gave them what they desired and Samuel the last judge, anointed Saul as king. The king was to be God’s servant and administer God’s judgments. But Saul was not a righteous king. Saul had his own interests and believed that he could do as he pleased. He offered sacrifices which was the responsibility of only the priest of God. He did not repent of his sin and God later removed him from the throne. Another young man, David was established as king in his place. David was the great-grandson of Ruth and Boaz and in the lineage of the promised savior. The Bible states that David was a man after God's own heart. God made a covenant with him in that his lineage would have a king forever (2 Samuel 23:5). Even though David sinned and then hid his sin, he also repented when he was confronted by the prophet Nathan. David admitted that he had sinned against God. David had to suffer the consequences of his sin, but he also knew that God had forgiven him. When David died his son Solomon became king. The nation of Israel was the largest and the mightiest during the reign of Solomon. He was the wisest man that ever lived and became the wealthiest. Even though David designed and gathered the materials for the temple, it was Solomon who built the temple and implemented temple worship. But Solomon was led away from God by the women he married. He had over 700 wives and 300 concubines. In his effort to please his wives, he allowed the worship of other gods. His rule began in righteousness, at the end of his reign he had forgotten his relationship with the Lord.

Time span: David 40 years; Solomon

21 Drawings can be found at www.BibleDiscoveries.org Visual Overview of the Bible:Narration to Go Along with 21 Drawings 11 Drawing 11: Kingdom Rehoboam Pagan Idols Divided kingdom, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles When Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, became king at his father’s death, he continued some of the practices of his father—heavy taxation and forced labor among others. Civil war erupted and the kingdom became divided. The ten tribes of the north kept the name Israel, and the two southern tribes, Judah and Benjamin, took the name Judah (1 Kings). Jeroboam became the king of Israel. Since the temple was in Jerusalem and not in his country, Jeroboam had idolatrous alters built so the people could worship there. The country of Israel survived about 200 to 212 years under the leadership of nineteen pagan and often wicked kings. Rehoboam, Solomon's son remained the king of Judah. He did not obey God nor lead his people to follow after God. There were 19 kings and one queen of Judah; some were wicked, but a few followed God. The kingdom lasted 345 years.

21 Drawings can be found at www.BibleDiscoveries.org Visual Overview of the Bible:Narration to Go Along with 21 Drawings 12 Drawing 12: Kingdom Josiah Punishment Near For 345 years the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah have off and on rebelled against God and His commands (Jeremiah). Judgement camr in the form of military conquest. In 772 B.C. Assyria conquered Israel and took them captive. Jeremiah, the prophet warned the southern kingdom, Judah, that they would also be taken captive. Judah remained alone for approximately another one hundred twenty years. Josiah, Judah's last righteous king turned the people back toward God and destroyed all of the idols. Things had gotten so bad that when Josiah had the temple cleaned out they found the book of the law. Josiah read the law and realized that he and the people had completely forsaken all of God’s laws. They had forgotten their relationship with God. Josiah tore down all the pagan idols and restored the worship to God in the temple. He and the country repented of their sins and turned to God. After Josiah died the prophecy was fulfilled when Judah was taken captive in three waves; 606 B.C. Daniel's group, 596 B.C. Ezekiel's group, and 586 B.C. all except the weak and poor were taken captive to Babylon.

21 Drawings can be found at www.BibleDiscoveries.org Visual Overview of the Bible:Narration to Go Along with 21 Drawings 13 Drawing 13: Kingdom Job/Isaiah Poets/Prophets Note to presentor: You may want to edit what you tell of this part The five books of poetry follow the seventeen historical books in the Old Testament. Although they follow in sequence they were written during the times of the historical books. Job was written during the time of Genesis. Psalms during the life of David as recorded in 2 Samuel. Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon were written during the life of Solomon as recorded in 1Kings. As with any form of poetry they need to be read as the type of poetry they were written; Lyric - songs to sing, Instructional - to teach through maxims, and Dramatic poetry - that tells a story. One also needs to be aware of at least two of the techniques used; Parallelism and Figures of speech. The last seventeen books of the Old Testament are books of prophecy. The majority were written during the time period covered as recorded in 2 Kings, when the nation of Israel was in a state of rebellion. Prophets to Israel were , Hosea and Amos; to Judah, Habakkuk, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Joel, Micah, Zephaniah, and the book of Lamentations; to Assyria, Jonah and Nahum; to Edom, Obadiah; to the exiles at Babylon, Ezekiel and Daniel; and to the Jews retuning to Jerusalem from exile, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. Isaiah a prophet to Israel told of the promise of the coming Savior and how God would destroy all forces of evil and set up His own Kingdom (Isaiah 7-12, 24-35). Isaiah also told in detail of the Savior God promised to send and how God will judge the people and either reward punish them (Isaiah 49-66). The following are just a few of the prophecies about the Savior in the book of Isaiah; Birth, (7:14, 9:6), Family (11:1), Empowered by the Holy Spirit (11:2), Characteristics (11:3-5, 42:1-4), Suffering and death (53), Resurrection (25:8), Glorious reign (11:3- 16,32:1), Purpose of His death - to take the punishment for our sins (53). Zechariah speaking to the Jews returning from captivity told of a great King. The King would be seen as a man and die on a cross (Zechariah 3:8, 9:9, 9:16, 11:11-13, 12:10, 13:1,6), and the second time He would be seen as a judge of the nations and King to rule the whole world (Zechariah 6:12, 14:1-21). God is a God of patience and mercy, but He could not allow the sin of the nation to go unpunished. God disciplines those He loves and He allowed Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon to come to Jerusalem and overthrow it. The sin of idolatry was finally wiped out of the land. The last book of the Old Testament is from the prophet Malachi. This book is a summary of God's great love for the people of Israel (1). It explains how the religious leaders and people went through the motions but did not try to please God from their heart (1-3). He tells of the coming Savior that will restore their citizenship to the Kingdom of God. The wicked will be judged, God will bless those who put Him first in their lives. God's promised Savior is about to come. Malachi tells that there will be one sent to prepare the way for the promises Savior. People begin looking expectantly for the promised Savior who will restore their relationship with God.

21 Drawings can be found at www.BibleDiscoveries.org Visual Overview of the Bible:Narration to Go Along with 21 Drawings 14 Drawing 14: Exile Daniel Prayer Warrior Daniel, book of Daniel During the exile two prophets wrote books of the Bible. Ezekiel, and Daniel wrote of future restoration and prophecies concerning the future of mankind (Ezekiel and Daniel). Daniel became a person of influence because of his faithfulness to God, even while he was in captivity under Babylon and Persia. The Babylon empire which had defeated the Assyrian empire is now conquered by Persia.

21 Drawings can be found at www.BibleDiscoveries.org Visual Overview of the Bible:Narration to Go Along with 21 Drawings 15 Drawing 15: Return Ezra Preservation Return of the remnant of Israel, Ezra Jerusalem the once proud city, was a heap of rubble from the military conquest and neglect (Nehemiah 1:1-3). God moved King Cyrus of Persia to allow the exiles to return after 70 years of captivity to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem (Ezra 1-6). The rebuilding was led by Zerubbabel. The Jews, (so called because the majority are from the tribe of Judah), faced opposition from the surrounding people and the work stopped. Then God sent the prophets Haggai and Zechariah and they encouraged the people to complete the temple. It took approximately twenty years for the rebuilding of the temple to be completed. During this return, God also raised up a woman by the name of Esther to help her people. She boldly stood up to her husband the King of Persia and helped keep the Jewish nation from being destroyed. Ezra returned to Jerusalem in 457 B.C. with 2,000 people. He re- educated the Jewish people in the laws of the Lord (Ezra 7-10). Ezra studied the law, practiced the law, and taught the law to the restored nation of Israel. He was committed to preserving his relationship with the Lord. The temple was completed, the people were spiritually being rebuilt and the only thing left was for the walls of Jerusalem to be rebuilt. In 444 B.C., Nehemiah was given permission and financing from the Artaxerxes the King of Persia to do just that (Nehemiah). He also purified the priests and Levites. The Jews had returned to the land that God had promised them. They were a nation once again. But God had also promised them that they would be a blessing to all nations of the world. When and how was that going to be accomplished?

Time span: Ezra 81 years, Nehemiah 19 years, and Esther 10 years (There is some overlap during these periods.)

21 Drawings can be found at www.BibleDiscoveries.org Visual Overview of the Bible:Narration to Go Along with 21 Drawings 16 Drawing 16: Silence Herod Preparation There are four hundred years of silence between the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. The Persians are conquered by the Greeks in 333 B.C. They considered anyone that was not Greek to be a barbarian and thus educated everyone in Greek. The Greek language and culture dominated the world. The area of Palestine is "bridge" that connects three continents: Europe, Africa, and Asia. The Hebrew was not in favor at that time and the Jews wanted to read the law in Greek. And so the Old Testament was translated into Greek - this includes all the future prophecies about the coming Savior. At Alexander's death his kingdom was split into four parts. Rome eventually came into power and conquered that part of the world, although Greek influence was still strong. Through the Roman military rule the area was once again at peace. The Romans were also great builders of roads so as to unite all of its kingdom. While Rome forced all of its citizens to worship their caesars, the Jews for some reason were allowed to worship in the temple and teach in their synagogues. These four hundred years are called “the silent years” because there was no recorded written word from God. Various groups were formed during this time. Politically, there were the Maccaeas and the Zealots to attempted revolts against the foreign powers. Religiously, there were the conservative Pharisees who promoted separation between the Jews and secular society; and the liberal Sadducees who wanted to keep things calm. There was a ruling board made of both these religious groups. Yet God was busy preparing the world for the coming of His Son: This part of the world now had a common language and culture. The Roman Empire had developed an extensive network of roads, so that travel was relatively easy. The Jewish people, the Hebrew nation of Israel was under foreign rule and was earnestly looking forward to the promised Savior who was spoken of in Genesis 3:15, and again to Abraham in Genesis 12:2,3.

21 Drawings can be found at www.BibleDiscoveries.org Visual Overview of the Bible:Narration to Go Along with 21 Drawings 17 Drawing 17: Gospel Jesus Prophecies – True “But when the fullness of time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.” Galatians 4:4, 5 According to the lineage of Jesus recorded in Matthew, Jesus was born from the lineage of Judah, Ruth, David. He conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin in the city of Bethlehem, in fulfillment of the prophecy of the prophets. Jesus was powerful in word and in deed. He declared that He was indeed the Son of God, the Savior who was promised long ago. And His works supported His words. Jesus lived a normal life to the age of thirty when he was baptized by His cousin, John the Baptist. Jesus was then led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness where He was tempted by Satan for forty days. Jesus rebuked Satan by quoting the Scripture His Father had written. Jesus began his public ministry when He told the people that He was the promised Savior, as promised in Genesis 3:15, to Abraham in Genesis 12:3, and to David and in the book of Isaiah. Jesus also challenged the people to live lives that reflected true righteousness and not false hypocrisy. Jesus was shown to be the promised Savior and King (Matthew). He trained twelve men during the three years of His ministry and entrusted to them the Good News that the kingdom of God was near. When asked what was the greatest commandment, Jesus declared that it was to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” And the second was to, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” In this He summed up God’s desire and plan that we should live in relationship to Him and to each other.

21 Drawings can be found at www.BibleDiscoveries.org Visual Overview of the Bible:Narration to Go Along with 21 Drawings 18 Drawing 18: Gospels Jesus Promised Savior (3) Jesus caused great division; people either loved and followed Him or hated and wanted Him killed. The Jewish leaders were jealous of the popularity of Jesus. During the Passover celebration, Jesus was falsely accused and subjected to mock trials. The trials ended in the hands of the Roman government represented by Pilate. "It is finished!" God is Holy and He cannot tolerate sin. Yet He loves all mankind and has always wanted a relationship with them. But every person since Adam has sinned and rebelled against God. You and I have sinned. And the consequences of sin is death. All people stand condemned to die and are separated from God because of their sin. Finally, God sent His one and only beloved Son to pay the price for the sin of all people. God gave mankind a way to have a relationship with Him again. Part of God’s plan was to have His son, Jesus, who had never sinned, die for mankind’s sin. So Jesus was put to death on a cross. Jesus was humiliated and in agony as He was nailed to the Roman form of death—crucifixion and buried during Passover. When Jesus cried out on the cross, “It is finished!,” He knew that the power of sin had been defeated. Human beings had been freed from the penalty of sin; His resurrection defeated the power of sin; and He return will completed and free people from the very presence of sin! It is finished indeed! Jesus had told His followers several times that He was going to be betrayed by a friend, be tried, punished, and killed and after three days rise again. But the disciples could not understand this. They were amazed that after being in the tomb three days Jesus rose from the dead. The resurrection of Jesus proves that He is the Son of God. He appeared to many of the women who had followed Him and served Him, to His disciples, then to a crowd of more than 500 people. He appeared to His disciples over a period of forty days and spoke of the kingdom of God. Jesus instructed His disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they received the power of the Holy Spirit. They were then reminded to be witnesses in Jerusalem (their city), in Judea and Samaria (the surrounding area, and to the remote parts of the earth. Jesus ascended to heaven right before their eyes. On the feast day of Pentecost the disciples are filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1-5).

21 Drawings can be found at www.BibleDiscoveries.org Visual Overview of the Bible:Narration to Go Along with 21 Drawings 19 Drawing 19: Church Peter/Paul Proclamation

Ten days after the ascension the disciples were all gathered together to worship when the Holy Spirit came upon them. They began to preach boldly that very day and over 3,000 people came to accept Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, they bore witness to Jesus with words and mighty works. The body of believers, the church, grew in numbers in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria. As converts were added the structure of the Church took place (Acts 6). Peter established a mercy ministry for poor Christians. Deacons were chosen to look after the physical things of the Church while the Apostles tended to the spiritual needs. The Jewish leaders stoned Stephen for preaching about Jesus, while a young man named Saul watched. Many Christians were forced to flee taking their faith in Christ with them (Acts 7). Peter was the first to take the Gospel to the non-Jews, but God used that young man Saul, later to be called Paul, to be the apostle to the Gentiles.

21 Drawings can be found at www.BibleDiscoveries.org Visual Overview of the Bible:Narration to Go Along with 21 Drawings 20 Drawing 20: Missions Paul Position/Purpose

Led by the Spirit, Paul took the Gospel throughout Asia and into Europe. Within his lifetime, the Gospel had spread throughout the entire Mediterranean world. Paul's first missionary journey wasto Galatia and he took Barnabas with him. Paul's second missionary journey was to what is now called Greece. The third missionary journey was to Asia and it lasted for four years. When Paul returned to Jerusalem he was arrested by the jealous Jewish leaders. Paul was eventually taken to Rome, but his case never came to trial. He was freed for a time but later arrested again and died in Rome. Paul wrote thirteen epistles or letters during his lifetime, these are often referred to as the Pauline Epistles. Nine other epistles were written by various authors, these are referred to as the General Epistles. The pattern of the epistles, or letters, was to give a doctrinal truth and then the practical applications of that truth, principle then practice. Finally God fulfilled His promise that He had made to Abraham. Through Abraham’s future lineage all the nations of the world would be blessed. And the blessing continues as men and women of God, empowered by the Holy Spirit, continue to take the Good News of Jesus Christ to people who have never heard.

21 Drawings can be found at www.BibleDiscoveries.org Visual Overview of the Bible:Narration to Go Along with 21 Drawings 21 Drawing 21: Missions God You Paradise

The last book of the Bible, The Revelation of Jesus Christ states that "anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire"(20:15). In this book we see the final ending where Jesus is in Heaven and is being worshipped by all creation. Books are opened and all mankind is judged according to what they have done. Those who have not accepted Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God will be thrown into the lake of fire for all eternity. God finally destroys all of His enemies. God gives all of mankind the assurance that sin will not go unpunished. There will be a day of consequences. He will judge the living and the dead. The Bible closes with these words," Jesus, the One who says these things are true, says, 'Yes, I am coming soon.' Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen." (Revelation 22:20-21.)

Conclusion: As you can see, the Bible clearly shows the relationship between God and human beings. God created mankind to have a relationship with Him and to glorify Him. God has provided a way where all people can have a personal, intimate relationship with Him. But human beings have always been rebellious and disobedient. We have all wanted to have our own way.

Throughout all of history the Holy God has extended His mercy and provided a way so that people could come to know Him. He has reached out to mankind and He still does so today. How can we do this? God has provided the way through His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus said that He is the Way, the Truth, the Life and that no one can come to God except through Him. (John 14:6) Have you accepted this gift of God?

John 3:16 states, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

Is your name written in the lamb's book of life? If not, won’t you accept Him today? Will you acknowledge that you have sinned, and that you know that only Jesus can take away this separation you have from God? Will you believe and ask Jesus to come into your life? Now?!

21 Drawings can be found at www.BibleDiscoveries.org