Acts is the history of the development of the first churches and the spread of Christianity. For about the first decade after the death of Jesus, Christianity existed almost exclusively among the Jews. The first part of Acts portrays the meaning of Christianity, how it was shared, and how it was lived out in a closed community of Jews whose common culture was based on the Old Testament. After about the first decade, Christianity started growing in other groups and cultures that had beliefs and understandings quite different from the Jews. Much of Acts deals with how to keep a consistent and complete Gospel message, how it should be shared, and how it was lived out in different groups and cultures. The lessons learned from Acts are applicable to modern Christians and churches and are also essential when trying to understand Paul’s letters (which comprise much of the New Testament). A purpose of the Eyewitness Bible Series: Acts is to tell some of the information of the book of Acts from different vantage points. Luke said that he made a careful investigation of the facts before writing Luke and Acts. His three primary sources of information probably were his own experiences, written sources, and talking to people who were personally involved. Eyewitness Bible Series: Acts illustrates the stories that he might have heard from a dozen of the characters featured in the book of Acts.

This entry of the Eyewitness Bible Series explores the birth of Jesus and is designed to be watched on the three Sundays prior to Christmas week, plus the seven days of Christmas week, ending on Christmas Day. Each segment is told from the perspective of a different individual: the prophet Isaiah, a Magi, Elizabeth, Mary’s mother, Mary, Joseph, a tax collector, King Herod, a shepherd, and an angel.

An ancient African proverb imparts wisdom about tackling huge projects: “How does one person eat a whole elephant? One bite at a time.” Genesis & Job is the first bite of Eyewitness Bible Series in tackling the Old Testament. The most casual reader soon recognizes the majority of the writings of the Old Testament have to do with the history of the Israelites (also known as Hebrews or Jews). Embedded in the Old Testament is a wealth of knowledge about God and his character, books of poetry and proverbs, and a host of prophecies. Genesis & Job describes the creation of Earth, gives the history of all mankind, and describes a brief history of the Israelite nation from its beginning until it moves to Egypt. All of Genesis is saturated with knowledge about God, his power, and his relationship with mankind. Job is a story of an ancient man, his struggles, and his dealings with God. Although nothing is absolutely clear concerning the time period of his life, it seems as if Job lived in the time before the Israelite nation existed. Eyewitness Bible Series continues to explore the Old Testament in Promised Land and Prophets and Kings.

James was possibly the first New Testament book written, probably penned in the very late 40s AD. It is generally accepted that the book was written by James, the leader of the Jerusalem Church, also known as James the brother of Jesus. From the very first, some people objected to having James in the New Testament. Martin Luther pushed for its exclusion (as well as some other books) because he thought it crossed some Protestant doctrines. However, history shows that God intends for James to be included in sacred Scripture. Perhaps some of the controversary around the book can be ended if people are willing to accept the book for what it is, and not try to force it to be something it is not. We get a quick look at what it is by looking at the first verse: “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad.” James was the leader of the Jerusalem church, but he was not one of the original apostles. His letter shows that he is a strong, experienced leader whose purpose is to guide Jewish Christians about how to live as Christians in various countries and cultures. He accomplishes his purpose.

Few Christians have a deep understanding of the Old Testament kings of Israel or the prophets and their messages. The purpose of this series is to allow anybody to quickly gain a better understanding of those things as well as an appreciation of how that information is relevant today. The Old Testament prophets were real people who proclaimed important messages from God that have stayed true for thousands of years. Jesus and the apostles thought the kings and prophets were important, so we should too. It is no wonder that few Christians have deep familiarity with the kings and prophets. Christians tend to read the New Testament, and the kings and prophets are in the Old Testament. The books of the kings and prophets are not arranged in chronological order, the history of ancient Israel and its neighbors is complex, and the geography of the region is an ever-shifting jigsaw puzzle. The language of the prophets is often symbolic or metaphorical, and the intended messages seem to be shrouded in mystery. Lastly, many people assume that Old Testament prophecies have mostly been fulfilled, so they must not still be very important. Perhaps our attitudes would change if we thought of prophets as truth tellers, not fortune tellers. Their truths stand important today. Besides, it may be that a number of their prophecies have yet to be fulfilled.

Luke is the story of the life of Jesus of Nazareth. It tells of his origin, life, teachings, ministry, and miracles. It tells of his death, burial, resurrection, and ascension to heaven. Consequently, Luke may be the most informative book in the Bible. Before writing his book, Luke examined written materials and talked to eyewitnesses. Eyewitness Bible Series: Luke is meant to imitate some of the stories Luke might have heard, as well as explore their meaning and importance. This series is true to the Bible, but it fills in storylines based on history, geography, and imagination. This series presumes that the author of Luke is a doctor who was a good friend and companion of Paul. That presumption sets the stage for Luke being able to correctly assess the veracity of the birth accounts of both John the Baptist and Jesus and to understand their importance, both physically and spiritually. Don’t you imagine Luke, a doctor, was hesitant to write about miracles? But he believed in them to the point that he started his book with two miracle stories that could only be considered unlikely, if not outlandish.

This entry in the fascinating behind-the-scenes Eyewitness Bible Series studies the people and stories that are bedrock to the Christian faith as presented in Hebrews, First and Second Peter, First, Second, and Third John, and Jude. Surprisingly little information is known about the letters in this series. The exact dates of all of them are unknown, and the author of Hebrews is disputed. Even the target audience of each of these letters is broadly described, if described at all.

There is treasure hidden in Paul’s thirteen letters, but the path to find it is not obvious. Here is a tip: in the Bible, Paul’s letters are not sequenced in chronological order. The Bible rarely gives us specific dates about events it addresses, which can be frustrating for modern readers. As an example, this is a very brief timeline of the first four decades of Christianity that is probably correct to within a few years: 27 AD to 30 AD: Ministry of Jesus 30 AD to 39 AD: Death and resurrection of Jesus; Christianity spreads among the Jews 40 AD to 48 AD: Christianity spreads increasingly to non-Jews 48 AD to 57 AD: Paul’s three missionary journeys 58 AD to 70 AD: Paul’s imprisonment; Paul’s death; Temple destroyed Paul wrote his letters within the two decades of 48 AD to 68 AD. His thirteen generally accepted letters are arranged in the New Testament in two blocks: the nine written to churches, then the four written to individuals. The nine written to churches are generally placed in order by length. (This also assumes Hebrews was not written by Paul.)

The Promised Land Series covers the books in the Bible from Exodus to Judges. These books describe events from the birth of Moses to the end of the era of the judges of Israel. In Genesis, God promised Abraham that his descendants would inherit the land of Canaan, so Canaan became known as The Promised Land. Modern Israel and Palestine encompass the majority of Canaan. Abraham’s grandson was Jacob, whose name was changed to “Israel” by God. His descendants became known as the Hebrews or Israelites. During the later life of Jacob, the Hebrews moved to Egypt during a famine. The book of Exodus opens about four centuries later with the Hebrews still in Egypt, having become slaves of the Pharaoh. The book of Exodus is primarily about Moses leading the Hebrews out of Egypt and into the wilderness, their covenant with God, and the construction of the Tabernacle. Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy tell of the Hebrews wandering in the wilderness, the laws given to the Hebrews by God, and their adventures on the way to the Promised Land. These books end with the Israelites poised to enter the Promised Land, and the death of Moses.

Revelation was likely the last book of the New Testament to be written and was placed last in the New Testament. It was probably written in the 80s or 90s AD by the Apostle John while he was exiled on the Island of Patmos. The apocalyptic imagery in Revelation makes the book difficult to understand and open to a wide variety of interpretations. Some believe the book describes events of John’s time, others believe it describes portions of the history of the Roman empire, while others believe it describes events that still have yet to occur. Many others think it describes portions of those three times along with other events, while others think it is entirely symbolic or allegorical. The book opens as the revelation of Jesus is communicated to John, who is instructed to write down all he hears and sees. A brief description of Jesus is given. All of this happens in Chapter One. Chapters Two and Three describe messages from Jesus to seven churches in the province of Asia. These messages include greetings, compliments, warnings, punishments, and rewards.

The New Testament starts with the three Gospel books of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. These three are known as the Synoptic Gospels. Gospel means “Good News,” and Synoptic refers to the fact that all three give an account of the same general events from the same point of view. The fourth book, John, is distinctly different from the three Synoptic Gospels and includes much information not in the other three Gospels. The four Gospels differ in what stories they include and how the stories are told. None of the four Gospels are meant to be a complete, detailed life of Jesus. Rather, as John wrote, “Jesus truly did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: but these are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God; and that by believing you might have life through his name.” “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which, if they should all be written, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written.” Together, the four Gospels comprise the vast majority of the direct information we have about the life and teachings of Jesus.