Bible
Early World
Creation to 2200 BC・Genesis 1–11
1God creates an ordered and good world, but human disobedience leads to separation from God and the first murder. The world is flooded and re-populated from the righteous Noah. Humanity’s continued arrogance leads to language confusion at Babel.
Patriarchs
2200 BC to 1800 BC・Genesis 12–50
2God calls Abraham to leave his homeland and beget a great nation. Abraham obeys God, and his son Isaac fathers Jacob, who in turn fathers twelve sons, the ancestors of the twelve tribes of Israel. Jacob’s youngest son Joseph becomes a powerful ruler in Egypt.
Egypt and Exodus
1800 BC to 1446 BC・Exodus
3The descendants of Jacob, the Israelites, are oppressed in Egypt and led to freedom by Moses. God gives the Israelites the Ten Commandments at Mt. Sinai and makes a covenant with them. Moses builds the Ark of the Covenant and God’s presence is with Israel.
Desert Wanderings
1446 BC to 1406 BC・Numbers
4The Israelites are guided by God from Mt. Sinai to the borders of the promised land. But they repeatedly complain, and doubt they will be able to overcome the peoples already inhabiting the land. God punishes them with 40 years of wandering in the desert.
Conquest and Judges
1406 BC to 1050 BC・Joshua, Judges, 1 Samuel 1–8
5Under Joshua, the Israelites enter the promised land and conquer it, dividing the land between the twelve tribes. After Joshua’s death, Israel falls into a pattern of sin, servitude, supplication, salvation and forgetfulness. There is a clear moral decline.
Royal Kingdom
1050 BC to 930 BC・1 Samuel 9–31, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings 1–11
6God reluctantly gives the Israelites a king as they request. The first king, Saul, disobeys and is replaced by David, who establishes Jerusalem. God promises David an everlasting dynasty. His son Soloman builds the temple in Jerusalem but turns away from God.
Divided Kingdom
930 BC to 722 BC・1 Kings 12–22, 2 Kings 1–16
7After Soloman’s death, the kingdom of Israel splits in two. God sends powerful prophets, including Elijah and Elisha, to attempt to bring Israel back to him. The Northern Kingdom breaks off from the Davidic line and is ultimately destroyed.
Exile
722 BC to 538 BC・2 Kings 17–25
8The Southern Kingdom, Judah, continues to be unfaithful to God despite the prophets. Isaiah makes his famous prophecy “A virgin shall conceive and bear a son”. Despite valiant attempts by some leaders, Judah turns from God, is conquered by Babylon, and the people are exiled from the Promised Land.
Return
538 BC to 167 BC・Ezra, Nehemiah
9Babylon is conquered by Persians, whose king allows the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple. However, God’s presence does not return to the Temple until Jesus. The city walls are rebuilt and the people return to God’s law in the Torah.
Maccabean Revolt
167 BC to AD 1・1 Maccabees
10The Persians are defeated by the Greeks, who begin to oppress the Jews. Outraged by repeated sacrileges, a group of Jews revolt and win. However, they soon invite more foreign influence and become a client state of Rome under Herod, a non-Davidic ruler.
Messianic Fulfillment
AD 1 to AD 33・Matthew, Mark, John
11Jesus Christ, fully God and man, a descendant of David, is born of a virgin. He gathers twelve apostles, establishing a new Israel around himself. He proclaims that the kingdom of God, foretold by the prophets, has arrived. He allows himself to be killed and rises again from the dead after three days.
The Church
AD 33 – ・Luke, Acts
12Jesus appears to the apostles and gives them the Holy Spirit. After Jesus’s ascension, it is revealed to Peter that Gentiles are now invited into God’s covenant family. Paul converts, and the Church grows. John records his vision of the return of Christ.