That’s a great question! If you do a quick and honest survey, you might be surprised to find the vast majority of Christians have not yet achieved this. Taking stock of your reading habits you might find, if you’re being honest, that you’ve perhaps covered large areas of the Bible, but have never really read the ENTIRE Bible.
Nowadays there are a bunch of reading plans and options out there, but one that we have found to be a helpful and a trustworthy source, backed by theological studies and years of Biblical research, is the ‘Through the Bible… as It Happened!’ program.
What makes this reading program so great is that it re-arranges the Bible material into a chronological format. Similar to the Jesus poster (see what this amazing piece is all about here) – that means the events are re-arranged so you get to read them in the actual order they occurred – much like a novel. The normal way the Bible is arranged is “themed.” That means the material is all put together according to subject, not according to when it happened.
For example, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, and 1 & 2 Chronicles all cover much of the same material. It is a theme: the history of Israel from the time of the kings until the country’s dissolution. If read as they appear in the Bible, the reader reads about that history not once, not twice, but three times. The chronological version puts all of them together seamlessly – so the reader reads that part of Israel’s history just once in a chronological way, and with the ability to compare the nuances of each of the three accountings. And they do differ in many of the details.
That’s just the start of it! Did you know that most of the prophets had their ministries during that part of Israel’s existence, but their books appear long after those books, way back in the end section of the Old Testament?
There are 39 books in the Old Testament and 27 in the New. They cover a time span of approximately 4,500 years and they are not neatly placed in the order that the events occurred. In fact, everything jumps back and forth. That makes it hard for a reader to comprehend much of what takes place and the relationship of events to each other is largely lost. All of the Bible – from Genesis to Revelation – has been re-arranged. It’s just fascinating!
The author of the program, David Shreve, has put all of those prophetical writings where they belong, verse by verse. It completely changes a person’s understanding of the Bible! The same is true of Job, the Psalms, Proverbs and the other books of the Old and New Testaments. Each is placed where they occurred. Imagine reading a psalm when the event which precipitated its writing occurred. That psalm just comes to life bible reading plan!
Reading the Bible chronologically helps sift out so many questions and confusion for a lot of readers. You get to understand what God has done in the past and what He is doing today - and why. As events unfold sequentially through time and you track along the 4,500 years of history, you get to understand people - why they do what they do - in a way you have never understood before. The Bible itself becomes alive as the wondrous story that it is, through the ages of time, intricately woven together by our Creator through His people, and the historical events of humanity.
‘Through the Bible . . . as It Happened’ has over 1,200 pages of commentary notes to help you along on your reading plan. The program has been tested through time and began in 1974, when there were no chronological Bible reading systems in place. It has been continually revised since that time to become one of the best chronological Bible reading programs available today and was only launched to the general public in 2018. The author’s education comes from Cedarville University, where he holds degrees in both Biblical and Greek studies. He has researched and taught the Bible for nearly 50 years, so is certainly not a novice in this field.
Through the Bible… as It Happened
An amazing 1 Year CHRONOLOGICAL Bible Reading Program to help you cover the length and depth of the Bible in 1 year from beginning to end.
If you would like to kickstart your mission to read the whole Bible and experience the benefits of doing so chronologically, click here. Also check out the Jesus poster, a stunning piece of museum-graded, quality wall art containing all the words Jesus spoke - as recorded in the gospels - in chronological order.
