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Linking Together the Periods of Bible History
By
Bryan Gibson
September 5, 2008
One way to
better understand the Bible is to divide it up into periods of history. What
follows is a list of 17 periods of Bible history, along with where each period is
covered in the Bible, and some additional notes to help better understand how
the periods link together.
1.
Before the Flood (Genesis 1-5)—From the time of creation until just
before the flood.
So the next period would
obviously be…
2.
The Flood (Genesis 6-10)—Noah and his family were spared, while the rest
of the world was destroyed.
Noah's descendants
multiplied, moved to the plain of
3.
Scattering of the People (Genesis 11)
The descendants of Shem
(one of Noah’s three sons) remained more or less in the region of
4.
Patriarchs (Genesis 12-50)—The stories of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and
Joseph.
These stories take us
the rest of the way through the Book of Genesis. During the life of Joseph, he
became a ruler in
5.
Exodus (Exodus 1-Numbers 15)
The Israelites left the
bondage of
6.
Wandering in the Wilderness (Numbers 16-Joshua 3)
The wandering in the
wilderness came to an end with the...
7.
Invasion and Conquest of Canaan (Joshua 4-24)—Covers the period from
when they first crossed the
After Joshua's death,
another generation arose that did not serve the Lord. When God punished them by
sending enemy nations against them, the people repented, and cried out for
deliverance. God responded to their cries by sending…
8.
Judges (Judges-1 Samuel 9)—From Othniel
through Samuel.
Samuel was the last
judge. When Samuel became old, the people asked for a king.
9.
After the death of
Solomon, the kingdom was split into two separate kingdoms. There was no longer
a
10. Divided
Kingdom (1 Kings 12-2 Kings 17; 2 Chronicles 10-29)—Two kingdoms:
When
11. Judah Alone
(2 Kings 18-25; 2 Chronicles 30-36)
12. Captivity
(Ezekiel and Daniel)
The people of
13. Return
(Ezra, Haggai, Zechariah, Esther, Nehemiah, Malachi)
When God's people
returned to the land, they continued to be unfaithful to God. God had no
further revelation for them until the time of Christ. The absence of any
revelation from God resulted in the…
14. Years of
Silence—The 400 years between Malachi and Matthew.
The years of silence
were brought to an end when God began to reveal Himself again, this time
through the…
15. Life of
Christ (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John)
After His death, resurrection,
and ascension, Jesus fulfilled a promise He made earlier—that He would build
His church.
16. Early
church (Acts)
God did not make all of
His will known during the life of Christ. He continued to reveal His word
through…
17. Letters to Christians (Romans-Revelation)