When the curtain rises, the story of the Bible, the world, and you unfolds!
A vivid introduction that allows you to read the Bible bigger, further, and deeper.

A newly revised and expanded third edition commemorating the 20th anniversary of the publication of "The Bible is Drama," an excellent introduction to the Bible and a biblical foundation for the Christian worldview.
We have received feedback from numerous readers, reflected improvements, refined the text, and updated the content.
The story of the Kingdom of God contained in the Bible can be viewed as a drama consisting of six acts: creation, the fall, the beginning of redemption, the accomplishment of redemption, the mission of the church, and the completion of redemption.
And we are also in this drama.
Reading the Bible as one complete story and incorporating this approach into the life of the church is still, and is more urgently needed now than ever before.

We are honored to publish the third edition of “The Bible is Drama” to commemorate its 20th anniversary.
Indeed, the response to this book has exceeded our expectations, and we are most grateful to Baker Academic Press for publishing it.
But this is just the tip of the iceberg.
We do not consider The Bible is a Drama to be an indispensable book.
The book that is indispensable is the Bible.
Especially in our Western culture, there is an urgent need to recover the Bible as a whole and to reveal it to our culture as a whole.
In our opinion, the way to overcome this crisis is for us to
--- “It is only a way to read the Bible as a narrative, as practiced in ‘The Bible is a Drama.’
_From “Preface”

The creation story in Genesis is controversial.
The story claims to speak truth about the world, directly contradicting the kinds of stories common in the ancient world.
Israel was continually tempted to accept these other stories as the basis of their worldview instead of believing in the Lord God, the creator of heaven and earth.
But the creation narrative in Genesis is more than just a matter of debate.
It also aims to actively teach what faith in God means for how we think about the world He created and how we live within it.
This work is done in story form.
And in order not to misinterpret it, we must pay attention to precisely this narrative format.

--- From “Act 1: God Establishes His Kingdom”

Most of the prophets' messages deal with the fact that God will judge His people because of their continued disobedience.
God's glory and name, which are revealed among all nations, are in jeopardy in the life of Israel, and because of this, God can no longer tolerate Israel's rebellion.
These observations naturally raise questions about the future and God's purposes for Israel and the entire creation.
Even when the prophets declare present judgment on Israel, they also look to the future, proclaiming that because God reigns, His purposes will surely prevail.
Jeremiah speaks of a “new covenant” (chapter 31), and Ezekiel speaks of a “new temple” (chapters 40-48).
Isaiah prophesies of the coming of the suffering servant who will be a light to all nations (49:6; 52:13-53:12).… This will also be a time of salvation for all nations.

--- From “Act 3: The King Chooses Israel”

Some among the Jews believed that at that time even the Gentile nations would finally acknowledge the God of Israel as their King and live joyfully under his rule (Isaiah 49:6).
But many more were drawn to other prophetic themes in the Bible.
They believed that Israel was destined to rule over those who had previously ruled the Jews.
If Israel conquered foreign nations and made them her subjects, they would either serve her willingly or face God's judgment and destruction (60:12, 14).
Because Israel's long years of humiliation had fostered such hatred toward their pagan oppressors, the prevailing vision in Israel was not one of many people flocking to Zion to learn the ways of God (2:3).
Instead, the children of Israel expected all nations to be dashed to pieces like a potter's vessel (Psalm 2:9).

--- From “Interlude: The Story of the Kingdom of God Waiting for the End”

Jesus also welcomes the poor, the beggars, the sick, and the disabled into the kingdom of God.
In Jewish thinking at the time, poverty and illness were often interpreted as signs of judgment for individual sin.
Jesus angrily condemns traditional 'wisdom'… His teachings make it clear that the marginalized of Jewish society are welcome in the kingdom of God.
He powerfully demonstrates this point through two types of actions.
As a sign of the coming kingdom of God, Jesus shares fellowship at the table with these outcasts and heals them.

--- From “Act 4: The Coming of the King”

At the beginning of the old world and the dawn of human history, Adam stands.
The first sin he committed opened the 'present evil age' and brought sin, death, and condemnation.
Now, the 'coming age' begins in Jesus.
A new day of righteousness, life, and justice has dawned (Romans 5:12-21).
The entire human family, being 'in Adam', is destined to be born into the old age and to decay with him.
But those who are born again 'in Christ' already have life in the 'age to come', and they begin to experience God's life-giving power here and now.

--- From “Act 5: News about the King Spreads”

Although this vision of a new creation is the climactic conclusion of the last book of the Bible, most of Revelation is not about the future.
This book gives us a glimpse of God's purpose throughout history, the purpose that led to this conclusion.
Much of the Bible is about human history on this earth and especially the experiences of God's people.
Now in this final book, the curtains seem to be drawn back from the room where God's heavenly throne is located.
This allows us to see the spiritual war that has shaped the history of this world up to this point.
This is a war that we cannot see from our historically limited perspective, as we have our feet on the ground (cf.
Ephesians 6:12).

--- From “Act 6: The Return of the King”