What's in the Bible? Review - God's Kingdom Comes! - Volume 13

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Entertaining way to learn good theology

Cons: It’s the last one

The Bottom Line:

Covers last few books

Including letters, locusts

And a great wrap-up

Finalizing the Bible with More Letters and a Forest Look at Revelation

When Phil Vischer set out to cover the Bible in 13 hour long episodes, I didn’t think he could do it.  But here we are with Volume 13 of What’s in the Bible? – God's Kingdom Comes!, and that’s exactly what he has managed to do.  He’s even managed to keep these videos entertaining.

If you’re just coming to the series here, go back to the beginning.  While Phil himself does some of the talking, he is assisted by a collection of puppets.  Those personalities provide much of the humor of the series.  Additionally, the themes we’ve been following come full circle here, and the summary happens at the end.  I’m not saying you would be lost, but you won’t get the full benefit of things if you jump in here like you would watching it all the way through.

As you can imagine, this is a quick look at the books of the Bible.  While some things are faster than others, this is not the place for an in depth Bible study.  However, it gives anyone from grade school up a good frame work for understanding every book of the Bible and what it shows us about God.

As always, there are two 30 minute episodes on this DVD.  The first covers the general epistles, also known as the books Hebrews through Jude.  Each book gets discussed, including author and general theme.  There is nothing too revolutionary here, but it is a good summary of what these books are about.

The second episode focuses on Revelation, the final book of the Bible.  While some of the puppets are hoping for a nice easy book to end things on, as is quoted multiple times, this is the hardest book in the Bible because of the symbolism and imagery used.  While all the various events and imagery is covered, Phil gives us some help in trying to interrupt it.  Even so, he reminds us that what is most important with the book is not identifying and explaining each creature or image but in getting the big picture – the forest not the trees if you will.  It’s a very helpful reminder that I often forget myself, and really could have used a few times in college while discussing the end times.

This final episode then ends with the bird’s eye view of the entire Bible, discussing the various sections and what we learned from them.  Considering it’s a five minute or so part of the video, it’s amazing how much truth and theology is packed into it.  And it is all wrapped up with a challenge.  What will you do with what you’ve learned now?

I started volume one because I liked the idea behind the series and was curious to see how Phil would pull it off.  I stayed because I was amazed to see him doing exactly what he set out to do with great theology and entertainment.  (I have one quibble with one line in volume 1.  That’s it for the entire series.)  That holds true here.  While he didn’t make me see things differently this time around, he did remind me of some things I already knew.  Sometimes, that’s just as valuable.  And he does it with humor as the characters react to what they are learning.

Honestly, I’m sorry to see the What’s in the Bible? series end.  God's Kingdom Comes! sends things off on a high note however, and will leave the series fans happy they invested the time.  More importantly, it will give them a frame work for understanding the Bible as they delve into it on their own.

(And yes, we do find out if Michael and Pierre ever get to Grandma’s house.)