God's Timeline and God's Bible Timeline by Linda Finlayson

Summary

Each of these books gives a well-plotted timeline of events either from Biblical history or Church History. The Bible history book is separated into six sections: Creation to the Promise Land, Living in the Promised Land, From One Kingdom to Two, Exile and Return, The Messiah, and The Early Church. The Church History book is separated into five sections: Early Church, Medieval Church, Reforming Church, Missionary Church, and Modern Church.

Each book has timeline pages showing the progression of time through the Bible or church history as well as information pages throughout, expanding on certain people or events. There are many illustrations and pictures as well as symbol guides included to help you understand the main points of history, quickly. Both books also have a large, fold-out “Heros and Villians” timeline. The author calls out the Roman Catholic and Christian Science faiths for false/heretical teachings.

Reading Age: 6-12 (However, it’s probably best suited for children 8+, including high school and beyond!)

Mom Thoughts

These books are incredible resources for any Bible reading family or one that places value on learning church history. Obviously, the author couldn’t include everything and this is most apparent in the church history book. Some might feel she didn’t include enough diversity among the people mentioned, but I do believe she did a very good job in her selection, especially since this is only an overview and not an exhaustive resource.

The section on the Crusades is painted in a more positive light than most of us likely recall. However, I do agree with her that while there were obviously horrible events that occurred, there were also good things that came from this time. I’ll be honest that my church history knowledge isn’t extensive, so I did learn a fair amount from reading this, and can only imagine how helpful this could be in a home study or homeschooling environment or for any family, simply as a resource to have on hand. I do prefer the Bible History book a bit and think it could be used in so many ways to see God’s plan unfold in an organized, sequential way.

One very small thing: she says in the Church History book that when Saul encountered the bright light and Christ on the road to Damascus, “It was so bright that Saul was blinded for three days.” I thought it was interesting to attribute his blindness to the brightness of the light and not God’s timing.

I highly recommend both of these books for your family!