One covenant of grace · One promised Redeemer
Trace the sovereign purpose of God from the first creation to the new—from promise, through fulfillment, to the glory of Christ.
How to read this timeline
It is God’s inspired, inerrant, and authoritative Word, recording and interpreting his works of creation, judgment, and redemption in history. Each covenantal movement advances the one plan centered on Jesus Christ.
Earlier events truly happened in their own historical setting. The cards distinguish direct promise and fulfillment, broad canonical trajectories, and more modest gospel analogies so that Christ is read from Scripture rather than imposed upon it.
The drama of redemption
Follow the scarlet thread through 101 decisive movements in redemptive history.
Chronology Genesis 1–11 follows James Ussher’s traditional framework: creation in 4004 BC, the flood in 2349–2348 BC, and Babel around 2242 BC. From Abraham onward, the timeline uses a common conservative early-Exodus model rather than Ussher’s complete system, including an Exodus around 1446 BC. New Testament entries use an AD 30 Passion model; AD 33 remains a responsible conservative alternative. Exact BC/AD correlations are interpretive estimates, not dates supplied directly by the inspired text.
01 Grace before the ages
BEFORE THE AGESBefore creation
Before the foundation of the world, the Father purposes to redeem a people in the Son and bring all things together under his headship.
Promise & fulfillment
Redemption is not God’s reaction to evil but his eternal, gracious purpose in Christ, accomplished in history and applied by the Spirit.
02 The world made good
4004 BC
The triune God creates all things from nothing, orders a good world by his word, and appoints humanity to bear his image under his kingly rule.
Promise & fulfillment
All things were made through the eternal Word. Adam is the first covenant head; Christ is the last Adam and the true image who restores a new humanity.
03 Promise in the ruins
4004 BCThe first year
Adam breaks covenant with God; sin, guilt, corruption, and death enter the world, yet judgment comes with the promise of a serpent-crushing offspring.
Promise & fulfillment
Jesus is the promised seed and last Adam. Where Adam yielded in a garden, Christ obeys and conquers the devil through his death and resurrection.
04 Two seeds
c. 3874 BC
Cain murders righteous Abel, revealing the enmity between the serpent’s seed and the righteous seed of promise.
Promise & fulfillment
Abel’s blood cries for justice; Jesus, the truly righteous sufferer, speaks a better word through blood that secures mercy for his people.
05 Judgment & preservation
2349–2348 BC
God judges a violent earth by the flood, preserves Noah’s household through the waters, and pledges to sustain creation while redemption unfolds.
Promise & fulfillment
The ark patterns refuge from judgment. United to Christ, his people pass safely through judgment into the cleansed world of new creation.
06 The nations scattered
c. 2242 BC
Humanity unites in proud self-exaltation, so God confuses its language and scatters the nations across the earth.
Canonical trajectory
At Pentecost the scattering is not erased by human empire but answered by one gospel heard among many languages under one heavenly King.
07 Wisdom in suffering
DATE UNCERTAIN*Possible patriarchal setting
A blameless sufferer wrestles with providence while God displays sovereign wisdom beyond every creature’s grasp.
Canonical trajectory
Job’s longing for an arbiter and living Redeemer finds its answer in the incarnate Mediator, the innocent sufferer vindicated in resurrection.
*Scripture does not date Job.
08 A people of promise
c. 2091 BCThe patriarchs
God calls Abram from the nations and promises offspring, land, and a blessing that will reach every family of the earth.
Promise & fulfillment
The promises find their Yes in Christ, Abraham’s singular offspring. By faith, Jews and Gentiles are justified and welcomed into Abraham’s family.
09 Promise ratified
c. 2091–2081 BCEarly in Abram’s years in Canaan
Abram is blessed by Salem’s priest-king, then God alone passes through the covenant pieces and pledges the promised inheritance.
Promise & fulfillment
Jesus is the eternal Priest-King after Melchizedek’s order, and his death bears the covenant curse so the promised blessing is certain.
10 The promised son
2067–2066 BCCircumcision precedes Isaac’s birth by one year
God gives circumcision as the covenant sign and brings life from Sarah’s barrenness by the power of promise.
Promise & fulfillment
The miraculous son carries the promised line, while regeneration in Christ is the inward circumcision made without hands.
11 The beloved son
DATE UNCERTAIN*During Isaac’s youth
Abraham is tested, the beloved son is bound, and God himself provides a substitute to die in Isaac’s place on the mountain.
Promise & fulfillment
God ultimately provides his own beloved Son. Unlike Isaac, Jesus is not spared; he bears his people’s judgment and rises again.
*The exact date is unknown.
12 Grace to the undeserving
c. 1909 BCJacob’s life, c. 2006–1859 BC
God freely chooses Jacob, preserves him through exile, and names him Israel; from his twelve sons the covenant nation will grow.
Promise & fulfillment
Jesus is the true Israel and the ladder between heaven and earth, in whom God’s electing mercy creates a transformed people.
13 Providence preserves promise
c. 1898 BC*Joseph in Egypt, c. 1898–1805 BC
The rejected son descends into slavery and prison, then is raised to power so that God preserves the covenant family through famine.
Canonical trajectory
Joseph’s humiliation and exaltation anticipate the rejected Son whose sovereign suffering saves his brothers and brings blessing to the nations.
*Jacob arrives in Egypt around 1876 BC.
14 The LORD remembers
c. 1447–1446 BCShortly before the Exodus
The covenant God reveals his holy name, hears Israel’s groaning, and commissions Moses to confront Pharaoh.
Canonical trajectory
The eternal I AM comes in the flesh as the greater Moses, revealing the Father and delivering his people from a deeper slavery.
15 Redeemed from bondage
c. 1446 BCThe exodus
The LORD judges Egypt, shelters Israel beneath the lamb’s blood, and brings his covenant son out of bondage.
Promise & fulfillment
Christ is our Passover Lamb. By his blood he redeems a people from slavery to sin and leads a greater exodus through death into life.
16 Through the waters
c. 1446 BCThe exodus
God opens the sea for Israel, overwhelms Pharaoh’s army, and receives the praise of the people he has redeemed.
Promise & fulfillment
Baptized into Moses, Israel leaves its old master behind; in union with Christ, believers pass through judgment into newness of life.
17 Bread from heaven
c. 1446 BCEarly wilderness journey
God feeds Israel with bread from heaven and gives water from the rock, sustaining the people he redeemed.
Canonical trajectory
Christ is the true bread from heaven and the spiritual Rock, giving eternal life to all who receive him by faith.
18 A holy nation
c. 1446 BCThe wilderness
The already-redeemed nation receives God’s holy law and is constituted as a kingdom of priests before his presence.
Promise & fulfillment
Jesus fulfills the law in his active obedience and bears its curse for his people, writing God’s law on renewed hearts by the Spirit.
19 Mercy after rebellion
c. 1446 BCAt Sinai
Israel breaks covenant almost immediately, yet the mediator pleads God’s promises and the LORD renews covenant mercy.
Canonical trajectory
Moses points beyond himself to the sinless Mediator who not only intercedes but gives his own life to secure forgiveness.
20 God dwells among his people
1446–1445 BCInstructions through the tabernacle’s erection
God gives a sanctuary, priesthood, and sacrificial order so that a holy God may dwell among a sinful people.
Promise & fulfillment
Jesus is the true dwelling of God, the final High Priest, and the once-for-all sacrifice to which the sanctuary shadows pointed.
21 Cleansed to draw near
c. 1445 BCThe wilderness
Once each year the high priest enters behind the veil with blood while another goat carries Israel’s sins into the wilderness.
Promise & fulfillment
Christ both propitiates God’s holy wrath and carries guilt away, entering the heavenly sanctuary by his own blood for a finished redemption.
22 The rest refused
c. 1445 BCSecond year after the Exodus
At Canaan’s border, Israel refuses to trust the LORD and the unbelieving generation is sentenced to wander outside the promised rest.
Promise & fulfillment
The faithful Son brings believers into the lasting rest that the wilderness generation forfeited through unbelief.
23 The chosen priest
c. 1445–1407 BCThe wilderness generation
Korah seizes at priestly honor, the LORD judges the rebels, and Aaron’s budding staff publicly confirms God’s chosen priesthood.
Canonical trajectory
No one takes priestly honor for himself; God appoints and vindicates Jesus as the everlasting High Priest after Melchizedek’s order.
24 Look and live
c. 1407 BCThe wilderness generation
When fiery serpents strike the rebellious camp, God appoints a lifted sign through which those who look in faith live.
Promise & fulfillment
The Son of Man is lifted up on the cross so that everyone who believes in him has eternal life.
25 A star shall rise
c. 1406 BCPlains of Moab
A foreign diviner is compelled to bless the people God has blessed and foretells a star and scepter arising from Jacob.
Canonical trajectory
No curse can overturn God’s electing blessing; the promised royal star comes in Jesus, who rules the nations.
26 Covenant renewed
c. 1406 BCPlains of Moab
Moses renews the covenant, sets blessing and curse before Israel, and foretells a prophet like himself before dying outside the land.
Promise & fulfillment
Jesus is the promised Prophet who perfectly reveals God, bears the covenant curse, and gives the circumcised heart Israel needs.
27 Gift of the land
c. 1406–1400 BCInitial conquest campaigns
Under Joshua, Israel crosses the Jordan, receives victories by God’s power, and is allotted the promised inheritance.
Promise & fulfillment
Joshua gives a real but incomplete rest; Jesus, the greater Joshua, defeats the enemies of God and brings his people into everlasting rest.
28 Mercy within judgment
c. 1406 BCJericho
Rahab believes the LORD’s supremacy, receives the spies in peace, and is rescued with her household when Jericho falls.
Promise & fulfillment
A condemned outsider is saved through faith and welcomed into Israel and the Messiah’s own genealogy by sovereign covenant mercy.
29 Choose whom you will serve
c. 1375 BCShechem
The tribes receive their inheritance and Joshua summons them to exclusive loyalty to the covenant LORD.
Canonical trajectory
The inheritance depends finally on God’s faithfulness, and in Christ the meek inherit not one strip of land but the renewed earth.
30 Right in their own eyes
c. 1375–1050 BCThe era of the judges
Israel repeatedly abandons the LORD; God gives them over, hears their cries, and raises flawed deliverers until the cycle descends into chaos.
Canonical trajectory
The recurring cycle exposes the need for a faithful and final Judge-King who saves without sharing his people’s corruption.
31 Weak instruments, mighty grace
c. 1200–1100 BCDuring the era of the judges
God repeatedly saves Israel through weak and compromised deliverers whose victories display his power but whose failures deepen the need for a righteous king.
Canonical trajectory
These temporary rescuers intensify hope for the sinless Judge who saves completely and never shares his people’s corruption.
32 A redeemer in Bethlehem
c. 1150–1100 BC*Late in the judges era
God gathers a faithful Moabite into Israel through Boaz’s covenant kindness and preserves the family line that will produce David.
Canonical trajectory
Jesus is the greater Kinsman-Redeemer who assumes our nature, pays the cost, and gathers outsiders into the household of God.
*The exact date is unknown.
33 The kingdom requested
c. 1050–1010 BCSamuel’s ministry and Saul’s reign
God raises Samuel as prophet; Israel demands a king like the nations, and Saul’s disobedience proves that outward stature cannot secure a faithful reign.
Canonical trajectory
The failed king prepares the way for God’s chosen anointed one, ultimately Jesus, whose obedience and heart are wholly pleasing to the Father.
34 The LORD looks at the heart
c. 1025 BCDavid’s early life
God chooses the overlooked shepherd, and David represents Israel in single combat, defeating the giant who defies God’s name.
Gospel analogy
The anointed Son represents his helpless people and crushes the tyrant they could never defeat, sharing the spoils of his victory.
35 Suffering before glory
c. 1020–1010 BCDavid’s flight from Saul
Though anointed by God, David is hunted, betrayed, and driven into exile before he receives the promised throne.
Canonical trajectory
David’s path of suffering before enthronement anticipates the rejected Messiah who enters glory through the cross and resurrection.
36 The King in Zion
c. 1003 BCDavid’s reign
David captures Jerusalem, brings the ark to Zion, and establishes the royal city as the center of kingdom worship.
Canonical trajectory
The enthroned Messiah rules from the heavenly Zion and brings his people into God’s holy presence with joy.
37 An everlasting throne
c. 1000 BCUnited monarchy
God promises David a royal offspring whose throne and kingdom will be established forever, focusing Israel’s hope on the coming Anointed One.
Promise & fulfillment
Jesus is David’s greater Son and David’s Lord. Raised and enthroned, he reigns until every enemy is beneath his feet.
38 The LORD’s Anointed
c. 1000 BC*Davidic foundation
The Psalter sings of the LORD’s begotten King, righteous sufferer, risen Holy One, royal Bridegroom, conquering Priest, and rejected cornerstone.
Promise & fulfillment
Jesus receives these songs as his own: David’s Son and Lord who suffers, rises, reigns, and gathers the nations beneath his blessed rule.
*The Psalter’s canonical witness develops across generations.
39 Sin in the royal house
c. 990 BCDavid’s reign
David commits adultery and murder, receives prophetic rebuke, confesses his sin, and suffers grievous covenant consequences.
Canonical trajectory
Even the best old-covenant king needs forgiveness; Jesus is the sinless King who bears his people’s guilt and grants a clean heart.
40 Wisdom & peace
c. 970–960 BCSolomon’s reign
God grants Solomon wisdom, and Israel enjoys a high point of peace, order, wealth, and worldwide renown.
Promise & fulfillment
Jesus is greater than Solomon—the Wisdom of God in person, in whom are hidden every treasure of wisdom and knowledge.
41 Glory fills the house
c. 966–959 BCConstruction and dedication
Solomon builds the temple in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, and the glory of the LORD fills the house prepared for his name.
Promise & fulfillment
Jesus is the true Temple where God and humanity meet; united to him, the church becomes God’s dwelling by the Spirit.
42 Wisdom cannot save itself
c. 940–930 BCSolomon’s later reign
The wisest king turns after other gods, and the LORD announces that the kingdom will be torn from his house.
Canonical trajectory
Even Solomon cannot be the promised Son of David; Jesus is the greater Solomon whose wisdom, worship, and obedience never fail.
43 The kingdom torn
c. 930 BCAfter Solomon
Solomon’s apostasy bears fruit as the kingdom divides; northern Israel embraces rival worship while Judah retains David’s throne.
Canonical trajectory
Human kings fracture God’s people, but David’s faithful Son creates one flock under one Shepherd and will never lose his kingdom.
44 The LORD, he is God
c. 860 BCAhab’s reign
In an age of Baal worship, God answers Elijah by fire, exposes the idol, and preserves a remnant according to grace.
Canonical trajectory
Jesus is the greater Prophet who exposes false worship and gathers the remnant of grace; his own sacrifice reconciles them to the living God.
45 Grace beyond Israel
c. 850 BCNorthern kingdom
Elisha multiplies bread, raises the dead, and directs a Syrian commander to cleansing, displaying life-giving grace beyond Israel’s borders.
Canonical trajectory
Jesus fulfills these prophetic signs with sovereign authority and extends cleansing mercy to outsiders who receive his word by faith.
46 Mercy to the nations
c. 760 BCJeroboam II’s era
The reluctant prophet is brought through the deep and sent to Israel’s enemy, where God grants repentance on a great scale.
Promise & fulfillment
Jesus is the faithful Prophet and the greater Jonah whose three-day descent and rising become the sign of salvation proclaimed to the nations.
47 The word of the LORD
c. 760 BCMinistries spanning roughly 760–700 BC
The prophets expose idolatry and injustice, announce the day of judgment, and promise a faithful Shepherd-King from Bethlehem.
Promise & fulfillment
Jesus is the faithful Husband, Davidic Shepherd, and ruler from Bethlehem who bears judgment and restores an undeserving bride.
48 A Son is promised
c. 734 BC*The Syro-Ephraimite crisis
Against the darkness of unbelieving kings, Isaiah promises a virgin-born Immanuel and a royal Son whose righteous government never ends.
Promise & fulfillment
Jesus is God with us, the child who bears divine titles and establishes David’s kingdom in justice forever.
*Isaiah’s ministry continues beyond this crisis.
49 The northern kingdom exiled
722/721 BCAssyrian conquest
After centuries of covenant rebellion, Assyria destroys Samaria and carries northern Israel into exile.
Promise & fulfillment
The exile reveals the curse sin deserves; Christ bears that curse and gathers the scattered children of God into one people.
50 Jerusalem spared
701 BCSennacherib’s invasion
When Assyria surrounds Jerusalem, Hezekiah prays and the angel of the LORD destroys the invading army without Judah’s strength.
Canonical trajectory
God preserves David’s line and city by sovereign grace, anticipating the King whose victory saves a helpless people.
51 Comfort for God’s people
c. 700 BCIsaiah’s prophetic horizon
Isaiah announces a chosen Servant who brings justice to the nations, bears the sins of many, rises to triumph, and renews creation.
Promise & fulfillment
Jesus consciously fulfills the Servant songs: wounded for our transgressions, vindicated by resurrection, and made a light to the nations.
52 The LORD comes in judgment
c. 640 BC*Late-kingdom prophetic witness
The prophets announce God’s judgment on proud nations and covenant breakers while promising a preserved remnant, restored kingdom, and worldwide worship.
Promise & fulfillment
The righteous live by faith in God’s promise; Jesus bears the day’s curse for his people and will return as Judge and Savior to establish his kingdom openly.
*Joel and Obadiah are difficult to date.
53 The Book rediscovered
c. 622 BCJosiah’s reign
The lost Book of the Law is found, Josiah humbles himself, purges idolatry, and leads a great Passover—yet judgment still approaches.
Canonical trajectory
Even faithful reform cannot permanently change the heart; Jesus is the obedient King who bears judgment and gives the inward renewal the law demands.
54 The Most High rules
c. 605 BCDaniel’s ministry continues through c. 536 BC
God preserves faithful exiles, humbles kings, and reveals that earthly empires will yield to an everlasting kingdom given to one like a Son of Man.
Promise & fulfillment
Jesus is the Son of Man who receives universal dominion through suffering and ascension and will openly destroy every rival kingdom.
55 Glory among the exiles
c. 593 BCEzekiel’s ministry continues c. 593–571 BC
Ezekiel sees God’s glory depart the defiled temple, then uses resurrection imagery for Israel’s restoration and promises cleansing, the Spirit, one Shepherd, and a restored sanctuary.
Promise & fulfillment
Jesus is the Davidic Shepherd and true sanctuary who gives his Spirit, raises the dead, and makes an unclean people holy.
56 Hope before the fall
c. 588/587 BCJeremiah’s ministry spans c. 627–586 BC
Jeremiah announces unavoidable judgment but promises a new covenant with forgiven sins and God’s law written on the heart.
Promise & fulfillment
Jesus mediates this better covenant in his blood, securing definitive forgiveness and the Spirit’s transforming work.
57 Temple & city ruined
587/586 BC*Babylonian conquest
Babylon burns the temple, tears down Jerusalem, ends Zedekiah’s reign, and carries Judah away under the covenant curse.
Canonical trajectory
Jesus enters the exile of death and bears abandonment outside the city so that the banished may be brought home to God.
*Regnal-year calculations yield 587 or 586 BC.
58 A remnant comes home
538 BCPersian decree
As Isaiah foretold, God moves Cyrus to release a remnant and provide for the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem.
Canonical trajectory
The historical return displays God’s sovereign faithfulness while awakening hope for the greater release from sin and death under Christ.
59 The coming Priest-King
c. 520–518 BCProphetic ministry during temple rebuilding
Zechariah promises the Branch who will build the LORD’s temple, rule as Priest-King, enter humbly, be pierced, and open a fountain for cleansing.
Promise & fulfillment
Jesus fulfills Zechariah’s converging hopes as the humble King, smitten Shepherd, pierced Savior, and royal Priest who builds the true temple.
60 The house rebuilt
516/515 BCDarius’s sixth regnal year
Under prophetic encouragement, the returned remnant completes the temple, though its glory seems small beside Solomon’s house.
Canonical trajectory
Haggai and Zechariah direct hope beyond the structure to the coming Branch, Priest-King, and Lord whose glory fills the true temple.
61 Providence in Persia
c. 483–473 BCReign of Xerxes
Though God’s name is hidden in the narrative, his providence reverses a plot of annihilation and preserves the covenant people in Persia.
Canonical trajectory
God invisibly guards the people of promise until the Messiah comes; in Christ the threatened people receive irreversible deliverance and rest.
62 The Word reforms the remnant
458 BCEzra arrives
Ezra returns to teach God’s law and confront covenant unfaithfulness, seeking a holy community centered on the revealed Word.
Canonical trajectory
The written Word exposes sin and directs the remnant toward Christ, who perfectly obeys and gives his Spirit to sanctify his people.
63 The city rebuilt
445–433 BCNehemiah governs Judah
Jerusalem’s walls rise despite opposition, the Law is read publicly, and the people renew covenant commitments—then relapse again.
Canonical trajectory
The unfinished restoration proves that walls and vows cannot cure sin; Christ builds the secure city and preserves its citizens by grace.
64 Waiting for the Lord
c. 430 BC*Postexilic prophetic ministry
With worship corrupted and hearts weary, Malachi promises that a messenger will prepare the way before the Lord suddenly comes to his temple.
Promise & fulfillment
John prepares the way, and Jesus is the covenant Lord who comes to purify, judge, heal, and claim his people.
*Malachi may overlap Nehemiah; estimates commonly range from about 450 to 430 BC.
65 The promised kingdom awaited
430–6 BCHistorical bridge after the Old Testament canon closes
During the centuries between Malachi and the Gospels, Persia yields to Greek kingdoms, Judea endures persecution and temple desecration, and Rome eventually rules through Herod. These are historical context, not additional inspired Scripture.
Canonical trajectory
Daniel’s visions had already declared that beastly empires would pass away; Jesus enters their world as the Son of Man whose kingdom will never be destroyed.
66 The fullness of time
c. 6–4 BCBirth of Jesus
The eternal Son assumes a true human nature without ceasing to be God, conceived by the Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.
Promise & fulfillment
The promised seed has come: son of Abraham, son of David, true Israel, last Adam, and Immanuel—God with us.
67 Consolation has come
c. 6–4 BCInfancy of Jesus
Jesus is presented at the temple, where Simeon and Anna praise God’s salvation; Matthew then shows the royal child retracing Israel’s exodus.
Promise & fulfillment
Jesus is the consolation of Israel, light for the nations, glory of his people, and faithful Son called out of Egypt where Israel had failed.
68 Prepare the way
c. AD 26–27*Public ministry of the forerunner
The promised forerunner calls Israel to repentance, baptizes at the Jordan, and identifies Jesus as the Lamb of God.
Promise & fulfillment
John is the final old-covenant herald; Jesus is the coming Lord, Spirit-baptizer, bridegroom, and sin-bearing Lamb.
*John’s birth is narrated earlier in Luke 1.
69 The beloved Son
c. AD 27Beginning of public ministry
The Father identifies Jesus as his beloved Son, the Spirit rests upon him, and he resists Satan through forty days in the wilderness.
Promise & fulfillment
Jesus stands where Adam and Israel fell, fulfilling all righteousness as the Spirit-anointed representative of his people.
70 Life from above
c. AD 27–28Early Judean and Samaritan ministry
Jesus teaches that sinners must be born from above, offers living water to a Samaritan woman, and gathers worshipers in Spirit and truth.
Promise & fulfillment
The Son gives the cleansing and Spirit promised by the prophets, creating a people whose life and worship come from God rather than flesh.
71 The kingdom at hand
c. AD 27–29Galilean ministry
Jesus gathers twelve apostles, announces the kingdom, and authoritatively unfolds the righteousness of life under his reign.
Promise & fulfillment
The new and greater Moses teaches from the mountain, fulfills the Law, and forms the renewed people of God around himself.
72 The powers of the age to come
c. AD 28–29Galilean ministry
Jesus forgives sins, stills storms, casts out demons, feeds multitudes, heals disease, and raises the dead.
Promise & fulfillment
His signs authenticate the divine King and preview the new creation his cross and resurrection secure.
73 The mysteries of the kingdom
c. AD 28–29Galilean ministry
Jesus reveals a kingdom that begins quietly, grows by divine power, separates the righteous from the wicked, and rejoices when the lost are found.
Promise & fulfillment
The King himself seeks and saves sinners, plants his Word in the world, and will bring the hidden kingdom to its public harvest.
74 Glory before the cross
c. AD 29Near Caesarea Philippi
Peter confesses Jesus as the Christ; on the mountain the Son’s glory shines while Moses and Elijah yield to the Father’s command to hear him.
Promise & fulfillment
The glorious Messiah must first suffer, and all Law and Prophets find their goal and authoritative interpreter in the beloved Son.
75 The resurrection and the life
c. AD 30Final journey to Jerusalem
Jesus deliberately approaches Jerusalem and calls Lazarus from the tomb, intensifying both faith and the leaders’ resolve to kill him.
Promise & fulfillment
The one who is Resurrection and Life enters death voluntarily so that all who believe in him will live even though they die.
76 The King enters Zion
c. AD 30Passion Week
Jesus enters Jerusalem as Zechariah’s humble King, cleanses the temple, and confronts its unbelieving rulers.
Promise & fulfillment
The Lord comes to his temple in judgment. Earlier, Jesus identified his own body as the greater temple that would be destroyed and raised.
77 Watch for the Son of Man
c. AD 30Passion Week
On the Mount of Olives, Jesus foretells the temple’s desolation, warns his disciples through tribulation, and commands readiness for his coming.
Promise & fulfillment
The rejected Son of Man is the sovereign Judge of Jerusalem and the returning Bridegroom and King who gathers his elect and settles accounts.
78 The new covenant meal
c. AD 30Passion Week
At Passover, Jesus identifies the bread and cup with his body and blood and gives the covenant meal to his church.
Promise & fulfillment
The true Passover Lamb interprets his approaching death as the blood of the new covenant poured out for the forgiveness of many.
79 The obedient Son
c. AD 30Passion Week
Jesus submits to the Father’s will in the garden, is betrayed and abandoned, and is condemned by religious and imperial authorities.
Promise & fulfillment
Where Adam asserted self-rule and disobeyed in a garden, the last Adam drinks the appointed cup in obedient love for those who flee from him.
80 It is finished
c. AD 30Crucifixion of Jesus
According to God’s definite plan, the sinless Christ is crucified, bears the curse, satisfies divine justice, and purchases his people by his blood.
Promise & fulfillment
At history’s center, the Priest is himself the sacrifice and the King is enthroned upon a cross; substitution accomplishes redemption.
81 The Sabbath rest
c. AD 30The tomb
Jesus truly dies and is laid in Joseph’s new tomb while his disciples grieve and the authorities seal the stone.
Promise & fulfillment
The incarnate Son enters death’s full reality and fulfills the Scriptures even in burial, awaiting the Father’s vindicating act on the third day.
82 Death defeated
c. AD 30The third day
God raises Jesus bodily from the dead; the empty tomb and many appearances vindicate the Son and inaugurate the age to come.
Promise & fulfillment
The last Adam begins new creation. His resurrection guarantees the justification, resurrection, and life of all united to him by faith.
83 All nations discipled
c. AD 30During the forty days after the resurrection
The risen Jesus opens the Scriptures, commissions apostolic witnesses, and commands the discipling and baptizing of all nations.
Promise & fulfillment
The universal King sends his church in the authority of his finished work and promises his presence until the age’s completion.
84 The King enthroned
c. AD 30Mount of Olives
Jesus ascends bodily, is seated at the Father’s right hand, and receives all authority as head over all things for the church.
Promise & fulfillment
The crucified and risen Lord now reigns, intercedes, pours out gifts, and subdues his enemies until his visible return.
85 The Spirit of the last days
c. AD 30Feast of Pentecost
The exalted Christ pours out the promised Spirit, the apostles proclaim his resurrection, and a multilingual church is gathered by the Word.
Promise & fulfillment
The enthroned Lord applies his accomplished redemption through the Spirit, uniting believers to himself and forming one new humanity.
86 The church between the advents
SINCE AD 30An ongoing reality from the ascension
From heaven Christ rules all things for his church as the gospel is preached, the sacraments administered, and disciples made among all nations.
Promise & fulfillment
The Good Shepherd effectually calls, justifies, sanctifies, preserves, and will glorify every person the Father has given him.
87 Witness through suffering
AD 30–34Jerusalem & Judea
The apostles preach, share life, endure persecution, and appoint servants; Stephen’s martyrdom scatters witnesses beyond Jerusalem.
Promise & fulfillment
The risen Christ stands to receive his suffering witness and turns persecution into the means by which the gospel advances.
88 The persecutor called
c. AD 32–36*Road to Damascus
The glorified Jesus stops one of the church’s fiercest persecutors, reveals sovereign mercy, and appoints him an apostle to the nations.
Promise & fulfillment
Paul becomes a living exhibit of grace: the risen Lord effectually calls enemies, unites them to himself, and sends them in his service.
*The estimate depends on whether the Passion is dated to AD 30 or AD 33.
89 Gentiles welcomed
c. AD 39–40Caesarea
God directs Peter to a Gentile household, where the Spirit falls upon all who hear the gospel apart from becoming Jewish proselytes.
Promise & fulfillment
Christ has cleansed a people from every nation; Jew and Gentile are justified by the same faith and receive the same Spirit.
90 One church by grace
c. AD 42–49Antioch’s rise through the Jerusalem Council
A missionary church takes root among Gentiles, and the apostles confess that salvation comes through the grace of the Lord Jesus without circumcision.
Promise & fulfillment
Christ alone is sufficient for justification and fellowship; his finished work creates one covenant people from Jew and Gentile.
91 To the ends of the earth
AD 46–57Paul’s missionary journeys
The Spirit sends missionaries across the Roman world, churches are planted, and apostolic letters interpret Christ’s work for their faith and life.
Promise & fulfillment
The reigning Christ gathers his elect through the preached gospel and shepherds his churches through the inspired apostolic Word.
92 The mystery made known
c. AD 49–60*Letters written amid Paul’s missions
The apostolic letters unfold justification, union with Christ, one new humanity, holy living, resurrection hope, and the church’s life under the gospel.
Promise & fulfillment
The promised offspring, crucified Lord, second Adam, head of the body, and returning King is the center and substance of apostolic doctrine.
*The dates of individual letters are approximate.
93 Witness before kings
AD 57–62Paul’s imprisonment
Paul is arrested, testifies before rulers, survives shipwreck, and proclaims the kingdom under guard in the empire’s capital.
Promise & fulfillment
No chain binds the Word: the risen Lord turns suffering into witness and demonstrates that his kingdom advances without worldly force.
94 Contend for the faith
c. AD 62–68*Apostolic letters
The churches are called to steadfast faith, living obedience, holiness in suffering, resistance to false teachers, and hope fixed on the coming inheritance.
Promise & fulfillment
Jesus is the great High Priest, wisdom from above, suffering Shepherd, returning Lord, and keeper of his pilgrim people.
*Individual dates are debated, and some of these letters may be earlier.
95 Guard what was entrusted
c. AD 62–67*Paul’s later ministry
Paul charges Timothy and Titus to guard sound doctrine, appoint qualified elders, pursue godliness, and hand the apostolic message to faithful teachers.
Promise & fulfillment
The risen King orders his household through his sufficient Word and preserves the gospel until his appearing.
*This placement follows the traditional chronology of Paul’s later ministry.
96 The last hour
c. AD 85–95*Johannine witness
John calls the churches to confess the incarnate Son, walk in light and love, reject deceivers, and receive assurance of eternal life.
Promise & fulfillment
Jesus is the eternal Life manifested in flesh, the propitiation and Advocate who keeps his people in truth and love.
*The date is approximate.
97 The Lamb among his churches
c. AD 95–96*Revelation received on Patmos
John sees the exalted Christ among his lampstands, the Lamb governing history, Babylon judged, and the bride kept through tribulation.
Promise & fulfillment
The slain Lamb is already enthroned; he opens history, preserves the saints, conquers by his Word, and guarantees their final victory.
*The late-date view is shown; conservative early-date proposals also exist.
98 The blessed hope
THE DAY OF THE LORDAt the end of the age
The same Jesus who ascended will appear bodily in glory with his angels, ending the church’s waiting and every enemy’s defiance.
Promise & fulfillment
The once-humbled Savior is revealed as universal Lord; his appearing completes the salvation of those who eagerly await him.
99 Death gives up its dead
THE LAST DAYAt Christ’s return
At the voice of the Son of God, all the dead are raised bodily—the righteous to life and the wicked to condemnation.
Promise & fulfillment
Because the firstfruits has risen, those united to Christ receive glorified bodies conformed to his, never again subject to death.
100 The righteous Judge
THE LAST DAYAt Christ’s return
Christ judges angels and humanity with perfect righteousness, publicly vindicates his saints, and removes every evil forever.
Promise & fulfillment
The Judge is the Savior of his people: their works evidence grace, while their only refuge from condemnation is his imputed righteousness.
101 All things made new
FOREVERThe age to come
God renews creation, wipes away every tear, banishes curse and death, and dwells openly with his redeemed people in the holy city.
Promise & fulfillment
History reaches its appointed goal: the Lamb upon the throne, God’s glory illuminating the city, and his servants seeing his face forever.
“For all the promises of God are ‘Yes’ in Christ.”
2 Corinthians 1:20 · BSBA whole-Bible journey
This 52-week chronological plan assigns a complete reading for every week and covers all 66 books of the Protestant canon. History and prophecy follow a responsible conservative sequence, the Psalter runs as a canonical parallel track, and the four Gospels are compared in broad complementary phases.
Chronology note Scripture does not date every book or event. Job’s setting, Joel and Obadiah, several epistles, and Revelation remain debated. Isaiah 1–66 is kept with the unified eighth-century prophetic witness; later chapters look ahead to exile and restoration rather than implying later authorship. The plan marks a selected sequence without treating estimates as inspired dates.
God creates, humanity falls, judgment comes through the flood, and the nations scatter.
Job and his friends wrestle with suffering, justice, and the wisdom of God.
God reveals his sovereign wisdom, then calls Abram into the land of promise.
Promise, judgment, substitution, and grace carry the covenant line through Jacob.
God exalts Joseph, preserves Israel through famine, and hears his enslaved people.
The plagues expose Egypt’s gods, Passover shelters Israel, and the sea opens.
Covenant law, priesthood, sacrifice, rebellion, and tabernacle reveal holy grace.
The sacrificial and priestly order teaches how an unclean people may draw near.
Israel is numbered, tested, and judged while God remains faithful to his promise.
God overturns Balaam’s curse and Moses begins covenant renewal.
Moses expounds the covenant, promises heart renewal, and dies outside the land.
Israel crosses the Jordan and receives victories and land by God’s power.
The inheritance is allotted, covenant is renewed, and Israel begins to turn aside.
Compromised deliverers expose Israel’s need while providence preserves David’s line.
Israel asks for a king, Saul fails, and God chooses the shepherd David.
David suffers before his throne, Saul falls, and the kingdom is established.
God promises an everlasting throne while David’s sin brings sorrow to his house.
Genealogies and David’s rise retell Israel’s history around worship and promise.
The ark comes to Zion and David prepares the people and materials for the temple.
Solomon receives wisdom, builds the temple, and dedicates the house of the LORD.
Temple worship and proverbial wisdom order life beneath the fear of the LORD.
Proverbs concludes and the Preacher begins his search beneath the sun.
Ecclesiastes and the Song explore life, love, limits, and covenant faithfulness.
Solomon’s apostasy bears fruit in division and competing worship.
The LORD exposes Baal, gives life through his prophets, and shows mercy to Nineveh.
Amos prosecutes covenant rebellion as both kingdoms move toward judgment.
Hosea announces judgment and astonishing restoring love to an unfaithful people.
Amid Assyrian darkness, God promises a ruler from Bethlehem and the royal Son.
Oracles against the nations give way to judgment, salvation, and the coming kingdom.
The eighth-century prophet looks beyond exile to the LORD’s incomparable saving work.
The sin-bearing Servant brings good news and secures the hope of new creation.
Jerusalem is spared while Nahum and Zephaniah announce the day of the LORD.
Reform cannot avert judgment; Jeremiah calls Judah back to the covenant LORD.
Jeremiah suffers for the Word while Habakkuk trusts God through approaching invasion.
Jeremiah and the Twelve interpret the day of the LORD; Lamentations grieves the city.
Kings and Chronicles record the fall while Ezekiel sees God’s glory in exile.
God promises cleansing and restoration while Daniel witnesses sovereign rule in Babylon.
Daniel’s visions close, Cyrus releases the exiles, and prophets stir the temple work.
God preserves his scattered people and sends Ezra to teach the Law.
The city is rebuilt, yet renewed failure leaves Israel waiting for the coming Lord.
The four witnesses introduce the eternal Son, his birth, baptism, and early ministry.
Jesus teaches, heals, forgives, gathers disciples, and reveals the kingdom’s power.
The witnesses trace opposition, parables, confession, glory, and the call to discipleship.
Jesus raises Lazarus, enters Jerusalem, judges unbelief, and teaches about the end.
All four Gospels bear complementary witness to the new covenant, cross, and empty tomb.
The Spirit gathers the church, persecution scatters witnesses, and Gentiles believe.
The gospel crosses regions, the council defends grace, and young churches await Christ.
Paul corrects Corinth and begins his mature exposition of justification and new life.
Romans concludes as Paul bears witness through arrest, voyage, and imprisonment.
Christ orders and preserves his church through doctrine, shepherding, and suffering.
The churches guard the deposit, cling to the better covenant, and contend for the faith.
Truth and love mark the church as Revelation unveils the reigning Lamb and coming city.
Our theological posture
This project is intentionally rooted in the Reformed orthodox tradition and the church’s historic confession of the triune God.
The Bible is God-breathed, true and trustworthy in all it affirms. We embrace the doctrine expressed by the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy.
After Adam broke the covenant of works, the sovereign God revealed and administered the one covenant of grace through promises, types, sacrifices, and the unfolding biblical covenants, progressively revealing the Redeemer and his kingdom.
Christ is not imposed upon the text. He is the promised center to whom Scripture’s covenants, offices, sacrifices, kingdom, and hopes organically lead.
Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, to God’s glory alone. The Spirit effectually applies the Son’s finished work to his people.
The story is still moving
Open the Scriptures. See the King. Await his appearing.
Read Revelation 21 in the BSB