The Bible in 10 Minutes (feat. Fr. Mike Schmitz)

The Bible is amazing. But sometimes confusing and hard to read. This is because it's not just one book, but a collection of books written over thousands of years, in lots of different styles, all inspired by God and assembled by the Catholic Church into the Bible.

And we'd like to read it, but without a map, it's easy to get lost. But there is a narrative throughout the Bible that tells a single story: the story of God's plan for our salvation. Once we understand that story, we can understand the context of every book of the Bible.

So here's the story in less than 10 minutes. Naturally, it starts in the beginning. God speaks, bringing all creation into existence, both the spiritual and the material.

All creatures depend upon God as the source of their very being at every moment, including his crowning creation, man. And by God's grace, Adam and Eve enjoy complete trust with him, with each other, and with all of creation. The world is an ordered reflection of its Maker, a paradise of perfect harmony.

But Satan, a rebel angel, tells Eve a cunning lie: that God may not be so trustworthy, and they could enjoy life without him. Adam and Eve fall for the trap, driving a rift between themselves and God, the source of love and life. This is sin.

Without God, there is brokenness and death. [WIND GUSHING] The rest of the story tells of God's plan to rescue us from this chaos and to bring humanity back into right relationship with himself through the obedience of a woman and the life giving love of her divine Son who will crush the head of the serpent. The descendants of Adam and Eve now live in this wounded relationship with God.

Their pride and distrust give way to shame, betrayal, and violence. [THUNDER RUMBLING] Out of this chaos, God calls Abram. God's vision for the world was one great family.

To lead mankind back to union with himself, God starts with one single family. But he chooses an unlikely one. In their old age, Abram and his wife are childless and have lost hope of having an heir.

But God asks Abraham to trust that nothing is impossible for him. Miraculously, they have a son. And God promises that through this child, his family will grow into a great nation that will one day share God's blessing with the world.

A line of patriarchs springs forth, including one called Israel, the namesake of God's chosen people. And his children become the patriarchs of the 12 tribes of Israel. But amidst the suffering that plagues the world, a famine forces them to leave their land, and the children of Israel are enslaved in Egypt, where idolatry to false gods reigns.

God hears their cries and intervenes. He reveals himself to the Israelite Moses and commands him to lead his people to freedom. Moses becomes God's messenger, speaking into the darkness and calling his people to the light.

God, Ceator of sky and sea and all the creatures of the earth, draws his people out of bondage, through water, into freedom. And he promises them a shining land of their own-- a piece of paradise. But even though God has revealed his saving power and delivered them out of Egypt, they've brought idolatry with them.

Likewise, when they see the land promised to them, they find enemies there. Surely, this shouldn't be a problem. God just showed his power over their foes.

But they are filled with fear, and they don't enter the land. Instead, they wander the desert. Even in that harsh wilderness, God provides for their needs and demonstrates his love for them.

He even dwells with them in the Tabernacle and lights their way. After 40 years of trial and growth, the Israelites re-enter the Promised Land. But here, we see the pattern that recurs through the Bible.

God has proven they can trust him. He's given them a clear path to life with him. But his people go astray and need God to lead them back.

Again, and again, and again. This distrust comes to a point where they reject God as their king. And instead, they ask for a human king, like the other nations around them.

So he gives them what they ask. He raises up King David, a man after God's heart, to return Israel to himself. Now, remember God's promise to Abraham?

He echoes that promise to David: an everlasting dynasty. But tragically, David, like all of humanity, is inclined to temptation as a result of Adam's sin. He, and the generations of kings after him, fall into corruption, casting shadows of idolatry and evil across the nation until it breaks.

Through the prophets, God warns his people that they risk losing their land entirely. And they do. Weakened, they're conquered by invaders and exiled.

They've lost their home, and their temple is destroyed. An everlasting dynasty seems impossible, let alone one that will bless the other nations of the world. And yet, God still does not abandon his people.

He uses the prophets to woo their hearts back to him and promises them a Savior. After 70 years of exile, God works in the heart of a foreign king who, against all odds, sends God's people home. They return.

They rebuild Jerusalem and the temple. Their numbers have dwindled, and surrounding world powers continue to oppress them. But many cling to God's promises, fighting and dying for their faith.

And now, small as they are, and as dark as it seems, it is time for God to fulfill his promise. Since the beginning, God has been leading his people back to his light. But now, he himself will enter the darkness, through a small and unlikely family descended of King David.

As a woman introduced sin into the world, now God chooses a woman to introduce his saving power into it. She bears a son: Jesus, Emmanuel, God With Us. Jesus is born into humble means.

He grows, is baptized, and enters the desert for 40 days, just as the Israelites did before entering the Promised Land. And then his mission begins: to free God's children from slavery to sin. Once, God's presence dwelt in a tabernacle, and now he walks among his people, abiding with them face to face.

He performs signs and wonders. He teaches, drawing from the prophets and fulfilling all of Sacred Scripture before him. He seeks out the lost, the lonely, and the abandoned.

He calls them out of sin and to follow him. Jesus Christ announces he is the way back to union with God and proclaims eternal life through himself. Many follow him, but others revile his words.

They reject him, persecute him, and crucify him. The first humans turned from God, the very source of life. The result was death.

Now, God has become human and takes the sting of death upon himself. The source of life dies. But death cannot contain God himself.

[UPLIFTING MUSIC] And after three days in the tomb, Christ emerges, blazing a path directly to union with God. Many become witnesses of his Resurrection and rejoice in Jesus, their Savior. This seems like the story's conclusion, but it's really just the beginning.

Jesus empowers his followers with his Holy spirit, and the Church is born. They live out his mission. As Jesus was baptized, so too are those who entered the Church, through which they are reborn into the family of God.

This is the everlasting dynasty, not bound by death, and reigning eternal with Jesus on the throne. The Church spreads to the ends of the earth, blessing every nation, just as God promised. And now this story reaches you.

Maybe you feel lost and your life is chaotic. But God is inviting you to be a part of the story he's writing. God wants to illuminate your life with this story and lead you to a relationship with him, page by page.

In the Bible in a Year podcast, we take that journey. I'd love for you to join me. [MUSIC CRESCENDOS] Hi, everyone.

It's Fr. Mike. We've witnessed how powerful it is to discover the story of salvation, and how we fit into that story today through the Bible in a Year podcast.

And now, thanks to everyone who has supported the podcast, both spiritually and financially, we're able to bring this message to even more people through this short, powerful video. This is a huge project, and it's only possible thanks to your ongoing support. So we ask, if you believe in the Bible in a Year mission, and want to see more animated videos like this one, please consider supporting Ascension's free media at ascensionpress.

com/support so we can continue this work of bringing the Good News to all those searching for God. Again, that's ascensionpress. com/support.

Thank you, and God bless.