The Stages of the Biblical Plot
Blog Post, December 20, 2021, by Jay Harris
When you read the whole Bible, you discover an overarching story of redemption that spans many generations of biblical characters. Knowing the Bible’s basic plot helps you move through the Bible. It not only makes reading the Bible more enjoyable, it also gives you context clues to understand what you are reading. In elementary school, children are taught how to use “context clues” to discover the meaning of words. Often you can guess at the meaning of a word by how it is used in the sentence and in the overall conversation. Context clues also work when you are reading the Bible. As the plot unfolds, knowing what stage of the plot you are reading can connect you to the writer’s intent. Below are descriptions of seven broad stages in the biblical plot.
Stage One is about the Creator and the humans made in the Creator’s image. This sets the stage upon which the biblical drama unfolds. The central conflict in the Bible is introduced in this stage, as well as the conflict’s effect upon the human condition. We learn that what follows will be an epic story of redemption.
Stage Two is about the covenant journey of God’s People. You will be introduced to the theme of covenant beginning with Abraham and Sarah and their descendants. Covenant is a special relationship designed by God to reclaim and redeem humanity. Covenant will remain a central theme throughout the rest of the biblical drama, although it will undergo important adaptations through the many twists and turns in the biblical story.
Stage Three tells about the settlement of the covenant people as the nation, Israel, in the land promised to them. An important concern throughout is whether or not they will choose to live faithfully under the reign of God. In the beginning they will live under God’s reign without a king. Then, they will ask to live under the reign of a king like other nations do. We will watch to see if this will help or hinder God’s people to live under God’s loving rule.
Stage Four is about the warnings given to God’s people and the experience of exile and captivity. In this stage, the lack of faithfulness on the part of God’s people prompts many warnings from the prophets of looming disaster. In these warnings is an invitation for God’s people to return to God. When disaster comes, God’s people will undergo their greatest crisis of faith. When all that they had taken for granted is taken away, will they continue to believe in God? Will they learn to seek God in the midst of their exile?
Stage Five features messages of hope and tells of the return of God’s people from exile. In this stage, when God’s people had lost any prospect of a future as a people, a startling announcement of hope comes to them from the prophets. We see how hope energizes a people. We see opportunities that we never thought possible for God’s people to return from exile and start life anew. Will God’s people seize the opportunities? If they do not, what further hope is there?
Stage Six tells about a New Covenant made with us through Jesus Christ. This stage starts with the beginning of the New Testament. Testament is another word for covenant. This stage presents the story of Jesus Christ through the four gospels. Jesus’ message will focus on the coming reign of God. We will see that Jesus is not just another main character. We will see how the unfolding events of Jesus’ life and ministry explain how he is the central character of the Bible and all of human history.
Stage Seven presents the story of the Church. After Jesus was raised from the dead and exalted to heaven, we see how his reign is manifested on earth through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit is sent to Christ’s followers, they become Christ’s hands and feet, his Body, in the world. We see how the Holy Spirit fills flawed men and women and calls them to lead and serve. We conclude the Bible knowing that this stage is to continue until Christ returns.
Knowing these stages doesn’t really give the story away, because it only presents the basic skeleton. You can tell already by the descriptions that there is still ample mystery regarding how this story will be fleshed out. Knowing this basic structure helps, however, because it gives you context and helps you anticipate what will unfold next.
Be warned that the overarching story of the Bible of the Bible does not unfold naturally simply by reading the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. The reason is that the books of the Bible are not arranged in chronological order. The Layered Bible Journey arranges your readings to help you uncover the biblical plot. It refers to these seven stages throughout the book.
It is different, however, from the typical chronological readings plans that are available. Ordinary chronological reading plans make the reader plod through side-by-side accounts of each time period from multiple books of the Bible. The time period being addressed then appears to move in slow motion. What should be inspiring becomes wearisome.
The goal, therefore, of the Layered Bible Journey is to help readers uncover the stages of the biblical plot in an accelerated way that pulls readers along and makes the journey rewarding from start to finish. What this plan aims to do is help you experience the Bible in a way that is closer to how you experience any good book.
Whether you use the Layered Bible Journey or not, awareness of the stages of the plot will help you as you read the whole Bible. It will help you enter the story and continue the story until you finish the story.
