The Bible in 90 Minutes

By Wade Thompson

In just 90 minutes, you can have a far greater understanding of the Bible! 
 
The Bible is the greatest book in the world, but it can be difficult to read and understand, because it isn't written as a continuous narrative. Instead, it is a collection of 66 individual writings (called "books" of the Bible) penned by various writers over a period of many centuries. 
 
These "books" of the Bible are not fully in chronological order, and they often have overlapping content. Such issues can make it challenging to read and understand the Bible. 
 
The Bible in 90 Minutes was written to address these issues by providing a simple, easy-to-understand summary and explanation of the Bible in narrative form. 

Try it for yourself. Invest just 90 minutes, and you'll have a better understanding of the Bible than ever before. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wade Thompson
• Release date: Aug 8, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223194620

Book preview

Creation and Early Human History

THIS CHAPTER SUMMARIZES material from the books of Genesis and Job.

Creation and the Fall of Humanity

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1)

That’s the first verse of the Bible, and with that one simple verse, the stage is set for the amazing story of the Creator’s relationship with humanity.

The Bible tells us God created all things over a period of six days, and on the seventh day, he rested. The crowning achievement of God’s creation was the creation of the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, who were created in the image and likeness of God and were given dominion over all animals and plants on the earth. God placed Adam and Eve in an idyllic setting called the Garden of Eden, where they took care of the garden and lived in perfect harmony with God and nature.

Sin and suffering entered the world when a serpent (presumably Satan, taking the form of a serpent) enticed Adam and Eve to disobey God by eating the fruit of the one tree in the garden from which they were forbidden to eat... the tree of knowledge of good and evil. As punishment for their sin, God banished Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden and told them they would ultimately face death. All the pain and suffering in the history of humanity can be traced to that initial act of disobedience to God, which is often referred to as the fall of humanity.

The Garden of Eden marked the first appearance of Satan in the Bible narrative, but it certainly wouldn’t be the last. Satan is the devil, an evil spiritual being who is the enemy of God. Satan’s primary goals are to oppose the will of God and to lead people to disobey God.

The Flood

After being banished from the garden, Adam and Eve began having children and populating the earth. As the population of the earth increased in number over many generations, humanity became more and more wicked. The wickedness became so widespread that God regretting having created humans, and he decided to destroy humanity in a worldwide flood.

Only eight people would be saved in the flood... a righteous man named Noah, along with his wife, his three sons, and his sons’ wives. God instructed Noah to build an ark, a huge floating vessel, to save Noah’s family from the floodwaters, along with pairs of all the different kinds of land animals.

The Earth is Repopulated

After the flood, God instructed Noah and his family to repopulate the earth. As the population grew over the generations, God caused the clans of people to begin speaking different languages so they would disperse instead of living in the same area. The people then spread throughout the earth into territories and nations, grouped according to their clans and languages.

The Book of Job

The Book of Job tells, in poetic form, the story of a righteous man named Job (rhymes with robe) who endured much pain and suffering at the hands of Satan. The Book of Job appears much later in the Bible, but many scholars believe Job lived in ancient times, sometime during the Genesis era, which is why we are looking at his story here.

Job had been richly blessed by God with seven sons, three daughters, many servants, and large numbers of livestock. He was considered the greatest man among the people of that time.

Satan challenged God that if Job lost his many blessings, he wouldn’t remain faithful to God. So, God allowed Satan to test Job. In short order, all of Job’s children, servants, and livestock were killed, and Job was also afflicted with painful sores over his entire body.

Although Job remained faithful, he questioned God as to why an innocent and righteous man should have to endure such suffering. God answered that it wasn’t Job’s place to question the things God does.

Job accepted God’s answer and repented for having questioned God. The book ends with God restoring Job’s health and making him even more prosperous than before. Job had another seven sons and three daughters and lived a long and blessed life.

Lessons from Creation and Early Human History

For centuries, Bible scholars and theologians have debated whether the biblical accounts of creation and early human history should be interpreted literally or figuratively. Some Bible scholars favor a literal interpretation, maintaining that the universe was created in six 24-hour days, that the Garden of Eden was a literal place, and that humanity was literally wiped out by a worldwide flood. Other scholars contend that these accounts were never intended as literal history, but rather were written as theological accounts to teach spiritual truths. Still others find themselves somewhere between these two positions.

Such deep theological questions are well beyond the scope of this book. Thankfully, however, it isn’t necessary to resolve these questions in order to understand and appreciate the Bible. Regardless of whether these accounts are interpreted literally or figuratively, they provide us with great spiritual truths to guide us in our relationship with God and our understanding of the Bible.

From the account of creation, we learn that the universe we experience today didn’t happen by chance or accident. It is the product of an Intelligent Designer... a Creator.

From the account of the Garden of Eden, we learn that our Creator loves us and desires a relationship with us.

From the account of the fall of humanity, we learn that sin and disobedience separate us from God.

From the accounts of the serpent in the garden and of Satan in the Book of Job, we learn that the devil will employ any means necessary, including deception and suffering, in his efforts to turn us away from God.

From the account of the flood, we learn that wickedness leads to punishment and destruction, while righteousness and obedience lead to salvation.

From the Book of Job, we learn that even righteous people sometimes endure suffering, but that we shouldn’t allow suffering to cause us to question the sovereignty of God.

These spiritual truths lay a foundation for our understanding of God’s word and his relationship with humanity.

The Period of the Patriarchs

THIS CHAPTER SUMMARIZES material from the book of Genesis.

God’s Promise to Abraham

Many generations after the flood, God chose Abraham (who was initially known as Abram) to become the father of the Hebrew people. God told Abraham to leave the