What is the Master Story Revealed in the Bible?

Prologue | Eternity (Past)

John 17:24 [Jesus prayed,] Father, I desire those You have given Me to be with Me where I am. Then they will see My glory, which You have given Me because You loved Me before the world’s foundation.

The Master Story begins in Eternity—the “place” where the One True God dwells. Before anything else existed, God existed. God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—lived in a fellowship of truth, goodness, and glorious beauty. Our existence does not flow out of the endless dark of an eternal night, but from the glorious existence of a God who loves and loves to be loved. Glory is an important word that we will come across quite a few times. Think about this definition:

Glory is radiant (it gives “light” and is meant to be seen) beauty (captivating) that is profound (heavy, deep), inexhaustible (we never tire of thinking about it) and remarkable (worth taking about)

In the passage above, Jesus tells us about His life with the Father before the creation of the world and we hear that it was glorious and loving. Jesus wants all of His people to be with Him so that they too can experience this eternal reality.

Chapter 1 | Creation and Blessing [Genesis 1-2]

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

Out of His pleasure, the Lord-God creates all things for His good purposes. Father-God designs the physical realm (the Earth and our Universe) and also the spiritual realm (The Heavens) which oversees and governs the physical. In the New Testament we learn that all things are created in/by, through, and for Jesus (Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:2). We also hear that the Holy Spirit of God is the agent or means of His creation (Genesis 1:2, Psalm 33:6-7).

God is the “Sovereign Master” (He can do whatever He pleases and desires) because He is the Creator. Yet He chooses to create other beings to take part in overseeing His Creation and to share in His abundant life. In the Heavenly realm, God placed the heavenly, angelic beings to oversee the heavenly, spiritual, or cosmic realm (Psalm 103:20).

God then designed and created humanity to oversee His Kingdom on Earth (Genesis 1:26-27). God created us to be His image and likeness on Planet Earth. We were designed with a grand and glorious purpose and destiny. This whole first study will be concerned with God’s plans and purposes for us on planet earth—how He has designed us and equipped us for His grand purposes.

As God looks at His creation, He says, “It is all very good” (Genesis 1:31). There was nothing wrong or flawed in God’s original creation. Everything that He had created would accomplish the purposes for which He had made them.

Chapter 2 | Rebellion and Fall [Genesis 3-11]

Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death spread to all men, because all sinned.

All true-to-life stories have a villain because our Master Story has a Villain. He is Satan (Hebrew for “Adversary”) also known as The Devil. Satan is one of the angelic beings and he leads a rebellion in Heaven in which 1/3 of the angels join (Revelation 12:1-4). The Adversary is a master deceiver and his mission is very simple: he comes to steal, to kill and to destroy all that God values—all that is true, good, and glorious (John 10:10, Revelation 12:9ff.). In this rebellion, The Great Spiritual War begins between the Light (God and His allies) and the Darkness (Satan and his allies, the rebellious angels that are now demons).

Shortly after their creation, the first two human beings—Adam and Eve—are persuaded by the Devil to join in The Rebellion. Adam and Eve choose to reject God’s Kingship and to grasp at their right to self-rule. In this rebellion on Earth, Satan becomes “ruler of this World” (John 12:31) and “god of this age” (2 Corinthians 4:4). Human history now becomes the stage for the tyranny of the Dominion of Darkness and humanity becomes enslaved to these evil powers.

Chapter 3 | Redemption [Genesis 12—The Gospel of John]

God is not so easily frustrated or defeated by these rebellions and the seeming failures of His creation. In the longest chapter in our Story, God reveals His saving purposes through the Nation of Israel (the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) that culminates in the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus the Messiah/Christ.

Matthew 1:1 This is the record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ,
the son of David, the son of Abraham. {NET}

Jesus comes to fulfill the promises given to and through Israel. Jesus is the “Son of Abraham” in that He fulfills the promise that all the families of the earth would be blessed through one of Abraham’s sons—a descendant. He is the “Son of David” in that He fulfills the promise that one of David’s sons would be King (Messiah/Christ)over Israel and ultimately over the whole earth (Psalm 2).

In a bold move, God himself enters into the human experience as a human! Jesus—the God-Man—does all that is necessary to destroy the Devil and save Adam’s rebellious and sinful family. Because Jesus deals once and for all with the problem of our rebellious sin, He is able to offer abundant, Eternal Life to all who trust Him (John 10:10). This is not just never-ending existence; it is living with the security, significance, and fulfillment that flows out of our relationship with the One True God.

Jesus Himself gives meaning and coherence to the Master Story. Before his birth, all history looks forward to Him through the promises Father-God made to Abraham and his family. After His death, resurrection, and ascension into the heavenly realm, all history looks back to the salvation that He provides and also looks forward to the renewing of all things at His glorious return.
Did anything in the reading today cause you to think in a new way?

Chapter 4 | Proclamation [Acts-Revelation 18]

Ephesians 3:7–10 This grace was given to me—the least of all the saints—to proclaim to the Gentiles the incalculable riches of the Messiah, 3:9 and to shed light for all about the administration of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things. 3:10 This is so God’s multi-faceted wisdom may now be made known through the church to the rulers and authorities in the heavens.

After Jesus’ ascension to heaven, He entrusts the spreading of His message to His Body, the Church. In this chapter, Jesus empowers His people for this work through the indwelling presence of His Holy Spirit. All those who are “alive in Christ,” engage the Great Spiritual War by self-sacrifice and proclamation of The Gospel. This Gospel is the “Good News” of Jesus’ birth, His great saving works, His present reign as “Son-of-God-in-power” and His return to establish His Everlasting Kingdom (see Romans 1:3-4, Revelation 11:15).

At the end of this present era (and the end of the fourth chapter of The Master Story) very difficult times will come (2 Timothy 3:1-9). In The Last Days, there will be a great Rebellion within institutional Christianity in which people will walk away from truth, particularly the truth that is “in Jesus.” There will be many “false teachers” and “false prophets” that come to lead many people astray (Matthew 24:4-5, 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4).

In those days, The Beast who is also called the Antichrist will come to power and lead the world in a rebellion against God (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, 1 John 2:18-22, Revelation 13-14). He will establish the worldwide empire through Satanically inspired power, miracles, and wonders. At this time there will be a Great Persecution of God’s people, especially the nation of Israel. The Last Days will be the darkest period of human history. But this is not the end; Christ will soon return to set things right.

Chapter 5 | The Restoration [Revelation 19-20]

Revelation 11:15 The seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven saying: The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Messiah, and He will reign forever and ever!

The beginning of the fifth chapter of the Master Story overlaps with the end of the fourth chapter. At the end of this present age, Jesus will return to defeat His enemies, destroying the Beast/Antichrist and all who have allied themselves with his Dominion of Darkness (Revelation 19:11-21).

After Jesus destroys the Beast and his Kingdom, He initiates a New Age, His Kingdom (often called The Millennium, Revelation 20:1-6). This Kingdom is the final age of human history. There is much that happens during this time (like the binding and loosing of Satan, the final rebellion) that we will cover in later studies. *This is also a controversial area of theology that has many different views.

At the end of this final age, everyone will be judged by Christ and their eternal destinies will be confirmed (2 Corinthians 5:10). Those who have trusted Christ will be welcomed into His presence forever. Those who have rejected God’s gift and have despised Him will be consigned to the place that they have desired—to be free from God’s true, good, and glorious rule. This is The Lake of Fire that burns forever (Isaiah 66:24, Revelation 20:15).

Epilogue | Eternity (Future) The Renovation
[Revelation 21-22 (and selected portions of the Prophets)]

1 Corinthians 2:9 But just as it is written, “Things that no eye has seen, or ear heard, or mind imagined, are the things God has prepared for those who love him.” {NET}

God will destroy/purge the present Heavens and Earth with fire (2 Peter 3:10-13). God creates the New Heavens and a New Earth where He will dwell in unbroken fellowship with His people. Finally, what was lost by Adam is restored by Jesus but in a more glorious way than anyone could fully foresee. In this beginning of the eternal age, all things are made new and the former things have all passed away—a whole new era begins (Revelation 21:4-5).