Chronological History

Sometimes we speak of world history as though it belongs to people. It doesn't—it belongs to God, and though people play prominently within the historical narrative, it always remains under God's auspices and control. The problem with losing the right perspective isn't that we'll get the facts wrong, it's that we'll fail to understand what they mean, what the purpose of past events is, and what we can look forward to.

Human history began all at once in the same place: the Garden of Eden, where God made Adam and Eve as the crown of all Creation. He told them to fill the earth and take dominion of it, and He also told them not to eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. They ate the fruit anyway, and mankind was removed from paradise and introduced to tension, pain, and resistance.

The story of the world is in many ways simply the story of adversity. For the enemies of God, it's adversity in the form of the failure and futility of purely human endeavor; for God's people, it's the story of fighting for the truth against secular philosophies, fighting for holiness despite the pervasiveness of sin, and fighting for the Gospel in the face of persecution and death.

Jesus Christ is our only hope. He is the Prince of Peace, the defeater of Death, and the King of the Universe, the saver of souls and the punisher of wickedness. His kingdom is the restoration and glorious fulfillment of the paradise from which Adam and Eve were removed, and we work, wait, hope and pray for the quick fulfillment of His will in all things.

This is our framework for history. While it's important to study things like the Renaissance, the Industrial Revolution, and the ancient Near East, it's only important when investigated through the lens of God's ultimate sovereignty and plan. The story of mankind is the story of redemption, and only when we analyze battles, kings, treaties, and catastrophes from God's perspective can we truly make sense of them.

Otherwise, it's all fairly irrelevant and useless. Sure, there's Napoleon's dictum that those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it, but a quick survey of the past will show that each successive generation does repeat the sins of their fathers, and that without Christ's real physical life on Earth as a centering point, there's no real cause for optimism or hope of any kind.

Christ's love not only makes the trajectory of history cause for hope; it reveals the truly great moments of the past, events that to the secular eye seem insignificant or even pernicious. We're speaking of the progress of the true Church, of course, and of each soul that God calls and makes His own through the agency of His Holy Spirit. These are the milestones we look for and celebrate.

We carry a lot of world history products. Because it's the story of God's work in the world and our human responses, we believe it's important to know and understand. Not everything we carry is Christian; there are plenty of secular resources here. We encourage you to use whichever ones work best for your situation, but that you do so with a view to understanding the will and work of the One who made history in the first place.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he is a husband and father, teaches adult Sunday school in his Presbyterian congregation, and likes weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.

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74 Items found Print
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Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies
Hornblower Series #11
by C. S. Forester
from Little, Brown & Company
Nautical fiction for 8th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.99 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Anna and the King of Siam
by Margaret Landon
from HarperCollins
Historical fiction for 9th-12th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$14.95
Arthur Erskine's Story
Reformation Trail Series #14
by Deborah Alcock
from Inheritance Publications
for 9th-Adult
in Reformation Trail Series (Location: FIC-WH06)
$25.95
Beat to Quarters
Hornblower Series #6
by C. S. Forester
from Little, Brown & Company
Nautical fiction for 10th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.99 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Between the Forest and the Hills
Bethlehem Books Adventure Library
by Ann Lawrence
from Bethlehem Books
Humorous Fantasy for 7th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$9.50
Beyond the Desert Gate
Bethlehem Books Young Adult Bookshelf
by Mary Ray
2nd edition from Bethlehem Books
Historical Fiction for
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$13.95
Book Thief
by Markus Zusak
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 8th-12th grade
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$14.99 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Brethren
by H. Rider Haggard
from Christian Liberty Press
Historical Fiction for 8th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.75 $9.00 (1 in stock)
By Far Euphrates
by Deborah Alcock
from Inheritance Publications
Historical Fiction for 9th-12th grade
in Inheritance Fiction (Location: FIC-WH03)
$14.95
Captain, My Captain
by Deborah Meroff
from Inheritance Publications
Historical Fiction for 8th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$14.95
Code Name Verity
by Elizabeth Wein
from Hyperion/Madison Press
for 9th-12th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$10.99
Commodore Hornblower
Hornblower Series #9
by C. S. Forester
from Little, Brown & Company
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$16.99 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Czar, The
by Deborah Alcock
from Inheritance Publications
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Inheritance Fiction (Location: FIC-WH03)
$19.95
Defender of the Faith
William and Mary Trilogy Volume 2
by Marjorie Bowen
from Inheritance Publications
Historical fiction for 9th-12th grade
in Inheritance Fiction (Location: FIC-WH03)
$13.95 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Doctor Adrian
Reformation Trail Series #13
by Deborah Alcock
from Inheritance Publications
Historical fiction for 9th-12th grade
in Reformation Trail Series (Location: FIC-WH06)
$15.95
Done and Dared in Old France
Huguenot Inheritance Series #7
by Deborah Alcock
from Inheritance Publications
Historical fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Huguenot Inheritance Series (Location: FIC-WH02)
$14.95
Doomed Queen Anne
A Young Royals Book
by Carolyn Meyer
from Harcourt
for 9th-12th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$11.99
Driven into Exile
Huguenot Inheritance Series #5
by Charlotte Maria Tucker
from Inheritance Publications
Historical fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Huguenot Inheritance Series (Location: FIC-WH02)
$9.95
Escape
Huguenot Inheritance Series #1
by A. Van der Jagt
from Inheritance Publications
Historical fiction for 7th-10th grade
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$10.95
Fair Margaret
by H. Rider Haggard
from Great Light Publications
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$13.99
Farewell to Manzanar
by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston
from Houghton Mifflin
for 7th-11th grade
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$10.99
Fiddler's Gun
by A. S. Peterson
1st edition from Rabbit Room Press
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$16.99
Flames of Rome
by Paul L. Maier
2nd edition from Kregel Publications
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$15.99 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Flying Colours
Hornblower Series #8
by C. S. Forester
from Little, Brown & Company
Nautical fiction for 10th-Adult
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$16.99 $10.00 (2 in stock)
For God and the King
William and Mary Trilogy Volume 3
by Marjorie Bowen
from Inheritance Publications
Historical fiction for 9th-12th grade
in Inheritance Fiction (Location: FIC-WH03)
$15.95 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Forgotten Daughter
by Caroline Dale Snedeker
from Bethlehem Books
for 7th-10th grade
1934 Newbery Honor Book
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$14.95
Hitch
by Jeanette Ingold
from Harcourt
Realistic Fiction for 10th-12th grade
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Hornblower and the Atropos
Hornblower Series #5
by C. S. Forester
from Little, Brown & Company
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Hornblower and the Hotspur
Hornblower Series #3
by C. S. Forester
from Little, Brown & Company
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$17.99 $11.00 (1 in stock)
Hornblower During the Crisis
Hornblower Series #4
by C. S. Forester
from Little, Brown & Company
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$15.99 $8.00 (1 in stock)
How They Kept the Faith
Huguenot Inheritance Series #3
by Grace Raymond
from Inheritance Publications
Historical fiction for 7th-10th grade
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$19.90
Hubert Ellerdale
Reformation Trail Series #01
by W. Oak Rhind
from Inheritance Publications
Historical Fiction for 9th-12th grade
in Reformation Trail Series (Location: FIC-WH06)
$12.95
I Serve
by Rosanne E. Lortz
from Anno Domini
Historical Fiction for 7th-Adult
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$12.00 $9.00 (1 in stock)
I Will Maintain
William and Mary Trilogy Volume 1
by Marjorie Bowen
from Inheritance Publications
Historical Fiction for 9th-12th grade
in Inheritance Fiction (Location: FIC-WH03)
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Ides of April
Bethlehem Books Young Adult Bookshelf
by Mary Ray
from Bethlehem Books
for 8th-10th grade
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$13.95 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Ivanhoe
by Sir Walter Scott
from Dover Publications
Historical Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.95
Journey Through the Night
by Anne De Vries
from Inheritance Publications
Historical fiction for 8th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$29.95
Les Miserables
Modern Library
by Victor Hugo, translated by Julie Rose
from Modern Library
Realistic Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$20.00
Lieutenant Hornblower
Hornblower Series #2
by C. S. Forester
from Little, Brown & Company
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$16.99 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Lord Hornblower
Hornblower Series #10
by C. S. Forester
from Little, Brown & Company
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Lysbeth
by H. Rider Haggard
from Christian Liberty Press
Historical Fiction for 8th-Adult
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Morbid Taste for Bones
Brother Cadfael
by Ellis Peters
Reissue from Mysterious Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$14.99
Mr. Midshipman Hornblower
Hornblower Series #1
by C. S. Forester
from Little, Brown & Company
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$17.99
Night Divided
by Jennifer A. Nielsen
from Scholastic Press
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
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$8.99
Not for Crown or Sceptre
Reformation Trail Series #15
by Deborah Alcock
from Inheritance Publications
for 7th-10th grade
in Inheritance Fiction (Location: FIC-WH03)
$25.95
Ocean-Born Mary
by Lois Lenski
1st Edition Thus from Purple House Press
for 3rd-10th grade
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$17.99
One Corpse Too Many
Brother Cadfael
by Ellis Peters
Reissue from Mysterious Press
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$14.99
Pearl Maiden
by H. Rider Haggard
from Christian Liberty Press
Historical Fiction for 8th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
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Prince and Heretic
Prince of Orange Nassau Volume 1
by Marjorie Bowen
from Inheritance Publications
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.95
Quo Vadis
by Henryk Sienkiewicz, translated by W. S. Kuniczak
from Hippocrene Books
Historical Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$24.95
Quo Vadis
by Henryk Sienkiewicz, translated by Jeremiah Curtin
from Dover Publications
Historical Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$14.95
Refugees
Huguenot Inheritance Series #6
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
from Inheritance Publications
Historical fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Huguenot Inheritance Series (Location: FIC-WH02)
$15.96
Scottish Chiefs
by Jane Porter
from CreateSpace
Historical Epic for 8th-10th grade
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$14.95
Secret Mission
Huguenot Inheritance Series #2
by A. Van der Jagt
from Inheritance Publications
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
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$13.95 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Sherwood Ring
by Elizabeth Marie Pope
from Sandpiper Books
for 10th-12th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Ship of the Line
Hornblower Series #7
by C. S. Forester
from Little, Brown & Company
Nautical fiction for 10th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.99 $9.00 (2 in stock)
Soldier of Virginia
by Marjorie Bowen
from Inheritance Publications
Biography for 9th-12th grade
in Inheritance Fiction (Location: FIC-WH03)
$12.95
Spanish Brothers
Reformation Trail Series #10
by Deborah Alcock
from Inheritance Publications
Historical Fiction for 9th-12th grade
in Reformation Trail Series (Location: FIC-WH06)
$14.95
Squalls Before War
by Ned Bustard
from Veritas Press
Nautical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
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Story of Liberty
by Charles Coffin
from Maranatha Publications
Historical Reference for 10th-Adult
in America's Christian Heritage (Location: HISA-CH)
$19.97 $10.00 (3 in stock)
Story of the Trapp Family Singers
by Maria Augusta Trapp
from HarperCollins
Biography for 7th-10th grade
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$16.99
The Robe
by Lloyd Douglas
from Houghton Mifflin
Historical Fiction for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$19.99
The Thunder
by Douglas Bond
from P&R Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$14.99
Under Drake's Flag
by G. A. Henty
from Dover Publications
for 6th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.99
Under the Inquisition
Reformation Trail Series #11
by Elizabeth H. Walshe
from Inheritance Publications
for 9th-Adult
in Reformation Trail Series (Location: FIC-WH06)
$15.95
Uprising
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
from Simon and Schuster
for 6th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$12.99
Warriors Don't Cry
by Melba Pattillo Beals
Reprint from Washington Square Press
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$15.99
White Company
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
from Dover Publications
Historical Fiction for 8th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$10.36
White Isle
by Caroline Dale Snedeker
from American Home-School Publishing
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$17.99
William, by the Grace of God
Prince of Orange Nassau Volume 2
by Marjorie Bowen
from Inheritance Publications
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.95
With Lee in Virginia
by G. A. Henty
from Dover Publications
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.95
With Pipe, Paddle and Song
Bethlehem Books Young Adult Bookshelf
by Elizabeth Yates
2nd edition from Bethlehem Books
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$23.95 $12.00 (1 in stock)
Wulf the Saxon
by G. A. Henty
from Dover Publications
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$14.95
Young Huguenots
Huguenot Inheritance Series #4
by Edith Floyer
from Inheritance Publications
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Huguenot Inheritance Series (Location: FIC-WH02)
$11.95 $7.00 (1 in stock)