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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92 Items found Print
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Aeneid for Boys and Girls
by Alfred J. Church
from Yesterday's Classics
Roman Mythology for 5th-8th grade
$11.95
Aeneid for Boys and Girls
by Alfred J. Church
from Living Book Press
Roman Mythology for 5th-8th grade
$6.99
Awakening of Europe
Story of the World Series #3
by M. B. Synge
from Yesterday's Classics
History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in History Spines & Surveys (Location: HISRF-SPINE)
$13.95 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Awakening of Europe
Story of the World Series #3
by M. B. Synge
from Living Book Press
History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in History Spines & Surveys (Location: HISRF-SPINE)
$9.99
Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare
by Edith Nesbit
from Yesterday's Classics
Shakespeare/Drama for Children for 4th-8th grade
$13.95
Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare
by Edith Nesbit
from Living Book Press
Shakespeare/Drama for Children for 4th-8th grade
$15.99
Black Arrow
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by N. C. Wyeth
from SeaWolf Press
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$8.95
Black Arrow
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Frances Brundage
from Living Book Press
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Book of Discovery
by M. B. Synge
from Yesterday's Classics
for 7th-12th grade
in History Spines & Surveys (Location: HISRF-SPINE)
$20.95
Book of Marvels: Marvels of the Occident
by Richard Halliburton
from Living Book Press
for 3rd-Adult
in International Landmarks & Symbols (Location: HISV-LANINT)
$17.99
Book of Marvels: Marvels of the Orient
by Richard Halliburton
from Living Book Press
for 3rd-Adult
in International Landmarks & Symbols (Location: HISV-LANINT)
$17.99
Borrowed House
Bethlehem Books Young Adult Bookshelf
by Hilda Van Stockum
from Purple House Press
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$13.95
Boys' and Girls' Herodotus
by John S. White
Facsimile Edition from Kessinger Publishing
Ancient History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Burning of Rome
by Alfred J. Church
from Yesterday's Classics
for 6th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$14.95
Cedric the Forester
by Bernard Marshall
from CreateSpace
for 6th-8th grade
1922 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Children's Plutarch: Tales of the Greeks
by F. J. Gould
from Yesterday's Classics
Greek History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
$11.95
Children's Plutarch: Tales of the Romans
by F. J. Gould, Reteller
from Yesterday's Classics
for 4th-8th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
$11.95
Combat Nurses of World War II
Landmark #116
by Wyatt Blassingame
from Purple House Press
for 5th-9th grade
in World War II (1939-1945) (Location: HISA-20WW2)
$13.99
Discovery of New Worlds
Story of the World Series #2
by M. B. Synge
from Yesterday's Classics
History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in History Spines & Surveys (Location: HISRF-SPINE)
$13.95
Discovery of New Worlds
Story of the World Series #2
by M. B. Synge
from Living Book Press
History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in History Spines & Surveys (Location: HISRF-SPINE)
Early Church
by George Hodges
from Yesterday's Classics
for 8th-12th grade
in Church History (Location: XCH-HIS)
$13.95
Famous Men of the Middle Ages
by John H. Haaren & A.B. Poland
from Yesterday's Classics
Historical Reference for 5th - 10th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$13.95
Famous Men of the Middle Ages
by John H. Haaren & A.B. Poland
from Feather Trail Press
Historical Reference for 5th - 10th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
Florence Nightingale
by Laura E. Richards
from Yesterday's Classics
Biography for 6th-9th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.95
Frontier Living
by Edwin Tunis
from Lyons Press
Historical Reference for 7th-10th grade
Newbery Honor Book 1962
in Pioneer & Frontier Life (Location: HISA-19PIO)
$19.95
Gabriel and the Hour Book
by Evaleen Stein
from Yesterday's Classics
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.95 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Gabriel and the Hour Book
by Evaleen Stein
from Unknown Publisher
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Golden Age
by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Maxfield Parrish
from SeaWolf Press
for 6th-9th grade
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$7.95
Great Quest
by Charles Boardman Hawes
from CreateSpace
for 5th-8th grade
1922 Newbery Honor Book
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$9.95
Growth of the British Empire
Story of the World Series #5
by M. B. Synge
from Yesterday's Classics
British History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in History Spines & Surveys (Location: HISRF-SPINE)
$13.95 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Growth of the British Empire
Story of the World Series #5
by M. B. Synge
from Living Book Press
British History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in History Spines & Surveys (Location: HISRF-SPINE)
$10.99
Hannibal
Makers of History Series
by Jacob Abbott
from Yesterday's Classics
for 7th-12th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.95
He Went with Hannibal
by Louise Andrews Kent
2022 Reprint from Living Book Press
for 6th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$15.99
Hereward the Wake
by Charles Kingsley
from Living Book Press
for 8th-12th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Heroes of the Middle Ages
by Eva March Tappan
from Yesterday's Classics
Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$12.95
Iliad for Boys and Girls
by Alfred J. Church
from Yesterday's Classics
for 5th-8th grade
$11.95
Iliad for Boys and Girls
by Alfred J. Church
from Living Book Press
for 5th-8th grade
$7.99
In Freedom's Cause
by G. A. Henty
from Living Book Press
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in G. A. Henty Books (Location: FIC-HEN)
Jo's Boys
by Louisa May Alcott, Illustrated by Ellen Wetherald Ahrens
150th Anniversary from SeaWolf Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$9.95
Keeper of the Bees
by Gene Stratton-Porter, illustrated by Gordon Grant, decorations by Lee Thayer
from Purple House Press
for 7th-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Life of Christopher Columbus
by Edward Everett Hale
from Living Book Press
for 8th-12th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.99
Little Duke
by Charlotte M. Yonge
from Living Book Press
for 5th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99
Little Men
by Louisa May Alcott, Illustrated by Reginald B. Birch
150th Anniversary from SeaWolf Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$9.95
Little Women
by Louisa May Alcott, Illustrated by Frank Merrill
from SeaWolf Press
Romantic Realistic Fiction for 4th-9th grade
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
Medical Corps Heroes of World War II
Landmark #120
by Wyatt Blassingame
2022 Reprint from Purple House Press
for 5th-9th grade
in World War II (1939-1945) (Location: HISA-20WW2)
$15.99
Men of Iron
by Howard Pyle
2nd edition from Living Book Press
Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$9.99
Merry Adventures of Robin Hood
by Howard Pyle
from Living Book Press
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 7th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Odyssey for Boys and Girls
by Alfred J. Church
from Yesterday's Classics
for 5th-8th grade
$11.95
Odyssey for Boys and Girls
by Alfred J. Church
from Living Book Press
for 5th-8th grade
$7.99
On the Shores of the Great Sea
Story of the World Series #1
by M. B. Synge
from Yesterday's Classics
History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in History Spines & Surveys (Location: HISRF-SPINE)
$13.95 $8.00 (1 in stock)
On the Shores of the Great Sea
Story of the World Series #1
by M. B. Synge
from Living Book Press
History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in History Spines & Surveys (Location: HISRF-SPINE)
$9.99
Otto of the Silver Hand
by Howard Pyle
from Living Book Press
Historical Fiction for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.99
Red Badge of Courage
by Stephen Crane & Ambrose Bierce
from SeaWolf Press
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$7.45
Romulus
Makers of History series
by Jacob Abbott
from Yesterday's Classics
History for 8th-12th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$12.95 $7.50 (1 in stock)
Sailing on the Ice: And Other Stories from the Old Squire's Farm
from Rutledge Hill Press
for 4th-12th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$18.98
Saints and Heroes 1
by George Hodges
from Living Book Press
Biography Anthology for 5th-8th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
Saints and Heroes 2
by George Hodges
from Living Book Press
Biography Anthology for 5th-8th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
Saints and Heroes Since the Middle Ages
by George Hodges
from Yesterday's Classics
Biographies for 5th-8th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$11.95
Saints and Heroes to the End of the Middle Ages
by George Hodges
from Yesterday's Classics
Biography Anthology for 5th-8th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$11.95
Scarlet Pimpernel
by Baroness Orczy
from SeaWolf Press
Action/Adventure for 6th-10th grade
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$9.95
Scotland's Story
by H. E. Marshall
from Yesterday's Classics
for 5th-12th grade
in History Spines & Surveys (Location: HISRF-SPINE)
$17.95
Scotland's Story (B&W)
by H. E. Marshall
from Living Book Press
for 5th-12th grade
in History Spines & Surveys (Location: HISRF-SPINE)
Scotland's Story (full-color)
by H. E. Marshall
from Living Book Press
for 5th-12th grade
in History Spines & Surveys (Location: HISRF-SPINE)
$22.99
Stories From Livy
by Alfred J. Church
from Yesterday's Classics
History for 6th-9th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
$11.95
Stories From Livy
by Alfred J. Church
from Yesterday's Classics
History for 6th-9th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
Stories from the Crusades
by Janet Harvey Kelman
from Yesterday's Classics
for 4th-8th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$9.95
Stories From The Faerie Queene
by Edmund Spenser, retold by Mary MacLeod
from Living Book Press
for 8th-10th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
$12.99
Stories From the Greek Tragedians
by Alfred J. Church
from Yesterday's Classics
for 6th-9th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
$11.95
Stories of the East from Herodotus
by Alfred J. Church
Ill from Yesterday's Classics
for 5th-8th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
$12.95
Story of Europe
by H. E. Marshall
from Yesterday's Classics
European History Reference for 8th-10th grade
in History Spines & Surveys (Location: HISRF-SPINE)
$15.95
Story of Europe
by H. E. Marshall
from Ostara Publications
European History Reference for 8th-10th grade
in History Spines & Surveys (Location: HISRF-SPINE)
Story of Joan of Arc
by Andrew Lang
for 6th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$5.99
Story of Joan of Arc
by Andrew Lang
from Living Book Press
for 6th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Story of the Greeks
by H. A. Guerber
from Yesterday's Classics
for 7th-9th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$15.95
Story of the Greeks
by H. A. Guerber
from Living Book Press
for 7th-9th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$10.99
Story of the Iliad
by Alfred J. Church
from Living Book Press
Greek Mythology for 5th-8th grade
$9.99
Story of the Last Days of Jerusalem
by Alfred J. Church
from Yesterday's Classics
History for 7th-10th grade
in Ancient Israel (Location: HISW-ANIS)
$10.95 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Story of the Middle Ages
by Samuel B. Harding
from Yesterday's Classics
History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Middle Ages (Location: HISW-MID)
$12.95 $7.50 (1 in stock)
Story of the Odyssey
by Alfred J. Church
from Living Book Press
Greek Mythology for 5th-8th grade
$8.99
Story of the Persian War
by Alfred J. Church
from Yesterday's Classics
for 7th-10th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$12.95
Story of the Romans
by H. A. Guerber
from Yesterday's Classics
for 7th-9th grade
in Ancient Rome (Location: HISW-ANRO)
$15.95
Story of the Romans
by H. A. Guerber
from Living Book Press
for 7th-9th grade
in Ancient Rome (Location: HISW-ANRO)
$10.99
Streams of History: Ancient Greece
by Ellwood W. Kemp
from Yesterday's Classics
for 4th-8th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$9.95 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Struggle for Sea Power
Story of the World Series #4
by M. B. Synge
from Yesterday's Classics
History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in History Spines & Surveys (Location: HISRF-SPINE)
$13.95 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Struggle for Sea Power
Story of the World Series #4
by M. B. Synge
from Living Book Press
History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in History Spines & Surveys (Location: HISRF-SPINE)
$10.99
Three Greek Children
by Alfred J. Church
from Yesterday's Classics
for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$11.95
Tod of the Fens
by Elinor Whitney Field, Illustrated by Warwick Goble
from CreateSpace
for 6th-9th grade
1929 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.50
Viking Tales
by Jennie Hall
from Yesterday's Classics
for 7th-10th grade
$10.95
White Company
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Illustrated by N. C. Wyeth
100th Anniversary from SeaWolf Press
Historical Fiction for 8th-Adult
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$12.95
Wonder Book for Girls and Boys
by Nathaniel Hawthorne
from Yesterday's Classics
Myths for 5th-10th grade
$12.95 $7.50 (1 in stock)
Wonder Book for Girls and Boys
by Nathaniel Hawthorne
from Living Book Press
Myths for 5th-10th grade
$15.99
World at War
by M. B. Synge
from Living Book Press
for 4th-8th grade
in World War I (1914-1919) (Location: HISA-20WW1)
$10.99