REVIEW: Drive Thru History® “Acts to Revelation” by Drive Thru History®

I was super thrilled to be reviewing Drive Thru History® “Acts to Revelation” by Drive Thru History® since I enjoyed reviewing Drive Thru History® “The Gospels” a couple of years ago.

WHAT IS IT?:

Drive Thru History® “Acts to Revelation” is essentially the sequel to Drive Thru History® “The Gospels” that came out in 2017.  It continues Dave Stotts’ journey through the remainder of the New Testament, beginning with the book of Acts.

This DVD set includes 3 discs and 18 episodes with each episode lasting 30 minutes.  It comes in a hard-sided case with a thin cardboard outer sleeve and a full-color book/study guide built into the case.  It’s intended for viewers in grade 6 through adults, but even younger children can enjoy the series.

It can be purchased for just $89.95.  You can watch a trailer and see if it’s right for you.

OUR EXPERIENCE:

Let me start by saying that I enjoyed the previous series about the Gospels so much that I was super excited to continue this journey through the rest of the New Testament.  I am a Christian, and while I have a strong belief system, I also have a deep appreciation for history and archaeology.  So any time I can tie the two together and use one to reinforce my beliefs in the other, I’m very interested in doing so.  For me, that’s what makes this Drive Thru History® series so remarkable and fascinating!


I was the primary viewer for this, although my husband and my 11 year old son did join me for a couple of them.  My husband remarked that it seemed like a really interesting program.  My son thought it was super cool that Dave Stotts got to walk through the ruins of places where the disciples once walked, and he said he wished we could take a trip there some day and see it for ourselves.  Personally, I was mesmerized by the twelve episodes I got to watch during the review period!  Sometimes, I really had hard time turning it off to go to bed.  Each episode left me anxious to see the next one.  With only 6 more episodes to go, I know I’ll ending up watching this series again and again and will be inviting others from church to view it with me.  The timing of this was perfect for me, because we’re currently studying the book of Acts at our Wednesday night adult bible study class.

Before I viewed each episode, I reviewed the information in the book/study guide.  It provided me a nice overview of what each episode would be about, some basic discussion questions you’d use if you were using this as a study with your children, a “Side Road” section with a bit more historical and cultural background information on the people and places in the episode, and a nice array of related full-color photographs and illustrations with labeling information.  Complete answers to the discussion questions are located in the back of the book.  I would describe the discussion questions as more like comprehension questions.  They have factual, defined answers rather than requiring any deep thinking or drawing of conclusions.  They are something I’d use to make sure my kids were paying attention and understood the basics of the episodes.

The episodes I watched took me through Pentecost, the growth of the early church, the spread of the gospel to the gentiles, Saul’s encounter on the road to Damascus, Paul’s three missionary journeys and the opposition he faced along the way, and his final trip to Jerusalem and Caesarea where he appealed to have Caesar hear his case.  The remaining episodes will cover Paul’s shipwreck at sea and his experiences on the island of Malta, his final journey to Rome, the martyrdom of Paul and Peter, John’s experiences on the island of Patmos, the events of Revelations, and the end of the New Testament period.

Throughout the episodes, I saw the ruins of outdoor Roman ampitheaters, roadways, public baths and toilets, temples to pagan gods, jails, a library, and the remains of places where Paul taught those who would listen.  Seeing these places as Dave Stotts shared the stories of Acts, Corinthians, and Ephesians really helped me to visualize the environment where these events took place.  It helped me to understand how physically taxing it was to travel during that time.  It helped me to understand Roman culture.  It helped me to “see” in my mind’s eye what it must have been like for the apostles to speak to the masses that gathered around them.  I better understood why the Jewish leaders felt so threatened when Jesus spoke outside the temple…it was because the Jews from the diaspora returned from foreign lands to keep the feasts and gathered en masse at the temple.  Jesus had been able to speak to them there, right on the doorstep of the Jewish leaders, and the leaders witnessed the attention Jesus received and the thousands who were baptized right then.  I also saw many of the inscriptions that have been uncovered that match up perfectly with names and dates of various Roman leaders mentioned in the scriptures, supporting the great historical accuracy found in the bible.

In short, this series is all that I’d hoped it would be and more, and I feel even more immersed in the Bible after watching it.  It has definitely strengthened and deepened my understanding and has given me an even richer historical experience.

I highly recommend this series to anyone looking for a deeper experience and also to be shared with those who are on the fence about the scriptures because they have a need to see it tied to factual historical findings.  It would be great for individual study but also to be viewed as a family.  I had some great conversations with my son while we watched it together, and I could see his eyes get bigger every time an archaeological finding matched up with something he already knew from the scriptures.  He was just as fascinated as I was!

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