Promised Land Daily Audio Bible
Christian Movie Review
With all of the stunning HD technology now available, someone — Daily Audio Bible — has finally filmed a documentary of Israel using HD cameras.
It’s called Promised Land.
But this film takes it to another level.
For one thing, it doesn’t have the whole guy-standing-in-front-of-camera-talking-with-Israel-in-background — that standard documentary feel. It’s only the landscape, seascape, and architecture of the Holy Land — from the Dead Sea to Galilee — in vivid HD detail. A voice-over narrates, but no one ever steps in front of the camera to distract your attention from the rich visual immersion.
And, frankly, this sets it apart from just about everything else. Its footage has the gorgeous quality of BBC’s stunning Planet Earth series, except in this case it’s Planet Israel.
And, as far as the content of the narration, it’s pure joy. It’s a visual concordance for the most significant events of the Bible, with references to the things that happened in each location. Each voice-over is done concisely, and it’s well-written — like listening to someone tell a riveting story, not rattle off facts. It’s comprehensive too; in some instances, five minutes in one location is like getting a survey of the entire Bible.
My favorite part is the Sea of Galilee segment. At one moment the narrator says: “Today, the Sea of Galilee is just as beautiful as it was in the First Century. Its hills and valleys remain the same. Into this tranquil and sometimes stormy setting came Jesus, teaching of the Kingdom of God, healing the brokenhearted, setting the captives free, and calming the storms we face in our lives, as He continues to do, to this day.”
We also learn interesting extra-biblical cultural details of the ancient world, and this adds fascinating context and depth to the Biblical events it describes.
For example, we learn how ancient cultures believed that demons lived under the Sea of Galilee, which explained (in their minds) why its storms were so sudden and fierce. This adds a fascinating context to Jesus’ miracle when He spoke and calmed the storm — a testimony to the ancients of His power over demonic forces.
We also see Sepphoris, a city near Nazareth where Jesus and His earthly father Joseph likely worked as artisans during Jesus’ formative years. We see some of the stunning mosaics that were created in Jesus’ time — maybe even by Jesus Himself — such as the Mona Lisa of the Galilee.
(Note: although translations call Him a carpenter, the word translated means artisan — someone who worked with both wood and stone with great skill.)
Here is the official press release from Daily Audio Bible with the full details:
Whether you’ve been to the land of the Bible or always wanted to go, you’ve never experienced it like this before. Three years in the making, Daily Audio Bible is proud to present “Promised Land” — a feature-length cinematic achievement and a sweeping masterpiece. For a limited time, “Promised Land” is available on Blu-ray and DVD exclusively at DailyAudioBible.com, and each order comes with a free soundtrack CD while supplies last.
See the places you’ve imagined and read about in Scripture filmed in vivid high definition from angles never seen before. “Promised Land” immerses you in the stories of the Bible, where they happened, as author and leader of the Daily Audio Bible, Brian Hardin, takes you from the wilderness to the Galilee and out onto the coastal plain before entering the most holy city in the world…Jerusalem. The history and geography of the Bible will come alive as the Scriptures unfold before your eyes.
Says Hardin, “The Biblical locations in Israel have been filmed plenty of times but when we set out to create this project, we didn’t just want to document it – that’s been done. We wanted to capture its beauty and the way it feels to be there. ‘Promised Land’ connects the history and stories to the places where they happened in short, concise vignettes allowing people who might never consider visiting Israel to truly see the beauty of this rich, historic place.”
Tom Doyle, e3 Partners’ Middle East Director and author of the Thomas Nelson best-seller, “Dreams and Visions,” (who has led over 70 trips to Israel) endorsed “Promised Land” following an advance screening: “I must say that I was pretty overwhelmed to see the quality of ‘Promised Land.’ It made me feel like the first time that I journeyed to Israel. After the first two minutes I sat back in my chair and said out loud, ‘They got it! They understand the miracle of Israel. They got it!'”
With over 1.5 million listens monthly and over 70 million downloads, Daily Audio Bible (www.dailyaudiobible.com) is one of the most-listened-to podcasts in the world. Created by Hardin in 2006, Daily Audio Bible is one of the world wide web’s biggest success stories.
For more information on “Promised Land” and to view the official trailer, visit http://promisedland.media.
