R E V I S E D E D I T I O N GOOD A N D EVIL M i c h a e l P e a r l Our desire is that after reading Good and Evil® you will be motivated to read the entire Bible and that it will come alive to you. Make it a daily habit to read a portion of the Bible and then pray that God will help you understand and apply it. Copyright © 2008, 2016 Michael and Debi Pearl. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book, whether art or text, may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For more information, contact us at: contents The Story Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 THE BEGINNING ..................................................... ABRAHAM ............................................................. MOSES................................................................. EXODUS ............................................................... THE KINGDOM ....................................................... ELIJAH ................................................................. PROPHECIES OF CHRIST ........................................ THE NEW TESTAMENT ............................................. EARLY MINISTRY .................................................... MIRACLES AND PARABLES....................................... PASSOVER AND SUFFERING.................................... RESURRECTION AND EARLY CHURCH ........................ TO ALL THE WORLD ............................................... What Is the Bible? ........................................................................... About No Greater Joy Ministries, Inc. ...................................... 1 21 36 65 95 114 142 158 178 209 242 272 300 322 323 credits Author: Michael Pearl Artist: Danny Bulanadi Coloration: Clint Cearley Good and Evil® The Ultimate Comic Book Action Bible is a Bible storybook meant to draw readers of all ages to the Bible. Most of the content in Good and Evil® is not directly quoted from scripture so we encourage you to read the scripture references at the bottom of each page and look them up in your Bible. I n t r o d u c t i o n A Modern Marvel for Missions With the arrival of a new millennium, evangelist and author Michael Pearl arrived at a new vision for spreading the Gospel. To address the problems of communicating to divergent language groups and to reading-disadvantaged people, he dreamed of delivering the message of Christ via a “graphic novel” format. Although Michael and his wife Debi had supported various missions for more than 40 years, Michael’s concern over the obstacles in cross-cultural communications peaked when the Pearls’ daughter began ministering to a primitive tribe on a remote mountain in Papua New Guinea. She needed some form of simple Bible story art that could speak clearly to the Kumboi tribe, but the only art available at the time was either poorly done or too expensive. Their daughter’s immediate need connected with Michael’s vision, and he, in turn, connected with the astounding talent and experience of Marvel Comic artist Danny Bulanadi. God had been at work in Danny’s life, and Danny had become a born-again Christian a few years prior to Michael’s contacting him. No longer comfortable with the comic art he was producing, Danny had quit work for Marvel and taken a job as a night watchman in San Francisco. Michael offered Danny a renewed opportunity in comic-style art, and together, they crafted Good and Evil, this Genesis-to-Revelation graphic-novel-style presentation of God’s work of saving mankind from sin. Once Michael and Danny created the black and white version, they joined forces with illustrator Clint Cearley to add the amazing color that brings this book to life. Although a few familiar Bible stories are not included (David and Goliath, for instance), this chronological presentation of Old Testament history delivers all the background you need to grasp the reality of the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the New Testament Apostles, as well as the necessity of salvation through Jesus Christ. Since the release of its first edition in 2006, Good and Evil has entertained and educated English-speaking readers, and true to the original intent, it has also established a remarkable track record of cross-cultural communication. The book now ministers to people in more than 50 languages—Spanish, Ukrainian, Lao, Thai, Hmong, Burmese, Cebuano, Karen, and Wa, to name a few—and has been produced as a 13-episode animated video. What’s more, Good and Evil is welcomed in places otherwise closed to the Gospel. The engaging, high-energy artwork appeals even to Hindus and Muslims and can be found on the shelves of some of the world’s most remote roadside stands. Thanks to Good and Evil, modern missions will never be the same, and as you dive into the biblical adventures that follow, you’ll marvel at what you find. The original version of each Good and Evil story is recorded in the Bible. Scripture references corresponding to these graphic accounts are noted at the bottom of each page, so you can look them up and read the stories from the Bible itself. C h a p t e r 1 1 This story is told in an old book, thousands of years old. Every word I am about to tell you is true. Some of it will be hard to believe, but the truth is often stranger than fiction. In the beginning, before the first man was created, before the earth, the sun, the stars, even before light and time were created, there was God. He alone existed without beginning, but he was not lonely. Unlike finite man, God exists simultaneously as three persons in one. Each distinct person is co-equal and co-eternal, one in essence, nature, power, action, and will. He communed with himself in harmonious love. But God wanted to share his life. He wanted friends and neighbors. The Bible* tells us God created numerous kinds of angelic beings to offer praise around his throne, but one called Lucifer led a third of them in rebellion. God cast them out of heaven and Lucifer’s name was changed to Satan. But this is not their story. This is the story of God working with mankind. 2 Isaiah 45:18 - *See page 322 for a brief description of the book called the Bible. For more information about Satan, see: Isaiah 14:12-14; Ezekiel 28:13-19; Matthew 25:41; Luke 10:18; Revelation 12:4, 20:2 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And it came to pass that the earth was formless and void, and the Creator moved upon the face of the waters. Suddenly God spoke into the darkness… et “L ” ht g li e b e r e th It was not as many modern men suppose. The Creator did not make use of evolution. He created all things by simply speaking them into existence. In six 24-hour days God made plants and animals to populate the earth. Approximately 4004 B.C. - Genesis 1:2-3 3 On the sixth day, with the evil ones watching, God formed a new creature from the dust of the ground. God breathed his own life into the body of clay, and the man became a living soul. He was made in the image of God - higher than the animals. God called the new creature Man and gave him the name Adam. God looked at all his creation and said, “It is very good.” 4 Genesis 1:31, 2:7