New Bible documentary explores New Testament origins amid faith surge

Promoted as the “origin story” of the New Testament, the new film aims to make an impact as younger generations show increasing interest in faith and the Bible.

“I couldn’t look two years ahead and see the interest in the Bible right now,” filmmaker Erin Zimmerman told Fox News Digital. “Last year Bible sales were up 22%, this year they’re up 36%. I couldn’t have planned a more perfect time for this movie to come out.”

Zimmerman is the four-time Emmy-nominated filmmaker behind “God’s Oracles: The Story of the New Testament,” a new CBN Films documentary that explores how the New Testament was written and preserved.

The film, which will be released in theaters nationwide on November 2, 3, and 5, will serve as the second installment in his five-part series on the origins and evidence of Scripture. The first film focusing on the Old Testament is released in 2023.

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While living in Israel in 2017, Zimmerman said he felt called by God to create a documentary series that treated the Scriptures from a “pure” perspective, rather than as “hidden” or “mistranslated,” as he believed some secular productions did.

He described “The Prophecies of God” as the “origin story” of the New Testament, tracing how the Gospels and letters came together and why the early accounts of Jesus and the apostles are still important today.

Filming was postponed due to both the COVID-19 pandemic and the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023. Zimmerman now sees the timing as fortunate, saying the experience has deepened his faith and strengthened his ties with his Israeli team.

He said he could not have predicted that renewed spiritual interest would sweep away the culture two years later.

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Erin Zimmerman, the director of the new movie “Prophets of God”, explained that the release of the movie took place at a time when the culture was warming to Christianity. (Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN))

The release comes at a time when there is a growing hunger for faith-based entertainment, with series like “House of David” and “The Chosen” on Amazon Prime continuing to attract large audiences.

Bible sales also rose 36% in September following the assassination of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk. accordingly A new analysis from the Wall Street Journal previously reported a 22% increase in Bible sales in 2024.

Zimmerman said that the recent turmoil in world events has pushed many young people to “seek peace.”

He believes that figures like Kirk, a devout Christian who frequently quotes Scripture online, inspire many young Americans to explore Christianity, which he believes may offer the meaning and purpose they are missing.

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Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk prays while attending Freedom Night in America at Dream City Church on October 5, 2022 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Washington Post via Joshua Lott/Getty Images)

“They see Charlie Kirk on TikTok and they see him quoting the Bible and being calm and happy,” he said. “I think it was something that really appealed to them, and they said, ‘I don’t have that in my life.'”

Zimmerman said the documentary is the most accessible in the series and addresses common objections to the accuracy of the Bible, such as claims that it has been mistranslated or altered over the centuries. The film uses science and historical evidence to show how early Jewish and Christian writers handled the Scriptures “with great care and reverence,” he explained, noting that thousands of preserved Greek manuscripts of the New Testament help confirm its reliability.

He said that the next movie in the series, “Creating the Law,” will examine how the books of the Bible were selected and compiled.

“Prophets of God: The Story of the New Testament” will be released in theaters nationwide on November 2, 3 and 5. (CBN Movies/Fathom Entertainment)

Zimmerman hopes viewers will leave with a new appreciation for the sacrifices behind the creation of the New Testament and confidence in the evidence that the Gospels were compiled from eyewitness accounts.

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“All the apostles except John were martyred,” he said. “And according to historians, John was thrown into a pot of boiling oil and survived. They and those after them gave their lives to keep this word and the story of Jesus alive.”