Review of Heirloom Audio's For the Temple

I invited my friend Mikilana and her children ages 10 to 18 to listen to For The Temple from Heirloom Audio. We had a blast listening to this Christian audio drama! 

We listened to both CDs back to back without interruption. It was an exciting radio theater experience with excellent acting, realistic sound effects, and an engaging story that kept us interested. 

After we listened to For the Temple, I asked my friends what they thought. 

First of all, we all agreed that it was a great story, but a very sad time in history. After all, when Jesus prophesied about the destruction of Jerusalem, He wept. 

Peter found the audio drama Interesting, especially looking at each perspective: the Romans and the Jews.
 
Hallel liked the narrator's voice because he was very expressive and pleasant to listen to. He also found the story a little confusing. However, the history itself during that time is quite confusing.

Gracie loved it and thought the story was very exciting. 
 
Victoria described it as "Action-packed, historically informative, and able to draw me into the story."
 
Hosanna agreed with Hallel. She thought the radio theater audio showed an Interesting perspective. She said, "I never really thought of it in both ways—seeing from both a Roman and Jewish perspective."

As mothers, Mikilana and I both appreciated the Christian message and wholesomeness of the story. We both have purchased many of GA Henty's books so were excited to hear another one of his story dramatized. 

---

For The Temple is set in Rome during a horrific time in history. In AD 66, many of the Jews revolted against the Romans, defeating them in Jerusalem. Determined to teach the Jews a lesson, Nero sent 60,000 Roman soldiers to sweep through Galilee and eventually crush Jerusalem. The famous historian Jospehus, who is a character in the radio drama, serves as a commander defending the city of Yodfat. After a 37 day siege and 40,000 Jews killed, the city fell to the Romans. Josephus was captured and while a prisoner of war, he provided the Romans with intelligence about the Jews. General Titus subdued most of Galilee by AD 68. There was a break in the fighting when Nero died and Titus headed back to Jerusalem. However, fighting resumed and Titus laid siege to Jerusalem in AD 70. Unfortunately, there was a civil war going on between the Jews in Jerusalem so while they were trying to defend their city, they were fighting one another. A terrible situation!  Jewish raids continued during the Roman siege and at one point Titus was captured. The Jews were starving. Josephus' attempts to negotiate peace failed. Jewish deserters from the city were crucified on the outskirts of Jerusalem. Eventually, the Romans broke through the walls of the city and burned the temple to the ground. Almost a million Jews were slaughtered. 

All of the information I shared and so much more is included in the audio drama. It is historically accurate which I love because I am a history buff. 

​The main character in the story, John, starts out as an aide to Josephus and ends up meeting up with Titus who almost takes his life, but John manages to turn the tables. John's ambition through the whole story is to protect the temple and he is heartbroken when it is destroyed. 
 
My favorite part of the story was the ending where John realizes that he was committed to guard and honor the temple, but he wondered why he hadn’t focused on honoring God. He meets Nicodemus who tells him about Jesus. At the end of the story, John is a Christian and shares the Gospel with Titus who is now emperor.

Wow! This radio theater is a history lover's dream for her children. I love to teach history the fun way and For the Temple  is a perfect way to teach accurate history and have a blast learning. 

There is also a study guide that comes available. Each section of the audio had its own study guide page with 3 sections: Listening Well, Thinking Further, and Defining Words. It was a great study guide. My favorite part was the little extra text boxes of information. One was on getting food into Jerusalem during the siege. Another was a short bio of Jospehus, a character in the story who is also a famous ancient historian. 

---

I heartily recommend For the Temple for all ages in your family. Adults, teens, and children will love it, though little ones may find it a bit scary. I felt that the action and war scenes were handled tastefully without being inappropriate. 

Listening to this story the way we did with drinks and snacks will make a perfect family night of fun. Why don't you get  your copy of For the Temple and gather the family together for a history lesson they will love!

There are more amazing stories to listen to at Heirloom Audio and in our house, we love them all.

​Wulf the Saxon
Under Drake's Flag
In Freedom's Cause
With Lee in Virginia
The Dragon and the Raven
Beric the Briton
The Cat of Bubastes
In the Reign of Terror
Captain Bailey's Heir
St. Bartholomew's Eve

Would you like to learn more about Heirloom Audio? You can check them out on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. 

​You can read more reviews from the Review Crew about For the Temple here or click on the photo below.  

Until next time, Happy Homeschooling!

​Warmly, 
Meredith Curtis

---