God speaks on video

Important note: Although thousands of sets of the acclaimed "WatchWORD Bible" DVD collection have been sold for $250, for a limited time WND is offering this one-of-a-kind collection for only $127.95! In addition, as a special bonus, WatchWORD purchasers will receive a free copy of "Changed Lives: Miracles of The Passion," the celebrated one-hour DVD program that documents the real-life miracles people experienced after viewing the Mel Gibson film, "The Passion of the Christ." See below for details.

The first mass printing of the Bible five centuries ago changed the world, but a Pennsylvania visionary has a new idea he hopes will revolutionize a generation accustomed to having numerous copies of Holy Scripture lying around the home unread.

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After three days of prayer and fasting in 1991, James Fitzgerald emerged with the clear conviction that God wanted him to produce the Bible on video to help make it practical and compelling, especially for the millions who might not crack open the book.

"I was amazed at what [God] showed me," Fitzgerald said in an interview with WorldNetDaily. "I prayed that I would devote my life to it."

It took 10 years to get it done, but the entire New Testament is now available in a word-for-word video format called the "WatchWORD Bible," history's first true "video book."

Fitzgerald says it's important to emphasize that the Bible still is God's written word, and so the WatchWORD Bible does not communicate the Scripture through re-enactment.

Instead, it uses often spectacular backdrops enhanced by original music timed to the words on the screen.

The result is astounding to many who say they have experienced God's blessing as never before.

But the power is in the Word itself.

"We worked hard to take images that were right there in the Scripture, so we're not being overly interpretive," said Fitzgerald, an Episcopalian who describes himself as an English major who "loves words."

21st century technology

Before launching the project, Fitzgerald had become convinced that even with all of the new versions and specially targeted editions of the Bible, graced with elaborate illustrations and background notes, "we're not going to solve the problem of biblical illiteracy in this country – that it's only going to get worse."

"The Bible is 15th-century technology," he said, "and yet people are getting so much of their information elsewhere – TV, DVD, CD, the Internet, cell phones, movies."

Fitzgerald believes that of all the messages competing for attention, there's not one more important than the Bible, a transformer of nations and the key document in the foundation of the United States.

"If I fail at this, there is nothing else important enough, in my mind, to go after," he said.

The decision to dive into the project proved costly, however.

Fitzgerald was vice president of a Christian broadcast ministry that promoted Bible reading, but the group didn't take up the idea he called the "best God ever gave me."

In 1993, he was told he must either give up the project or quit his job.

Believing he could pull it off in about a year, both Fitzgerald and his wife gave up their jobs and pensions.

But they soon discovered that with no technology in existence to do the things they envisioned, the painstaking task would take much longer.

By the end of 1997, with half-a-million dollars spent, just four chapters completed, all of the staff departed and the Fitzgeralds on the verge of losing everything they owned, things began to turn around.

One reason was that the high-end software they needed finally was released by Microsoft. The required computer? That cost more than his house, Fitzgerald noted, but by 2002 the project was completed.

Many of the 10,000 customers to date have written to rave about it.

• "I cannot put into words how excited am about this product."
• "It is so exciting for me because I have a few learning disabilities. It is hard for me to stay [focused] for any length while I'm doing school work or [reading]. Your DVDs are so easy for me to listen and follow along with my Bible."
• "Thank you for obeying God's call to create this masterpiece."
• "I just bought the WatchWORD Bible on DVD last week and I loved it! It's the best!! It got me so much closer to God and I thank you all so much."
• "Never before was I able to sit and read the Bible for a long time in one sitting. When I watched the Bible DVD, I watched for three and a half hours non-stop and still could not get enough. The pictures, sounds, music and special effects were amazing and totally relaxing not to mention spiritually educational."
• "I was very impressed with the workmanship that went into making this available. The photography was astounding."
• And this, from a senior pastor: "I have been so richly blessed by this method of receiving God's Word daily in my life. I know the Holy Spirit is present as I view, hear and read the Word of God during my precious moments of devotion and reflection using the DVD WatchWord Bible. ... Parts of the Scripture I never understood have now come to greater understanding. The Holy Spirit has revealed Himself to me in such a powerful way."

SPECIAL OFFER: Since the release of the WatchWORD DVD set, tens of thousands have been sold online and on television for $250. For a limited time, WND is offering this one-of-a-kind collection for only $127.95! In addition, as a special bonus, WatchWORD purchasers will also receive a FREE copy of "Changed Lives: Miracles of The Passion," the acclaimed one-hour program that captures, in their own words, people's documented accounts of relationships restored, diseases healed, a murderer confessing, atheists coming to faith and other inspiring life transformations after having viewed Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ."

Jim Caviezel portrays Jesus in 'The Passion of The Christ' (courtesy Icon Distribution)

"It is truly unprecedented the way God has used 'The Passion' to bring healing, reconciliation and peace to people across the nation and around the globe," says Emmy-award-winning Jody Eldred, who produced the film.