It's the greatest story ever told. The birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most important series of events to have ever occurred, and the story has been told and retold in various formats over the years - from movies (The Passion of the Christ) to television (Son of God) to live music presentations (Hero!: The Rock Opera). Last year, singer/songwriter and composer Tim Juillet, along with The Bible Choir, added his newest project to the list: a Global Music Award-winning oratorio that begins with the birth of Jesus and ends with the book of Revelation. The Selah Prophecies is 35 tracks and approximately 90 minutes long, with the life of Jesus (and a handful of scriptures from the New Testament epistles) translated into a series of operatic pieces. Each piece is titled so as to give the listener an idea of what scriptures it covers ("Blessed are the Poor in Spirit," "Therefore Put on the Full Armour of God," "I Consider That Our Present Sufferings"), and both the narration and singing do a great job of sticking to the script, if you will. Juillet and team don't really take many liberties, if any at all, and they don't feel the need to spice anything up like the aforementioned Hero!. Instead, it's a straightforward, albeit operatic and robust, telling of the Gospel. Now, it's likely that, outside of the extremely open-minded, only fans of opera will be able to find enjoyment on an artistic or musical level, but the musicians and singers involved are quite obviously talented, regardless of one's preferred style of music. The Selah Prophecies is an epic undertaking for Juillet and The Bible Choir, and it's executed well.

- Review date: 12/6/20, written by Scott Fryberger of Jesusfreakhideout.com