The New Testament Historical Enrichment Book
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From Chapter 1: What about Quirinius being governor when Jesus was born? The governors of Syria from 23 B.C. to 69 A.D. are fairly well known. They are listed in other references of the day. Quirinius was known to be the governor beginning in 6 A.D. up to possibly 11 A.D. so he was a governor of Syria. But the time he was known to be the governor doesn’t help us. The time he is known to be the governor actually works against us so far, but let’s not rule him out yet.
From Chapter 1: The prophecy wasn’t secret. Jews knew the prophecy about a universal king from the East but knowledge of the prophecy wasn’t limited to the Jews. The prophecy was well known to others in the Roman Empire. The Roman historians Tacitus and Suetonius mention the prophecy in their writings. They wrote the prophecy was old, it spoke of a king who would come from Judea and rule over the entire world, and they lived in the era when this king was due to come.
From Chapter 2: The Bible tells us a little bit about Jesus’ family that lived during his lifetime, but what of later generations? Non Biblical sources talk of Jesus’ family for two more generations.
From Chapter 3: The demonic power behind Simon the Magician was evident to those who encountered him. He was glorified as a god by men. He traveled to Rome during the time of Claudius Caesar. Claudius thought Simon was so powerful that Claudius built a statue to Simon which was placed between the two bridges in the Tiber River.
From Chapter 6: The Apostle Philip had family. Philip had daughters. If Philip had daughters then he must have had a wife.
From Chapter 14: The German asked about the prisoner who wore royal purple robes. He was told that it was Agrippa, a member of a local royal family. The German wanted to talk with Agrippa. The German told Agrippa that he had prayed to the gods about Agrippa. The German said Agrippa’s circumstances were unfortunate, they wouldn’t last. Agrippa leaned on a tree as they had this conversation. There was an owl in the tree. The German told Agrippa that Agrippa’s rule would be successful, but when Agrippa saw that type of owl again, he would die
Agrippa came out in a silver robe. Agrippa wouldn’t call himself a god, but if the people were going to call him a god then he wasn’t going to dissuade them. As the people called out that he was a god, Agrippa looked up. There was a rope that ran across the top of the theater. An owl sat on the rope. Agrippa remembered what he had been told when he was a prisoner. He developed stomach pains. Agrippa looked at his friends around him. He acknowledged he was not a god but he was going to accept what God allotted to him. Five days later Agrippa was dead.
From Chapter 15: Josephus played on the prophecy to save his life. He told Vespasian that Vespasian was to fulfill the prophecy and become the universal king. Vespasian wasn’t a fool. He dismissed this as a ploy on the part of Josephus, but Vespasian knew Josephus had also foretold other things that came true. Most recently Josephus foretold to one of the emissaries that Vespasian would conquer Jotapata. The victory would take place on the forty seventh day of the battle, which is what happened. Shortly thereafter, Vespasian became the Roman Emperor.
From Chapter 15: Tacitus refers to these events as supernatural spiritual events. Tacitus didn’t have respect for the Jewish religion or God but he writes about what happened as if he believed in a supernatural force. The best way to describe what happened is in his own words.
“There had been seen hosts joining battle in the skies, the fiery gleam of arms, the Temple illuminated by a sudden radiance from the clouds. The doors of the inner shrine were suddenly thrown open, and a voice of more than mortal tone was heard to cry that the Gods were departing. At the same instant, there was a mightily stir as of departure.”
From Chapter 15: The next morning the Romans woke up and launched their assault on Masada. They ran bridges from the wall they built across to the walls of the city. As they ran across their make shift bridges, they expected heavy resistance. Instead, as they ran across, they saw a fire in the palace and encountered an eerie silence. They yelled in an attempt to get a response. They hit the walls with their battering rams in an attempt to create a disturbance. Finally, a woman with five children, and another elderly woman came out. They hid in the caverns under Masada. They told a very sad story.
If these snippets from the book are of interest to you, then this is a MUST READ book for you.
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About the Book
Author Jay Still had questions about information in the Bible for which no one seemed to have the answers. He began searching outside sources and offers a plethora of answers in The New Testament Historical Enrichment Book.
Still expounds on what is found in the New Testaments and provides historical background to help understand more about the people, events, and history to answer a host of questions:
What was Jesus’ life like on earth?
Outside of the New Testament writers, who else believed Jesus actually lived?
Did Jesus have a family? What became of them?
Paul proclaimed himself an apostle. Did others recognize him as an apostle? Who recognized his writings as authoritative?
What became of the apostles? Did they disband and return to their former lives, or did they continue the work for which Jesus prepared them?
The New Testament talks of King Herod before Jesus was born and well after Jesus died. How did he live so long? Why was Pilate, a governor, as powerful as Herod who was a king?
Who wrote the New Testament? Why were their writings selected? What other writings were considered?
Who did the early church see as the Antichrist?
How did the early church see Paradise where Jesus went with the thief on the cross?
What became of the nation of Israel?
What became of the office of the High Priest?
What became of the Temple?
Drawing on writings of the early church fathers and historians closest to the time Jesus lived, The New Testament Historical Enrichment Book helps add to the knowledge base and provide a historical perspective of what is known about the New Testaments, its people, and its happenings.
About the Author
Jay Still is an attorney, scientist, and historian with an interest in the history surrounding the people, events, and theological beliefs of the early church.