Title: A New Testament Chronology: Including the Lives of Jesus, Mary, Paul, and Apostles
Author: John J. Breiling
Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
ISBN: 979-8897850419
Pages: 1015
Genre: Nonfiction / Christian New Testament Study / Bible
Reviewer: Vivian Clarke
Pacific Book Review
One of the most debated and discussed topics in human history is faith and religion. As civilizations have risen and fallen, even in mankind’s modern times, religion continues to play an important part in how societies behave and grow. With so many different faces having risen since the dawn of Time, determining what a person believes and how it has shaped world history has become an important topic of study for both believers and non-believers.
In John J. Breiling’s A New Testament Chronology: Including the Lives of Jesus, Mary, Paul, and Apostles, Breiling takes a deep dive into the years of the New Testament, from 20 BC/BCE to 138 AD/CE. The book offers a unique history of this time period, exploring the lives of Jesus Christ, Mary, and the twelve apostles, while also offering insights for the Jewish community regarding Josephus’s Antiquities and historical data on ancient Roman, Greek, Jewish, and Christian sources that historians can use to study figures such as Tacitus, Did Cassius, and Eusebius as well.
The author does a great job of writing in a detailed, engaging way, allowing readers to learn not only about the life of Jesus Christ himself, but also about the historical events of that period and how various cultures interacted and communicated through both varied and shared beliefs. The book expertly explores Jesus’s life from a genealogical perspective, the specific ministries he performed, and the times in which he carried them out throughout this era of history. The book also explores Jesus’s baptism and the forty days in the desert, as well as his last supper and the days leading up to his death, and how events played out during this time.
Readers who enjoy nonfiction, especially books that weave together Christian and Judaism-based theology with historical context, will thoroughly enjoy this book. The way the book explores so much history makes this a perfect reference guide, and the sheer volume of various resources that the author cites in this book does a great job of blending hard data and historical context with the actual faith and belief systems these two religions have, and gives more depth to the life of Jesus Christ.
