This highly acclaimed book provides a wealth of fascinating information on the Roman and Jewish background of the New Testament, the life of Jesus, and the history of the early church.

Table of Contents

• Publisher's Introduction
• Preface
• Principal Abbreviations
• 1. From Cyrus to Augustus
• 2. The Herodian Succession
• 3. Judaea Under Roman Governors
• 4. The Philosophical Schools
• 5. The High Priests
• 6. Hăsīdīm, Pharisees and Sadducees
• 7. The Essenes
• 8. The Zealots
• 9. The Qumran Community
• 10. The Messianic Hope
• 11. Judaism at the Beginning of the Christian Era
• 12. John the Baptist
• 13. Jesus and the Kingdom of God
• 14. Jesus and the Kingdoms of the World
• 15. Trial and Execution of Jesus
• 16. The Primitive Jerusalem Church
• 17. Stephen, Philip and the Hellenists
• 18. Paul: The Early Years
• 19. Crisis Under Gaius
• 20. Herod Agrippa, King of the Jews
• 21. Early Gentile Christianity
• 22. The Jerusalem Decree
• 23. Claudius and Christianity
• 24. Macedonia and Achaia
• 25. End of the Aegean Mission
• 26. Judaea: The Later Procurators
• 27. Paul: The Last Phase
• 28. End of Church and Temple in Jerusalem
• 29. Christianity in Rome
• 30. Christianity at the End of the New Testament Period
• Bibliography
• F.F. Bruce
• Other Books by F.F. Bruce