In AD 66, nationalist and religious revolutionaries in Judaea led a ferocious revolt of the Jewish people against the authority of mighty Rome, culminating in the greatest upheaval and savagery the world had known up to that time. By the end of the conflict seven years later, over one million Jews had perished and tens of thousands were sold into slavery. Until the Holocaust, it remained the greatest tragedy ever endured by a people. How had this once prosperous region been laid low, and by what process did its fratricidal feuds take it down a slippery slope to utter annihilation? Fortunately for us, there was an eyewitness.

The ancient historian Josephus is key to a proper understanding of the time of Christ and the early church era. This recording, an abridged paraphrase of two Josephus histories, will transport you back in time to the period 37 B.C. to A.D. 70, from the time Herod took Jerusalem to become "King of the Jews," to the Roman destruction of Jerusalem and its temple.

The writings of Josephus contain one of the few historical accounts of the wars of the Jews and the destruction of Jerusalem during the Roman occupation of Palestine in 70 A.D. Born in Jerusalem in 37 A.D. and raised in both the Hellenic and Jewish traditions, Josephus spent his life trying to accommodate his admiration for the Romans with his loyalty to his Jewish heritage.

Written by Eusebius, the bishop of Caesarea, The History of the Church is the pioneering fourth-century work which details the chronological history of early Christianity from the time of Christ to Constantine. This monumental work of Christian history stands apart from other contemporary histories as the first full-length record of early Christianity from a Christian point of view. While sometimes criticized as biased and inaccurate, The History of the Church nevertheless provides an indispensable perspective upon the foundations of the Christian church and religion.

Bruce Shelley's classic history of the church brings the story of global Christianity into the 21st century. Like a skilled screenwriter, Shelley begins each chapter with three elements: characters, setting, plot. Taking you from the early centuries of the church up through the modern era he tells a story of actual people, in a particular situation, taking action or being acted upon, provides a window into the circumstances and historical context, and from there develops the story of a major period or theme of Christian history.

Plutarch (c. AD 46-AD 120) was born to a prominent family in the small Greek town of Chaeronea, about 20 miles east of Delphi in the region known as Boeotia. His best known work is the Parallel Lives, a series of biographies of famous Greeks and Romans, arranged in pairs to illuminate their common moral virtues and vices. The surviving lives contain 23 pairs, each with one Greek life and one Roman life as well as four unpaired single lives.

Is there an answer, a guide, a blueprint that reveals what you need to know to survive, to stand, and to prevail in view of what’s coming in the days ahead? Has it been revealed to us in the appearing of a sign from an ancient mystery playing out in modern times before our eyes? The Josiah Manifesto opens up the stunning mysteries that lie behind the dramatic events of recent times that have changed our world—and the message hidden within them with regard to what lies ahead.

Translated by W. E. D. Rouse, The March of the Ten Thousand is one of the most admired and widely read pieces of ancient literature to come down to us. Xenophon employs a very simple, straightforward style to describe what is probably the most exciting military adventure ever undertaken. It is an epic of courage, faith and democratic principle.

Written for those who were bewildered by the conflict between religion and scientific and philosophic ideas, The Guide for the Perplexed is concerned with finding a concord between the text of the Old Testament and its commentaries, and Aristotelian philosophy. After analyzing the ideas of the Old Testament, Maimonides examines other reconciliations of religion and philosophy like the Moslem rationalists and then offers his own resolution with Aristotelianism.

There are 13 ancient history books that are mentioned and recommended by the Bible. The Ancient Book of Jasher is the only one of the 13 that still exists. It is referenced in Joshua 10:13; 2 Samuel 1:18; and 2 Timothy 3:8. This volume contains the entire 91 chapters plus a detailed analysis of the supposed discrepancies, cross-referenced historical accounts, and detailed charts for ease of use.

The rise of Rome is one of the great stories of world history and fortunately we have a reliable and at times an eyewitness account, from the Greek historian Polybius of Megalopolis. Polybius reports on the main confrontations with the authority of a man who was present at many events and also visited historic sites of importance to ensure his accounts of the past were accurate.

Here in a single volume is the entire, unabridged recording of Gibbon's masterpiece. Beginning in the second century A.D. at the apex of the Pax Romana, Gibbon traces the arc of decline and complete destruction through the centuries across Europe and the Mediterranean. It is a thrilling and cautionary tale of splendor and ruin, of faith and hubris, and of civilization and barbarism. Follow along as Christianity overcomes paganism... before itself coming under intense pressure from Islam.

Hebrew Word Study: Revealing the Heart of God is a devotional book unlike any you’ve ever heard. Most Hebrew word study books unfold like a dictionary, not really explaining the Hebrew words in light of specific Bible passages. Hebrew Word Study by Chaim Bentorah combines an in-depth look at the meanings of a variety of scriptural words and phrases in the original Hebrew with a down-to-earth application for our daily Christian experience.

Whether complete or only fragmentary, the 930 extant Dead Sea Scrolls irrevocably altered how we look at and understand the foundations of faith and religious practice. Now you can get a comprehensive introduction to this unique series of archaeological documents, and to scholars' evolving understanding of their authorship and significance, with these 24 lectures. Learn what the scrolls are, what they contain, and how the insights they offered into religious and ancient history came into focus.

The Apostolic Fathers are the Christian writers from the first and second centuries who are thought to have been disciples of the Apostles or to have been so directly influenced by the Apostles that their writings are considered echoes of genuine Apostolic teaching. Their writings form a link of tradition that binds these writings to those of the New Testament. Chief among the apostolic fathers are the three first-century Bishops: St. Clement of Rome, St. Ignatius of Antioch, and St. Polycarp of Smyrna, who were disciples of St. Peter and St. John.

In AD 66, nationalist and religious revolutionaries in Judaea led a ferocious revolt of the Jewish people against the authority of mighty Rome, culminating in the greatest upheaval and savagery the world had known up to that time. By the end of the conflict seven years later, over one million Jews had perished and tens of thousands were sold into slavery. Until the Holocaust, it remained the greatest tragedy ever endured by a people. How had this once prosperous region been laid low, and by what process did its fratricidal feuds take it down a slippery slope to utter annihilation? Fortunately for us, there was an eyewitness.

The ancient historian Josephus is key to a proper understanding of the time of Christ and the early church era. This recording, an abridged paraphrase of two Josephus histories, will transport you back in time to the period 37 B.C. to A.D. 70, from the time Herod took Jerusalem to become "King of the Jews," to the Roman destruction of Jerusalem and its temple.

The Jewish War is an extraordinary historical document in that it details a calamitous period of four years during which the Jews pitted themselves against the might of the Roman empire. It is partly a remarkable account in that its author, Flavius Josephus (c.37–c.100 CE) was himself a Jew and yet, during the course of the conflict, found himself playing a prominent role for both sides. It is further underpinned by the fact that Josephus himself was not only a participant, but also an historian and a scholar of standing.

For Christians, Flavius Josephus’ (37 to c. 100 A.D) works are one of the most essential extra-biblical chronicles written in the first century. His Jewish Antiquities are particularly valuable for Christians as a fountain of knowledge about the intertestamental period, from the destruction of Solomon’s temple by Antiochus Epiphanes in 167 B.C. to the Roman procurator Florus in 64 A.D. But Josephus’ writings also take us back in Jewish history to God’s creation of the world, providing interesting sidelights to the Hebrew Scripture narratives from oral testimonies and other ancient, ...

The writings of Josephus contain one of the few historical accounts of the wars of the Jews and the destruction of Jerusalem during the Roman occupation of Palestine in 70 A.D. Born in Jerusalem in 37 A.D. and raised in both the Hellenic and Jewish traditions, Josephus spent his life trying to accommodate his admiration for the Romans with his loyalty to his Jewish heritage.

The rise of Rome is one of the great stories of world history and fortunately we have a reliable and at times an eyewitness account, from the Greek historian Polybius of Megalopolis. Polybius reports on the main confrontations with the authority of a man who was present at many events and also visited historic sites of importance to ensure his accounts of the past were accurate.

After 2,000 years, his writings remain an important and relevant source for historians and Bible Scholars. Josephus - The History of the Jews Condensed in Simple English takes one of his most important works and presents it to modern readers in condensed simple English the first update of his Antiquities in nearly 300 years. Treasures of faith and history await your discovery on each page. Find out about a prophetic and friendly meeting between Alexander the Great and the high priest, Jaddua. Learn important details about the first and second temples essential for understanding the ...

The Summa Theologica, by Thomas Aquinas, is a fundamental text in Catholic doctrine, a compendium of theology that has been studied and debated since its first publication in the 13th century. Furthermore, it has been widely regarded as one of the classics of Western philosophy, not least because, perhaps for the first time in such a systematic manner, it set out to consider the views of non-Christian figures such as Aristotle, Boethius, Muslim writers including Averroes (Ibn Rushd) and Avicenna (Ibn Sina) and the Sephardic Jewish scholar Maimonides.

The City of God is one of the most important works of Christian history and philosophy ever written. The writings of St. Augustine are as intriguing to the casual reader as it is to Christian researchers. St. Augustine's work provides insight into Western thought and the development of Western civilizations. The City of God provides the reader with an artful contrast between earthy cities and those in heaven as a representation of the eternal struggle between good and evil. The City of God was originally penned in the early 5th century as a response to the prevalent belief that Christianity was to blame for the fall of Rome. St. Augustine is known as one of the most influential Fathers of the Catholic Church. Born November 13, 354, Augustine would eventually be recognized as a Saint by the Catholic Church, the Eastern Christian Church, and the Anglican Communion.

One of the most remarkable historical works of the 19th century came from the pen of French historian Numa Denis Fustel de Coulanges, a native of Paris. This amazing analysis of family and religious life among the ancient Greeks and Romans is the key to understanding ancient Mediterranean civilizations. The story begins in the misty period of the Bronze Age as the Indo-Europeans began to filter down into the Italian and Greek peninsulas. They brought with them a patriarchy that was based on ancestor worship and the veneration of hearth gods.

The Vikings evoke striking images of horned helmets, battle axes, and merciless coastal raids. Remembered for their shocking brutality and impressive naval prowess, these marauding pirates from the North have inspired poetry, fantasy novels, plays, symphonies, and even comic book heroes over the last 12 centuries. But do any of these enduring tropes reflect reality? Who were the Vikings really? What do we know about the period that bears their name? Explore these questions and more in The Viking Age, a 12-lecture course that corrects the record on a transformative period in world history.

Embark on a journey to the very beginning of writing as a tool of language and see how the many threads of history and linguistics came together to create the alphabet that forms the foundation of English writing. Your guide is Professor John McWhorter of Columbia University and in the 16 lectures of Ancient Writing and the History of the Alphabet, he will help you navigate the complex linguistic and cultural history behind one of our most crucial tools of communication.

Written by Eusebius, the bishop of Caesarea, The History of the Church is the pioneering fourth-century work which details the chronological history of early Christianity from the time of Christ to Constantine. This monumental work of Christian history stands apart from other contemporary histories as the first full-length record of early Christianity from a Christian point of view. While sometimes criticized as biased and inaccurate, The History of the Church nevertheless provides an indispensable perspective upon the foundations of the Christian church and religion.

The Goths are the most enigmatic of all the ancient German tribes. Their name today is still widely in use for a variety of cultural and artistic movements. But unlike other famous German tribes whose names are still descriptive of nations they founded - the Franks, the Lombards, the Angles, the Saxons and the Alemanni - the Goths simply disappeared. The subject of Henry Bradley's splendid short history is tracing the rise, the migrations, and the impact of the Goths on European history along with their spectacular fall.

Being and Time was published in 1927 during the Weimar period in Germany, a time of political, social and economic turmoil. Heidegger himself did not escape the pressures and his nationalism, and undeniable anti-Semitism in the following decades cast a shadow over the man, but not the work. Being and Time is not coloured by expressions of his later views (unlike other writings) and remains an outstanding document.