PREFACE

THE present is a companion volume to the “Outlines of Jewish History” published some months ago. It deals with the historical data supplied by the inspired writings of the New Testament, in exactly the same manner as the preceding work did with the various events recorded in the sacred books of the Old Testament. In both volumes the writer has pursued the same purpose and followed the same methods.

Both works have been prepared for the special use of theological students, not, however, without the hope that they may prove serviceable to a much larger number of readers, such as teachers of Bible history in Sunday-schools, colleges, academies, and the like. In neither volume has it been the aim of the writer to supply a substitute for the Bible itself, but rather a help towards a more careful perusal of the inspired record. With this purpose in view, he has set forth such results of modern investigation as may render the sacred narrative more intelligible and attractive. Many of the difficulties which are daily being raised on historical grounds are also touched upon, and the biblical student is supplied with constant references to further sources of information.

Like the historical writings of the New Testament, the present volume contains two distinct, though very closely connected parts. The first part, gathered from the four narratives of our canonical gospels, describes the life and times of Our Lord; the second, based mainly on the book of the Acts, presents a brief sketch of the labors of Peter, Paul, James, and John, the leading apostles of Christ. The first part, under the title of “The Gospel History,” takes up the sacred narrative at the point where it was left in the “Outlines of Jewish History,” and deals with the three-and-thirty years of Our Lord’s mortal life; the second, entitled “The Apostolic History,” narrates the principal events connected with the planting and early spread of Christianity in the Roman Empire down to the year 98 A.D.

As an additional help to the student, two maps—one of Palestine in the Time of Our Lord, the other of the Roman Empire in the Apostolic Times—have been especially prepared, and will be found at the end of the volume, together with a Chronological Table established on the now commonly admitted fact that the birth of Our Lord took place some years before what is called the Christian era.

July 16, 1898.