Text History
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World History
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1 AD
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On January 9-10, a total eclipse of the moon was viewed from all Roman provinces surrounding the Mediterranean Sea.
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6 AD
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Jesus enters the temple at age 12.
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Herod Archelaus is removed by Caesar Augustus to establish Judea and Samaria as a single Roman province headquartered in Caesarea.
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14 AD
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Caesar Augustus dies and Tiberius Caesar inherits the throne of the Roman Empire.
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24-27 AD
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John the Baptist begins his ministry and baptizes Jesus in the Jordan River.
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Jesus begins His ministry.
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Herodias divorces her husband Philip and their daughter Salome is the one who eventually asks for the head of John the Baptist.
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26 AD
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Pontius Pilate is established as the fifth procurator of Judea.
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27-30 AD
29 AD
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John the Baptist is beheaded on the orders of Herod Antipas.
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32 AD
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Stephen is stoned upon the authority of Saul and the church scatters.
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34-37 AD
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The Apostle Paul makes his first trip to Jerusalem to meet with Peter.
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37 AD
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Gaius Caesar becomes emperor of Rome upon the death of Tiberius.
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40 AD
Philo of Alexandria finds himself curious about the development of Christianity, but is caught up in Gnostic theology. |
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Historically, Philo becomes the first to claim that the Septuagint was an “inspired” translation. While such discussion is up for a debate that continues through to this day, it’s difficult to set aside the apostles’ use of the Septuagint in their writing of the New Testament.
40-90 AD
The Books of the New Testament are written in Koine (Post-Classical) Greek. With the development of Alexandria, Egypt (300-250BC) and the Roman Empire’s use of a Greek education system, the Hebrew writers of the New Testament were thus trained to write present day documents in Common Greek, rather than their native tongue of Hebrew, which they knew just as well. |
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Much debate exists about the specific dating of each book in the New Testament and when they were written. The information provided in this particular timeline will open up such dates based on commonly accepted terms, but will make future editions based on additional research to be included in any appendix requiring it.
The Gospel of Matthew is written in Aramaic (later to be translated into Koine Greek). |
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41 AD
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Claudius I becomes emperor of Rome.
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Herod Agrippa I is appointed ruler over Judea and Samaria by Claudius.
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42 AD
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The Apostle Paul joins Barnabas to work with the established church in Syrian Antioch.
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44 AD
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The Apostle James (the brother of John) is beheaded and the Apostle Peter is imprisoned on the orders of Herod Agrippa.
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King Herod Agrippa I dies suddenly by the work of the Holy Spirit.
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King Herod Agrippa II is believed to be too young, at age 17, to rule Judea and Samaria, so it falls under total Roman control.
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45-50 AD
The Epistle of James is written in Koine Greek. |
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46-48 AD
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Paul and Barnabas take the first missionary journey from Syrian Antioch via Cyprus and Asia Minor.
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48-51 AD
The Epistle to the Galatians is written in Koine Greek. |
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49-52 AD
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Paul and Silas take the second missionary journey from Syrian Antioch via Greece and Asia Minor.
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49 AD
The First Epistle to the Thessalonians is written in Koine Greek. |
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50 AD
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The famed “Acts 15” meeting takes place in Jerusalem.
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Most pressing at this meeting was the definition of what was and was not acceptable, according to Jewish leaders, for the Gentiles to be bound regarding the Law of Moses. Whether they were to be circumcised and what they were permitted to eat were the prevalent two issues discussed. Prior to the final recorded words of James at this gathering, Peter’s words are often debated today with regard to their meaning.
"Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they." Acts 15:10-11
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Emperor Claudius expels the Jews from Rome and comes to believe that Agrippa II is old enough to be placed in charge of Judea and Samaria.
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53 AD
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The Apostle Paul makes his third missionary journey from Syrian Antioch via Asia Minor and Greece.
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54 AD
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Nero, at age 16, becomes emperor of Rome and succeeds Claudius (who was poisoned to death).
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55 AD
Both Epistles to the Corinthians are written in Koine Greek. |
The Apostle Peter travels to Rome.
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57 AD
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The Apostle Paul makes his final trip to Jerusalem.
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58 AD
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The Apostle Paul is arrested in Caesarea and held for two years.
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Buddhism is introduced in China.
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60 AD
The Epistle to the Romans is written in Koine Greek. |
Paul appeals to Caesar, or Emperor Nero, for his freedom as a Roman citizen.
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61-63 AD
The Epistles to Colossus, Philippi, Ephesus, and the Epistle to Philemon are written in Koine Greek. |
The Apostle Paul is placed under house arrest in Rome for two years.
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62-95 AD
The Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts are written in Koine Greek. |
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Part of the debated argument for the Acts dating revolves around the timing of Paul's imprisonment and subsequent release from Rome that is not recorded in the Book of the Acts. As a result, it would appear that Luke did not simply choose to omit it. Rather, it was an "up to the hour" account of Paul's journey as far as Luke had seen and known.
62 AD
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James, the brother of Jesus and leader of the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15), is executed on the order of the High Priest.
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63-70 AD
The Gospel of Mark is written in Koine Greek. |
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64-67 AD
The Epistles of I and II Peter are written in Koine Greek. |
Paul is released from house arrest in Rome.
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64 AD
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First persecution of the Christians begins under Nero. His decision to implement this torture stems from Rome’s six days of burning.
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Mark, the disciple, Peter’s “son” and an author of the Gospel of Mark establishes the first church in Alexandria.
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Herod Agrippa’s temple construction is finished in Jerusalem.
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65 AD
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The famed Seneca the Younger of Rome is ordered to commit suicide by the Emperor Nero.
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Roman Philosopher, Seneca the Younger, was known for being a statesman and humorist, but it was the medieval period that began to address a belief that he had been converted to Christianity by the Apostle Paul. Most of his 124 morality letters deal with accepting one's own mortality and how best to confront life's problems.
The Q Document is allegedly written. |
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Little is known of the legitimacy of the Q Document, but its hypothetical content involves a Greek text used in the writing of Matthew and Luke's gospels. The postulation of this document comes from a 19th century "two-source hypothesis" in which scholars state that Matthew and Luke used two sources to create their gospel accounts of Jesus' exact words. Those "two sources" were said to be the Gospel of Mark (written in 70AD) and the Q. Enough debate exists to suggest that this entire document is a fabrication of man's presumption, but it ought to be noted as capable possibility.
The Epistle to the Hebrews is written in Koine Greek. |
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66 AD
The Epistles of I Timothy and Titus are written in Koine Greek. |
The Jewish rebellion begins between the Roman Empire and the Nation of Israel desiring to once again become great.
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67 AD
The Epistle of II Timothy is written in Koine Greek. |
Nero gives the order to have both Paul and Peter executed. The Apostle Paul is martyred on his way from Rome to Ostia, the location where Tiberius developed the first open and public Roman Forum. Soon after, Peter is also executed.
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The Epistle of Jude is written in Koine Greek. |
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68-95 AD
The Book of Revelations is written in Koine Greek. |
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68 AD
The city of Qumran, located just a mile inland from the Dead Sea, is destroyed by Rome. |
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This particular location became globally recognized in 1947 when a sheep-herder discovered a cave with several jars holding delicate and ancient scrolls. Much of this area had not been heavily inhabited for centuries and as such, the debate rages on about the authenticity of such scrolls. Within some circles, it is suggested that they cannot be authentic because it would therefore imply that God did not preserve His Word during their absence. Other scholars suggest that these scrolls simply enhance the exactness of Scripture we have come to know and understand through an already preserved text.
69 AD
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Vespian becomes emperor of Rome.
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70 AD
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The Temple of Jerusalem is destroyed once again as it had been during the siege of Babylon in 597 BC. The future emperor Titus leads this destruction.
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73 AD
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Masada, the last remaining stronghold of the Jews, falls to the Roman Empire.
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Significance of this fall is in its location near to the Dead Sea. Setting aside all conspiracy debates regarding the authenticity of the scrolls found in 1947, this defeat in Masada signifies a strong likelihood that those Jews present would have chosen to hide or bury some of their remaining documents in fear of their being destroyed.
79 AD
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Titus (the older son of Vespian) succeeds Vespian as emperor of Rome.
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The eruption of Mt. Vesuvius buries two major Roman cities (Pompeii and Herculaneum).
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81 AD
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Domitian (the younger son of Vespian) succeeds Titus as emperor of Rome.
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90 AD
The Synod of Jamnia meets to compile the Hebrew canon, or in certain terms, the New “Protestant” Old Testament. |
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Several historians have held to the idea that this council meeting never took place, but the debate does indeed begin from somewhere. Prior to this debate, the Septuagint (300-100BC) included books that were no longer read from the “Protestant” Old Testament after this point. It is believed that the removal of these apocryphal books became known as the “standard text” to the point that other texts would have been omitted and excluded from theological foundations.
The Epistles of I, II, and III John are written in Koine Greek. |
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Quintilian of Spain, the author of Institutio Oratorio, develops a standard of principles for rhetorical education, classical sentence structure, and rhetorical arguments. |
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92 AD
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Clement is elected Bishop of Rome. While he was indeed a firm believer that Jesus was God, his most famous letters were written to the Corinthians as a means toward having them return to the leadership that had been there around the time of the Apostles. His goal was to maintain succession, which would become the core of Catholic Church history (see 96 AD).
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93 AD
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The Second persecution of Christians begins under the Roman Emperor Domitian. The Apostle John is banished to the island of Patmos, where it is believed by many that he wrote the Book of Revelation.
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96 AD
Clement of Rome writes the Epistle of Clement, or Clement I. |
Nerva succeeds Domitian as Emperor of Rome.
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Clement was considered by the Roman Catholic Church to have been their 4th pope. Much is debated today regarding whether he died of natural causes or if he was martyred under the reign of Domitian. In either case, his death would have taken place between 96 and 102 AD.
98 AD
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Trajan succeeds Nerva as emperor of Rome.
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Ignatius of Antioch is martyred in Rome under Trajan's rule.
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Ignatius was credited with being a disciple of Peter and John. He opposed gnosticism and wrote several letters including an epistle to the Ephesians, the Romans, and the Philadelphians. Within the content of his writing was the first official distinguishing note of differentiation between bishop and elder.
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