| The New Testament | ||
|---|---|---|
| c. 80 B.C. | the birth of Matthan's son Jacob. | Matt 1:15 |
| 73-71 B.C. | the slave revolt of Spartacus. | |
| 67-63 B.C. | civil war in Judea prompts Pompey to capture Jerusalem, bringing it under Roman control. | |
| 51-30 B.C. | the reign of Cleopatra in Egypt. | |
| c. 50 B.C. | the birth of Mary's father Eli. | Luke 3:23 |
| 49-44 B.C. | the dictatorship of Julius Caesar in Rome. | |
| 47 B.C. | Herod the Great becomes governor of Judea. | |
| 31 B.C. | the Battle of Actium. | |
| 27 B.C.-A.D. 14 | Augustus Caesar (Octavian) rules the Roman Empire. | |
| c. 26 B.C. | the birth of Jacob's son Joseph. | Matt 1:16 |
| c. 22 B.C. | the birth of Mary. | |
| 19-17 B.C. | the building of Herod's temple. | John 2:20 |
| c. 10 B.C. | the birth of Timothy's grandmother Lois. | 2 Tim 1:5 |
| 6 B.C. | the annunications to Zechariah, Mary, and Joseph, and the birth of John the Baptist. | Matt 1:17-24; Luke 1:1-80 |
| 5 B.C. | the first Roman census; the birth of Jesus. | Matt 1:25; Luke 2:1-28 |
| 4 B.C. | the Magi's visit leads Herod to seek Jesus' life; Joseph and his family flees to Egypt and returns to Nazareth when Herod dies. | Matt 2:1-23; Luke 2:39-40 |
| A.D. 6-15 | Annas serves as high priest. | |
| A.D. 7 | the second Roman census. | Acts 5:37 |
| A.D. 8 | Jesus' visit to the temple | Luke 2:41-42 |
| A.D. 14-37 | Tiberius rules the Roman Empire. | |
| A.D. 18-36 | Caiaphas serves as high priest. | |
| c. A.D. 20 | the birth of Timothy's mother Eunice. | 2 Tim 1:5 |
| A.D. 29 | the ministry of John the Baptist and his baptism of Jesus. | Matt 3:1-17; Mark 1:2-11; Luke 3:1-18, 21-22 |
| A.D. 29-33 | the ministry of Jesus. | Matt 4:1-20:34; Mark 1:12-10:52; Luke 3:19-20, 23-19:27; John 1:19-11:57 |
| A.D. 33 | the crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of Christ. | Matt 21:1-28:20; Mark 11:1-16:8; Luke 19:28-24:53; John 12:1-21:25; Acts 1:1-12; 1 Cor 15:1-7 |
| A.D. 33 | Pentecost and the early activity of the Christian church. | Acts 1:13-4:31 |
| A.D. 34 | the church's early struggles | Acts 4:32-5:42 |
| A.D. 35 | the stoning of Stephen leads to the scattering of the church and the spread of Christianity; persecutor Saul (Paul) is converted on the way to Damascus. | Acts 6:1-9:22 |
| A.D. 35-37 | Saul spends three years in Arabia and Damascus. | Gal 1:17 |
| c. A.D. 35 | the birth of Timothy | |
| A.D. 37 | Saul's first trip to Jerusalem; the birth of Josephus. | Acts 9:23-31; Gal 1:18-24 |
| A.D. 37-41 | Caligula rules the Roman Empire. | |
| A.D. 37-44 | Herod Agrippa I rules Judea. | |
| A.D. 40 | Peter's ministry extends Christianity to Gentiles. | Acts 9:32-11:18 |
| A.D. 41-54 | Claudius rules the Roman Empire. | |
| A.D. 41 | Barnabas ministers in Antioch. | Acts 11:19-24 |
| A.D. 43 | Barnabas brings Saul to Antioch. | Acts 11:25-26 |
| A.D. 44 | Agabus prophesies a famine; Herod kills James of Zebedee and imprisons Peter; Herod is struck dead. | Acts 11:27-28; 12:1-24 |
| A.D. 45 | James, head of the Jerusalem church, writes his letter. | James |
| A.D. 47 | the first collection for Jerusalem. | Acts 11:29-30 |
| A.D. 48-70 | Herod Agrippa II rules Judea. | |
| A.D. 48-49 | Paul's first missionary journey. | Acts 13:1-14:28 |
| A.D. 49 | the Jerusalem Council confirms that Gentiles may become Christians without becoming Jews. | Acts 15:1-35; Gal 2:1-14 |
| A.D. 50-51 | Paul's second missionary journey. | Acts 15:36-17:34 |
| A.D. 51-52 | Paul spends eighteen months at Corinth and writes the letters to the Thessalonians. | Acts 18:1-11; 1 Thes; 2 Thes |
| A.D. 52-59 | M. Antonius Felix serves as Procurator of Judea. | |
| A.D. 52 | Paul is forced from Corinth and returns to Jerusalem and Antioch. | Acts 18:12-22 |
| A.D. 53 | Paul's third missionary journey. | Acts 18:23-28 |
| A.D. 53-56 | Paul spends three years in Ephesus. | Acts 19:1-22 |
| A.D. 54-68 | Nero rules the Roman Empire. | |
| A.D. 54 | Paul writes to the Galatians | Gal |
| A.D. 55 | Paul writes a letter to the Cornithians. | 1 Cor 5:9-13 |
| A.D. 55-56 | Paul writes to Rome, wishing to establish it as a base of operations to the west. | Rom 1:1-16:27 |
| A.D.56 | Paul writes 1 Corinthians | 1 Cor 1:1-16:24 |
| A.D. 56 | Paul leaves Ephesus and visits Corinth to find the church in crisis; he sends Titus with a severe letter, but Titus does not return. Months later, he finds Titus and receives mixed news; Paul writes 2 Corinthians from Macedonia. | Acts 19:23-20:1; 2 Cor. 1:1-13:14 |
| A.D. 56-57 | Paul's final visit to Corinth. | Acts 20:2-3 |
| A.D. 57 | Paul returns to Jerusalem and is arrested. | Acts 20:4-24:23 |
| A.D. 57-59 | Paul is imprisoned in Caesarea under Felix. | Acts 24:24-26 |
| A.D. 58? | Mark writes his gospel. | |
| A.D. 59-61 | Porcius Festus succeeds Felix as Procurator of Judea. | Acts 24:27 |
| A.D. 59 | Paul appeals to Caesar to remove himself from Jewish plots; on the way to Rome, he is shipwrecked at Malta. | Acts 25:1-28:10 |
| A.D. 60-62 | Paul is taken to Rome and imprisoned for two years. | Acts 28:11-31 |
| c. A.D. 60-61 | Matthew and Luke write their gospels. | |
| A.D. 60 | Paul writes to the Ephesians. | Eph. 1:1-6:24 |
| A.D. 61 | Philemon's slave Onesimus flees to Paul; Paul writes to the Colossians and to Philemon. | Col 1:1-4:18; Phe 1-25 |
| A.D. 62 | Paul writes to the Philippians, and Luke writes Acts; Paul is released from prison. | Phil 1:1-4:23 |
| c. A.D. 62 | Paul travels to Macedonia and writes 1 Timothy. | 1 Tim 1:1-6:21 |
| c. A.D. 63 | Peter writes his first letter. | 1 Pet 1:1-5:14 |
| c. A.D. 65 | Timothy is imprisoned and released; Hebrews is written. | Heb 1:1-13:23 |
| A.D. 66-70 | Jewish revolt against Rome | |
| c. A.D. 66 | Paul leaves Titus at Crete. | Titus 1:1-3:15 |
| A.D. 67-68 | Paul's second Roman imprisonment and second letter to Timothy. | 2 Tim 1:1-4:22 |
| A.D. 68 | Peter is imprisoned by Nero; Jude and 2 Peter are written. | 2 Pet 1:1-3:18; Jude 1-25 |
| A.D. 68 | Paul and Peter are martyred at Rome; John writes his gospel. | |
| A.D. 69-79 | Vespasian rules the Roman Empire. | |
| A.D. 79 | Pompeii and Herculaneum are destroyed when Vesuvius erupts. | |
| A.D. 81-96 | Domitian rules the Roman Empire. | |
| c. A.D. 90 | John writes his letters. | 1 Jn 1:1-5:21; 2 Jn 1-13; 3 Jn 1-15 |
| c. A.D. 96 | the Revelation to John completes the New Testament. | Rev 1:1-22:21 |
| Before Abraham | The Patriarchs | Exodus and Conquest | The Judges | United Monarchy |
| Divided Kingdom I | Divided Kingdom II | The Kingdom of Judah | The Exile and Return | The New Testament |
For a concise statement of my beliefs about history, see my Declaration of Faith.
