THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH

An Extraordinary Guide to Understanding the New Testament
by Frank Viola

Read a sample chapter of The Untold Story of the New Testament Church

Watch the New Testament come alive.
Understand God's Word like never before.

With the recent hype overThe Divinci Code and The Judas Gospel, Christians and non-Christians are now asking, "What really happened in the first century?"

Introducing . . . a fully documented piece of scholarship that brings you back into the first century and shows you what really happened.

Let's face it. The New Testament is often hard to understand. A major reason is because it is not arranged in chronological order. Paul's letters, for example, are arranged by size rather than chronologically. This makes the New Testament a bit like a Chinese puzzle. For this reason, one famous Bible scholar said that reading the New Testament letters is like hearing one end of a phone conversation. The book you hold in your hands reconstructs the other end so that you can understand virtually every word.

The Untold Story of the New Testament Church is a unique Bible handbook that weaves Acts and the Epistles together chronologically . . . creating one fluid story. This epic volume gives readers a first-hand account of the New Testament drama that is riveting and enlightening. It includes dates, maps, and background information about the people, the cities, and the events of the first-century church using a "you-are-there" approach.

Get up-close and personal with apostles Paul, Peter, James and John and learn of their personal struggles. Understand the circumstances behind each inspired letter they penned. Watch the chaotic swirl of first-century people and events fall into place before your very eyes. Discover what Paul's "thorn in the flesh" really was. Learn what happened to all the apostles after the book of Acts was finished. Be ushered into the living, breathing atmosphere of the first century and uncover the hidden riches found in God's Word. 

The book includes the following:

  • The entire background, including the historical setting and sociological context, that lies behind each New Testament letter. You will learn what caused the New Testament authors to write their letters, when they wrote them, who they wrote them to, and what they were specifically addressing. 

  • Dates and times of all of the major events that occurred in the New Testament, including when each letter was written and where it was written from.

  • Dates and times of the major historical events of secular history interwoven with the New Testament story.

  • Maps of all four of Paul's church planting trips and his journey to Rome.

  • An explanation of all of the major cities where each church was planted, a sociological profile of what the people were like in each city and what they experienced in their daily lives.

  • A user-friendly guide to take you through each New Testament book after you have learned the entire historical setting for each one. This will help you to understand each New Testament letter in a brand new way.

  • Endnotes containing Scripture and historical details plus an extensive bibliography so that you can reconstruct the entire story for yourself.

Endorsements

Many of us have been challenged by Franks previous books examining New Testament church life and practice. Now with this story, focused on helping us see the church in its New Testament context, but in appropriate chronological order, we are greatly helped to understand the various letters of the New Testament. When you see the writings of Peter and Paul and John and the context into which they wrote, it helps make the why of their letters as clear as the what! Read this book at one sitting and you will marvel as the story of the early church unfolds before your very eyes.

Tony Dale, Editor, House 2 House magazine

This volume has provided much needed information that is now in one place for the first time! Read it as I did with a highlighter pen in hand! Thanks, Frank, for the way you let the Lord use you in preparing this for the rest of us!

Ralph W. Neighbour, Jr., author, Where Shall We Go From Here?

Frank Viola has produced a useful and engaging account of the New Testament Church, helpfully setting people and events within their first-century cultural context. While not everyone will agree with every detail of the authors reconstruction or theological interpretation, for any such retelling unavoidably involves some interpretation, still this account helps contemporary believers more fully appreciate the remarkable dynamism of our earliest Christian forebears.

Howard A. Snyder, author, The Community of the King, Liberating the Laity, A Kingdom Manifesto, Decoding the Church

Frank Viola has given us a different kind of church history, a history not of the institution but of the Body. It focuses on the people of God and their struggles; on Paul and his converts, enemies, disciples, and friends; on Peter and John and the churches they birthed and raised. Franks book emphasizes what went forward among the saints to create eternal value rather than what happened politically to create the church of subsequent centuries. Although most history is written by the winners to justify their victory, The Untold Story gives us a history of the early churches as Gods own people, whether they were ultimately victorious or troubled.

Hal Miller, author, Christian Community: Biblical or Optional?

Frank Viola has done it again! This time he weaves the New Testament together in a single, chronological story. I love it! We will be promoting this book and I will be giving it to friends this year as gifts.  

Nate Krupp, author, Gods Simple Plan for His Church 

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