Historical Fulfillments Episodes

Date of Revelation

This deals with the evidence for determining the early pre-70 date of the book of Revelation. We date the book in relation to a number of factors, including internal and external considerations. We arrive at a date in the second half of AD 62, before Hebrews and 2nd Peter were written. There is a PDF…

Arrest of James – Exile of John (AD 62)

The year AD 62 was a very action-packed year for Christians in Jerusalem especially. Josephus tells us that Ananus II took advantage of the temporary lack of a procurator to arrest James (the Lord's brother) and some of his companions there in Jerusalem, one of which was probably Apostle John. James was killed, and evidently…

While Paul Was in Rome (AD 61-63)

We cover several of the Jewish and Roman historical events of significance to Christianity that were occurring while Paul was in prison in Rome. We also discuss which books of the NT were written at this time (1,2,3 John plus Ephesians and Colossians). There is a PDF lesson outline available for this podcast. Send an…

Paul's Arrival in Rome (early AD 61)

We look at some of the other Jewish and Christian events that occurred while Paul was on his way to Rome, or just after he arrived there. The writing of the gospel of John most likely occurred here, along with the epistle of James, and the three epistles of John. We also look at the…

Paul's Voyage to Rome (AD 60-61)

We cover the events mentioned in Acts 27-28, from the last few months of Paul's imprisonment in Caesarea, until he was sent to Rome by Festus the Roman Governor (or Procurator). We discuss the whole voyage, especially the shipwreck on the island of Malta. There is a PDF lesson outline available for this podcast. Send…

Jude's Grandsons (AD 62-66)

In book three of the Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius, he tells the story of the two grandsons of Jude (the brother of Jesus) who were arrested and brought before the Roman court to investigate their aspirations to the Davidic throne in Jerusalem. There are some historical problems associated with this story, which we explore and…

Dating the Four Gospels

It is pretty clear from reading Paul's epistles to the Thessalonians (written in AD 51) that Paul was familiar with the Gospel of Matthew. There are over a dozen strong similarities and allusions to the material found in Matthew 23-25, too much in fact to explain away as coincidence. We also look at some possible…

Paul in Caesarea – Acts 24-26 (AD 58-60)

We discuss the events mentioned in Acts 24-26, which occurred there in Judea right after Paul was arrested in Jerusalem at the feast of Pentecost in AD 58. We talk about the possibility that Luke and Acts may have been written by Luke while Paul was there in Caesarea for two years, or at least…

Who Was Theophilus? Acts 23-24 (AD 58-63)

We look at the theory that Theophilus might have been one of the former High Priests of the Ananus family. There are a lot of historical reasons why this theory makes sense. However, on a later podcast we will suggest an even better possibility that Theophilus was a government official in Nero's court at Rome….

Paul Taken to Caesarea – Acts 21-24 (AD 58-60)

After Paul was arrested in the temple, he was put on trial there in Jerusalem before Ananias b. Nedebaeus (the current High Priest). When a plot against his life was discovered, Paul was then sent to Caesarea, where he remained under guard for two years. There is a PDF lesson outline available for this podcast….