Bøker av Lewis Ben Smith

What if our Gospels . . .. . . aren't Gospel?It was supposed to be a simple bit of salvage archeology for Father Duncan MacDonald, the Vatican archeologist: Explore an empty cave uncovered in the Negev Desert by an Israeli construction crew for archeological significance. But then a false wall in the back of the cave reveals a basalt ossuary, inscribed with the name of "Matthew Levi, Beloved Scribe of His Lord." Behind the ossuary . . . an ancient tomb with a human skeleton and a sealed jar.Finding the undisturbed tomb of one of the Apostles of Jesus leads the Israeli government to call in Duncan's companions, who had discovered the Testimonium of Pontius Pilate three years earlier. When the three archeologists arrive in Tel Aviv, they discover an amazing document inside the tomb: the end of Matthew's Gospel, written in the Apostle's own hand!Excitement turns to pandemonium when they translate the scroll and find the text varies drastically from every copy of the Book of Matthew in existence. Have the New Testament Gospels been altered since they were written? Has this tomb really lain undisturbed for two thousand years? Is this ancient manuscript really . . .MATTHEW'S AUTOGRAPH?

FOR TWO THOUSAND YEARS HIS NAME WAS UNKNOWN.HIS STORY WAS UNTOLD.When members of Rome's most despised religious minority are accused by Emperor Nero himself of starting the Great Fire, will any man have the courage to stand up for them?ONE MAN WILL.His name is Marcus Quintus Publius . . . a brilliant lawyer, a confidant of Emperors, a fearless soldier, and a man of integrity - a rare combination in the Roman Empire! His journeys have taken him from the windswept shores of Britain all the way to the Parthian capitol of Ecbatana, with many adventures along the way. He crosses paths with crooked governors, barbarian invaders, monstrous beasts, maniacal tyrants, and the apostles of the Empire's newest faith: Christianity. Hailed as imperator by his troops on the field and called "The Scourge of the Provinces" by corrupt politicians, he now faces his greatest challenge - defending Rome's Christians against a mad Emperor. He might finally earn the name given him by Paul of Tarsus - Theophilus, the "Lover of God" - but just how much would that stand cost him?

PONTIUS PILATE SPEAKS! For two thousand years the tiny chamber on the island of Capri had been sealed, hiding a scroll that could confirm the single most important claim of the Christian faith-or disprove it once and for all. Now an earthquake has torn that chamber open, and a team of archeologists led by Italian scholar Isabella Sforza are about to make a discovery that will shake the world of faith-and make them the target of a deadly terrorist attack. What did Pontius Pilate say about the trial and execution of Jesus of Nazareth? Make no mistake . . . THE TESTIMONIUM will leave you breathless!

Lucius Pontius Pilate was a Roman on the rise, an ambitious nobleman serving with ruthless efficiency as a confidential agent of the Emperor Tiberius Caesar. A respected member of the Roman Senate, Pilate harbored a cruel streak that Tiberius used to strike fear into the Empire's enemies. Pilate was on his way to the peak of Roman society when a disastrous encounter with the loathsome Gaius Caligula, Tiberius' heir, ended with him being disgraced and sent into exile as Prefect to the armpit of the Roman Empire: the province of Judea.In this desert land, where political rebellion and religious fanaticism bloomed like flowers in the spring, Pilate's life became entwined with that of Jesus of Nazareth, the enigmatic leader of a new religious sect. Bullied into sending Jesus to the cross by the local religious leaders, Pilate is tormented with guilt and nightmares, unable to wash away the blood on his hands. But when the death of Tiberius elevates Caligula to the Imperial throne, Pilate may have no choice but to flee for refuge to the disciples of the Man he crucified. But will they accept him?