Free PDF Eusebius: The Church History, by Eusebius Paul L. Maier
Free PDF Eusebius: The Church History, by Eusebius Paul L. Maier
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Eusebius: The Church History, by Eusebius Paul L. Maier
Free PDF Eusebius: The Church History, by Eusebius Paul L. Maier
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Review
"The publication of a new translation of Eusebius's The Church History is an important event. This translation, along with the helpful introductions and commentary by Paul L. Maier, makes early history come alive." (Mark A McAnaney, Professor of History University of Notre Dame 2007-01-01)"There is no book more important to understanding the early church than Eusebius's The Church History. And there is no edition more readable and engaging than this one." (Mark Galli, Managing Editor Christianity Today 2007-01-01)
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From the Back Cover
Often called the "Father of Church History," Eusebius was the first to trace the rise of Christianity during its crucial first three centuries from Christ to Constantine. Our principal resource for earliest Christianity, The Church History presents a panorama of apostles, church fathers, emperors, bishops, heroes, heretics, confessors, and martyrs. This paperback edition includes Paul L. Maier's clear and precise translation, historical commentary on each book in The Church History, and numerous maps, illustrations, and photographs. Coupled with helpful indexes and the Loeb numbering system, these features promise to liberate Eusebius from previous outdated and stilted works, creating a new standard primary resource for readers interested in the early history of Christianity. Reviews of the hardcover edition: "The publication of a new translation of Eusebius's The Church History is an important event. This translation, along with the helpful introductions and commentary by Paul L. Maier, makes early history come alive." --Mark A. Noll, Francis A. McAnaney Professor of History, University of Notre Dame "There is no book more important to understanding the early church than Eusebius's The Church History. And there is no edition more readable and engaging than this one." --Mark Galli, Managing Editor, Christianity Today Paul L. Maier is the Russell H. Seibert Professor of Ancient History at Western Michigan University. He received his Ph.D. summa cum laude from the University of Basel, the first American ever to do so. Frequently interviewed for national radio, television, and newspapers, Maier is the author of numerous articles and books, both fiction and nonfiction, with several million books in print in sixteen languages. His publications include the award-winning translation, Josephus: The Essential Works.
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Product details
Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Kregel Academic & Professional; Later Printing edition (May 31, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 9780825433078
ISBN-13: 978-0825433078
ASIN: 082543307X
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Eusebius (260-339 A.D.) is the father of church history, being the first to document the first 300 years of Christianity, from Christ to Constantine. During this time, Christians were frequently persecuted by a hostile Roman Empire. Eusebius records the heroic stance of martyrs who refused to denounce Christ, and who defended their faith against many heresies. He addresses key questions such as: What happened to Jesus' apostles later in life? Did Simon Peter ever go to Rome? Where did John spend his remaining days? When were the Gospels written? Who wrote them, and where? How did the New Testament canon develop? Why and how were the early Christians persecuted?Eusebius structures his history using a timeline of Roman emperors, and a succession of bishops who led the four great centers of the early church -- Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria, and Rome. He obtained much of his material from the vast library founded by Origen in his hometown of Caesarea, and tended by Pamphilus, Eusebius' mentor, and in the Jerusalem library established by bishop Alexander. One major contribution of his history is recording crucial statements of orthodoxy whose original documents have long been lost or destroyed.HIGHLIGHTS FROM BOOK 1 -- THE PERSON AND WORK OF CHRISTEusebius quotes John 1:1, 3 which states the preexistence and divinity of Christ. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...All things were made by Him, and apart from Him nothing was made." Eusebius says Moses identifies Christ at creation in Genesis 1:26, "For God said, 'Let us make man in OUR image and likeness.'" The name of Christ is used in the Old Testament as "anointed", where the English word "Christ" is equivalent to the Hebrew word "Messiach" (Messiah) which is equivalent to the Greek word "Anointed." Prophets, priests, and kings are called "anointed" as symbolic Christs, since Jesus is the only High Priest of the universe, the only King of all creation, and the only Archprophet of the Father.Eusebius explains Moses' prophecy in Genesis 49:10 "A ruler shall not be wanting from Judah, nor a leader from his loins, until he comes for whom it is reserved," and that he will be "the expectation of the Gentiles." This prediction could not be fulfilled as long as the Jews lived under rulers of their own race. The Jews were led first by Moses, then Joshua, then judges, then kings, beginning with Saul and David. Zedekiah was the last king of Israel (Ezekiel 21:26). Then the Jews were taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon in 586 B.C. After returning from captivity, the Jews were ruled by Jewish high priests. When the Roman general Pompey laid siege to Jerusalem, he imprisoned the high priest Aristobulus. His brother, Hyrcanus, became high priest while the Jews became subject to Rome. When the Parthians took Hyrcanus prisoner, the Roman senate and emperor Augustus placed Herod as king of the Jews, the first foreigner or Gentile (non-Jew) to ever rule over the Jews. Herod no longer appointed high priests of the ancient line of succession. Thus, a ruler shall not be "wanting" or lacking from Judah "UNTIL he comes for whom it is reserved." Or, when the Jews first lack a true ruler is when the Messiah will appear. So Jesus appeared at the same time the Jews were, for the first time, without a Jewish leader!Christ's GenealogiesJesus was born in 4 B.C. in Bethlehem of Judea during the reign of Emperor Augustus. Eusebius explains, through the historian Julius Africanus, why the genealogies of Christ are listed differently in Matthew and Luke, but are not in conflict. Matthew 1:15-16 lists the 3rd from the end as Matthan, while Luke 3:23-24 lists the 3rd from the end as Melchi. Estha first married Matthan (descended from David through Solomon) and she bore him Jacob. When Matthan died, Estha married Melchi (descended from David through Nathan), and she bore him Heli. So Jacob and Heli were stepbrothers. When Heli died childless, his half-brother Jacob married Heli's widow. Their son, Joseph, became the father of Jesus. So Joseph's NATURAL father was Jacob, but his LEGAL father was Heli.The famous passage from the Jewish historian, Josephus, who mentions Jesus"At this time there was a wise man called Jesus, and his conduct was good, and he was known to be virtuous. Many people among the Jews and the other nations became his disciples. Pilate condemned him to be crucified and to die. But those who had become his disciples did not abandon his discipleship. They reported that he had appeared to them three days after his crucifixion and that he was alive. Accordingly, he was perhaps the Messiah, concerning whom the prophets have reported wonders. And the tribe of the Christians, so named after him, has not disappeared to this day."King HerodJosephus says when King Herod died an agonizing death in 44 A.D., "God was exacting retribution" from him for the children he murdered at Bethlehem (Matthew 2:16-18), and for murdering his wife, 3 of his sons, relatives, and friends.HIGHLIGHTS FROM BOOKS 2, 3, 4 and 5Eusebius says, "Thus the saving word started to brighten the whole world like rays of the sun. In every city and village, churches mushroomed, crowded with myriads of members. Those chained by superstition and idolatry found release through the power of Christ as well as the teaching and wonderful deeds of his followers. Rejecting demonic polytheism, they confessed the one God and Creator of the universe whom they honored with the rational worship implanted by our Savior."(p. 55)Of the apostles, "They traveled into every land, teaching their message in the power of Christ, who had told them, 'Go and make disciples of all nations in my name' [Matthew 28:19]. Meanwhile, before the war [against Jerusalem] began, members of the Jerusalem church were ordered by an oracle given by revelation to those worthy of it to leave the city and settle in a city of Perea called Pella. Here they migrated from Jerusalem, as if, once holy men had deserted the royal capital of the Jews and the whole land of Judea, the judgment of God might finally fall on them for their crimes against Christ and his apostles, utterly blotting out all that wicked generation" (p. 82).Contemporary readers may recoil at Eusebius' repeated references to God's punishing the Jews for their "crimes against Christ and his apostles," but he believes he is documenting what Christ Himself predicted, and what Josephus recorded in graphic detail.Eusebius believed Christ predicted the fall of Jerusalem (70 A.D.) as God's punishment for the Jews not accepting His Messiah"For at that time there will be great suffering, such as has not been seen from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be" (Matthew 24:19-21)"Indeed the days will come upon you when your enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround you and hem you in on every side. They will crush you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation" (Luke 19:42-44).In 70 A.D. the Romans, under the emperor Vespasian and his son Titus, used an embankment to besiege the city. They pried apart all the stones to collect the gold leaf that melted when they burned the temple down. Thus, one stone was not left upon another. Jesus said all this would happen because God visited the Jews in the person of Jesus the Messiah, but they rejected Him (John 1:10-11 and Luke 20:13-16)."For there will be great distress on the earth and wrath against this people; they will fall by the edge of the sword and be taken away as captives among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled upon by the Gentiles" (Luke 21:23-24)."When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near" (Luke 21:20).Josephus recorded the aftermath of the destruction of Jerusalem"Famine is truly the worst form of suffering...Women grabbed food from the very mouths of their husbands, children from their fathers, and mothers from their babies. Partisans showed no pity for grey hair or infancy, but picked up the babies clinging to their scraps and dashed them to the floor. They devised dreadful methods of torture...to get people to reveal a hidden loaf or a single handful of barley." Josephus estimated that 1.1 million Jews died by famine and the sword. Another 90 thousand of those under the age of seventeen were sold into slavery. Those over seventeen were sent as prisoners to hard labor in Egypt, and even more were divided among the provinces to be killed in the theaters by sword or wild beasts.James, the brother of the LordCalled "James the Just" for his outstanding virtue, he was the first leader of the Jerusalem church. The Jewish leaders made him stand on the temple roof where he could be seen and heard by the people, so he would dissuade them from believing in Christ. But he explained that "the door of Jesus" meant that Jesus was the Christ. He was thrown off the temple roof, but he was not dead. Then they began to stone him, but James knelt down and forgave them. Then one of them, a laundryman, took the club he used to beat out clothes and hit James on the head. He was buried on the spot by the temple.Hegesippus says, James "was consecrated from his mother's womb. He drank no wine or liquor and ate no meat. No razor came near his head, and he did not anoint himself with oil, and took no baths. He alone was permitted to enter the sanctum, for he wore not wool but linen. He used to enter the temple alone and was often found kneeling and imploring forgiveness for the people, so that his knees became hard like a camel's from his continual kneeling in worship of God and in prayer for the people."Eusebius says that James wrote the 1st of the General Epistles. This epistle, like the epistle of Jude, was not initially authenticated.James, the apostle, the brother of John, both sons of Zebedee (and Salome)King Herod "had James the brother of John put to death with a sword" (Acts 12:2). Clement adds a tradition that the man who brought James into court was so moved by his testimony that he confessed that he too was a Christian. He asked James to forgive him. James looked at him for a moment and replied, "Peace be with you" and kissed him. So both were beheaded at the same time.Peter, the apostle, and Mark (John-Mark)Peter preached to the Jews of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Bithynia, Cappadocia, and Asia Minor.Then he went to Rome to preach the Gospel. Mark, his follower, writes down his teaching, which becomes the Gospel of Mark. Both Clement and Papias confirm this. Peter mentions Mark and Rome ("Babyon") in I Peter 5:13. Peter is crucified, head downward, at his own request. Mark was sent to Egypt where he founded the Alexandrian church.PaulThe first time Paul was a prisoner in Rome, under Nero, he was allowed to have his own rented quarters, but a guard was with him at all times, perhaps chained to him (Acts 28:16; Ephesians 6:20). He spent 2 years preaching unhindered. After released in 62 A.D., he set out on his fourth missionary journey. In 67 A.D., he was arrested a 2nd time in Rome. During this time, he wrote II Timothy, and said that during his 1st arrest he was "rescued from the lion's mouth" referring to Nero (II Timothy 4:17). He expects to be martyred, as he says "the time of my departure has come" (II Timothy 4:6).Eusebius says "It is related that in [Nero's] reign Paul was beheaded in Rome itself and that Peter was crucified, and the cemeteries there still called by the names of Peter and Paul confirm the record. So does a churchman named Gaius, who lived when Zephyrinus was Bishop of Rome: "I can point out the trophies [monuments] of the apostles. If you will go to the Vatican or the Ostian Way, you will find the trophies."Thaddeus, the apostle (also called Judas, not Iscariot)Sent by the apostle Thomas to Edessa as a preacher and evangelist.Thomas, Andrew, and John, the apostles"The holy apostles of our Savior were scattered across the world. Thomas, according to tradition, was allotted Parthia, Andrew Scythia, and John Asia [Minor], were he stayed until his death at Ephesus"(p. 80). Tradition has it that John was still alive in 95 A.D. and was condemned to live on the island of Patmos for his testimony to the divine Word. Irenaeus says that John "remained with [the elders in Asia Minor] until the time of Trajan" (98 A.D.). Polycrates says John was buried in Ephesus.Bartholomew, the apostleEusebius says, Pantaenus was one of the most distinguished teachers and Stoic philosophers of his day. He was so enthusiastic for the divine Word, they say, he was sent to preach the Gospel of Christ to people in the East and went as far as India. He found that the Gospel of Matthew had preceded him there among some who had come to know Christ. Bartholomew, one of the apostles, had preached to them and had left them Matthew's account in Hebrew letters, which was preserved until that time. After many achievements, Pantaenus finally became head of the school at Alexandria, where he revealed the treasures of divine doctrine in both oral and written form.Philip, the apostlePreached in Samaria, and to an Ethiopian officer of the queen, who returned to Ethiopia with the Gospel, fulfilling the promise in Psalm 68:31 "Ethiopia shall stretch out its hands to God."Luke says in Acts 21:8-9 that Philip was an evangelist in Caesarea and had four virgin daughters that were prophetesses. However, Clement says that Philip "gave his daughters in marriage." But Polycrates, bishop to Ephesus, says that Philip was buried at Hierapolis, with two of his aged, virgin daughters, while a third daughter "lived in the Holy Spirit" and was buried in Ephesus.Clopas, brother of Joseph, the father of Jesus (Jesus' uncle)After the martyrdom of James and the conquest of Jerusalem that followed soon after, tradition has it that those of the apostles and disciples of the Lord who were still alive gathered from everywhere with those who were, humanly speaking, relatives of the Lord, for many of them were still alive. They all discussed together who ought to succeed James, and all unanimously decided that Symeon, son of the Clopas mentioned in the Gospels (John 19:25 and Luke 24:18), was worthy of the bishop's throne [in Jerusalem]. It is said that he was a first cousin of the Savior, for Hegesippus relates that Clopas was the brother of Joseph (the father of Jesus).Symeon (Jesus' cousin)During the reign of Trajan 98-117 A.D., Symeon, son of Clopas, and bishop of Jerusalem, was accused by heretics of being descended from David and a Christian. He was tortured for many days in giving his witness, so that even the provincial governor, Atticus, was astounded at how he endured it all at 120 years of age. He was sentenced to crucifixion.In 112 A.D., Pliny the Younger, a Roman governor, wrote to Trajan that "he found nothing wicked in their behavior [Christians], other than their unwillingness to worship idols. He further informed him that Christians rose at dawn, sang hymns to Christ as a god, and upheld their teachings by forbidding murder, adultery, fraud, robbery, and the like."Other earthly relatives of Jesus ChristThe Roman emperor Domitian ordered the execution of all who were in David's line, and an old tradition alleges that some heretics accused the descendants of Jude -- the brother of the Savior, humanly speaking, claiming that they were of David's family and related to Christ himself.Hegesippus reports this as follows:"Still surviving of the Lord's family were the grandsons of Jude, who was said to be his brother according to the flesh, and they were informed on as being descendants of David. They were brought before Domitian Caesar, who, like Herod, was afraid of the coming of Christ. Domitian asked them if they were descended from David, and they admitted it. Then he asked them how much property and money they had, and they replied that they had only nine thousand denarii between them, half belonging to each. And this, they said, was not in the form of cash but the estimated value of only 20 acres of land, from which they paid taxes and supported themselves from their own labors.Then, as proof of their toil, they showed him the calluses on their hands and the hardness of their bodies from incessant labor. They were asked about Christ and his kingdom -- it's nature, origin, and time of appearance. They replied that it was not of this world or earthly but angelic and heavenly, and that it would be established at the end of the world when he would come in glory to judge the living and the dead and reward everyone according to his deeds. At this Domitian did not condemn them but, despising them as simple sorts, let them go free and ordered that the persecution against the church cease. After their release, they became leaders of the churches, both for their testimony and because they were of the Lord's family, and they lived on into Trajan's time (98-117 A.D.) due to the ensuing peace."Clement, 4th bishop of Rome (88-99 A.D.)Irenaeus said, "Clement had seen the blessed apostles and conversed with them, their teaching still ringing in his ears. Nor was he the only one; many were still alive at that time who had been taught by the apostles."Clement an epistle to the Corinthians, in which he made many quotations from the epistle to the Hebrews, proving clearly that it was "not of recent origin." (The dating of the Book of Hebrews is 63-64 A.D.)Ignatius, bishop of Antioch (35-108 A.D.)Eager to be martyred, he wrote to the church at Rome, asking them not to seek his release, "I know what is best for me: now I am starting to be a disciple. May I envy nothing seen or unseen in gaining Jesus Christ. Let fire and cross, struggles with beasts, tearing bones apart, mangling of limbs, crushing of my whole body, and tortures of the Devil come upon me, if only I may attain to Jesus Christ."Later, Irenaeus quotes Ignatius as saying, "I am the wheat of God, to be ground by the teeth of the beasts that I may be found pure bread."Quadratus, bishop of Athens (125-129 A.D.)According to tradition, he had a prophetic gift like that of Philip's daughters. He addressed the earliest known Christian apology to the Roman emperor Hadrian:"Our Savior's deeds were always there to see, for they were true: those who were cured or those who rose from the dead were seen not only when they were cured or raised but were constantly there to see, not only while the Savior was living among us, but also for some time after his departure. Some of them, in fact, survived right up to our own time."Many others besides him were famed members of the first rank in apostolic succession, eager disciples of great men, who built everywhere on the foundations of churches laid by the apostles, sowing the saving seed through the known world. Many of them, smitten by the divine Word, first fulfilled the Savior's command by distributing their property to the needy. Then, leaving their homes, they took up the work of evangelists, eager to preach the message of faith to those who had never heard it and to provide them the inspired Gospels in writing. As soon as they laid the foundations of faith in some foreign place, they appointed others as pastors to tend those newly brought in and then set off again to other lands and peoples....It is impossible to give the names and numbers of all who first succeeded the apostles and became pastors or evangelists in churches throughout the world. Therefore I have recorded by name only those whose tradition of apostolic teaching still survives to our time in their writings.Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna (69-156 A.D.)A contemporary of Papias and Ignatius. Irenaeus says, "Polycarp was not only instructed by apostles and conversed with many who had seen the Lord, but also was appointed by apostles in Asia as Bishop of Smyrna. I also saw him in my childhood, for he lived a long time and passed away in extreme old age in glorious martyrdom. He continually taught the things he had learned from the apostles, the traditions of the church that alone are true. These facts are confirmed by all the churches of Asia and the successors of Polycarp to this day, and he is a much more reliable witness to the truth than Valentinus, Marcion, and all other errorists. In the time of Anicetus, he visited Rome and converted many among these heretics to the church of God, proclaiming that the one and only truth he had received from the apostles was that transmitted by the church. And there are those who heard him tell how John, the Lord's disciple, went to take a bath at Ephesus, but, seeing Cerinthus inside, he rushed out of the bathhouse without bathing, crying, 'Let's get out of here lest the place fall in: Cerinthus, the enemy of truth, is inside!' Polycarp himself, when Marcion once met him and asked, 'Don't you recognize me?' replied, 'I do indeed: I recognize the firstborn of Satan!' So careful were the apostles and their disciples not even to converse with any mutilators of the truth, as Paul also said, 'After a first and second admonition, have nothing more to do with anyone who causes divisions, since you know that such a person is perverted and sinful, being self-condemned' [Titus 3:10-11]."Polycarp's martyrdom in Smyrna: "When he entered the stadium, a voice from heaven said, 'Be strong and play the man, Polycarp!' No one saw the speaker, but many of our people who were there heard the voice...The governor pressed him, 'Take the oath [to Caesar] and I will set you free. Curse Christ!' But Polycarp replied, 'For eighty-six years I have been his servant, and he has never done me wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?'...Said the proconsul, 'I have wild beasts. I'll throw you to them...If you disregard the beasts, I'll have you consumed by fire.' But Polycarp declared, 'You threaten a fire that burns for a time and is quickly extinguished. Yet a fire that you know nothing about awaits the wicked in the judgment to come and in eternal punishment. But what are you waiting for? Do what you will.' Polycarp was filled with courage and joy...The whole multitude boiled with anger and shouted, 'This is the teacher of Asia, the father of Christians, the destroyer of our gods, who teaches many not to offer sacrifice or worship!' The crowd gathered logs and faggots from the workshops and baths, the Jews in particular. When the pyre was ready, he took off all his clothes. As they were going to nail him to the grid for the fire, he said, 'Let me be, for he who enables me to endure the flames will also enable me to remain in them unmoved, even without the nails.' So they bound him without nailing, hands behind his back, like a noble ram from a great flock, as a whole burnt offering acceptable to almighty God.He prayed, 'O Father, of your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, through whom we know you, I bless you for this day and hour, that I may, with the martyrs, share in the cup of Christ for the resurrection to eternal life of both soul and body in the immortality of the Holy Spirit. May I be received among them today as a rich and acceptable sacrifice, according to your divine fulfillment. For this reason I praise you for everything, I bless and glorify you through the eternal high priest, Jesus Christ, your beloved Son, through whom be glory to you and the Holy Spirit, both now and in the ages to come. Amen,'When he had finished, the fire was lit and a great flame blazed up, and we who were privileged to witness it saw something marvelous. The fire assumed the shape of a room, like a billowing ship's sail that surrounded the martyr's body inside it, not like burning flesh but like gold and silver being refined in a furnace. We also smelled a pleasant fragrance like the scent of incense or other costly spices. Finally, the lawless mob, seeing that his body could not be consumed by fire, ordered an executioner to slash him with a sword. When he did so, blood gushed out and quenched the fire, and the entire crowd was amazed at the difference between unbelievers and the elect. Indeed, he was one of the elect, the most wonderful apostolic and prophetic teachers of our time, bishop of the catholic church in Smyrna."Papias of Hierapolis (70-163 A.D.)Irenaeus says that Papias heard the apostle John, and was a companion of Polycarp. But Papias says he learned the words of the apostles from their followers: "All that I ever learned and carefully remembered from the elders...I did not delight...in those who recite the commandments of others but in those who repeated the commandments given by the Lord. And whenever anyone came who had been a follower of the elders, I asked about their words: what Andrew or Peter had said, or Philip or Thomas or James or John or Matthew or any other of the Lord's disciples, and what Aristion and the presbyter John [not the apostle John], disciples of the Lord, were still saying. For I did not think that information from books would help me as much as the word of a living, surviving voice."Papias heard a story from Philip's daughters in Hierapolis of the resurrection of a corpse in his lifetime, the wife of Manaen in Acts 13:1. He also tells the story of Justus, surnamed Barsabas, who drank poison but by the Lord's grace suffered no harm.Justin Martyr (100-165 A.D.)His conversion from Greek philosophy to "true religion" was thoughtful and deliberate:"While reveling in Plato's teachings, I myself heard the Christians abused, but when I saw that they were not afraid of death or anything dreadful, it occurred to me that they could not possibly be living in wickedness as libertines. For how could a hedonist or a voluptuary who enjoyed devouring human flesh greet the death that would deprive him of the objects of his lusts? Would he not instead try to prolong his present life by all means and elude the authorities rather than surrender himself to certain death?"Melito of Sardis (d. 180 A.D.)The first one to compile a list of the Old Testament Canon, minus Esther, Nehemiah, and the Apocrypha.Irenaeus (130-202 A.D.)The first theologian to use apostolic succession to refute heretics."When I was still a boy I saw...the blessed Polycarp...and how he reported his discussions with John [the apostle] and others who had seen the Lord. He recalled their very words, what they reported about the Lord and his miracles and his teachings -- things that Polycarp had heard directly from eyewitnesses of the Word of Life and reported in full harmony with Scripture."The Septuagint (The Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament)Irenaeus said, "Before the Romans established their rule, while the Macedonians still possessed Asia, Ptolemy, eager to adorn the library he had founded at Alexandria with all the finest writings from everywhere, asked the people of Jerusalem to have their Scriptures translated into Greek. They sent him seventy elders, the most competent they had in the Scriptures and in both languages, thus fulfilling God's purpose. Fearing that they might conspire to conceal in their translation the true meaning of the Scriptures, Ptolemy separated them from each other and ordered them all to write the same translation of all of the books. When they reconvened before Ptolemy and compared their separate versions, God was glorified and the Scriptures recognized as truly divine, for they all said the same things in the same words and phrases from beginning to end, so that even the heathen who were present knew that the Scriptures had been translated by the inspiration of God. That God accomplished this is not surprising, for when the Scriptures were destroyed in the captivity by Nebuchadnezzar and the Jews returned to their land after seventy years, then at the time of Artaxerxes, king of Persia, he inspired Ezra, the priest of the tribe of Levi, to restore all the words of the prophets of old, as well as the Law given by Moses."Why some books are not in the BibleWritings published by heretics under the names of the apostles, such as the Gospels of Peter, Thomas, Matthias, and others, or the Acts of Andrew, John, and other apostles have never been cited by any in the succession of church writers. The type of phraseology used contrasts with apostolic style, and the opinions and thrusts of their content are so dissonant from true orthodoxy that they show themselves to be forgeries of heretics. Accordingly, they ought not be reckoned even among the spurious books but discarded as impious and absurd.
I am delighted that the first church history text by Eusebius of Caesarea is made available in English by Prof. Maier, an expert story-teller. The ten-volumes consist of Christology in book 1, the progress of Christianity from the ascension of Christ to the reign of Diocletian in books 2-7, the Diocletian persecution in book 8, Constantine's victory and his imperial favor to the church in book 9 and Christianity prospering as the state religion in book 10. Eusebius cites other authors such as Josephus on the account of the siege of Jerusalem under Titus the son of Vespasian the Caesar (p.82-87), whose scene reminds one of what happened during the first siege when the city fell to Babylon in 586 BC under Nebuchadnezzar that the prophet Jeremiah writes in Lamentations. One problem I am annoyed with in this book is Eusebius seems to be excessively concerned with names. He wants to ensure that he gets all the names right in the apostolic succession which may distract the solemnity of the reader's experience. Nevertheless, vivid descriptions of brutality towards Christians under hostile imperial regimes, the unspeakable suffering they endured with courage out of their love and allegiance to Jesus Christ are much appreciated for the edification of the church today. Some popular stories include the martyrdoms of Ignatius the bishop of Antioch and Polycarp the bishop of Smyrna. An excerpt from the letter Ignatius wrote sheds light on the account of his death (p.109),"From Syria to Rome, I am fighting with wild animals on land and sea, night and day, chained to ten leopards - a troop of soldiers - whom kindness makes even worse. Their shameful deeds increase my discipleship, but this does not justify me. May I benefit from those wild beasts that are ready for me, and I pray that they are prompt. I will coax them to devour me quickly, not as with some whom they have been afraid to touch. If they are unwilling, I will force them to do it. Pardon me, but I know what is best for me: now I am starting to be a disciple. May I envy nothing seen or unseen in gaining Jesus Christ. Let fire and cross, struggles with beasts, tearing bones apart, mangling limbs, crushing of my whole body, and tortures of the devil come upon me, if only I may attain Jesus Christ."The martyrdom of Polycarp (p.131-135), burnt alive at "the stadium," is perhaps highlighted by the last moment before he died in which "he was filled with courage and joy, and his features with such grace that they did not pale with alarm at what was said to him." Then there is his remark in response to the governor's pressure on him to curse Christ "For eighty-six years I have been his servant and he has never done me wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me?"Both sides of the stories in Eusebius's Ekklesiastices Historias, the original title in Greek, in which Christianity was persecuted under Roman regimes before Constantine and its privileged status afterwards are reflected today in countries hostile to Christianity and the prosperous West, respectively. While there is no need to feel guilty for those of us living in the West, the Western churches would do well to remember various Scripture exhortations to support their persecuted brothers and sisters. I will only include Pink's exposition on Heb 10:32-34 and 13:3 in this regard, "It is the bounden duty for Christians to express in a practical way their compassion for any of Christ's suffering servants, doing everything in their power to succor, support and relieve them...remember them in your prayers, intercede for them, seeking on their behalf grace from God, that they may meekly acquiesce to his providential dealings...Finally, do unto them as you would wish them to do unto you were you in their place. If you can obtain permission, visit them (Matt 25:36), endeavor to comfort them, so far as practicable relieve their sufferings; and leave no stone unturned to seek their lawful release" (An Exposition of Hebrews, p.631, 1121-1122).
If you are into early church history this book is for you. It is a translation of Eusebius who was one of the early and perhaps the most prominent church historians if that day. His work covers approximately the first 300 years of church history. Eusebius was a collector of early church writings and he quotes from many of the very early church "fathers". This book comes with commentary by the translator, Dr. Paul Maier, who is a scholar and authors of many excellent books.
This is a very old book and this copy is translated and commented on by a commentator of Biblical writings. I really appreciate his filling in some areas and pointing out possible mistakes or misunderstandings in others. All it all it is a fascinating book filling in a lot of the back story of the new Testament and what happened after the Apostles. I recommend it for any student of the Bible.
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