History of Jesus Christ :History shows that Jesus was a real person. The life of Christ can be placed in a historical context. This section is presented to affirm the historical Jesus, and to stimulate further personal study on the history of Christ
Birth of Jesus Christ:
1. Joseph and Mary were originally from Nazareth.
2. They went to Bethlehem for the census. Jesus was born in Bethlehem
3. After Jesus was born, Joseph and Mary fled to Egypt to escape Herod's wrath
4. When King Herod died, they returned to Nazareth.
About Bethlehem:
Bethlehem Pennsylvania is an attractive tree-lined city of 75000 in the center of the Lehigh alley community, with a population of more than 600000. Bethlehem was first settled by the Canaanite tribes, naming the city Beit Lahama They built a temple to the God Lahama on the present mount of the Nativity. Bethlehem is located about 10 Kilometers southwest of Jerusalem by the hill country of Judea on the way to Hebron. It is first mentioned in the Armana letters fourteen centuries BCE.
Bethlehem plays a significant part in the Old Testament, in the history of the Israelites, both before they entered Egypt and slavery, and after the Exodus. It appears in the Old Testament as Ephrat, where Rachel the beloved matriarch of the Jewish People is a pilgrimage place for Jews and Muslims alike. Among other Biblical mentions and, the favorite wife of Jacob, died during childbirth. The Tomb of Holy Sites in Bethlehem: Rachel's tomb, Naomi and Ruth, Samuel anoints King David Rachel, and the well from which David's warriors brought him waters. In the bible it is called "Bethlehem of Judah" (belonging to the tribe of Judah), to distinguish it from the other Bethlehem, which was in the North in the territory of the Zebulon. David, the youngest son of a Bethlehem-farmer (a shepherd) is chosen and anointed by the Prophet Samuel on behalf of the Lord as a king. (First Samuel 17:12). According to Matthew 2 and Luke 2, Jesus was born in Bethlehem, and Matthew interpreted this as the fulfillment of Micah's prophecy. In effect it became a sort of official rightful place of the family line of David
Christian tradition, perhaps as early as the second century CE, identified a cave as the site of Jesus' birth. About 338 CE Constantine, the Roman emperor and his mother, Helena, built a church over the grotto and In 527 Justinian the Emperor of the Byzantine Empire resettled in Bethlehem, his reign was one of great prosperity and expansion of churches. The site of the Nativity is a central pilgrimage destination for Christians from all over the world.
Bethlehem was a city of importance to the Crusaders, who conquered it in the year 1100. Over years of wars between the Crusaders and the Muslims the city was destroyed, and then subsequently rebuilt. The Turks destroyed the city in 1244, but the church somehow escaped, Bethlehem was rebuilt once again. When finally the Crusaders were driven from Palestine in 1291, the Moslem rulers used the holy places for political and financial ends. Although Bethlehem was still nominally endowed, collection of revenue from the land was impossible. In 1332 Pope John XXII wrote to Edward III of England, to David II of Scotland and to Simon of Meopham, Archbishop of Canterbury, asking them to help the bishop of Bethlehem to regain his interest and so enable him to return to Bethlehem and carry out repairs. It seems little was done. Decay and destruction proceeded over the years as a result of fighting between the local Christian and Muslim residents.
The Population of Bethlehem today is made up of Christians and Moslems. Among the Christians: Catholics of Latin, Syrian, Malachite, Armenian and Maronite rites and Orthodox of Greek, Syrian and Armenian denominations. Protestants are present in the Judean town.
Features:CRUCIFIXION- Read a medical account of the death of Christ, written by a doctor. Examine the controversial Shroud of Turin. See the dramatic ShockWave animation of the crucifixion.
HISTORIANS - Links to Roman history websites, and to the works of first century historians, like Josephus, Philo, and Eusebius
MAPS- Maps of the Roman Empire, Israel, and Galilee. Se where Jesus traveled, and where John baptized him.
RULERS - Links to sites on Augustus Caesar, Herod, Pilate, and other rulers who influenced the life of Christ.
TIMELINES - A timeline for the life of Christ. Learn when he was born, when his ministry began, and when he died.
