Timeline of Christianity

The purpose of this timeline is to give a detailed account of Christianity from the beginning of the current era (AD) to the present. Question marks ('?') on dates indicate approximate dates.

The year one is the first year in the Christian calendar (there is no year zero), which is the calendar presently used (in unison with the Gregorian calendar) almost everywhere in the world. Traditionally, this was held to be the year Jesus was born; however, most modern scholars argue for an earlier or later date, the most agreed upon being between 6 BC and 4 BC.

6 AD Herod Archelaus deposed by Augustus; Samaria, Judea and Idumea annexed as Iudaea Province under direct Roman administration,^[1] capital at Caesarea. Quirinius became Legate (Governor) of Syria, conducted Census of Quirinius, opposed by Zealots (JA18, Luke 2:1–3, Acts 5:37)
7–26 Brief period of peace, relatively free of revolt and bloodshed in Iudaea and Galilee^[2]
9 Pharisee leader Hillel the Elder dies, temporary rise of Shammai
14–37 Tiberius, Roman Emperor
18–36 Caiaphas, appointed High Priest of Herod's Temple by Prefect Valerius Gratus, deposed by Syrian Legate Lucius Vitellius
19 Jews, Jewish proselytes, astrologers, expelled from Rome^[3]
26–36 Pontius Pilate, Prefect (governor) of Iudaea, recalled to Rome by Syrian Legate Vitellius on complaints of excess violence (JA18.4.2)
28 or 29 John the Baptist begins his ministry in the "15th year of Tiberius" (Luke 3:1–2), saying: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near" (Matthew 3:1–2), a relative of Jesus (Luke 1:36), a Nazirite (Luke 1:15), baptized Jesus (Mark 1:4–11), later arrested and beheaded by Herod Antipas (Luke 3:19–20), it is possible that, according to Josephus' chronology, John was not killed until 36 (JA18.5.2)^[4]

Jesus begins his ministry after his baptism by John and during the rule of Pilate, preaching: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near" (Matthew 4:12–17). While the historicity of the gospel accounts is questioned to some extent by some critical scholars and non-Christians, the traditional view states the following chronology for his ministry: Temptation, Sermon on the Mount, Appointment of the Twelve, Miracles, Temple Money Changers, Last Supper, Arrest, Trial, Passion, Crucifixion on Nisan 14th (John 19:14, Mark 14:2, Gospel of Peter) or Nisan 15th (Synoptic Gospels), entombment by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, Resurrection by God and Resurrection appearances of Jesus to Mary Magdalene and other women (Mark 16:9, John 20:10–18), Simon Peter (Luke 24:34), and others, (1Cor.15:3–9), Great Commission, Ascension, Second Coming Prophecy to fulfill the rest of Messianic prophecy such as the Resurrection of the dead, the Last Judgment, and establishment of the Kingdom of God and the Messianic Age.

^ H. H. Ben-Sasson, A History of the Jewish People, Harvard University Press, 1976, ISBN 0-674-39731-2, page 246: "When Archelaus was deposed from the ethnarchy in 6 CE, Judea proper, Samaria and Idumea were converted into a Roman province under the name Iudaea."
^ John P. Meier's A Marginal Jew, v. 1, ch. 11; also H.H. Ben-Sasson, A History of the Jewish People, Harvard University Press, 1976, ISBN 0-674-39731-2, page 251: "But after the first agitation (which occurred in the wake of the first Roman census) had faded out, we no longer hear of bloodshed in Judea until the days of Pilate."
^
Suetonius, Lives of the Twelve Caesars, Tiberius 36;
- Jewish Encyclopedia: Rome: Expelled Under Tiberius: "The Jewish deputation which petitioned for the deposition of the royal house of the Idumeans was joined by 8,000 Jewish residents of Rome. Several Romans adopted Jewish customs, and some, as the rhetor Cilicius of Kalakte, a friend of Dionysius of Halicarnassus, even embraced Judaism (Müller, "Fragmenta Historicorum Græcorum", iii. 331). The reign of Tiberius (until the removal of his minister Sejanus) was fraught with misfortune for the Jews. When the cult of Isis was driven out of Rome (19 CE.) the Jews also were expelled, because a Roman lady who inclined toward Judaism had been deceived by Jewish swindlers. The synagogues were closed, the vessels burned, and 4,000 Jewish youths were sent upon military service to Sardinia. After the death of Sejanus (31) the emperor allowed the Jews to return.";
- Haim Hillel Ben-Sasson (and Abraham Malamat contributor) A History of the Jewish People, Harvard University Press, 1976, ISBN 978-0674397316, page 288 quote: "Explicit evidence of a systematic attempt to propagate the Jewish faith in the city of Rome is found as early as 139 BCE. With the increase of the Jewish population of Rome, the Jews intensified their efforts to make converts among the Romans. Although the activity of Jewish missionaries in Roman society caused Tiberius to expel them from that city in 19 CE, they soon returned, and Jewish religious propaganda was resumed and maintained even after the destruction of the Temple. Tacitus mentions it regretfully (Histories 5.5), and Juvenal, in his Fourteenth Satire (11. 96ff.), describes how Roman families 'degenerated' into Judaism: the fathers permitted themselves to adopt some of its customs and the sons became Jews in every respect." ... ^{[last sentence of next paragraph:]} "In addition, the Bible provided the apostles of Judaism with a literature unparalleled in any other religion."
^ G. J. Goldberg. "John the Baptist and Josephus". Retrieved 2006-08-16.

[1] H. H. Ben-Sasson, A History of the Jewish People, Harvard University Press, 1976, ISBN 0-674-39731-2, page 246: "When Archelaus was deposed from the ethnarchy in 6 CE, Judea proper, Samaria and Idumea were converted into a Roman province under the name Iudaea."

[2] John P. Meier's A Marginal Jew, v. 1, ch. 11; also H.H. Ben-Sasson, A History of the Jewish People, Harvard University Press, 1976, ISBN 0-674-39731-2, page 251: "But after the first agitation (which occurred in the wake of the first Roman census) had faded out, we no longer hear of bloodshed in Judea until the days of Pilate."

[3] Suetonius, Lives of the Twelve Caesars, Tiberius 36;
Jewish Encyclopedia: Rome: Expelled Under Tiberius: "The Jewish deputation which petitioned for the deposition of the royal house of the Idumeans was joined by 8,000 Jewish residents of Rome. Several Romans adopted Jewish customs, and some, as the rhetor Cilicius of Kalakte, a friend of Dionysius of Halicarnassus, even embraced Judaism (Müller, "Fragmenta Historicorum Græcorum", iii. 331). The reign of Tiberius (until the removal of his minister Sejanus) was fraught with misfortune for the Jews. When the cult of Isis was driven out of Rome (19 CE.) the Jews also were expelled, because a Roman lady who inclined toward Judaism had been deceived by Jewish swindlers. The synagogues were closed, the vessels burned, and 4,000 Jewish youths were sent upon military service to Sardinia. After the death of Sejanus (31) the emperor allowed the Jews to return.";

Haim Hillel Ben-Sasson (and Abraham Malamat contributor) A History of the Jewish People, Harvard University Press, 1976, ISBN 978-0674397316, page 288 quote: "Explicit evidence of a systematic attempt to propagate the Jewish faith in the city of Rome is found as early as 139 BCE. With the increase of the Jewish population of Rome, the Jews intensified their efforts to make converts among the Romans. Although the activity of Jewish missionaries in Roman society caused Tiberius to expel them from that city in 19 CE, they soon returned, and Jewish religious propaganda was resumed and maintained even after the destruction of the Temple. Tacitus mentions it regretfully (Histories 5.5), and Juvenal, in his Fourteenth Satire (11. 96ff.), describes how Roman families 'degenerated' into Judaism: the fathers permitted themselves to adopt some of its customs and the sons became Jews in every respect." ... ^{[last sentence of next paragraph:]} "In addition, the Bible provided the apostles of Judaism with a literature unparalleled in any other religion."

[4] Jewish Encyclopedia: Rome: Expelled Under Tiberius: "The Jewish deputation which petitioned for the deposition of the royal house of the Idumeans was joined by 8,000 Jewish residents of Rome. Several Romans adopted Jewish customs, and some, as the rhetor Cilicius of Kalakte, a friend of Dionysius of Halicarnassus, even embraced Judaism (Müller, "Fragmenta Historicorum Græcorum", iii. 331). The reign of Tiberius (until the removal of his minister Sejanus) was fraught with misfortune for the Jews. When the cult of Isis was driven out of Rome (19 CE.) the Jews also were expelled, because a Roman lady who inclined toward Judaism had been deceived by Jewish swindlers. The synagogues were closed, the vessels burned, and 4,000 Jewish youths were sent upon military service to Sardinia. After the death of Sejanus (31) the emperor allowed the Jews to return.";

[5] Haim Hillel Ben-Sasson (and Abraham Malamat contributor) A History of the Jewish People, Harvard University Press, 1976, ISBN 978-0674397316, page 288 quote: "Explicit evidence of a systematic attempt to propagate the Jewish faith in the city of Rome is found as early as 139 BCE. With the increase of the Jewish population of Rome, the Jews intensified their efforts to make converts among the Romans. Although the activity of Jewish missionaries in Roman society caused Tiberius to expel them from that city in 19 CE, they soon returned, and Jewish religious propaganda was resumed and maintained even after the destruction of the Temple. Tacitus mentions it regretfully (Histories 5.5), and Juvenal, in his Fourteenth Satire (11. 96ff.), describes how Roman families 'degenerated' into Judaism: the fathers permitted themselves to adopt some of its customs and the sons became Jews in every respect." ... ^{[last sentence of next paragraph:]} "In addition, the Bible provided the apostles of Judaism with a literature unparalleled in any other religion."

[4] G. J. Goldberg. "John the Baptist and Josephus". Retrieved 2006-08-16.

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