“[The Ephesus Scroll] forges two horizons. The first is set in the late first century AD, when a courier is entrusted with a scroll containing the Book of Revelation to be read in the seven churches of Asia Minor. These churches are facing bitter persecution from the Roman empire. The second is set in the twenty-first century AD when a young couple come across a stone box discovered some time ago in Ephesus and which contains an early copy of the book of Revelation… The novel shows how the text of Revelation, with its ominous warnings and great encouragements, related directly to the experiences of these early Christian communities. Along the way he provides a credible explanation of the contents of the book of Revelation, rooted in the historical context and reflecting sound New Testament scholarship. It is one I find compelling.”
— Colin G. Kruse
Author of Paul’s Letter to the Romans
(Pillar New Testament Commentary)
“Ben Chenoweth is passionate about helping his readers get in touch with the Bible and its original writers and context… The Ephesus Scroll is an entertaining historical novel about a scroll of Revelation. It alternates from the world of the early church to the contemporary church, from persecution in Asia Minor to a growing church in modern-day post-communist Russia… I appreciated the entertaining travel narrative in The Ephesus Scroll and loved reading the journey from Patmos to Ephesus, and from early church to contemporary Russia. For anyone interested in learning about how to read and understand the Bible especially some of its ‘weirder’ apocalyptic bits, this puts the issues into an entertaining narrative form.”
— Darren Cronshaw
Co-Author of Sentness (with Kim Hammond)
“A ‘textual thriller’ and a ‘scholarly action story’! I enjoyed the interwoven narratives and interesting keys to interpretation. This is a creative way of presenting an otherwise obscure understanding of the ‘scroll’ to the public consciousness. Fascinating insights on the interplay of the impact of the scroll on the churches, and on the beasts, and therefore on the scroll’s own fulfilment! May we be found faithful!”
— Bill O’Byrne
Imago Christi ministry team leader
in Church Resource Ministry (CRM)
“Ben Chenoweth’s new historical novel, The Corinth Letters, is both creatively conceived and based upon a careful reading of the Apostle Paul’s letters to the Corinthian church. It forges two horizons, that of tensions existing in the Corinthian church of the first century on the one hand, and the work of young people assisting with an archaeological dig at ancient Corinth in the twenty-first century on the other. The result is both illuminating and engaging, and one that postulates tantalising connections between the two. The book can be read simply for the enjoyment of a well-written historical novel. It can also be read for an appreciation of the historical background to Paul’s letters to the Corinthians by students of the New Testament. They will find it hard to put down, not something that can usually be said about New Testament text books.”
— Colin G. Kruse
Author of 2 Corinthians
(Tyndale New Testament Commentary)
“How should one learn about the background to the composition of the Gospels? Typically, one reads a section of a textbook that can be fairly dry. Why not enjoy some historical fiction, meticulously researched and true to the time period, of life in mid-60s Rome for the fledgling church? Why not get to know other biblical characters there with Mark, author of the oldest Gospel, complete with flashbacks to their earlier experiences that overlap with key texts in Acts or the Epistles? Ben Chenoweth does all this and more as a spellbinding storyteller. It will be hard for you to put the book down even once before you finish!”
— Craig L. Blomberg
Distinguished Professor of New Testament, Denver Seminary
“Ben Chenoweth has written an imaginative historical novel about the early Christians in Rome during the time of Nero. The characters are lively, the description is dramatic, Chenoweth makes you feel like you are there, beside Mark, as he wrote his Gospel in Rome. A fun read for people wondering what it might have been like for the first Christians.”
— Michael F. Bird
Author of The Gospel of the Lord:
How the Early Church Wrote the Story of Jesus
“Ben Chenoweth has written an engaging and enjoyable read. He provides a fascinating fictional reconstruction of the process of Mark writing his Gospel. It is both historically plausible and sensitive to the issues and culture of the early churches in that period. He imaginatively gets under the skin of early Christians and the means by which Mark researched and wrote his Gospel — and it’s great fun! Read it: you’ll like it, and profit from it!”
— Steve Walton
Professor in New Testament
St Mary’s University, Twickenham
“The Rome Gospel is the third in the series of historical novels written by Ben Chenoweth, a faculty member of the Melbourne School of Theology. While in part fictional, they are all written with a real appreciation of NT scholarship, and have a way of bringing to life the contexts in which these NT books originated. The Rome Gospel deals with the production of Mark’s Gospel in the AD 60s while at the same time providing insightful commentary on the text of the Gospel itself. It is a book that deserves wide readership.”
— Colin G. Kruse
Author of John
(Tyndale New Testament Commentary)