Bible events in order

All 362 events on the timeline, from Creation to the apostles, in the order they happened. Each has its own page with the passages, a quotation from the World English Bible, and notes on how it is dated. Open the interactive timeline.

Creation to the Flood 4004–2348 BC

From the six days of creation through the Fall and the long lives of Adam's descendants, to the Flood.

• Creation 4004 BC
  In six days God made the heavens, the earth, and everything in them, and on the seventh day he rested.
• Adam and Eve created 4004 BC
  On the sixth day God formed Adam from the dust, made Eve from his side, and placed them in the garden of Eden.
• The Fall 4004 BC
  Adam and Eve disobeyed God, bringing sin and death into the world, and God promised a Rescuer.
• Cain murders Abel 3875 BC
  Cain, angry that God accepted Abel's offering and not his, killed his brother: the first human death recorded.
• People begin to call on Yahweh's name 3769 BC
  In the days of Seth's son Enosh, people began to worship God publicly by name.
• Adam dies 3074 BC
  Adam died at 930, having lived to know eight generations of descendants down to Lamech, Noah's father.
• God takes Enoch 3017 BC
  Enoch walked with God for 300 years, and at 365 God took him without his dying.
• God's 120-year warning 2468 BC
  As violence filled the earth, God announced judgment but gave 120 years, and Noah found favor with him.
• Methuselah dies 2348 BC
  Methuselah, the longest-lived person in the Bible, died at 969 in the year of the Flood.
• The global Flood 2348–2347 BC
  God judged a violent world with a worldwide Flood, saving Noah, his family, and representatives of every kind of land animal aboard the ark.

The Flood to Abram's call 2348–1921 BC

Noah's family repopulates the earth; Babel scatters the nations; Abram is born in Ur.

• The ark rests on the mountains of Ararat 2348 BC
  Five months after the Flood began, the ark grounded in the mountains of Ararat; months later the land dried out.
• God's covenant with Noah 2347 BC
  After the Flood, God promised never again to destroy the earth by flood and set the rainbow as the sign.
• Peleg born: “the earth was divided” 2247 BC
  Eber named his son Peleg (“division”), because in his days the earth was divided.
• The Tower of Babel 2242 BC
  Humanity united in Shinar to build a city and tower instead of filling the earth; God confused their language and scattered them.
• Nimrod's kingdom in Shinar 2234 BC
  Nimrod, a grandson of Ham, became the first great ruler after the Flood, with cities in Shinar and Assyria.
• Noah dies 1998 BC
  Noah died at 950, 350 years after the Flood and just two years before Abram was born.
• Abram born in Ur 1996 BC
  Abram, later called Abraham, was born to Terah in Ur of the Chaldees.
• Terah's family leaves Ur 1925 BC
  Terah took Abram, Sarai, and Lot and set out from Ur toward Canaan, but settled in Haran.
• God calls Abram 1921 BC
  After Terah died in Haran, God called Abram, age 75, to go to Canaan and promised that all nations would be blessed through him.

The patriarchs 1921–1706 BC

Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, until Jacob's family moves to Egypt.

• Abram arrives in Canaan 1921 BC
  Abram, Sarai, and Lot reached Canaan; at Shechem God promised the land to Abram's offspring, and Abram built an altar.
• Abram in Egypt 1921 BC
  A famine drove Abram to Egypt, where he passed Sarai off as his sister and Pharaoh took her into his palace until God intervened.
• Abram and Lot part ways 1921 BC
  Their herds grew too large to share the land, so Abram let Lot choose; Lot took the well-watered Jordan plain near Sodom.
• Abram rescues Lot; Melchizedek blesses Abram 1912 BC
  Abram led 318 trained men to rescue Lot from four invading kings, and Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of God Most High, blessed him.
• God's covenant with Abram 1912 BC
  God promised Abram offspring as countless as the stars; Abram believed, and God counted it as righteousness.
• Hagar bears Ishmael 1910 BC
  After ten years in Canaan without a child, Sarai gave her servant Hagar to Abram; Hagar bore Ishmael when Abram was 86.
• Abram becomes Abraham; covenant of circumcision 1897 BC
  When Abram was 99, God renamed him Abraham, renamed Sarai Sarah, gave circumcision as the covenant sign, and promised a son within a year.
• Sodom and Gomorrah destroyed 1897 BC
  After Abraham pleaded for the city, God rescued Lot's family and destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah with fire and sulfur.
• Isaac born 1896 BC
  As God had promised, Sarah gave birth to Isaac when Abraham was 100 and she was 90.
• Hagar and Ishmael sent away 1891 BC
  At the feast for Isaac's weaning, Ishmael mocked him; Abraham sent Hagar and Ishmael away, and God cared for them in the wilderness.
• Abraham offers Isaac on Moriah 1871 BC
  God tested Abraham by asking him to offer Isaac; at the last moment God stopped him and provided a ram instead.
• Sarah dies 1859 BC
  Sarah died at 127 in Hebron, and Abraham bought the cave of Machpelah to bury her, his first piece of the Promised Land.
• Isaac marries Rebekah 1856 BC
  Abraham's servant traveled to Nahor's family in Mesopotamia and, guided by God, brought back Rebekah as Isaac's wife.
• Jacob and Esau born 1836 BC
  After twenty years of waiting and prayer, Rebekah gave birth to twins; Jacob came out holding Esau's heel.
• Abraham dies 1821 BC
  Abraham died at 175 and was buried by Isaac and Ishmael beside Sarah at Machpelah.
• Esau sells his birthright 1821 BC
  Coming in famished from the field, Esau traded his rights as firstborn to Jacob for a bowl of lentil stew.
• Jacob takes Esau's blessing 1760 BC
  With Rebekah's help, Jacob disguised himself as Esau and received the blessing of the firstborn from his blind father Isaac.
• Jacob's dream at Bethel 1760 BC
  Fleeing to Haran, Jacob dreamed of a stairway to heaven, and God gave him the promises made to Abraham and Isaac.
• Jacob marries Leah and Rachel 1760 BC
  Jacob agreed to work seven years for Rachel, but Laban tricked him into marrying Leah first; he married Rachel a week later.
• Joseph born 1745 BC
  After years of barrenness, Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob's eleventh son and his favorite.
• Jacob wrestles with God and becomes Israel 1739 BC
  Returning to Canaan after 20 years with Laban, Jacob wrestled through the night with God at Peniel and was renamed Israel; the next day he reconciled with Esau.
• Benjamin born; Rachel dies 1735 BC
  On the road near Bethlehem, Rachel died giving birth to Benjamin, Jacob's twelfth son.
• Joseph sold into slavery 1728 BC
  Jealous of their father's favorite and his dreams, Joseph's brothers sold him, at 17, to traders bound for Egypt.
• Joseph in prison interprets dreams 1717 BC
  Falsely accused by Potiphar's wife, Joseph was imprisoned, where he interpreted the dreams of Pharaoh's cupbearer and baker.
• Isaac dies 1716 BC
  Isaac died at 180, and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him together.
• Joseph becomes ruler of Egypt 1715 BC
  At 30 Joseph interpreted Pharaoh's dreams of seven good years and seven years of famine, and Pharaoh made him second in command over Egypt.
• Seven years of famine 1708–1702 BC
  The famine Joseph foretold struck Egypt and the surrounding lands, but Egypt had grain stored up.
• Joseph's brothers come to buy grain 1707 BC
  Ten of Jacob's sons traveled to Egypt for grain and bowed before Joseph without recognizing him.
• Joseph reveals himself to his brothers 1706 BC
  When Judah offered himself as a slave in Benjamin's place, Joseph revealed who he was and forgave his brothers.
• Jacob's family moves to Egypt 1706 BC
  At God's word, Jacob, now 130, moved his family of seventy to Egypt, where Pharaoh gave them the land of Goshen.

Israel in Egypt 1706–1491 BC

Jacob's descendants grow into a nation and are enslaved, until the Exodus.

• Jacob blesses his sons 1689 BC
  Near death, Jacob adopted Joseph's sons Ephraim and Manasseh and spoke a prophetic blessing over each of his twelve sons.
• Jacob dies and is buried in Canaan 1689 BC
  Jacob died at 147; Joseph and his brothers carried him to Canaan and buried him in the cave of Machpelah, then Joseph reassured his fearful brothers.
• Joseph dies 1635 BC
  Joseph died at 110, making his brothers' descendants swear to carry his bones to Canaan when God brought them out.
• Job's suffering and restoration 1635 BC
  Job, a righteous man in the land of Uz, lost his wealth, children, and health, wrestled with God's ways, and was restored.
• Levi dies, the last of Jacob's sons 1619 BC
  Levi died at 137; with Joseph's whole generation gone, Israel's position in Egypt began to change.
• Israel enslaved in Egypt 1577–1491 BC
  A new pharaoh who didn't know Joseph feared Israel's growing numbers and forced them into brutal slave labor.
• Aaron born 1574 BC
  Aaron, son of Amram and Jochebed of the tribe of Levi, was born three years before Moses.
• Pharaoh orders Hebrew boys killed 1573 BC
  When the Hebrew midwives refused to kill newborn boys, Pharaoh commanded that every Hebrew son be thrown into the Nile.
• Moses born and adopted by Pharaoh's daughter 1571 BC
  Hidden by his parents and then set in a basket on the Nile, baby Moses was found by Pharaoh's daughter and raised as her son.
• Moses flees to Midian 1531 BC
  At 40, Moses killed an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew; when it became known, he fled to Midian, married Zipporah, and tended sheep for forty years.
• Pharaoh dies; Israel cries out to God 1511 BC
  The king who had sought Moses' life died, but the slavery went on, and Israel's groaning rose to God, who remembered his covenant.
• God speaks to Moses from the burning bush 1491 BC
  At Horeb, the mountain of God, a bush burned without burning up, and God called 80-year-old Moses to lead Israel out of Egypt.
• Moses and Aaron confront Pharaoh 1491 BC
  Moses and Aaron told Pharaoh, “Let my people go”; Pharaoh refused and made the Israelites' labor even harder.
• The ten plagues 1491 BC
  God struck Egypt with ten plagues, from water turned to blood to darkness, judging Egypt's gods and showing his power, while Pharaoh hardened his heart.
• The first Passover 1491 BC
  Each Israelite household killed a spotless lamb and marked their doorposts with its blood, and death passed over them when God struck Egypt's firstborn.
• Israel leaves Egypt 1491 BC
  Pharaoh finally let Israel go; about 600,000 men plus women and children marched out from Rameses, 430 years after God's promise to Abram.

Exodus and wilderness 1491–1451 BC

The Law at Sinai and forty years in the wilderness.

• Crossing the Red Sea 1491 BC
  Trapped between the sea and Pharaoh's army, Israel crossed on dry ground as God parted the waters, which then closed over the Egyptians.
• Bitter water made sweet at Marah 1491 BC
  After three days without water, Israel found only bitter water at Marah; God showed Moses a tree that made it sweet, then led them to the springs of Elim.
• Manna and quail 1491 BC
  In the Wilderness of Sin, God sent quail in the evening and manna every morning, bread from heaven that fed Israel for forty years.
• Water from the rock; victory over Amalek 1491 BC
  At Rephidim God gave water from a rock Moses struck, and Joshua defeated the Amalekites while Moses held up his hands.
• The Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai 1491 BC
  Three months after leaving Egypt, Israel camped at Sinai, where God spoke the Ten Commandments from the mountain and made a covenant with the nation.
• The golden calf 1491 BC
  While Moses was on the mountain for forty days, the people made a golden calf and worshiped it; Moses broke the tablets and interceded for them.
• Moses sees God's glory; new tablets 1491 BC
  Moses asked to see God's glory; God passed by, proclaimed his name, and renewed the covenant with new tablets of stone.
• The tabernacle is set up 1490 BC
  On the first day of the second year, Moses set up the tabernacle, and the cloud of God's glory filled it.
• Nadab and Abihu offer strange fire 1490 BC
  Right after Aaron and his sons were ordained as priests, Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu offered unauthorized fire and were struck dead.
• Israel sets out from Sinai 1490 BC
  After a census and almost a year at Sinai, the cloud lifted and Israel marched out by tribes, with the ark going ahead of them.
• Forty years in the wilderness 1490–1452 BC
  For 38 more years Israel wandered in the wilderness until the unbelieving generation had died, while God kept feeding and guiding them.
• The twelve spies and the refusal at Kadesh 1490 BC
  Ten of the twelve spies said Canaan couldn't be taken; the people rebelled, and God sentenced that generation to forty years in the wilderness.
• Korah's rebellion; Aaron's staff buds 1490 BC
  Korah, Dathan, and Abiram led 250 leaders against Moses and Aaron; the earth swallowed the rebels, and Aaron's staff budded to confirm God's choice.
• Miriam dies; Moses strikes the rock at Meribah 1452 BC
  Back at Kadesh, Miriam died; when the people complained about water, Moses struck the rock in anger instead of speaking to it, and God barred him from entering Canaan.
• Aaron dies on Mount Hor 1452 BC
  At God's command, Moses took Aaron's priestly garments and put them on his son Eleazar; Aaron died on the mountaintop at 123.
• The bronze serpent 1452 BC
  When venomous snakes struck the complaining people, God told Moses to set a bronze serpent on a pole; anyone bitten who looked at it lived.
• Victories over Sihon and Og 1452 BC
  When the Amorite kings Sihon and Og attacked Israel, God gave Israel victory and the land east of the Jordan.
• Balaam blesses Israel 1452 BC
  King Balak of Moab hired the diviner Balaam to curse Israel, but God turned every curse into a blessing, including a prophecy of a coming star and scepter.
• Sin at Baal Peor; Phinehas's zeal 1452 BC
  Israelite men joined Moabite women in worshiping Baal of Peor; a plague killed 24,000 until Phinehas the priest stopped it.
• Joshua commissioned to succeed Moses 1452 BC
  After a second census showed the old generation was gone, God told Moses to lay his hands on Joshua as Israel's next leader.
• Moses' farewell speeches (Deuteronomy) 1451 BC
  On the plains of Moab, Moses retold Israel's story, restated the Law for the new generation, and urged them to love God and choose life.
• Moses dies on Mount Nebo 1451 BC
  From the top of Mount Nebo, God showed Moses the whole Promised Land; then Moses died at 120, and God buried him.

Conquest and judges 1451–1095 BC

Joshua takes Canaan; judges lead Israel through cycles of sin and rescue.

• Rahab hides the spies 1451 BC
  Joshua sent two spies to Jericho; Rahab hid them because she believed Israel's God was the true God, and they promised to spare her family.
• Israel crosses the Jordan 1451 BC
  With the river in flood, the Jordan stopped flowing as soon as the priests carrying the ark stepped in, and Israel crossed into Canaan on dry ground.
• Circumcision and Passover at Gilgal; the manna stops 1451 BC
  At Gilgal the new generation was circumcised and kept Passover, and the day after they ate the produce of Canaan, the manna stopped.
• The walls of Jericho fall 1451 BC
  Israel marched around Jericho once a day for six days and seven times on the seventh; at the trumpet blast and shout, the walls fell.
• Achan's sin and the defeat at Ai 1451 BC
  Israel was routed at the small town of Ai because Achan had secretly kept plunder from Jericho; after he was exposed and judged, Ai was taken by ambush.
• The Law read at Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim 1451 BC
  As Moses had commanded, Joshua built an altar on Mount Ebal, wrote the Law on stones, and read all of it to the assembled nation.
• Joshua's wars of conquest 1451–1445 BC
  Over about six years Joshua defeated the southern cities and then a northern coalition led by Jabin of Hazor, 31 kings in all.
• The Gibeonites' deception 1451 BC
  The Gibeonites posed as travelers from far away with moldy bread and worn-out sandals, and Israel made a treaty with them without asking God.
• The sun stands still at Gibeon 1451 BC
  When five Amorite kings attacked Gibeon, Joshua marched all night to rescue it; God sent hailstones, and at Joshua's prayer the sun stood still until the battle was won.
• Caleb receives Hebron at 85 1445 BC
  Caleb, still strong at 85, asked for the hill country around Hebron where the giant Anakim lived, and drove them out.
• Tabernacle set up at Shiloh; land divided 1445 BC
  The tabernacle was set up at Shiloh, where it would stay for over 300 years, and Joshua divided the land among the tribes by lot.
• Joshua's farewell and death 1443 BC
  Joshua gathered Israel at Shechem, renewed the covenant, and challenged them to choose whom they would serve; he died at 110.
• Micah's idol and civil war with Benjamin 1413 BC
  In a time with no king, a man named Micah set up his own shrine, the tribe of Dan stole it, and an outrage at Gibeah led to civil war that nearly wiped out Benjamin.
• Cushan-rishathaim oppresses Israel 1413–1405 BC
  A new generation that didn't know Yahweh served the Baals, and God let a king of Mesopotamia rule them for eight years.
• Othniel, the first judge 1405 BC
  When Israel cried out, God raised up Othniel, Caleb's nephew, whose Spirit-led victory over Cushan brought forty years of peace.
• Eglon of Moab oppresses Israel 1343–1325 BC
  Eglon, king of Moab, with the Ammonites and Amalekites, took Jericho, the city of palms, and ruled Israel for 18 years.
• Ehud kills Eglon 1325 BC
  Ehud, a left-handed Benjamite, brought Moab's tribute to King Eglon, killed him with a hidden sword, and led Israel to victory; Shamgar also struck down 600 Philistines.
• Jabin of Hazor oppresses Israel 1305–1285 BC
  Jabin, a Canaanite king ruling at Hazor, oppressed Israel for twenty years with 900 iron chariots commanded by Sisera.
• Deborah and Barak defeat Sisera 1285 BC
  The prophetess Deborah sent Barak to fight Sisera; God routed the chariots at the Kishon River, and Jael killed the fleeing Sisera.
• Midian oppresses Israel 1252–1245 BC
  For seven years Midianite and Amalekite raiders swarmed over the land like locusts at harvest time, driving Israel into caves.
• Gideon's 300 defeat Midian 1245 BC
  God called fearful Gideon, cut his army from 32,000 to 300, and used their trumpets, jars, and torches to throw the Midianite camp into panic.
• Abimelech makes himself king 1236–1233 BC
  After Gideon died, his son Abimelech murdered seventy brothers and ruled Shechem for three years until a woman dropped a millstone on his head.
• Tola and Jair judge Israel 1233–1188 BC
  Tola of Issachar judged Israel 23 years, then Jair of Gilead, who had thirty sons riding thirty donkeys, judged 22 years.
• Philistines and Ammonites oppress Israel 1206–1188 BC
  Israel served the gods of every neighboring nation, and God sold them into the hands of the Philistines and Ammonites for 18 years.
• Jephthah defeats Ammon; his rash vow 1188 BC
  Jephthah, an outcast from Gilead, defeated the Ammonites, but his rash vow cost him his only daughter.
• Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon judge Israel 1181–1157 BC
  Three minor judges led Israel for a combined 25 years: Ibzan of Bethlehem, Elon of Zebulun, and Abdon of Ephraim.
• Ruth and Boaz 1181 BC
  Ruth, a Moabite widow, left her homeland to stay with her mother-in-law Naomi, and married Boaz of Bethlehem; their great-grandson was King David.
• Forty years of Philistine rule 1157–1116 BC
  Israel again did evil and was ruled by the Philistines for forty years, the longest oppression in Judges.
• Samson's birth foretold 1155 BC
  The angel of Yahweh told Manoah's barren wife that she would bear a son, a Nazirite from birth, who would begin to save Israel from the Philistines.
• Hannah's prayer; Samuel born 1150 BC
  Childless Hannah prayed at Shiloh for a son and vowed to give him to God; she bore Samuel and brought him to serve with Eli.
• God calls the boy Samuel 1138 BC
  While Eli's sons corrupted the priesthood, God called young Samuel by name in the night and gave him a message of judgment on Eli's house.
• Samson kills a lion and fights the Philistines 1137–1136 BC
  Samson tore apart a lion with his bare hands, lost a riddle contest at his wedding, and struck a thousand Philistines with a donkey's jawbone.
• Samson's death at Gaza 1117 BC
  Betrayed by Delilah, Samson was blinded and chained; in his last prayer he pulled down the temple of Dagon, killing more Philistines in his death than in his life.
• The ark captured; Eli dies 1116 BC
  Israel carried the ark into battle as a good-luck charm and lost; the Philistines captured it, Eli's sons were killed, and Eli fell and died at 98.
• The ark humbles Dagon and returns 1116 BC
  In Ashdod the idol Dagon fell on its face before the ark, plagues struck each Philistine city, and after seven months the Philistines sent the ark back.
• Samuel's victory at Mizpah: Ebenezer 1096 BC
  Twenty years after the ark's return, Israel put away its idols at Samuel's call; when the Philistines attacked at Mizpah, God thundered and routed them.

The united kingdom 1095–975 BC

Saul, David, and Solomon; the Temple is built in Jerusalem.

• Israel asks for a king; Saul anointed 1095 BC
  Tired of Samuel's corrupt sons and wanting to be like the nations, Israel demanded a king; God gave them Saul of Benjamin.
• Saul rescues Jabesh-gilead 1095 BC
  When the Ammonites threatened to gouge out the right eye of every man in Jabesh-gilead, Saul rallied Israel, rescued the town, and was confirmed as king at Gilgal.
• Saul's rash sacrifice; Jonathan's victory at Michmash 1093 BC
  Facing the Philistines, Saul offered the sacrifice himself instead of waiting for Samuel; then Jonathan and his armor bearer attacked a Philistine outpost alone and God routed the army.
• David born in Bethlehem 1085 BC
  David, the youngest of Jesse's eight sons, was born in Bethlehem, great-grandson of Ruth and Boaz.
• Saul rejected as king 1065 BC
  Saul spared the Amalekite king and the best livestock against God's command; Samuel told him that God had rejected him as king.
• Samuel anoints David 1063 BC
  God sent Samuel to Bethlehem to anoint one of Jesse's sons; passing over seven older brothers, he anointed the youngest, the shepherd boy David.
• David and Goliath 1063 BC
  In the Valley of Elah, young David faced the Philistine champion Goliath with a sling and faith in God, and killed him with a single stone.
• David on the run from Saul 1062–1055 BC
  Saul tried repeatedly to kill David, who fled into the wilderness with a band of outcasts, twice spared Saul's life, and finally took refuge among the Philistines.
• Saul and Jonathan die on Mount Gilboa 1055 BC
  With no answer from God, Saul consulted a medium at Endor; the next battle against the Philistines on Mount Gilboa killed Saul and three of his sons, including Jonathan.
• David becomes king of Judah at Hebron 1055 BC
  The men of Judah anointed 30-year-old David king at Hebron, while Saul's son Ish-bosheth ruled the northern tribes.
• David rules all Israel and takes Jerusalem 1048 BC
  All the tribes anointed David king over Israel; he captured the Jebusite fortress of Zion and made Jerusalem his capital.
• The ark brought to Jerusalem 1045 BC
  David brought the ark of the covenant up to Jerusalem with music and celebration, dancing before Yahweh with all his might.
• God's covenant with David 1044 BC
  David wanted to build God a house; instead God promised to build David a house, a dynasty whose throne would last forever.
• David's victories build an empire 1044–1036 BC
  David defeated the Philistines, Moabites, Edomites, Ammonites, and Arameans, extending Israel's rule toward the Euphrates.
• David, Bathsheba, and Nathan's rebuke 1035–1034 BC
  David committed adultery with Bathsheba and arranged the death of her husband Uriah; the prophet Nathan confronted him, and David repented.
• Solomon born 1034 BC
  Bathsheba bore David a second son, Solomon; God loved him and sent word through Nathan to call him Jedidiah, “loved by Yahweh.”
• Amnon's crime and Absalom's revenge 1030 BC
  David's son Amnon raped his half-sister Tamar; two years later her brother Absalom had Amnon killed and fled into exile.
• Absalom's rebellion 1023 BC
  Absalom won the hearts of Israel and seized the throne; David fled Jerusalem, and Absalom was killed in battle, leaving David heartbroken.
• David's census and the threshing floor of Araunah 1017 BC
  David's proud census brought a plague on Israel; it stopped at the threshing floor of Araunah, which David bought for an altar, the future site of the temple.
• Solomon crowned; David dies 1015 BC
  When Adonijah tried to seize the throne, the aging David had Solomon anointed king; David charged Solomon to walk in God's ways and died at 70.
• Solomon asks for wisdom 1015 BC
  At Gibeon, God told Solomon to ask for anything; he asked for an understanding heart to govern God's people, and God gave him wisdom, riches, and honor.
• Solomon begins the temple 1012 BC
  In the fourth year of his reign, Solomon began building the temple on Mount Moriah, 480 years after the Exodus.
• The temple is finished 1005 BC
  After seven and a half years, the temple and all its bronze and gold furnishings were complete.
• The temple is dedicated 1004 BC
  The ark was carried into the Most Holy Place, God's glory filled the temple, and Solomon prayed a great prayer of dedication.
• The queen of Sheba visits Solomon 992 BC
  The queen of Sheba traveled from Arabia with spices, gold, and jewels to test Solomon with hard questions, and left amazed.
• Solomon's heart turns away 980 BC
  In his old age, Solomon's many foreign wives turned his heart to other gods, and God announced that the kingdom would be torn from his son.
• Solomon dies 975 BC
  Solomon died after reigning 40 years, and his son Rehoboam became king; within months the kingdom split in two.

The divided kingdom 975–588 BC

Israel and Judah under separate kings; the prophets warn; Samaria and then Jerusalem fall.

• The kingdom divides 975 BC
  When Solomon's son Rehoboam threatened even heavier burdens, the ten northern tribes broke away under Jeroboam, leaving Judah and Benjamin to the house of David.
• Jeroboam's golden calves at Bethel and Dan 975 BC
  To keep his people from worshiping in Jerusalem, Jeroboam set up golden calves at Bethel and Dan, appointed his own priests, and invented his own festival.
• Shishak of Egypt plunders Jerusalem 971 BC
  In Rehoboam's fifth year, Pharaoh Shishak invaded Judah and carried off the treasures of the temple and palace, including Solomon's gold shields.
• Abijah defeats Jeroboam 957 BC
  Outnumbered two to one, King Abijah of Judah appealed to Israel not to fight against Yahweh, and Judah won when they cried out to God.
• Asa's reforms and victory over Zerah 941 BC
  King Asa removed idols from Judah, and when Zerah the Cushite invaded with a vast army, Asa prayed and God gave Judah the victory.
• Omri builds Samaria 924 BC
  After a civil war, Omri became king of Israel and bought the hill of Samaria, which became the northern kingdom's capital.
• Ahab and Jezebel promote Baal worship 918 BC
  Ahab married Jezebel, a princess of Sidon, built a temple for Baal in Samaria, and did more to provoke God than any king before him.
• Elijah announces a drought 910 BC
  The prophet Elijah told Ahab there would be no dew or rain except at his word; God fed Elijah by ravens and through a widow at Zarephath.
• Elijah on Mount Carmel 907 BC
  Elijah challenged 450 prophets of Baal to a contest on Mount Carmel; Baal was silent, but God answered Elijah's prayer with fire from heaven, and then sent rain.
• Elijah at Horeb: the still small voice 907 BC
  Threatened by Jezebel, Elijah fled to Mount Horeb, where God met him not in the wind, earthquake, or fire, but in a still small voice, and sent him back to work.
• Naboth's vineyard 899 BC
  When Naboth refused to sell his family vineyard, Jezebel had him framed and stoned; Elijah announced God's judgment on Ahab and Jezebel.
• Ahab dies at Ramoth-gilead 897 BC
  Ignoring the prophet Micaiah's warning, Ahab went to war at Ramoth-gilead in disguise; a random arrow struck him between the joints of his armor.
• Elijah taken up to heaven 896 BC
  As Elijah and Elisha walked across the Jordan, a chariot of fire separated them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind; Elisha received a double portion of his spirit.
• Elisha's ministry 896–838 BC
  For about sixty years Elisha served as Israel's prophet, performing more recorded miracles than anyone in the Old Testament except Moses.
• Naaman healed of leprosy 890 BC
  Naaman, commander of Aram's army, came to Elisha for healing; after grudgingly washing seven times in the Jordan, he was cleansed and confessed that Israel's God is the only God.
• Jehu's revolt 884 BC
  Anointed by Elisha's messenger, the army commander Jehu killed King Joram of Israel, King Ahaziah of Judah, and Jezebel, and wiped out Ahab's family and the worship of Baal.
• Athaliah's coup; young Joash crowned 878 BC
  When Ahaziah died, his mother Athaliah killed the royal family and seized Judah's throne; baby Joash was hidden in the temple for six years, then crowned by the priest Jehoiada.
• Joash repairs the temple 856 BC
  King Joash had a collection chest placed at the temple, and the people gave generously to repair God's house.
• The priest Zechariah stoned 840 BC
  After Jehoiada died, Joash turned to idols; when Jehoiada's son Zechariah rebuked him, the king had him stoned in the temple courtyard.
• Amaziah challenges Israel and is defeated 826 BC
  Proud after beating Edom, Amaziah of Judah challenged Jehoash of Israel, who answered with a parable about a thistle and a cedar, then crushed Judah's army and broke down Jerusalem's wall.
• Joel prophesies the day of Yahweh 808 BC
  After a devastating locust plague, Joel called Judah to return to God and promised that God would pour out his Spirit on all people.
• Jonah preaches to Nineveh 800 BC
  Jonah ran from God's call to preach to Assyria's great city, spent three days in a great fish, then preached in Nineveh, and the whole city repented.
• Amos preaches at Bethel 790 BC
  Amos, a shepherd from Judah, went north to prosperous Israel and denounced its injustice, empty worship, and oppression of the poor.
• Hosea's ministry to Israel 790–725 BC
  God told Hosea to marry Gomer, who was unfaithful to him, as a living picture of Israel's unfaithfulness and God's unfailing love.
• Assyria's King Pul invades Israel 771 BC
  Pul of Assyria invaded, and King Menahem paid him a thousand talents of silver, raised by taxing every wealthy man in Israel, to secure his throne.
• Isaiah's vision of the Lord 759 BC
  In the year King Uzziah died, Isaiah saw the Lord enthroned in the temple, surrounded by seraphim crying “Holy, holy, holy,” and answered God's call.
• The sign of Immanuel 742 BC
  When Aram and Israel attacked Judah, Isaiah urged King Ahaz to trust God and gave him a sign: a virgin would conceive and bear a son named Immanuel, “God with us.”
• Micah foretells a ruler from Bethlehem 740 BC
  The prophet Micah, a country man from Judah, condemned the corruption of Samaria and Jerusalem and foretold that Israel's eternal ruler would come from little Bethlehem.
• Assyria takes Galilee captive 740 BC
  Ahaz paid Assyria to rescue him from Aram and Israel; Tiglath-pileser captured Damascus and carried the people of Galilee and Gilead into exile.
• Hezekiah reopens the temple 726 BC
  In his first month as king, Hezekiah reopened and cleansed the temple that his father Ahaz had closed, and invited all Israel, north and south, to a great Passover.
• Samaria falls; Israel exiled to Assyria 721 BC
  After a three-year siege, Assyria captured Samaria and deported the people of Israel; the northern kingdom came to an end.
• Sennacherib invades Judah 713 BC
  In Hezekiah's 14th year, the Assyrian king Sennacherib captured Judah's fortified cities, and his officer mocked Hezekiah's trust in God outside Jerusalem's walls.
• Hezekiah's illness and fifteen more years 713 BC
  Isaiah told the dying Hezekiah to put his house in order, but when Hezekiah wept and prayed, God added fifteen years to his life and made the shadow go back ten steps.
• Hezekiah shows his treasures to Babylon's envoys 712 BC
  When envoys from Merodach-baladan of Babylon came to congratulate him, Hezekiah proudly showed them all his treasures; Isaiah foretold that everything would one day be carried off to Babylon.
• The angel of Yahweh strikes Assyria's army 710 BC
  Hezekiah spread Sennacherib's threatening letter before Yahweh and prayed; that night the angel of Yahweh struck 185,000 in the Assyrian camp, and Sennacherib went home.
• Manasseh fills Jerusalem with idols and blood 698 BC
  Hezekiah's son Manasseh, king at 12, rebuilt the pagan shrines, sacrificed his own son, practiced sorcery, and shed so much innocent blood that God declared Jerusalem's judgment certain.
• Manasseh taken to Babylon; he repents 677 BC
  Assyrian commanders took Manasseh to Babylon in chains; in his distress he humbled himself, and God restored him to Jerusalem.
• Nahum foretells Nineveh's fall 660 BC
  A century after Jonah, Nahum announced that Nineveh, now at the height of its cruelty and power, would be utterly destroyed.
• Josiah purges the idols 630 BC
  Josiah became king at eight; at twenty he began tearing down the idols and shrines throughout Judah and even in the ruined northern kingdom.
• God calls Jeremiah 629 BC
  God called young Jeremiah, a priest's son from Anathoth, to be a prophet to the nations; he would warn Judah for forty years and see Jerusalem fall.
• The Book of the Law found in the temple 624 BC
  While repairing the temple, the high priest found the Book of the Law; when it was read to Josiah he tore his clothes, renewed the covenant, and led the greatest Passover since the judges.
• Josiah killed at Megiddo 610 BC
  Josiah went out to stop Pharaoh Neco at Megiddo and was killed; Neco deposed his son Jehoahaz after three months and made Jehoiakim king.
• Habakkuk: the righteous will live by faith 609 BC
  Habakkuk asked why God tolerated Judah's evil, and then why he would use the even more wicked Babylonians to punish them; God answered that the righteous will live by faith.
• Daniel and his friends taken to Babylon 607 BC
  Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem and took young nobles to Babylon, including Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, who resolved not to defile themselves with the king's food.
• Jehoiakim burns Jeremiah's scroll 606 BC
  Jeremiah dictated his prophecies to Baruch, who read them in the temple; King Jehoiakim cut the scroll apart column by column and burned it, and Jeremiah dictated it all again.
• Daniel interprets Nebuchadnezzar's dream 604 BC
  Nebuchadnezzar dreamed of a great statue of gold, silver, bronze, iron, and clay struck down by a stone; Daniel revealed the dream and its meaning: four kingdoms, and then God's everlasting kingdom.
• Jehoiachin and 10,000 exiled to Babylon 599 BC
  After Jehoiakim died, his son Jehoiachin reigned three months before Nebuchadnezzar carried him, the nobles, the craftsmen, and 10,000 captives to Babylon, and made Zedekiah king.
• Jeremiah's letter to the exiles 599 BC
  Jeremiah wrote to the exiles in Babylon: settle down, pray for the city, don't listen to false prophets, and trust that God will bring you back after seventy years.
• Ezekiel's vision by the Chebar River 595 BC
  Among the exiles in Babylon, the priest Ezekiel saw a vision of God's glory on a throne carried by living creatures and wheels full of eyes, and was called to be a watchman for Israel.
• Babylon besieges Jerusalem 590–588 BC
  When Zedekiah rebelled, Nebuchadnezzar's army surrounded Jerusalem; during the eighteen-month siege Jeremiah was imprisoned and thrown into a muddy cistern, yet bought a field as a sign that Judah had a future.
• Jerusalem falls; the temple is burned 588 BC
  Babylon broke through Jerusalem's walls; Zedekiah was captured, blinded, and taken to Babylon, and a month later the temple, palace, and city were burned.

Exile in Babylon 588–536 BC

Judah in captivity in Babylon until Cyrus's decree.

• Governor Gedaliah murdered 588 BC
  Babylon made Gedaliah governor over the poor left in Judah; within months a member of the royal family, Ishmael, murdered him at Mizpah.
• Jeremiah taken to Egypt 587 BC
  Fearing Babylon's revenge, the remaining Judeans asked Jeremiah for God's guidance, then ignored his answer and fled to Egypt, taking Jeremiah and Baruch with them.
• News of Jerusalem's fall reaches Ezekiel 587 BC
  A survivor arrived among the exiles in Babylon with the news: the city has fallen. From then on Ezekiel's message turned from judgment to hope.
• Ezekiel's valley of dry bones 587 BC
  In a vision God set Ezekiel in a valley of dry bones and told him to prophesy; the bones came together, flesh covered them, and breath brought them to life, a picture of Israel's restoration.
• Obadiah condemns Edom 587 BC
  The shortest book of the Old Testament announced judgment on Edom for gloating and plundering when Jerusalem fell.
• Nebuchadnezzar besieges Tyre 584–572 BC
  Nebuchadnezzar besieged the island city of Tyre for thirteen years, as Ezekiel had prophesied, until the city submitted.
• Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace 580 BC
  Daniel's three friends refused to bow to Nebuchadnezzar's golden image; thrown into a blazing furnace, they walked unharmed with a fourth figure “like a son of the gods.”
• Ezekiel's vision of a new temple 574 BC
  In the 25th year of the exile, Ezekiel was shown a vast new temple, God's glory returning to it, and a river flowing from it that turned the Dead Sea fresh.
• Nebuchadnezzar's pride and madness 569–563 BC
  Nebuchadnezzar boasted of the great Babylon he had built and lost his sanity, living like an animal for seven periods of time until he acknowledged the Most High.
• Jehoiachin released from prison 562 BC
  After 37 years in prison, King Jehoiachin was released by Nebuchadnezzar's successor, given a seat of honor, and ate at the king's table for the rest of his life.
• Daniel's vision of four beasts and the Son of Man 555 BC
  Daniel saw four beasts rise from the sea, and then one like a son of man coming with the clouds to the Ancient of Days to receive an everlasting kingdom.
• Daniel's vision of the ram and the goat 553 BC
  Daniel saw a two-horned ram trampled by a goat with one great horn; Gabriel explained that they were Medo-Persia and Greece.
• Daniel's prayer and the seventy weeks 538 BC
  Reading Jeremiah's prophecy of seventy years, Daniel confessed his people's sins and prayed for Jerusalem; Gabriel answered with a prophecy of seventy “weeks” leading to the Anointed One.
• Daniel in the lions' den 538 BC
  Jealous officials tricked Darius into banning prayer to anyone but the king; Daniel kept praying toward Jerusalem, was thrown to the lions, and God shut their mouths.
• Belshazzar's feast; Babylon falls 538 BC
  At a drunken feast using the temple's gold cups, a hand wrote on Belshazzar's wall; Daniel read it as judgment, and that night Babylon fell to the Medes and Persians.
• Cyrus decrees the return 537 BC
  In his first year, Cyrus of Persia proclaimed that the Jews could return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple, and he gave back the temple vessels Nebuchadnezzar had taken.

Return and rebuilding 536–410 BC

The exiles return, rebuild the Temple and Jerusalem's walls; the Old Testament closes.

• The first exiles return under Zerubbabel 536 BC
  About 50,000 people, led by Zerubbabel of David's line and the high priest Jeshua, returned to Judah and rebuilt the altar in Jerusalem.
• The temple foundation laid 535 BC
  In the second year of the return the foundation of the new temple was laid; the young shouted for joy while old men who remembered Solomon's temple wept aloud.
• Daniel's final vision 535 BC
  In Cyrus's third year, after three weeks of mourning and fasting, Daniel saw a glorious heavenly messenger and received a detailed prophecy ending with the resurrection of the dead.
• Enemies halt the rebuilding 523 BC
  Neighbors who had been refused a share in the building discouraged the workers, hired counselors against them, and finally got a Persian king to order the work stopped.
• Haggai and Zechariah stir the people to build 520 BC
  The prophets Haggai and Zechariah challenged the people for living in paneled houses while God's house lay in ruins, and the work began again.
• The second temple is completed 515 BC
  With Darius's backing, the temple was finished and dedicated with joy, seventy years after the first temple was destroyed, and the returnees kept Passover.
• Esther becomes queen of Persia 514 BC
  After Queen Vashti refused to appear at his banquet, King Ahasuerus chose a young Jewish orphan, Esther, raised by her cousin Mordecai, as his new queen.
• Haman's plot defeated; the first Purim 510 BC
  Haman won the king's decree to destroy every Jew in the empire; Esther risked her life to plead for her people, Haman was hanged, and the Jews were delivered.
• Ezra comes to Jerusalem to teach the Law 467 BC
  Ezra, a priest and skilled scribe in the Law of Moses, led a second group back to Jerusalem with the king's authority to teach and enforce God's law.
• Nehemiah rebuilds Jerusalem's walls 454 BC
  Nehemiah, the Persian king's cupbearer, heard that Jerusalem's walls lay in ruins, won permission to rebuild them, and completed the work in 52 days despite threats and ridicule.
• Ezra reads the Law to the people 454 BC
  Standing on a wooden platform, Ezra read the Law from dawn until noon while Levites explained it; the people wept, then celebrated the Feast of Booths and renewed the covenant.
• Nehemiah's second term and reforms 441 BC
  Returning after a visit to the Persian court, Nehemiah found the people breaking the Sabbath, neglecting the Levites, and marrying foreigners, and he acted forcefully to set things right.
• Malachi, the last Old Testament prophet 416 BC
  Malachi rebuked priests and people for careless worship, broken marriages, and withheld tithes, and promised that God would send his messenger and Elijah before the day of Yahweh.

Between the Testaments 410–5 BC

Persian, Greek, and Roman rule over Judea; no new Scripture is written.

• Alexander the Great conquers the Persian Empire 334–330 BC
  Alexander of Macedon crossed into Asia with a small army and, in three great battles, brought down the Persian Empire, as Daniel's vision of the ram and the goat had foretold.
• Alexander spares Jerusalem 332 BC
  According to Josephus, the high priest Jaddua went out to meet Alexander in his robes; the conqueror bowed, worshiped at the temple, and was shown Daniel's prophecy of a Greek king.
• Alexander dies at Babylon, aged 32 323 BC
  At the height of his power, planning still more conquests, Alexander fell ill and died at Babylon. He left no adult heir, and his generals began to fight over his empire.
• Alexander's empire splits into four kingdoms 301 BC
  After twenty years of war among Alexander's generals, the battle of Ipsus left four kingdoms: Cassander in Macedonia, Lysimachus in Thrace and Asia Minor, Seleucus in Syria and the east, and Ptolemy in Egypt.
• The Septuagint: the Scriptures translated into Greek 277 BC
  Jewish scholars in Alexandria translated the Law of Moses into Greek, the common language that Alexander's conquests had spread. Completed later with the rest of the Old Testament, it became the Bible of the early church.
• Judea passes from Egypt to Syria 198 BC
  Antiochus III, the Seleucid “king of the north,” defeated Ptolemy's army at Panium near the source of the Jordan, and Judea changed hands after a century of Egyptian rule.
• Antiochus IV Epiphanes seizes the Seleucid throne 175 BC
  Antiochus IV, a younger son of Antiochus the Great, took the throne ahead of the rightful heir and set out to make his kingdom Greek in religion and culture, while Jerusalem's own priests competed for his favor.
• Rome turns Antiochus back from Egypt 168 BC
  As Antiochus closed in on Alexandria, a Roman envoy drew a circle in the sand around him and demanded an answer before he stepped out of it. Humiliated, Antiochus withdrew and took out his fury on Jerusalem.
• Mattathias and his sons rise in revolt 167 BC
  Ordered to sacrifice to idols at Modein, the priest Mattathias refused, struck down a Jew who stepped forward to do it, and fled to the hills with his five sons. His son Judas, called Maccabeus, led a guerrilla war that defeated army after army.
• Eleazar and a mother with seven sons die for the Law 167 BC
  The Jews remembered martyrs who chose torture and death rather than eat pork or deny God, among them the aged scribe Eleazar and a mother who watched her seven sons die, each confessing hope in the resurrection.
• Antiochus desecrates the temple 167 BC
  Antiochus outlawed the Law of Moses. On the 15th of Chislev an altar to the Greek god Zeus was set up on the altar of burnt offering, and ten days later pagan sacrifices were offered in the temple.
• Antiochus IV dies in Persia 164 BC
  Antiochus died of a sudden illness while campaigning in the east, after a failed attempt to rob a temple in Elymais. No enemy struck him down; he was “broken without human hands.”
• Judas Maccabeus rededicates the temple: the first Hanukkah 164 BC
  Judas retook Jerusalem, pulled down the defiled altar, built a new one, and rededicated the temple on the 25th of Chislev, three years to the day after the pagan sacrifices began. The eight-day celebration became the Feast of Dedication, or Hanukkah.
• Simon wins independence for Judea 142 BC
  After Judas and then Jonathan fell, their brother Simon threw off Seleucid rule. The people made him high priest, commander, and ruler, and for eighty years Judea was independent under his descendants, the Hasmoneans.
• John Hyrcanus destroys the Samaritan temple 130 BC
  Simon's son John Hyrcanus conquered Shechem and destroyed the rival Samaritan temple on Mount Gerizim, deepening the bitterness between Jews and Samaritans that runs through the Gospels.
• The Great Isaiah Scroll is copied 125 BC
  A scribe copied the whole book of Isaiah onto a leather scroll 24 feet long. Hidden in a cave by the Dead Sea and found in 1947, it is the oldest complete book of the Bible known, a thousand years older than the oldest Hebrew manuscripts known before it.
• John Hyrcanus breaks with the Pharisees 108 BC
  By the time of John Hyrcanus, the parties that fill the pages of the Gospels had formed. When a Pharisee insulted him at a banquet, Hyrcanus broke with the Pharisees and joined the Sadducees.
• Pompey takes Jerusalem; Judea falls under Rome 63 BC
  Called in to settle a civil war between two Hasmonean brothers, the Roman general Pompey besieged the temple, took it on a fast day, and walked into the Most Holy Place. Judea became subject to Rome.
• Herod the Great rules as king of Judea 37–4 BC
  Herod, an Idumean whose family had risen under the Hasmoneans, was named king of Judea by the Roman Senate and, with a Roman army, took Jerusalem three years later. He reigned 34 years as a brilliant builder and a ruthless, suspicious tyrant.
• Augustus becomes Rome's first emperor 27 BC
  Octavian, Julius Caesar's adopted heir, won Rome's civil wars and was given the title Augustus by the Senate. Under him the Mediterranean world entered two centuries of relative peace, the world into which Jesus was born.
• Herod begins rebuilding the temple 17 BC
  Herod rebuilt Zerubbabel's modest temple on a grand scale and doubled the size of the temple mount. The sanctuary itself took a year and a half, but work on the courts went on for more than eighty years.

The life of Christ 5 BC – AD 33

The birth, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

• An angel promises Zechariah a son 6 BC
  As the elderly priest Zechariah burned incense in the temple, the angel Gabriel told him that his wife Elizabeth would bear a son who would prepare the way for the Lord.
• Gabriel announces Jesus' birth to Mary 5 BC
  Gabriel told Mary, a young woman of Nazareth engaged to Joseph of David's family, that she would conceive by the Holy Spirit and bear the Son of God, who would reign on David's throne forever.
• Mary visits Elizabeth: the Magnificat 5 BC
  Mary hurried to the hill country of Judea to visit Elizabeth. The unborn John leaped at her greeting, and Mary praised God in a song that echoes Hannah's prayer.
• John the Baptist is born 5 BC
  Elizabeth gave birth to a son. When relatives wanted to name him after his father, Zechariah wrote, “His name is John,” and his voice returned as he prophesied.
• Jesus is born in Bethlehem 5 BC
  Augustus's decree of a census took Joseph and the pregnant Mary from Nazareth to Bethlehem, David's town. There Jesus was born and laid in a manger, and angels announced his birth to shepherds.
• Simeon and Anna welcome the child in the temple 5 BC
  Forty days after the birth, Joseph and Mary brought Jesus to the temple. The aged Simeon took him in his arms and blessed God, and the prophetess Anna spoke of him to all who were waiting for redemption.
• Wise men from the east worship the child 4 BC
  Guided by a star, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem asking for the newborn King of the Jews. Directed to Bethlehem, they found the child with Mary and offered him gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
• The flight to Egypt; Herod kills the boys of Bethlehem 4 BC
  Warned in a dream, Joseph took Mary and the child by night to Egypt. Herod, realizing the wise men had not returned, ordered every boy two years old and under in and around Bethlehem to be killed.
• Herod the Great dies 4 BC
  Herod died at Jericho after a painful illness, five days after having his son Antipater executed. His kingdom was divided among three sons: Archelaus, Antipas, and Philip.
• The family settles in Nazareth 3 BC
  Returning from Egypt, Joseph learned that Herod's harsh son Archelaus ruled Judea. Warned in a dream, he took his family to Galilee and settled in the small village of Nazareth.
• Judea becomes a Roman province; Judas the Galilean revolts AD 6
  Augustus deposed Archelaus and put Judea under a Roman governor. When Quirinius took a census for taxation, Judas the Galilean led a revolt, teaching that God alone was Israel's master.
• The boy Jesus in the temple AD 8
  At twelve, Jesus went with his parents to Jerusalem for the Passover and stayed behind. After three days they found him in the temple, listening to the teachers and asking them questions.
• John the Baptist begins preaching AD 26
  In the fifteenth year of Tiberius, the word of God came to John in the wilderness. He preached repentance and baptized crowds in the Jordan River, announcing that one far greater was coming.
• Jesus is baptized by John AD 27
  Jesus came from Nazareth to be baptized in the Jordan. As he came up from the water, the Spirit descended on him like a dove, and a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son.”
• Jesus is tempted in the wilderness AD 27
  Led by the Spirit into the wilderness, Jesus fasted forty days. The devil tempted him three times, and each time Jesus answered with Scripture.
• “Behold, the Lamb of God”: the first disciples follow Jesus AD 30
  When John the Baptist pointed to Jesus as the Lamb of God, two of John's disciples followed him. One, Andrew, brought his brother Simon, whom Jesus named Peter; then Philip and Nathanael joined them.
• Water turned into wine at Cana AD 30
  At a wedding in Cana of Galilee the wine ran out. Jesus had the servants fill six stone water jars, and the water became excellent wine: the first of his signs.
• Jesus clears the temple at his first Passover AD 30
  At the Passover in Jerusalem Jesus made a whip of cords and drove the traders and money changers out of the temple courts. Asked for a sign, he said, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
• Nicodemus comes to Jesus by night AD 30
  Nicodemus, a Pharisee and member of the ruling council, came to Jesus at night. Jesus told him that no one can see God's Kingdom without being born anew, of water and the Spirit.
• Herod Antipas imprisons John the Baptist AD 30
  John rebuked Herod Antipas for marrying Herodias, his half-brother's wife, and for his other evils. Herod had him arrested and imprisoned.
• The woman at the well in Samaria AD 30
  On his way to Galilee, Jesus rested at Jacob's well near Sychar and asked a Samaritan woman for a drink. He offered her living water and revealed that he was the Messiah; many in her town believed.
• Rejected at Nazareth, Jesus makes Capernaum his home AD 30
  In the synagogue of his hometown Jesus read from Isaiah 61 and announced, “Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” The townspeople turned on him and tried to throw him off a cliff.
• “Fishers for men”: Peter, Andrew, James, and John leave their nets AD 31
  After teaching from Peter's boat, Jesus told the fishermen to let down their nets. They caught so many fish the nets began to break. Peter fell at his feet, and the four left everything to follow him.
• A paralyzed man is lowered through the roof AD 31
  In Capernaum, four men dug through a roof to lower their paralyzed friend to Jesus. Jesus first forgave his sins, then healed him, to show that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.
• Jesus calls Matthew the tax collector AD 31
  Jesus called Levi, also named Matthew, from his tax booth, and he followed. At the banquet Matthew gave, Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners, to the Pharisees' dismay.
• A lame man healed at the pool of Bethesda AD 31
  At a feast in Jerusalem, Jesus healed a man who had been disabled for thirty-eight years as he lay by the pool of Bethesda. Because it was the Sabbath, the leaders began to seek to kill him.
• Jesus chooses the twelve apostles AD 31
  After a night of prayer on a mountain, Jesus chose twelve of his disciples and named them apostles, to be with him and to be sent out to preach.
• The Sermon on the Mount AD 31
  Jesus taught his disciples and the crowds the way of life in God's Kingdom: the Beatitudes, the Lord's Prayer, love for enemies, and the call to build on his words as on rock.
• Jesus calms the storm AD 31
  Crossing the Sea of Galilee at evening, the disciples were caught in a violent storm while Jesus slept on a cushion. He rebuked the wind and the sea, and there was a great calm.
• Jairus's daughter is raised AD 31
  Jairus, a synagogue leader, begged Jesus to heal his dying twelve-year-old daughter. On the way, a woman who had suffered bleeding for twelve years was healed by touching his clothes. Then word came that the girl had died.
• The Twelve are sent out two by two AD 31
  Jesus sent the Twelve out in pairs to the towns of Israel, giving them authority to heal and to cast out demons, and telling them to take no money or spare clothing.
• John the Baptist is beheaded AD 32
  At Herod Antipas's birthday banquet, the daughter of Herodias danced and pleased him so much that he promised her anything. Prompted by her mother, she asked for John the Baptist's head on a platter.
• Jesus feeds the five thousand AD 32
  Near the Passover, a crowd followed Jesus to a remote place by the Sea of Galilee. From a boy's five barley loaves and two fish he fed about five thousand men, besides women and children, and twelve baskets of leftovers were gathered.
• Jesus walks on the water AD 32
  That night, as the disciples rowed against the wind, Jesus came to them walking on the sea. Peter stepped out to meet him, began to sink when he saw the wind, and was caught by Jesus' hand.
• Peter confesses Jesus as the Christ AD 32
  Near Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asked his disciples who they said he was. Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” From then on Jesus began to tell them that he must suffer, be killed, and rise on the third day.
• The Transfiguration AD 32
  On a high mountain, Jesus was transfigured before Peter, James, and John: his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light. Moses and Elijah appeared, talking with him, and a voice from a bright cloud said, “Listen to him.”
• At the Feast of Tabernacles: “I am the light of the world” AD 32
  Jesus went up to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles and taught openly in the temple. On the last day he cried out that anyone thirsty should come to him and drink, and he declared himself the light of the world.
• The Good Samaritan and the lost son: parables on the road to Jerusalem AD 32
  On his final journeys toward Jerusalem, Jesus told some of his best-known parables: the Samaritan who showed mercy to a wounded stranger, and the father who ran to welcome his lost son home.
• At the Feast of Dedication: “I and the Father are one” AD 32
  In winter, at the Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah), Jesus walked in Solomon's porch in the temple. Pressed to say plainly whether he was the Christ, he pointed to his works and said, “I and the Father are one.”
• Lazarus is raised from the dead AD 33
  Jesus' friend Lazarus of Bethany had been dead four days when Jesus arrived. After weeping with his sisters Martha and Mary, Jesus called him out of the tomb. The council then resolved to put Jesus to death.
• Bartimaeus and Zacchaeus at Jericho AD 33
  On his last journey up to Jerusalem, Jesus gave sight to blind Bartimaeus at Jericho and invited himself to the house of Zacchaeus, a rich chief tax collector who had climbed a sycamore tree to see him.
• Mary anoints Jesus at Bethany Saturday, 28 March AD 33
  Six days before the Passover, at a supper in Bethany with Lazarus at the table, Mary poured a pound of costly perfume of pure nard on Jesus' feet and wiped them with her hair.
• Jesus enters Jerusalem on a donkey Sunday, 29 March AD 33
  Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a young donkey from the Mount of Olives. Crowds spread their cloaks and palm branches on the road and shouted, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
• The fig tree cursed and the temple cleared Monday, 30 March AD 33
  On the way from Bethany Jesus cursed a fig tree full of leaves but without fruit. In the temple he overturned the tables of the money changers and drove out those buying and selling.
• Debates in the temple and the Olivet Discourse Tuesday, 31 March AD 33
  Religious leaders tested Jesus with question after question: his authority, taxes to Caesar, the resurrection, and the greatest commandment. That evening on the Mount of Olives he foretold the temple's destruction.
• Judas agrees to betray Jesus Wednesday, 1 April AD 33
  Two days before the Passover, the chief priests plotted to arrest Jesus quietly. Judas Iscariot went to them and agreed to hand him over for thirty pieces of silver.
• The Last Supper Thursday, 2 April AD 33
  On the evening the Passover lambs were sacrificed, Jesus ate the Passover with the Twelve in an upper room. He washed their feet, foretold his betrayal, and gave them bread and wine as his body and blood of the new covenant.
• Agony in Gethsemane and arrest Thursday, 2 April AD 33
  After the supper Jesus crossed the Kidron Valley to the garden of Gethsemane and prayed in anguish while his disciples slept. Judas arrived with an armed crowd and betrayed him with a kiss.
• Jesus is tried before Caiaphas, Pilate, and Herod Friday, 3 April AD 33
  Through the night Jesus was questioned by Annas and by Caiaphas and the council, who condemned him for blasphemy. At dawn they took him to Pilate, who sent him to Herod Antipas and back, then gave in to the crowd and handed him over to be crucified.
• The crucifixion Friday, 3 April AD 33
  Jesus was crucified at Golgotha between two criminals. Darkness covered the land from noon until three in the afternoon. Then Jesus cried out, “It is finished,” and gave up his spirit. The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
• Jesus is buried; the tomb is sealed and guarded Saturday, 4 April AD 33
  Before the Sabbath began, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus laid Jesus' body in Joseph's new tomb cut in the rock. The next day the chief priests had Pilate seal the stone and post a guard.
• Jesus rises from the dead Sunday, 5 April AD 33
  Early on the first day of the week, women coming to anoint the body found the stone rolled away and the tomb empty. Angels told them Jesus had risen, and the risen Lord appeared first to Mary Magdalene.
• On the road to Emmaus Sunday, 5 April AD 33
  That afternoon two disciples walking to Emmaus were joined by a stranger who explained from the Scriptures why the Christ had to suffer. When he broke bread with them they recognized Jesus, and he vanished.
• Jesus appears to the disciples; Thomas believes Sunday, 12 April AD 33
  On the evening of the resurrection Jesus stood among his disciples behind locked doors. Thomas, absent that night, refused to believe until eight days later, when Jesus invited him to touch his wounds.
• By the Sea of Galilee: “Feed my sheep” and the Great Commission AD 33
  Back in Galilee, Jesus appeared to seven disciples by the lake, gave them a great catch of fish, and three times asked Peter, “Do you love me?” On a mountain he sent the eleven to make disciples of all nations.
• Jesus ascends to heaven Thursday, 14 May AD 33
  Forty days after he rose, Jesus led his disciples out toward Bethany on the Mount of Olives, blessed them, and was taken up into heaven. Angels told them he would come back in the same way.
• Matthias is chosen to replace Judas AD 33
  Between the ascension and Pentecost, about 120 believers met in Jerusalem. Peter proposed that someone who had been with them from John's baptism to the ascension take Judas's place, and the lot fell on Matthias.

The apostolic church AD 33–100

Pentecost, the spread of the gospel, the letters, and Revelation (written about AD 95).

• Pentecost: the Holy Spirit is poured out Sunday, 24 May AD 33
  On the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit came on the believers with a sound like a rushing wind and tongues like fire. They spoke in the languages of Jews gathered from across the world, Peter preached Christ crucified and risen, and about three thousand were baptized.
• Peter and John heal a man lame from birth AD 33
  At the temple's Beautiful Gate, Peter told a man lame from birth to walk in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, and he leaped up praising God. Arrested and questioned by the council, Peter and John refused to stop speaking about Jesus.
• The believers share everything; Ananias and Sapphira AD 33
  The believers were of one heart and soul, sharing their possessions so that no one among them was in need. Barnabas sold a field and gave the money; Ananias and Sapphira lied about theirs and died.
• The apostles are flogged; Gamaliel's advice AD 33
  As the apostles healed the sick in Solomon's porch, the high priest had them jailed. An angel released them, and brought again before the council they answered, “We must obey God rather than men.”
• Seven men chosen to serve AD 33
  When Greek-speaking believers complained that their widows were overlooked in the daily distribution of food, the apostles had the church choose seven men full of the Spirit and wisdom, including Stephen and Philip, to oversee it.
• Stephen, the first martyr AD 33
  Stephen, full of grace and power, was accused of speaking against the temple and the Law. After tracing Israel's history before the council, he saw the heavens opened and was stoned to death, praying for his killers. A young man named Saul approved.
• Philip preaches in Samaria AD 34
  Scattered by persecution, Philip proclaimed Christ in Samaria. Crowds believed and were baptized, and when Peter and John came from Jerusalem and laid hands on them, the Samaritans received the Holy Spirit.
• Philip baptizes an Ethiopian official AD 34
  On the desert road to Gaza, Philip met a court official of the queen of Ethiopia reading Isaiah 53 in his chariot. Philip told him the good news about Jesus, and the official asked to be baptized.
• Saul meets the risen Jesus on the Damascus road AD 35
  On his way to arrest believers in Damascus, Saul was struck down by a light from heaven and heard Jesus ask why he was persecuting him. Blinded, he was led into the city, where Ananias laid hands on him; he regained his sight, was baptized, and began preaching Jesus.
• Saul escapes Damascus and visits Jerusalem AD 37
  When the Jews of Damascus plotted to kill him, the disciples let Saul down through an opening in the wall in a basket. In Jerusalem Barnabas vouched for him, and he stayed with Peter fifteen days before being sent home to Tarsus.
• Peter heals Aeneas and raises Dorcas AD 38
  Visiting the believers along the coast, Peter healed Aeneas, paralyzed for eight years, at Lydda, and at Joppa raised Tabitha (Dorcas), a disciple known for her good works, from the dead.
• Peter and Cornelius: the gospel to the Gentiles AD 40
  A vision of unclean animals taught Peter not to call unclean what God had cleansed. Sent for by Cornelius, a Roman centurion at Caesarea, Peter preached to his household, and the Holy Spirit fell on these Gentiles as he spoke.
• Disciples first called Christians at Antioch AD 43
  At Antioch in Syria, believers began preaching to Greeks as well as Jews, and a great number believed. Barnabas came from Jerusalem, brought Saul from Tarsus, and they taught there a whole year.
• Herod Agrippa kills James; an angel frees Peter AD 44
  King Herod Agrippa I had James, the brother of John, killed with the sword. Seeing that it pleased the Jews, he arrested Peter during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, but the night before his trial an angel led Peter out of prison.
• Herod Agrippa I dies at Caesarea AD 44
  At Caesarea, Herod Agrippa appeared in royal robes and gave a speech; the crowd shouted that it was the voice of a god. Because he did not give God the glory, he was struck down and died.
• Antioch sends famine relief to Jerusalem AD 44
  The prophet Agabus foretold a great famine, which came in the reign of Claudius. The believers at Antioch sent relief to the brothers in Judea by Barnabas and Saul.
• Paul's first missionary journey: Cyprus and Galatia AD 46–48
  Sent out by the church at Antioch, Barnabas and Saul (now called Paul) preached across Cyprus and into the interior of Asia Minor, founding churches at Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe.
• James writes his letter AD 46
  James, the brother of Jesus and leader of the church in Jerusalem, wrote to Jewish believers scattered abroad: genuine faith shows itself in works, controlled speech, care for the poor, and patience in trials.
• Paul writes Galatians AD 48
  Hearing that teachers were persuading his Galatian converts that Gentiles must be circumcised and keep the Law to be saved, Paul wrote in alarm: we are justified by faith in Christ, not by the works of the law.
• The council at Jerusalem AD 49
  When some insisted that Gentile believers must be circumcised, the apostles and elders met in Jerusalem. Peter, Paul, and Barnabas told of God's work among the Gentiles, and James proposed that they not be burdened with the Law, apart from a few requests.
• Paul's second journey: the gospel reaches Europe AD 49–52
  After a sharp disagreement with Barnabas over John Mark, Paul set out with Silas, was joined by Timothy and Luke, and, called by a vision of a man of Macedonia, crossed into Europe: Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, and Corinth.
• Lydia, a slave girl, and a jailer: the church at Philippi AD 50
  At Philippi, Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth, believed and opened her home. When Paul freed a slave girl from a spirit of divination, her owners had Paul and Silas beaten and jailed; at midnight an earthquake opened the doors, and the jailer and his household believed.
• Paul speaks at the Areopagus in Athens AD 50
  Distressed by the idols of Athens, Paul reasoned in the synagogue and the marketplace. Brought before the Areopagus, he proclaimed the unknown God whom they worshiped in ignorance, the Creator who now commands all people to repent.
• Eighteen months at Corinth; Gallio dismisses the charges AD 51
  At Corinth Paul worked as a tentmaker with Aquila and Priscilla, Jews recently expelled from Rome by Claudius. The Lord encouraged him in a vision, and he stayed a year and six months. When the Jews brought him before the proconsul Gallio, Gallio refused to hear the case.
• Paul writes 1 and 2 Thessalonians from Corinth AD 51
  Forced out of Thessalonica after only a few weeks, Paul wrote from Corinth to encourage the young church under persecution, to answer their questions about believers who had died, and to calm fears that the day of the Lord had already come.
• Paul's third journey: three years at Ephesus AD 52–57
  Paul revisited the churches of Galatia and Phrygia, then spent about three years at Ephesus, teaching daily in the hall of Tyrannus, so that all the province of Asia heard the word. He then traveled through Macedonia and Greece and set out for Jerusalem with a collection for its poor.
• The riot at Ephesus AD 55
  Demetrius, a silversmith who made shrines of Artemis, stirred up his fellow craftsmen: Paul's preaching was ruining their trade and the honor of the goddess. The city filled with confusion, and a crowd shouted for two hours in the theater.
• Paul writes 1 Corinthians from Ephesus AD 55
  Troubled by reports of divisions, immorality, lawsuits, and confusion over worship in the Corinthian church, Paul wrote to correct and teach them, including his great chapters on love (13) and on the resurrection (15).
• Paul writes 2 Corinthians from Macedonia AD 56
  Relieved by Titus's report that the Corinthians had repented, Paul wrote his most personal letter, defending his ministry against false apostles and describing both his sufferings and the comfort of God.
• Paul's farewell to the Ephesian elders at Miletus AD 57
  Hurrying to reach Jerusalem by Pentecost, Paul called the elders of Ephesus to meet him at Miletus. He reminded them of his example, warned them of wolves to come, and told them they would not see his face again.
• Paul is arrested in the temple AD 57
  In Jerusalem, a mob seized Paul in the temple, falsely accusing him of bringing Gentiles inside, and Roman soldiers rescued him. After a plot to kill him was uncovered, he was taken by night under heavy guard to the governor Felix at Caesarea.
• Paul writes Romans from Corinth AD 57
  During three winter months in Greece, Paul wrote to the church at Rome, which he had not yet visited, setting out the gospel most fully: all have sinned, and all are justified freely by God's grace through faith in Christ.
• Paul imprisoned at Caesarea: Felix, Festus, and Agrippa AD 57–59
  For two years Paul was held at Caesarea while Felix hoped for a bribe. When Festus succeeded Felix and proposed a trial in Jerusalem, Paul appealed to Caesar. Before Festus sent him to Rome, Paul told his story to King Agrippa II.
• Mark writes his Gospel AD 58
  John Mark, companion of Paul and Peter, wrote the shortest and probably earliest Gospel, a fast-moving account of Jesus as the Son of God who came to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45).
• Voyage to Rome and shipwreck on Malta AD 59
  Sailing late in the season, Paul's ship was caught by a violent northeast wind and driven for two weeks before running aground on Malta. All 276 people aboard reached land safely, as God had promised Paul. In the spring they sailed on to Italy.
• Paul under house arrest in Rome AD 60–62
  In Rome Paul lived for two whole years in his own rented lodging, chained to a soldier, welcoming all who came to him and preaching the Kingdom of God boldly and without hindrance. Here the book of Acts ends.
• Matthew writes his Gospel AD 60
  Matthew, the tax collector who became an apostle, wrote especially for Jewish readers, showing Jesus as the Messiah and Son of David who fulfilled the Law and the Prophets, and gathering his teaching into five great discourses.
• Paul writes Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon AD 61
  From prison Paul sent Tychicus to Asia with three letters: Colossians, warning against a false teaching that belittled Christ; Ephesians, on the church as Christ's body; and Philemon, asking a master to welcome back his runaway slave Onesimus as a brother.
• Paul writes Philippians AD 62
  Thanking the Philippians for a gift brought by Epaphroditus, Paul wrote from prison a letter full of joy, urging them to have the mind of Christ, who humbled himself to death on a cross and was highly exalted.
• Luke writes his Gospel and the Acts AD 62
  Luke, the beloved physician and Paul's traveling companion, wrote an orderly account in two volumes for Theophilus: the life of Jesus and the spread of the gospel from Jerusalem to Rome.
• James, the Lord's brother, is stoned in Jerusalem AD 62
  James, the brother of Jesus, who had not believed during Jesus' ministry but saw the risen Lord, became the leader of the Jerusalem church. When the governor Festus died, the high priest Ananus had James stoned before the new governor arrived.
• Paul writes 1 Timothy and Titus AD 63
  After his release, Paul left Timothy to lead the church at Ephesus and Titus to set things in order on Crete, and wrote to guide them: sound teaching, qualified elders, godly living, and the grace that saves.
• Peter writes his first letter from “Babylon” AD 64
  Peter wrote to believers scattered through Asia Minor, strangers in a hostile world, encouraging them to endure suffering with hope, following the example of Christ, who suffered for them.
• Nero blames the Christians for the fire of Rome AD 64
  A great fire burned much of Rome. To quiet rumors that he had started it, the emperor Nero blamed the Christians and had many of them put to death with terrible cruelty.
• The letter to the Hebrews is written AD 65
  An unnamed teacher wrote to Jewish believers tempted to turn back, showing that Jesus is greater than the angels, Moses, and the priests of Aaron, and that his one sacrifice has fulfilled the whole sacrificial system.
• Peter's second letter and the letter of Jude AD 66
  Knowing his death was near, Peter wrote to remind believers of the truth and to warn against false teachers. Jude, the brother of James, wrote a short, urgent letter against similar false teachers, urging believers to contend for the faith.
• The Jewish revolt begins; Christians flee Jerusalem AD 66
  Provoked by the governor Florus, Judea rose against Rome. Remembering Jesus' warning to flee when they saw Jerusalem surrounded by armies, the Christians of Jerusalem left the city.
• Paul writes 2 Timothy, his last letter AD 67
  Imprisoned again in Rome and expecting death, Paul wrote to Timothy, urging him to guard the gospel, endure hardship, and preach the word, and asking him to come quickly and bring Mark, his cloak, and the scrolls.
• Peter and Paul are martyred in Rome AD 67
  Under Nero, both apostles were put to death in Rome: Paul, a Roman citizen, by the sword, and Peter by crucifixion, as Jesus had foretold.
• Jerusalem and the temple are destroyed AD 70
  After a five-month siege, the Roman army under Titus took Jerusalem, burned the temple, and leveled the city, just as Jesus had foretold forty years earlier. The sacrifices of the Law came to an end.
• John writes his Gospel AD 90
  Late in life, the apostle John wrote a Gospel so that readers might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and have life in his name. It records the “I am” sayings and Jesus' long teaching to his disciples on the night he was betrayed.
• John writes 1, 2, and 3 John AD 92
  John wrote to churches in Asia shaken by false teachers who denied that Christ had come in the flesh, assuring believers that they could know they had eternal life, and calling them to love one another.
• John on Patmos writes Revelation AD 95
  Exiled to the island of Patmos for the word of God, John saw the risen Christ in glory and received the visions of Revelation, beginning with letters to seven churches of Asia: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.
• John, the last apostle, dies at Ephesus AD 98
  According to early church writers, John returned from Patmos to Ephesus after Domitian's death and lived into the reign of Trajan, the last of the Twelve to die. With him the apostolic age came to a close.