Where Lazarus was buried (the 2nd time!)

I interrupt this series on historical places in Israel to talk about where I went last month: Cyprus!

This was my first time to this beautiful country, and it did not disappoint!

My first stop in Larnaca was to see the promenade... and I was pleasantly surprised to immediately find a castle!

It's not too far from the crown jewel of Larnaca: the Church of St. Lazarus.

It's said that after Jesus' ascension back to Heaven, Lazarus had to flee for his life. So, he went to Cyprus, and lived there until he died (again) 30 years later. He was buried in this church in Larnaca, but his grave was lost over the centuries... until the 8th century, when a tomb was uncovered that said, "Lazarus, 4 days dead, friend of Christ." The remains were moved and later stolen, but a church was later built over the site of the tomb.

It's a Greek Orthodox church, built in the 9th century AD. The inside is really ornate, and it's free to enter.

In addition to a Greek Orthodox church, the Church of St. Lazarus has also been a Catholic church, and for a few years under Ottoman rule, a mosque.

I love historical places, especially Biblical ones. And I so wish I could have gone to Paphos, because it was the birth place of Barnabas—and he and Paul went there on one of their journeys—but getting to see a place where someone who knew Jesus as friend (who was raised back to life!) lived and died is still pretty cool!

And you don't even have to guess: going to Bethany and where Lazarus died (the first time) and was raised back to life by Jesus is 100% on my list!

The Constantine Codex by Paul L. Maier

The Constantine Codex, the 3rd book in Paul L. Maier's 3-part series, is my favorite of all.

Published in 2011, I feel like this book solves some of the 'problems' that I had with the other two (granted, it was likely only me, as they were both bestsellers!). The prose and the dialogue match the era much better, which is more accessible to the modern reader, and I didn't find the romance as distracting (there were fewer allusions to the first book, whereas I felt like the second book revisited almost every scene of their 'fairytale romance'). 

As with the other two, this book is fiction and its story needs to be taken with a grain of salt as far as the 'incredible archeological discovery and the global ramifications' depicted, but I didn't have a problem with that. 

In fact, I loved the story itself, probably because I love books so much, especially the Bible, and love anything having to do with Israeli and early church history. This book was fascinating! I'll likely read it alone more in the future, even if I don't read the others as often. That's another thing- while each of the novels in this series could stand alone, this one definitely stands out the best (even with it's references to the earlier ones).

Something fun that stood out to me as well was that I read this book a few days after finishing Nabeel Qureshi's Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus. Part of the storyline of Maier's novel involve a debate between a Muslim leader and the main character, Jonathan Weber. Many of the same 'arguments' that Weber's character used line up exactly with Qureshi's story. I found this a happy connection (being that Maier's book is fiction, but Qureshi's is nonfiction), and showed the incredible depth of Maier's research and the extent of his masterful weaving of story while portraying truth.

I 100% recommend The Constantine Codex. You can find it here on Amazon if this book interests you! And please let me know what you think!

Quest for the Historical Apostles

I went to Toccoa Falls College, in Toccoa Falls, Ga, from 2005-2007. During that time, I completed my English degree and a minor in Bible (although, I didn't apply for the certificate to show the minor).

Anywho, when I found out that one of my former professors wrote a book, I had to check it out for myself!

Dr. W. Brian Shelton's book, Quest for the Historical Apostles, really intrigued me. I could see the immense research that went into such a topic, as Dr. Shelton explored the paths of each of the apostles from their journeys with Jesus, receiving the Holy Spirit at Pentecost through their ministries in faraway lands—and deaths for His' sake.

My favorite part of this book was how it was written: exactly as promised. Dr. Shelton takes the reader on a quest, much like the disciples themselves went on.

If you love Biblical history, this is a great book to check out.