Well, let's go back to the first century on this episode of five minutes in church history,

and let's look at the work of the Roman historian Tacitus.

Tacitus was born in 56 or 58, and he died in 118.

He was an orator, a lawyer, served in the Roman Senate.

He appears to have some sort of role in Germania

and served there in the province and he was a writer.

He's known to us as one of the historians of this early century, the first century of Rome.

Through his book, The Annals, and his book The Histories,

he tells the history largely of First Century Rome.

He starts with Augustus Caesar in 14 AD, and he ends with Domitian's death in 96.

And through that lens of the emperors he is able to look at the various events in the first century.

This of course is very important.

This coincides with Christ and his incarnation in earthly life and it coincides with

the writing of the New Testament and the early church.

Not much of Tacitus's work is lost.

It's gone to us, but the parts that do remain are fascinating and one of those books that

remains from the Annals is book 15. This tells the story of Niro's

reign from 62 to 65. This is a very important time. This would coincide with Paul's imprisonment and as church

tradition tells us it was likely Nero who would have overseen the martyrdoms of

Peter and Paul. Well in this time period of 62 to 65 there was a

very important event the burning of Rome and as Tacitus tells the story there is

the idea that Nero himself was responsible for the fire.

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