Includes bibliographical references (p. 373-380).

The sources of New Testament history -- The political scene -- The cultural tensions -- The Jewish heritage -- The pressure of Paganism -- The Augustan Age: The youth of Christ -- The age of Tiberius: The ministry of Christ -- The Church in Jerusalem -- The Church at Antioch during the reign of Claudius -- The Judaizing controversy -- The missionary expansion -- The consolidation of the Churches: The reign of Nero -- The growth of the institutional Church under the Flavians -- The end of the first century -- The Church and the new era.

Intended as a companion volume to Dr. Tenney's widely successful New Testament Survey, this book provides a short reconstruction of the cultural milieu in which Christianity arose and developed from the time of the Maccabean Revolt to A.D. 138. The book begins with an explanation of the relevance of the historical, political, social, and economic background of the first century to the proper understanding of the New Testament, taking into account all the possible historical sources -- canonical and non-canonical, literary and archaeological. - Jacket flap.