Of Such Is The Kingdom, PART III: Power And Persecution: A Novel of the early Church And The Roman Empire

by James M. Becher

This novel is the sequel to "Of Such Is The Kingdom Parts I & II A Novel of the Christ and the Roman Empire." It employs those characters who were still alive at the end of Part II and adds some new ones. Did Claressa embrace Manaheem's new-found faith? What happened to the bereaved family of Benjamin? Did Joseph, the oldest son get to go to Rabbi school? Did Barabbas continue to follow the master and did his wife and children join him? And was Pontius Pilate able to forget about his decision to crucify Jesus and did he become the strong ruler his wife wanted him to be? These and other questions are answered in this volume.

The new characters added include Saul, who becomes Paul, Herod Agrippa, the nephew of Herod Antipas, who wants to take over the latter's territory, and Caligula, the crazy son of Emperor Tiberius and friend of Agrippa. Against the background of suspicion and treachery within the empire and disdain for and persecution of the new faith, the Church continues to grow and flourish.

Follow the travels of Manaheem as he tries in vain to convert the two Herods. Follow the machinations of Herod Agrippa in his aim to take over his uncle's territory. Follow the foibles of Pilate as he seeks to become a stronger ruler, while still regretting his decision to crucify Jesus.

Follow the new life of Barabbas and his family. Follow the lives of Benjamin's family as they cope and deal with their loss and the now seeming impossibility of Joseph's schooling. Will he get to go to Rabbi school and what will it mean for their future? But mainly follow the early church as it grows in spite of persecution.

126 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 6, 2021

About the author

James M. Becher was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on June 8, 1943 to a Christian family and accepted Christ at an early age. He was an avid reader in his youth, especially interested in stories about other time periods and also science fiction. In Jr. High school, he became interested in writing and drama. He wrote several poems, articles and a few short stories, plays and novelettes.
While attending St.Petersburg Jr. College, he won second prize in a short story contest with the Biblical short story, "Beggarman-Thief."
He graduated from Clearwater Christian College in 1970, with a B.A. degree in Bible-literature, and Biblical School of Theology (now Biblical Seminary) in Hatfield, Pennsylvania, in 1974 with a M.Div.

He was ordained in November of 1974, and has served as assistant or associate pastor or Bible teacher in several churches. He also served in a foreign student ministry, which is where he met his wife, Berenice from Venezuela. It was there also that he began working on the novel Of Such Is The Kingdom, based on his short story, "Beggarman-Thief." In 1984, James and his wife spent a year and a half in Venezuela, where, while teaching English, he also worked on his second novel, IMPOSSIBLE JOURNEY A Tale of Times and Truth. Upon returning from Venezuela, he completed and revised his Biblical novel, OF SUCH IS THE KINGDOM, which was published by PublishAmerica on September 7th, 2003. He completed and revised IMPOSSIBLE JOURNEY and it was published in June of 2005.