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Did Luke Make a 60-Year Mistake? The Mystery of Lysanias

  Did Luke Make a 60-Year Mistake? The Ancient Mystery of Lysanias Author: Rodgers Mangwela There are some names in the Bible that seem to pass almost unnoticed. They appear briefly, perhaps in a single verse, and then the story moves on. But occasionally, one of those names opens a door into a much larger historical mystery. Lysanias is one of them. When Luke describes the beginning of John the Baptist's ministry, he does something remarkably precise. Rather than simply saying that John began preaching during the days of the Roman Empire, Luke places him within a particular political landscape. He names the emperor, the governor of Judea and several regional rulers. Among them is a man called Lysanias, whom Luke identifies as the tetrarch of Abilene. For many readers, that might seem like an ordinary historical detail. But for historians, it created a problem. Another Lysanias appears in the writings of the Jewish historian Josephus, and that man lived mu...
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Only the Bible survived

 Only the Bible survived




More than 3,000 years ago, when the writing of the Bible got started, Isreal was just one small nation among many in the middle East. 

Jehovah was their God, while the surrounding nations had a be wildering variety of god's and goddess. During that period of time, the Israelites were not the only ones to produce religious literature. 

Other nations too produced written works that reflected their religion and their national values. For example, the Akkadian legend of Gilgamesh from Mesopotamia and the Ras Shamra epics , written in Ugaritic , were doubtless very popular. 

The vast literature of that era also included works such as The Admonitions of Ipu-wer and The prophecy of Nefer-rohu in the Egyptian language , hymns to different divinities in Sumerian, and prophetic word in Akkadian.

All these middle eastern works, how ever, met a common fate. They were forgotten , and even the languages they were written in became extinct. Only the first writtern books of the Bible have  survived right up to our own time and are still widely read. 

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