Ann Witherington – författare

Time is running out for Khalil el Said, as his cancer treatments have become less and less effective. And so it is that his old friends Art West (and his new wife, Marissa) and Grace Levine plan something very special for Khalil, while there is still time-- the opening of an el Said wing of the Israeli Museum of Antiquities, which includes many of the items he bequeathed to the museum over many years. All of this might be quite enough, but as the Wests and others arrive in Jerusalem, a huge explosion blows the top off of the Dome of the Rock. How did it happen? Will there be war? And who is this person hiding in the shadows who seems to be the spitting image of the well-known dead villain el Tigre? Along the way new archaeological discoveries come to light, and Yelena, the adopted daughter of Grace and Manny, must decide if her future lies in Israel or not. The old friends discover they are at a crossroads in all their lives--- which avenues will they take as the future beckons?

Archaeologist Art West makes the discovery of a lifetime in Jerusalem finding the tombstone of Lazarus, which indicates that Jesus raised him from the dead. But before he can make public his amazing discovery, the stone is stolen, sold to the British Library, and West is implicated in an antiquities fraud that will lead to a trial. West''s Jewish and Muslim friends in Jerusalem rally to support West''s innocence and to help find the thief who stole the stone, but then West is shot and in critical condition in a Jerusalem hospital. Can the truth be discovered in time, and West''s life be saved? And what was on that Aramaic scroll that was found in Lazarus''s coffin? In this fast-paced thriller, Ben Witherington, himself a NT scholar with a degree in English literature, together with his wife, Ann, introduces us to the life of an archaeologist and NT scholar and his trials and tribulations when a big find comes to light. Set in the always volatile city of Jerusalem, the Witheringtons reveal the fascinating hidden dimensions of multi-religious life in that Holy Place, and show how even today Christians, Jews, and Muslims can work together so the truth may come to light, and all may experience "the Lazarus Effect"--new life from the dead.

"Art West is in hot water in more ways than one in his latest adventure. After bathing in the famous thermal springs at Pamukkale, Turkey, the intrepid Bible scholar and archaeologist is invited to join an excavation at nearby Hierapolis. A papyrus related to Papias, the noted second-century bishop, has been discovered. However, demons unleashed by a cursed papyrus found in a menorah by Art''s friend, the antiquities dealer named Khalil, are poised to attack. A visit to the Plutonium proves to be a real gas for Art, who must now discover the diabolical forces seeking to kill him. Papias and the Mysterious Menorah is a worthy sequel in the Art West series."--Mark WilsonAsia Minor Research CenterIzmir, Turkey"Each of Ben and Ann Witherington''s archaeological thrillers is more enthralling than the last. They deftly interweave the puzzles of the past with the complexities of the Middle East today."--Richard BauckhamEmeritus Professor of New TestamentSt. Andrews University, Scotland "Ever the pedagogues, Ben and Ann faithfully serve as highly informed, engaging, and deeply sensitive stewards of their narrative. Papias truly offers something for everyone."--Brad JohnsonInstructor in Biblical LanguagesAsbury Theological Seminary

In this second novel of the series, Art West seeks out the meaning of the mysterious symbolic number 666 while exploring sites in Egypt and Turkey. He discovers an inscription in southern Egypt at the Philae Temple in Aswan, which reads, "He is many men and no man, towering like the sphinx, dead and alive, but who knows what he thinks? Back from the Styx; 666." Who is this sphinx-like man? Could he be relevant to the twenty-first century? These questions lead Art to investigate possible connections between the Coptic Gospels and Coptic Orthodox beliefs. In the middle of such investigations Art is involved in a harrowing prisoner exchange in Israel at the hands of Hamas, and he discovers the origins of Christians wearing crosses. He also tangles with the notorious terrorist El Tigre.Set in the context of Middle East tensions between Muslims, Christians, and Jews, this fast-paced thriller explores the meaning of eschatological or "end times" language for the earliest Christians, who, while trying to spread the kingdom of God, faced the rising tide of the kingdom of Caesar and his emperor cult. Along the way West learns some apocalyptic secrets destined to change his life forever.

Art West has done it again. This time, he finds himself in hot water in Corinth, while excavating at a Roman villa with his fiancee, Marissa Okur, as they chart a sometimes bumpy course towards marriage. Art runs into a modern-day prophetess, survives an earthquake, and has to overcome annoying Greek authorities who stand in his way of making more discoveries of relevance to the study of the New Testament. Meanwhile his friend Kahlil el Said and his daughter who live in Jerusalem make a terrible discovery about her former husband the terrorist, with potentially dangerous and devastating consequences. The worlds of archaeology and the Bible converge once more with both heat and light shed on the origins of Christianity in this fourth installment in the series of seven Art West adventures.

Art West is enjoying his new life in North Carolina when he gets a phone call from his old friend and classmate and fellow archaeologist, Charlie. It seems a major discovery has been made at a dig at the back of the Vatican property--the tomb of Andronicus and Junia, apostles of the Lord, and other Jewish Christians as well. Charlie is in over his head, and calls in Art for help. What will the Catholic hierarchy make of the evidence of a female apostle right under their own territory? Why has the press suspected the Vatican of trying to bury its Jewish past? Set in Rome and other Italian venues, this novel explores the evidence for women as apostles and leaders in early Christianity, and various interesting aspects of Roman culture--including the famous graffiti artists. Once again Art West and his friends Grace and Khalil are called in to interpret Christian history, this time for the Pope. As the novel demonstrates, Christian history is always full of amazing and interesting surprises.

In Ephesian Miracle things begin on an ominous note. Two Christian priests are murdered in Istanbul shortly before Art and his fiancee Marissa are to be married in the Chora Church in that cosmopolitan city. On top of that, it appears the bones of Mary the mother of Jesus have been found in Ephesus! Art and Marissa''s honeymoon plans go awry when suddenly Marissa is missing and a ransom note is found by Art under the door of his hotel room in Kushadasi. It will take a miracle, an Ephesian miracle, to save her life. Fascinating archaeological discoveries, a romantic mid-life wedding and honeymoon, kidnapping and the martyring of Christians dot the landscape of this sixth thriller in the Art West series.