History:
Joseph of Arimathea, a descendant of the royal house of David, was one of the richest merchants in the Middle East. There
is also persuasive evidence that he was the uncle of Jesus of Nazareth. He is traditionally depicted holding two cruets,
or jars, said to contain the “blood and tears” of Jesus. But what is our “blood and tears” if not the sum total of our
life experience? Suppose Joseph’s jars (similar to those containing the Dead Sea scrolls) contained his written record
of who Jesus really was, where he went during the “lost years,” and what he did?
As a powerful and rich merchant with ships plying the Mediterranean and beyond and with caravans traversing the ancient
Silk Road, Joseph could have facilitated Jesus’ travels all over the known world, and there are sources that claim he
did just that. Suppose the many legends are true…that Jesus lived, studied and taught in India, Tibet, China, the
British Isles and beyond.
Thumbnail Synopsis:
The Arimathean Chronicles is the story of two contemporary archaeologists, Ian, a Brit, and Kay, an
American wounded by a stormy failed romance which they try to put behind them in order to discover if the mysterious
tomb and scrolls they find on a remote Welsh estate are really those of Joseph of Arimathea. The scrolls appear to
contain the chronicles of the hidden life of Jesus, written by Joseph for future generations. If they are genuine,
Christianity will never be the same.
Their investigation takes them half way around the world, and as the plot unfolds the truth becomes clear, but now
danger looms and time is running out. Kay and Ian must find a way to protect the truth and get it out into the world
before it can be destroyed and their lives taken by the secret agents of an ancient cabal within the Vatican who pursue
them relentlessly, determined to suppress the most controversial revelation of the past two thousand years!
Author’s Note:
Although I was educated as a child in Protestant church schools, attending traditional chapel services every morning,
by my early teens I had begun to feel certain that the conventional story of the life of Jesus of Nazareth was lacking
in so many ways that I could no longer accept it as truth. It made no sense. There had to be more that we were not
being told. At the age of fifteen I was lead to a brilliant teacher from India whose vast knowledge of philosophy and
world religions included considerable information about Jesus’ travels, studies and teaching through India and the Far
East, stories I had never heard before but which seemed to answer many of my questions. Thus began the years of
research and study from which emerged The Arimathean Chronicles, a subjective albeit possible version of the
life of the world teacher known as Jesus of Nazareth and the story of some who still seek him today. I do not presume
to call it a biography or any kind of historical document but rather a work of fiction based on intuition and a
broad range of compelling source material—from both mainstream and unconventional sources— presented in the context
of an exciting, romantic, and ground-breaking contemporary adventure.