A House Shaken

The eleven disciples of Jesus, huddled together in Mary’s house after the death and resurrection of their Rabbi, felt there was more Jesus wanted them to do, but everything they tried met with failure. Their failure led to frustration, and frustration led to thoughts of giving up. The downward spiral seemed certain to end in total defeat and the end of the ministry begun by Jesus, until they experienced “A House Shaken” at Pentecost.

One of the early converts to Christianity is young Priscilla, the daughter of Samuel. After her fiancée is killed by Roman soldiers, her father betroths her to Alexander, the son of Plebius. Although Alexander doesn’t love or care for her, she tries to be the obedient daughter and abide by her father’s decision until she meets and accidently falls in love with Aquila, who is in Jerusalem for the Pentecost celebration. Priscilla and Aquila are faced with an impossible situation until God intervenes.

Although Jesus had promised that the disciples would “receive power after the Holy Spirit came upon them,” success was not guaranteed, since opposition forces, led by Pharisee Saul of Tarsus, and supported by the mighty “Angel of Light,” were working diligently to destroy the new ministry. Who would win, the rag tag followers of a dead messiah, or powerful Saul of Tarsus, rich Pharisee Onomus, and the Sanhedrin of Israel?

A House Shaken, written as a historical novel, imagines events that may have happened during the development of the Christian Church in the first century, as well as events actually recorded in the first eight chapters of the Book of Acts in the New Testament.