Only the timely intervention of an angel freed him. 'Herod lived as a faithful Jew, so he would naturally have been concerned to stop the growth of any heretical sect,' wrote Sean McDowell, author of ' The Fate of the Apostles (opens in new tab)' (Routledge, 2018). The Book of Acts describes how king Herod had Peter arrested and put in jail. The Book of Acts describes how a great persecution then erupted. Paul after his conversion on the road to Damascus. One of those watching this execution was Saul, a man who would later become St. Dragged before the Sanhedrin, the supreme council and tribunal of the Jewish people, he was sentenced to death and stoned. The first of the apostles to die, other than Judas, was Stephen. The harassment of the early Christians did not stop at arrest. We are told of several apostles being arrested for their activities spreading the message of Jesus. A group of people hoping to further his message was unlikely to be looked on favorably. Jesus had been put to death for causing trouble for both the Jewish and Roman authorities. However, the early Christians and the apostles would not be able to stay in Jerusalem forever. Those who followed the apostles are said to have sold their property and laid their money at the feet of their leaders so that all things could be shared among them. We are told that they met together for prayer, broke bread together, and lived together. While it should be approached with some skepticism historically, the Book of Acts is a fascinating document that reveals much about the lives of the early Christians. According to Acts 2 NIV (opens in new tab), they scoffed at the disciples and said 'They have had too much wine.' This would have proven useful in their later travels, though we are told some at the time were unimpressed with their new linguistic ability. They were given further proof when, during Pentecost, tongues of fire are said to have descended on them and they were given the power to speak all the languages. 'These disciples of Jesus had walked with the Messiah, witnessed his miracles and resurrection, gained inspiration from his teaching, and found transformation in their own lives,' said Shelton. Though the death of the charismatic leader usually leads to the decline of a religious movement the apostles believed they had been given proof that he really was the son of God. In Matthew 28:19-20 (opens in new tab) Jesus commands the apostles to 'make disciples of all nations.' 'The journeys of the apostles after the Book of Acts are significant because they represent the impetus of the apostles and a global expansion of the church,' said Shelton Brian Shelton, professor of theology and author of ' Quest for the Historical Apostles: Tracing Their Lives and Legacies (opens in new tab)' (Baker Academic, 2019) who spoke to Live Science.

They were set on their various paths by Jesus himself, according to W. Many sources cite other pigments such as the beautiful blue Lapis Lazuli as being present on the manuscript, but this seems to have been based on visual examination alone (fairly unreliable) and as far as I know the scientists who set out to find it could not.Related: 20 of the most bizarre stories from the bible

However this information dates from 2003 and I think there has been further scientific examination and analysis of the manuscript since then, including Raman Microscopy. Gold was also used, either applied in very thin leaf form, or ground up to form a pigment and painted on. The whites are calcium carbonate, which could be chalk or ground up sea/egg shells. Green colours could either be made from mixtures of blue and yellow, or from the green corrosion product of copper (made by suspending copper metal over vinegar). It can also be made synthetically, but I'm not sure if it was at this early date. The yellow is orpiment, a naturally occurring sulphide of arsenic. The orange-red colour is Red Lead, made by roasting lead oxide. The blues, purples and crimsons are from plant extracts, such as woad, lichen or turnsole. The pigments came from a variety of mineral, plant and man-made processes. The paint used for the illumination was made by mixing coloured pigments with beaten egg white. The black or dark brown writing ink is a form of iron gall ink, made from a mixture of oak galls and iron salts. I found the following information on the British Library's website ( ):

Hard west story of the four evangelists