City of God Series by Randall Ingermanson, R.S. Ingermanson

What if you were studying for your Ph.D... moreWhat if you were studying for your Ph.D. in archaeology and decided to take a break from your crummy life for the summer by working on an archaeological dig in Israel?What if you met a great guy in Jerusalem who happened to be a world-famous theoretical physicist working on a crazy idea to build a wormhole that might make time-travel possible … someday?What if he had a nutball colleague who turned the theory into reality — and then decided to use YOU as a guinea pig to make sure it was safe?What if the nutball had a gun and went on a crazy, impossible mission to hunt down and kill the apostle Paul?It’s A.D. 57 when Rivka Meyers walks out of the wormhole into a world she’s only studied in books. Ancient Jerusalem is awesome! Rivka can’t believe her friend Ari Kazan’s theory actually worked. But when she runs into Ari’s wacko colleague, Damien West, in the Temple, Rivka starts to smell a rat. When Ari discovers that Damien and Rivka have gone through a wormhole that’s on the edge of collapse, he has to make a horrible choice: Follow them and risk never coming back — or lose the woman of his dreams forever.About The Book:Transgression is a time-travel suspense novel that mixes science, history, religion, romance, and suspense. It’s about learning to stand up for yourself, when you just want to be let alone. It’s about making hard decisions. It’s about asking whether life has meaning and whether God exists — and becoming a badass fighter for justice, even if you don’t have the answers. Transgression won the 2001 Christy award for best futuristic novel in Christian fiction. Transgression will take you on a wretched, miserable, dangerous vacation through the filthy, bandit-ridden streets of first-century Jerusalem. Transgression is the first novel in the City of God series:Book 1: Transgression (A.D. 57)Book 2: Premonition (A.D. 57-62)Book 3: Retribution (A.D. 62-66)Excerpt:Rivka turned and ran. “Ari!” she screamed. “Help!”She raced outside into the sunlight, sprinted madly through a dark grove of trees with gnarled branches. Her heart pounded in her chest. Her ragged breath rasped in her ears. Was he following? Faster! Tears fogged her eyes. Her leather sandals tore at her feet. Trying to look back over her shoulder, she tripped and fell. Dust flew up all around her.Coughing, she clambered to her feet and dared to look back. The man was nowhere in sight.Rivka panted until she caught her breath. Her left wrist throbbed from the fall. She massaged it while she squinted into the trees, afraid that the man might be lurking in the shadows. Nothing happened.Finally, she turned around to get her bearings.She blinked twice and then stared. Across a small valley massive stone walls rose. Herodian masonry. Jerusalem limestone. Towering white walls. It looked like…But that was impossible. She closed her eyes, breathed deeply three times, and opened them again. Absurd. Had she gone loony or something?Rivka had visited the Temple Mount twice and studied hundreds of pictures during three years of graduate school. But she had never seen it looking like this. So pure. So spotless.So new. less

An extraordinary stone box was recently discovered in Jerusalem--the bone-box of James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus. This is his story ... Rome. James, leader of the Jewish Christian community, has an enemy in high places. And two very strange friends ... first-century Jerusalem by a physics experiment gone horribly wrong. his Jewish heritage--and with a man named Jesus he was raised to hate. doomed city of God. Ari applies his knowledge of physics to become an engineer, a man of honor... moreAn extraordinary stone box was recently discovered in Jerusalem--the bone-box of James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus. This is his story ... Rome. James, leader of the Jewish Christian community, has an enemy in high places. And two very strange friends ... first-century Jerusalem by a physics experiment gone horribly wrong. his Jewish heritage--and with a man named Jesus he was raised to hate. doomed city of God. Ari applies his knowledge of physics to become an engineer, a man of honor. Rivka feels increasingly isolated in a patriarchal culture that treats women like children. She knows what's coming--siege, famine, fire. At first, her warnings earn her grudging respect as a seer woman. But when one of her predictions misses, the city scorns her as a false prophet. brother of Jesus. Can she prevent this disaster? Will James believe her premonition? Or is Ari right that Rivka's meddling in history will only ... make matters worse? less

Jerusalem, A.D. 66 . . .The City of God seethes with rage against imperial Rome . . . and, in an act of unspeakable brutality, Rome takes deadly retribution. War looms on the horizon---but one woman already knows the outcome. . . .Transported from the far future, Rivka Meyers has made her home in Jerusalem with her husband and fellow time traveler, Ari Kazan. But in a turbulent age, Rivka's foreknowledge of history is a heavy responsibility... moreJerusalem, A.D. 66 . . .The City of God seethes with rage against imperial Rome . . . and, in an act of unspeakable brutality, Rome takes deadly retribution. War looms on the horizon---but one woman already knows the outcome. . . .Transported from the far future, Rivka Meyers has made her home in Jerusalem with her husband and fellow time traveler, Ari Kazan. But in a turbulent age, Rivka's foreknowledge of history is a heavy responsibility. She knows Jerusalem will be destroyed---and that a prophet will warn the fledgling church to flee the city. Is Rivka herself that prophet? And if so, will the people heed her warning?Rivka's fears deepen when Jewish zealots demand Ari's help to design weapons of war. Ari faces an impossible choice: join the 'men of violence' in their doomed cause, or leave the people defenseless against Nero's legions.Desperate to know God's will, Ari and Rivka are about to face the cost of forgiveness . . . gain an unexpected ally . . . and learn the extraordinary power of sacrifice.Retribution is a convincing page-turner, full of compelling, distinctly voiced characters. I devoured the book and wished it were longer.--Kathy Tyers, author, Shivering World and the Firebird Trilogy less