Empire and Apostle: The Clash That Shaped History

INSPIRATION

On Fox News’ Jesse Watters Primetime, Kathie Lee explained to host Jesse Watters how it came about that she started a series of books on biblical figures.  “My son (Cody, age 35) said to me a long time ago, ‘ Mom, take this fascination, this obsession you have with these amazing, epic characters of the Bible, the evil ones, you know, there are so many - and Mom, let’s write thrillers. Because it’s so cinematic, these stories.  Let’s take the need for hope in this world because everybody needs hope, a little bit more hope in this world,’ and I don’t know about you, but people ask me all the time, ‘Does it seem like the world’s more evil than it used to be?’ cuz it seems like it, right?  The presence of God is so much greater than any evil that’s around us.”  
     
NERO AND PAUL  

In a recent interview at her old stomping grounds, NBC’s The Today Show, Kathie Lee told hosts Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones why she chose the Roman emperor Nero and the Apostle Paul as the main characters of her new book, Nero and Paul. The historical chronicle is the second in a series on epic biblical figures following 2024’s Herod and Mary, both co-authored with Dr. Bryan Litfin of Liberty University. “Our story is really about the increasing evil of one of the Caesars – none of them were good guys, none were Mister Rogers” Kathie Lee quips -- “juxtaposed against the story of the Apostle Paul, who started out a very bad guy, too. He murdered the followers of Jesus at the time, but he thought he was being righteous – does that sound familiar?? He has a lust for power, too; he wanted to be a member of the Sanhedrin, which was the governing power. He had an encounter with the Lord Jesus on the road to Damascus. That happened to me, too.  I was sitting in a little theatre in Annapolis, Maryland and I knew that I was hearing literally the Voice and you know what He said to me?  ‘Kathie, I love you, and if you follow me, if you trust me, I will make something beautiful out of your life.’”    

FASINATING EVIL 

“I’m fascinated by these ancient epic stories. I love history.  People don’t realize the first time the word Christian was even used was by Nero. And he used it very derisively, because the followers of Jesus were all Jewish at the time.  Nero, who’s Roman, of course, said, ‘These little “Christians” …we have a problem with these little Christians.’ It’s people who have a lust for power, a total lust for power at the expense of anything and everything.  They’ll do anything and kill anybody.  In our book, Nero kills his own mother,” she explains.  

THE PROCESS 

Dr. Litfin says of their Ancient Evil/ Living Hope series, “The books are written as narrative nonfiction, grounded in ancient writings and drawn from contemporary scholarship.  Many of the quotations come directly from modern English editions of the original sources – sometimes slightly adapted or perhaps retranslated from Greek or Latin if that seemed best – but always recorded with the utmost historical accuracy,” he explains.  “Of course, this book is meant to be more than just bare-bones history; it is a page-turning story! To make it vivid and fascinating for the reader, I have sometimes used my novelist’s background to imagine what the events might have been like for the original participants. In those cases, I have employed fiction-writing techniques such as dialogue or scene-setting to help ancient history come alive.  Although those scenes require imagination and creativity, they are always grounded in the best available sources that give a framework for what actually happened.”    

TAKEAWAY 

“The main thing --I want to give people hope,” Kathie Lee says. “You realize even in the presence of some of the most horrendous evil and soul-searing stuff in this world, God is present. We may not see Him, but He’s there.  And you will find Him if you seek Him. I’ve seen so many miracles in my life – I’ve lived a long time, and seen a lot of evil, but way more miracles.  So, I want to give hope.  It’s fascinating, fascinating, you learn more about the Apostle Paul than you ever … and about Nero.  The Caesars' lives never ended well.  Our lives as believers end very well.  The best day of a person’s life, if they believe in the Lord Jesus, is the day we go home and right into His arms. The Bible says to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord – immediately!  

To learn more about Kathie Lee Gifford, or to purchase her book Nero and Paul, click the LINK!

CREDITS

Author, Nero and Paul (2026, W Publishing (Thomas Nelson), Co-author, Bryan M. Litfin, Ph.D.) / Author of six New York Times bestselling books / Director, The God Who Sees  oratorio / Director, The Way / Co-Host, Today Show fourth hour with Hoda Kotb, 2008-2019 , four-time Emmy award-winner / playwright, Scandalous, a Broadway musical receiving a 2012 Tony Nomination for Best Actress / Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame inductee, 2015 / 
Co-Host, Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee, 1985-2000 / Hollywood Walk of Fame star recipient / Founder, The Rock, the Road, and the Rabbi Charitable Trust non-profit, sharing the message of God’s love through the arts, film, and music / Honorary Doctorate from Marymount University for her humanitarian work in labor relations / married 29 years to Frank Gifford before his death in 2015 / two grown, married children, Cody and Cassidy, and five beloved grandchildren