The purpose of this dictionary is to give an account of everything that relates to Christ - His Person, Life, Work, and Teaching. It is in a sense complementary to the Dictionary of the Bible, in which, of course, Christ has a great place. But a dictionary of the Bible, being occupied mainly with things biographical, historical, geographical, or antiquarian, does not give attention to the things of Christ sufficient for the needs of the preacher, to whom Christ is everything. This is, first of all, a preacher's dictionary. The authors of the articles have been carefully chosen from among those scholars who are, or have been, themselves preachers. And even when the articles have the same titles as articles in the Dictionary of the Bible, they are written by new men, and from a new standpoint. It is thus a work which is quite distinct from, and altogether independent of, the Dictionary of the Bible. It is called a Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels, because it includes everything that the Gospels contain, whether directly related to Christ or not. Its range, however, is far greater than that of the Gospels. It seeks to cover all that relates to Christ throughout the Bible and in the life and literature of the world. There will be articles on the Patristic estimate of Jesus, the Medieval estimate, the Reformation and Modern estimates. There will be articles on Christ in the Jewish writings and in the Muslim literature. Much attention has been given to modern thought, whether Christian or anti-Christian. Every aspect of modern life, in so far as it touches or is touched by Christ, is described under its proper title. James Hastings (1852-1922) was a distinguished scholar and pastor. He was founder and editor of the Expository Times and is also well known for editing the five-volume Dictionary of the Bible, as well as the Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, the Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels, and the Dictionary of the Apostolic Church.

This book is the result of fourteen years research scrutinizing thousands of historical documents. Dr Matthews reveals never before seen facts regarding the earliest quartos and the first folio – even new research into the leather cover of the Bodleian first folio and how that particular copy came into the possession of the Turbutt family. Dr Matthews has forensically dated the majority of the Shakespearean plays twenty years before earlier scholars, such as Rowe, Malone and Chambers – some plays dated as early as 1561, 1559 and 1558 – up to six years before William Shakespeare was born. Dr Matthews’ exemplary philosophical dissertation of the Shakespearean works and its critics, reveals much about the identity of the real authors. A unique reference work essential to Shakespearean scholars and students alike – this crucial work redates the Shakespearean works, scrutinizes each candidate, and definitively answers the authorship debate.

For over a century the ten-volume Dictionary of the Bible has been the definitive reference. "It is a Dictionary of the Old and New Testaments, together with the Old Testament Apocrypha, according to the Authorized and Revised English Versions, and with constant reference to the original tongues. ... Articles have been written on the names of all Persons and Places, on the Antiquities and Archaeology of the Bible, on its Ethnology, Geology, and Natural History, on Biblical Theology and Ethic, and even on the obsolete or archaic words occurring in the English Versions." James Hastings (1852-1922) was a distinguished scholar and pastor. He was founder and editor of the Expository Times and is also well known for editing the Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, the Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels, and the Dictionary of the Apostolic Church.