College Notes
Church History
Lecture 1
The World Prepared for the Christian Church
I. Galatians 4:4 The fullness of
times
A. God had a schedule
B. World had to be prepared for God
to send His Son
C. Why send Christ at the time He
did?
1. Why not in Adam's day?
2. Why not Noah's time?
3. Why not have Him succeed
David
4. Why wait?
II. Daniel's dream begins to
explain
A. God shows four world ruling
empires
1. Babylon
2.
Persia
3. Greece
4.
Rome
III. God began to prepare by a
single world ruling empire
A. Atmosphere of World Ruling Empires
created by God - 600 B.C.
B. Babylon = head of gold
C. This was the
first real Civilization
IV. The next empire was
Persia
A. Persians - very warlike and crude.
B. They spread
world rule
C. They were the first to institute a real mail system to
keep control of the empire
D. They had a different approach to
government
1. Cultural
pluralism
2. They thought that if they let each
culture keep it's particular forms of worship that all the gods would be
pleased and they would be that much more of a greater empire for
it
3. Cyrus made a decree that the Jews could
return to their homeland and worship as they wanted
4. This started the Diaspora
a. Many Jews not return but went to other
areas
b. They spread to
major commercial centers
c.
Created a need for Jews to preserve their
culture
d. Built synagogues
that led to the dispersion of God's law among the
Gentiles
e. These in place
for Paul to travel to with gospel
V. The Greek Empire
A.
Greeks - 330-30 B.C.
1. Brought in culture,
civilization, art, educational system, and language.
2. Infused world with desire to learn.
3. Greek
education system basis for ours
today
a. Greek became the
language of education
b.
Greek was the language gospel preserved in
4. Greek
philosophy gave civilization a sense of the importance of man and a
humanitarian approach
5. They allowed the Jews to
live and prosper
6. Antioch - second greatest
city.
a. used by NT church,
along with Athens, Corinth, and Ephesus.
7. Fell
about 60 B.C. to Romans led by Pompey.
VI. Romans
A. No new
cultural developments - carried on with Greek ideas.
B. Began to rise
100 years before Christ, solidified by 31 B.C. when brought the eastern
part into empire.
C. Empire extended from Britain through France over
to India.
D. In building the empire they did, they contributed by vast
technological improvements.
1. They built roads to
carry war machines and armies
2. They also improved
the mail system greatly so Paul's epistles could travel
fast
3. They developed a great seaway system for
trade and troops that would later be used by God's apostles
E.
Government
1. Rome ruled "Laissez-faire" - People
ruled them-selves; not dictatorial.
2. They let
kings rule under Roman authority.
3. local
governments - permitted as long as allegiance to Rome was
maintained.
4. One third of the world population
under Roman rule.
F. Herodian family ruling
1.
Herod the Great ruled in Palestine around 40 B.C.
G.
Religions
1. Permitted all, though new religions not
allowed under Roman government.
2. Christianity
viewed as sect of Judaism
a.
Sabbath not changed.
b.
Passover and food laws
observed.
c. Had peace with
Pontifex Maximus (Augustus
Caesar).
d. Church could
take its message.
VII. The world prepared for the
gospel then and now
A. There was very little progress after
this
1. 1500s printing developed to set the stage
for the protestant reformation so there would be a climate for God's
truth
2. Industrial Revolution -
1800s
a. Steam engine made
production and travel increase
enormously
b. World never to
be the same
3. Marconi invented
radio
4. World shrunk in size
5. TV, mass communications, and computers all happened in the last 15O
years
6. Without these the gospel could not go out
as effectively as it has.
7. The world has been
prepared for God's work, and Christ's coming, today, just as it was for
His first coming
VIII. Zenith of Roman Power - 46
B.C.-180 A.D.
A. Caesars of Rome
1. Julius
Caesar (46-44 B.C.)
2. Augustus Caesar** (31 B.C-12
A.D.)
3. Tiberius (12-37 A.D.)
4. Caligula (37-41 A.D.)
5. Claudius (41-54
A.D.)
6. Nero (54-68 A.D.)
7.
Galba (68-69 A.D.)
8. Otho, Vitelius (-69
A.D.)
9. Vespasian (69-79
A.D.)
10. Titus (79-81 A.D.)
11. Domitian (81-96 A.D.)
12. Hadrian (117-138
A.D.)
13. Marcus Aurelius (138-161
A.D.)
14. Antonius Pius (161-180 A.D.)
** Augustus was the Roman Caesar who
most established the
Empire, preparing it for
Christianity.