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Ambassador
College
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. 15OO's printing developed to set
the stage for the protestant
reformation so there would be a climate for God's
truth
2. Industrial Revolution - 1800's
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.