The apostle to the Gentiles wrote, "When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son" (Gal. 4:4). Mark records the initial proclamation of Jesus in these words, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand" (1:15). It would no doubt overwhelm us all to know the full complement of the expression "fulness of time." That it involved far more than a mere calendar date should be apparent to even a casual student. Certainly the God of the universe would not inaugurate a new creation without arranging every phase and feature of that universe which would in any manner affect his design.
We have already learned of the divine manipulation of history to accomplish a supreme purpose. It is but reasonable to conclude that all the earth would be readied to contribute to that great period when the heir to the kingdom would walk among men to associate with them and enunciate the fundamental and foundational principles of his reign. Of course, the marshaling of the forces of creation would not be understood by them, but as involuntary servants they would take their places in line until just at the proper moment nothing would be lacking. It would require a volume much larger than the one you hold to detail for you the essential forces working in coalition to achieve the divine purpose, but we can enumerate a few items which would materially assist the spread of the kingdom.
1. A universal empire which would grant protection and traveling rights to its citizenry, so that they might freely bear a message to every part of the earth.
2. A common tongue used especially by men in the commercial realm or the world of trade, so that writings circulated in such a language would be generally understandable.
3. Good roads which would speed the courier on his way and make it possible to hasten any news of importance.
4. Freedom of trade between nations, assuring that ships would regularly sail the seas and passenger vessels be available to the traveler.
5. An era of peace, and international tranquillity, that the message go not unheeded amidst the turmoil and strife of war, with its dangers and distractions.
6. A general air of expectancy which would enhance the eagerness for the reception of the message and guarantee that it would be readily considered.
7. A state of discontent with previous forms of religion, and a weariness with reference to the old worship, its rituals, and its sacrifices.
8. A yearning for fellowship and brotherhood which would create a favorable attitude toward any organization based upon these factors, rather than one of hostility toward that which is new.
9. A people who had been taught the elements of the new relationship, dispersed among the nations of the earth, regularly carrying on a worship akin to the one to be introduced, to act as a leavening influence.
No investigation of the reign of the Messiah can be complete which separates it from the preceding events of God's administration; none can be proper which ignores the contemporary picture. It is only when interpreted in the light of its setting that it can be evaluated with accuracy. In reviewing the aforementioned factors we are but touching the highlights of the subject, yet these may help to portray the pregnancy of the time.
1. The world of the first century was the empire of Rome. This fourth, and last, of the mighty universal political dominions, held undisputed sway over at least a hundred diverse races of men, and from the Rhine River to the bleak wastes of the Sahara Desert, one man controlled the earthly destiny of a polyglot mass of humanity. The Roman eagle was proudly held aloft as the standard of farflung units of a vast army. In every corner of the civilized world a Roman citizen found police protection. A violation of his civil rights would be reviewed by a procurator, and appeal could be made to Caesar's court if deemed necessary. Moreover, a citizen could freely cross the boundary line of any province or territory without a passport. The mere announcement of Roman citizenship was sufficient to guarantee safe and speedy passage. At no time in our modern world has it been possible to circulate among nations as easily as in that century when Jesus was born in Bethlehem.
The importance of this can be easily seen in the selection of Saul, a Cilician Jew, as ambassador to the Gentiles for the kingdom of God. A Roman citizen by birth, he traversed the provinces of his day unchallenged and undaunted. When beaten by the magistrates of a Roman colony, composed chiefly of the retired soldiers of the army of Augustus, he demanded dignified treatment and safe conduct and his demand was granted (Acts 16:36-39). He heard the town clerk disband a mob gathered to assault him, by pointing out that court sessions were held at appointed times, and there were proconsuls to judge, and illegal assemblies would be quelled by force of Roman arms (Acts 19:38-41). Once, when a group of furious Jews attempted to kill him, a squad of Roman soldiers rescued him and carried him into their barracks. The chief captain was stricken with fright because he had bound him and was about to scourge him (Acts 22:25-29). Upon demand for a bodyguard, 470 infantrymen and cavalrymen were assigned for his personal safety, and when he finally made an appeal to the hearing of Augustus it was immediately granted and ratified.
2. It is true that Rome subjugated Greece, and the remnants of the world conquest of Alexander the Great were amalgamated under the banner of the Caesars. But while Rome conquered Greece militarily, the conqueror fell to the conquered culturally. There was a strange fascination about Greek learning. Rude barbarians fell under its spell, foreign philosophers came in contact with it, and neither was ever the same again. Under the blue skies reflected in the Aegean waters, the inhabitants of Greece rose to new heights. Her poets, historians, philosophers and instructors were without rival elsewhere on earth.
Motivated by belief in lovely myths, she created architectural beauty, inaugurated glorious festal seasons, inspired literature, and endowed art with a new meaning. The Greek manner of life, singularly free from care, and dedicated to the enthronement of beauty and the recognition of skill permeated the whole life of the earth. And with the Greek merchants sailing their vessels to every major port of the known world, bartering, selling, trading, it is small wonder that the Greek language became an all but universal medium of communication. It was well fitted for this role, as it was expressive, thorough and comprehensible. No other language had so many keen distinctions; no other was so adapted to convey a message to all men. The koine (common) Greek was not only the language of the common man, it was at the time a language common to man. The law of the theocracy given to Israel was preserved in Hebrew, a language which seemed as exclusive and segregatory as the nation to whom it was given, but the new covenant was written for all men in a language which all could grasp. This was the great contribution of the Greeks to the kingdom of the Messiah--the vehicle for conveying the heavenly message to the world of mankind.
3. Rome was the greatest highway builder in the history of the world. Modern nations build more roads and better roads, but they can only build them to their territorial boundaries and trust that neighboring nations will extend them. Rome was not hampered by any such restraints. Possessed of tens of thousands of slave laborers, many of them taken captive in war, she had an abundance of cheap labor available. Her system of colonization, unique in its time, required a means of speeding proclamations and declarations. Accordingly, from the great city of two million souls, sprawled upon the banks of the Tiber, roads reached out as spokes from a hub to the "little Romes" which existed in remote parts of the empire.
Many of these were paved and maintenance crews continually kept them in repair. In some areas toll-gates were manned and a certain amount collected for each chariot, the money thus received going for upkeep. Inns and post houses were established at intervals to care for travelers. Couriers and postal carriers regularly carried dispatches and letters. One of the most famous of the roads was the Via Ignatia, which was paved for five hundred miles, and was marked with milestones throughout its entire length. It was on this road Paul traveled from Neapolis through Philippi, Amphipolis, Apollonia, and to Thessalonica. Another famous pavement was the Via Appia called "the Queen of the Roads," the highway upon which Paul entered the city of Rome enroute from Puteoli. It was a two lane road of stones so perfectly joined together as to appear unbroken. Little did the Caesars realize when they constructed these military roads to their colonies, that over them would pass soldiers of the cross to plant "colonies of heaven" which would one day topple them from their imperial thrones.
4. The islands of the Mediterranean could only be reached by sailing vessels. This provided also the quickest route to large areas of the mainland. And during the first century commerce was at such a peak that major ports were crowded with vessels from every section. Long before, the sea-kings of Crete had made their island a center for receiving and discharging wares. From her harbors ships sailed forth to join overland trade routes, some of them centuries old. Commercial alliances were made, money-changing was a lucrative business, and customs and banking employed many men in every thriving maritime city.
The message of a king who was to reign universally could be carried by sailors, traders, merchantmen, and sales representatives, as well as by his appointed emissaries. One notes, as he reads the Acts of Apostles, how freely Paul and his companions moved about, and how easily they could book passage and pay their fare, as did Jonah so many centuries before. These men made frequent use of the coastwise shipping lanes and any one who reads chapters 20 and 21 of Acts, cannot help but be impressed with the frequency of sailings, the accuracy of schedules, and the thoroughness of the coverage of the sea lanes.
5. Historians all marvel at the peace which settled over the earth in the reign of Augustus. Even if this period had not been favored with the birth of the Son of God, it would still be a memorable epoch, one of the crowning ages of the history of mankind. In the month of January, 27 B.C., a regular and constitutional form of government was established. Octavianus was voted the title Augustus by the Senate, and while the old forms, functions and offices of the Republic were maintained in deference to popular sentiment, an absolute monarchy prevailed in all but name. By wise and judicious counsel, order was established in Rome, and the people in the provinces were made content by a just and understanding rule. Augustus has been frequently designated as the greatest ruler the world has ever known. It became a proverbial description of his regime, that "He found the city of brick, and left it of marble."
In Roman mythology, Janus, the two-headed god, from whom January took its name, was the guardian of gates and of portals. When the nation was at war, the gates of the temple of Janus were always left open; in times of peace they were closed. Although the gates had stood ajar for several hundred years, the advent of the present dispensation found them closed. The civil wars which had decimated the country and spilled so much blood had ended a generation before, and almost unbroken peace had obtained. Countries previously in constant strife had turned to the peaceful pursuits of agriculture and commerce; money formerly spent to prosecute war and purchase protection was being used in full scale building projects. New subdivisions arose on the outskirts of wealthy cities, road building projects were carried forward along the caravan routes. The age pulsated with the movement of peoples who fused into such a cosmopolitan population as is usually found in huge modern cities. As one eminent writer has expressed it, "The age-long growth of the life of humanity in that ancient world had attained its flower." The Prince of Peace was introduced to the world in an age of peace, which was previously unparalleled.
6. Jesus was born at a time when the whole earth was in a state of expectancy. He was not launched into the midst of men in a wholly unexpected time or fashion. It is true that the Jews labored under the gravest misapprehension as to the nature of his mission and kingdom, but that they were looking for a Messiah at that time, and that they believed he would in some sense reign over his people, cannot be questioned. It is altogether possible that the hope of Israel varied in its character according to the nature of each individual who clung to it. In some cases the advent of the Messiah was expected to be wholly political, amounting to the overthrow of the Roman usurper, recovery of national independence, and a restoration of the Oriental splendor which glorified the reigns of David and Solomon. Amongst the meditative and spiritual teachers, however, a moral and spiritual era was expected, but one thing was certain, all looked for a golden age to be ushered in, and for the triumph of Judaism.
"The people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not" (Luke 3:15). This will account for the fact that neither John nor Jesus bothered to define or explain "the kingdom (reign) of heaven." They merely announced it. The Jewish world was waiting for it. The aged Simeon, just and devout, was "waiting for the consolation of Israel" (Luke 2:25). Joseph of Arimathea, an honorable member of the Sanhedrin "waited for the kingdom of God" (Mark 15:43). The carping Pharisees demanded that Jesus tell them "when the kingdom of God would come" (Luke 17:20). Even after the resurrection, the apostles questioned, "Lord, wilt thou at this time restore the kingdom unto Israel?"
It is a common error to assume that only the
Jewish world looked for a deliverer. But the prophet Haggai,
after using language directly applied to the kingdom of the
Messiah (Heb. 12:26) quotes God as saying, "The desire of all
nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory"
(Haggai 2:7). Deprived as they were of the advantages accruing
from access to the oracles of God (Rom. 3:1, 2), it is not
surprising that the Gentile concept was more obscure than that of
the Jews, yet they yearned for deliverance from their state, and
that yearning was centered in the hope of a person. The Greek
mind could conceive of a person who dedicated his life to service
and virtue exalted to the highest heaven to sit down among the
immortal gods. They could not conceive of a God coming down from
heaven, emptying himself of glory, and dying for men. It was easy
for them to believe the testimony of their own prophets that man
was the offspring of God (Acts 17:28). The idea of God dying for
man was beyond their ken; the idea of a virtuous man dying to
become exalted among the gods they understood. Is it not
remarkable how much more readily the Gentile mind responded to
the testimony of a resurrected and exalted Christ than did the
Jewish heart? The great Roman poet Virgil, who died about twenty
years before Jesus was born, was but one of a number of pagan
poets who seemed to sense a coming event of impending importance.
An example is his Fourth Eclogue, from which the following
excerpts are taken.
"The last age, decreed by Fate, has
come;
And a new frame of all things does
begin,
A holy progeny from heaven
descends.
Auspicious be his birth! which puts
an end
To the iron age! and from which
shall rise
A golden age far glorious through
the earth...
By thee what footsteps of our sins
remain,
Are blotted out, and the whole
world set free
From her perpetual bondage and her
fear...
Yet some remains shall still be
left
Of ancient fraud, and wars shall
still go on."
It would seem that the entire world was a readied stage for presentation of the mightiest drama of the ages.
7. Much of what has been written thus far about Rome seems good, yet there is a dark and seamy side. Peace reigned it is true, but it had been purchased at a fearful price. The great empire sprawling over a prostrate world had crushed out the ambition and hope so essential to make life worth living. The recognition of the individual, his rights, privileges and dignity, stressed by Greek philosophy, were forgotten. The wealthy, deprived of the discipline of wholesome labor, sought surcease in luxury, gluttony and immorality. When tired of feasting upon such dainties as brains of peacocks and tongues of nightingales, they retired to sumptuously furnished rooms to drink a death potion and slip into the dreamless slumber of suicide. This became almost the normal mode of death for the nobility.
The freeborn poor, forced from their farms by the encroachments of syndicates and monopolies, soon having spent their little pittance in the cities, were forced to huddle in winter over small household fires, saving a toga for burial, rather than risk wearing it to protect from the cold. These became beggars and idlers, asking only for a daily dole of bread from the government, and public entertainment at the circus or amphitheater. They were political pawns, willing to give their support to the despot who promised them the most from the public treasury. They dwelt in filthy, vermin-infested slums, creeping up the dark steps at night after a day spent lounging in idleness, climaxed by an evening in which they had yelled themselves hoarse at the brutal, bloody scenes in the arena. Below them in the social scale were the millions of slaves, bereft of family, possession, religion and rights, living an abject existence like the scavenging dogs of the street.
And in such a time, the once popular religion had lost its hold and faith had died in human hearts. The temples of the gods were still standing, but gone were the childlike superstition and simplicity with which the worshipers once thronged through these edifices. The Olympic heaven was now empty, and only the wraiths of its former inhabitants conjured up in human minds until they became real, stalked through the bowers of fleecy clouds. Philosophy had thrust its cold steel rapier into the body of mythology, and the spirit had departed, to leave only a corpse. The poets still rhapsodized about the gods in their fantasies, but the very fact that the emperor was forced to brace the structure of polytheism with laws demanding its preservation shows how far it had sunken in the estimate of men in general. And while the populace regarded mythology as a composition of so many silly fables, hardly worthy of the scornful laugh of silly schoolboys, many became the dupes of wandering mystics, jugglers, interpreters, and every brand of religious crackpot and philosophical quack. The old faith had failed, the whole world was steeped in a spirit of apathy, languor and weariness. Man was tired, tired of his gods, his faith, and even of life. It was time for a new life to begin! The fulness of the time had arrived; it was now time for the fulness of God to arrive!
8. One of the curious manifestations of the time with which we are dealing, was the rise and multiplication of the numerous guilds of workmen, religious societies, and burial clubs. With the stamping out of individuality, there seemed to be kindled a craving for recognition of others. Workmen in the same craft joined together to form a guild or trade union. This constituted a fellowship or brotherhood. Each brotherhood selected a divinity which was looked upon as its head. The members met together regularly for common meals to which only those were admitted who had been initiated by proper conformity with some rite. Class distinctions were abolished and all, both free and slaves, were upon an equality. The poor members were ministered to from a fund collected by voluntary contributions, and any member of the guild who died was given honorable burial. The idea of a community of brethren, bound to each other by solemn vows and mutual aims, was well developed in all of these societies.
9. It should never be forgotten that the dispersion of the Jews among all the nations of the earth, by reason of capture and exile, although it seemed to militate against the design of God when first viewed from a human angle, turned out to be a vital factor in the dissemination of Christianity throughout the world. During the exile in Babylon, while cut off from the temple with its service and sacrifice, the people met together for prayer and reading of the Torah. Such gatherings at first were probably informal and may have been held on the banks of rivers such as the Chebar. Soon the meetings became regular features of the sabbath days and when Jerusalem was restored, they were augmented rather than discontinued. Thus from a spontaneous beginning, the synagogue became an outstanding part of the Jewish religious picture.
The temple with its sacerdotal caste of priests and Levites was the locale of sacrifice and ritual; the synagogue was a place of instruction, edification and prayer. There was no special ministry for the conduct of the synagogue meetings. Wherever at least ten men were willing to constitute a congregation, a synagogue could be started. A group of seniors, or elders, administered affairs and supervised the conduct of the members. Deacons, or almoners, distributed to the needs of the poor from a common fund. Discipline was regularly maintained and one who transgressed the law might be publicly censured, or even excommunicated, upon which action the individual became as "a heathen or a publican."
At the sabbath service, any man in good standing was permitted to read the Torah or Hafterah (the law and the prophets). Any brother of the assembly was free to speak for the general edification of those present. Thus Jesus, who was regarded as the son of a mere artisan, read from the prophets, and presented an exposition of the passage in the synagogue at Nazareth. After the readings from the sacred scrolls at Antioch, in Pisidia, Paul and Barnabas were told, "Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on" (Acts 13:15).
The church of God owes a debt to the synagogue. It served to cushion the shock of passing from Judaism to Christianity. The synagogue may have been a providential factor in making possible the influence of the Christian church among the Jews. Certainly the worship service of the church, as well as her government, were patterned after that of the synagogue, and the two were so closely related that in many places all that was essential in establishing a church was to interpret the prophets to refer to the Nazarene, and convert members of the synagogue to that fact. The addition of the Lord's Supper would transform the worship into that of a synagogue of Christ. The term "synagogue" was employed to designate Christian churches for a century, and is so used in James 2:2. And the synagogues were found in every part of the world.
No survey of any period of history can be called complete. There are so many relations and interrelations of ideas as to create a complex dependency of one factor upon another, until the pursuit of all angles seems to be infinite in scope. We must recognize the imperfections in our presentation of the background for the announcement of the rule of heaven, but if we have demonstrated even partially that all things united to produce the auspicious circumstances involved in "the fulness of the time" we shall be satisfied. And with such a background we are ready to investigate the great harbinger of the kingdom.