HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY BEFORE AND AFTER

THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST

A Term Paer

Presented to the

Faculty of HUMSS Department

Paliparan III Senior High School

City of Dasmariñas Cavite, Philippines

In Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Subject

Introduction to World Religions

Research Paper

By:

Ferdinand N. Villanueva Jr.

April 29, 2018

 Introduction

Romans 11:36 (ESV)

For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

Romans 8:28 (ESV)

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called
according to his purpose.

In Christian theology, God is an omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient all-sovereign being whose primary
driving force is the pursuit of the exaltation of His glory. Thus, everything He does is for the exaltation
of His Glory, and if this is the case, then everything in history happened for this end goal, for God’s Word
says that He has predestined everything that has happened and will happen. If this is the case, then
certainly, we will be able to observe little bits of this in history; this is going to be the overall perspective
of this paper.

Now, we will be focusing on two specific acts of self-glorification by God, namely His act of sending
His beloved Son Jesus Christ to serve as the Redeemer for the salvation of His people, and the gathering
up of His people. Thus, the focus of this paper is in these acts of God.

And so the general direction of this term paper is going to be dealing with the question, “What are the
events that had a discernible contribution to these acts of God and the events that had a connection to
them as well?” Is God’s works and providence bound within the confines of His people, or does He also
use distant and foreign nations for His plans?

The scope of this undertaking has been restricted to two lecture series made by Bruce Gore, namely,
“Church History” and “The Historical Context of the Bible”, and so all historical facts must be taken
from these lecture series. Information from the Bible is also allowed. The lecture “episodes” are restricted
to episodes 20 to 27 from “The Historical Context of the Bible” series, and episodes 1 to 5, 15, 16, and
19 to 24 from the “Church History” series.

And so the body is going to be composed of a series of chapters, each divided every “episode” of the
series. Each chapter is one series episode, wherein the content is taken from the episode, with every detail
that is important or noteworthy provided with a timestamp corresponding to its location in the “episode”.
Every chapter also contains (at least some of my) my insights regarding the events recorded that were
interesting and important to the general outlook (the exaltation of God’s glory) and the two main topics
to be focused on (The coming of the Messiah and the gathering up of His people).
 Darius and the Completion of the Second Temple

As punishment for Israel’s transgressions, God used Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, to destroy
Jerusalem, destroy its Temple, and banish the Israelites into Babylon, which must last 70 years [2
Chronicles 17-21]. But God also spoke through the prophets way ahead of time that He will use Cyrus, a
king that has yet to live, to restore Israel after the 70 years were over [Isaiah 44:28].

And after their 70 year exile away of the Jews away from Jerusalem, The Persian king Cyrus authorized
the the Jews to return to Jerusalem [0:12]. Now Cyrus was busy with campaigns to the east, which is why
he left his Kingdom for a while to his son Cambyses [2:08], also known as king Xerxes his throne name,
and by his throne name he was mentioned in the Old Testament [0:53] (Not to be confused with Xerxes the
Great) [1:03].

In the 8 years he ruled, he can only be considered as a mediocre king [0:46] and it was during his reign that
the rebuilding of Jerusalem effectively stops. The setbacks for the rebuilding of Jerusalem comes from two
sides; Raiders whom the Israelites need to fight back while also rebuilding everything else, and Cambyses
himself, who witheld the support of the government to the Jews [1:32].

Now Cambyses’ rule ended when a person named Gaumata, also known by his throne name Artaxerxes,
replaced him and took his throne. His rule lasted for a measly 6 months only, however, [6:57] as he was
killed by Darius, who would become the next king after him.

At this point, the building of the Temple was halted for about eight to nine years.

Now Darius, also known as Darius the great, was an extraordinary consolidator of the Persian Empire,
making Persia the largest empire in the history of the world [8:40]. Among other things, he reauthorizes the
rebuilding of the Temple of Jerusalem, which was an event mentioned in Ezra 5:3 to Ezra 6:12 [12:00].

And now that they can rebuild the Temple once again, the prophets Haggai and Zechariah set off to
encourage the people of Jerusalem to get on building the Temple of God [13:00]. It was also at this time
that Zechariah preaches a prophetic, apocalyptic message to the Jews [13:15], and they all occur as th
Temple was being built [21:20].

Zecharia had 8 visions; a vision of 4 horses, a vision of 4 horns and 4 carpenters, a vision of the measuring
line, a vision of Joshua the priest, a vision of Zerubbabel, a vision of a flying scroll, a vision of the wicked
woman put in a basket and hauled off to Babylon, and the vision of the 4 chariots. The visions meant as
follows;

The 4 horses signify the world being at peace under the reign of Darius the Great [13:58]

The 4 horns were the ones that disrupted Israel from their task of finishing the Temple, but the 4
carpenters have “defeated” them, making the reconstruction possible [14:28]

The measuring line signifies that Jerusalem was going to be protected by God from their enemies [15:09]

The vision of Joshua the priest signifies that the coming high priest was in fact a legitimate priest purified
by God [17:05]
 The vision of Zerubbabel who was a political leader, a descendant of David, and an ancestor of Christ
Jesus, signifies that he will rule not by his might, but by God’s Spirit [17:47]

he vision of the flying scroll and the wicked woman signifies that God will purify the land from evil
[19:10] [20:01]

And finally, the vision of the 4 chariots, which is a call for God’s people to return to Jerusalem [20:38].

Builders build in vain if God is not for them. God, however, was with them, therefore, the Temple of God
was finally built in 516 for people to commune with and worship God, preparing them for about 500 years
before the birth of the Messiah

Xerxes the Great and Queen Esther

The significant events (from a Biblical perspective) are recorded in the Book of Esther.

Prior to Esther, this king had wife named Vashti, whom he deposed from being queen due to her refusal to
the king’s command. The king, now single, looked for a replacement for Vashti, and found a Jew named
Esther, who became his next wife and queen [6:39]. This event was recorded in Esther chapter 2.

Soon, it will be revealed that Esther’s position as queen wasn’t just by chance (though it could be argued
that nothing happens by chance, since everything is purposed by God no matter how insignificant
something is. But for the purpose of this commentary, it chance means that it happens without a readily
apparent purpose).

As queen, she had a great privileged access to the king. This access will be greatly needed, for a crisis was
coming.

A man named Haman was plotting evil against the Jews [18:44]. Haman was a descendant of one of the
Amalekites whom Saul spared in disobedience to God’s command to eradicate them all [18:55]. Saul’s
demons, as it were, came back to haunt Israel, as Haman gets the king to sign a decree that would have
caused the eradication of the Jews [20:39].

Now Esther had an unrivaled and privileged access to the King all thanks to God’s providence. Thus, with
the help of God through prayer, and the guidance of her adoptive father Mordecai, Esther got to confront
King Xerxes and stop the eradication of her people [21:33], and the wicked man Haman was exposed and
was executed instead of the Jews [21:49].

God has promised that He will protect His people from harm. He has also declared that the Messiah will
come from the lineage of Abraham and David. Thus, the seed of Abraham must remain, and it did remain.
It lived on to pave the way of the coming Messiah, through whom Abraham will become a father of many
nations, from every tongue and tribe, and through whom all of His chosen people will be saved.
 Artaxerxes, Ezra, and Nehemiah

The next king after Xerxes the Great is named Artaxerxes [1:49].

This king had an agenda to reclaim Egypt, for it was the time when Greece and Egypt had revolted against
Persian rule. With the desire to seize back Egypt, Artaxerxes desires also the temporary use of Jerusalem’s
territory which means he must win their favor first before he can make use of their land, atleast without the
possibility of resistance. To do so, he sent Ezra to Jerusalem but only because he had an interest to their
location, not God (Though Ezra points out that it was due to God’s providence) [5:37], because Ezra was
going to improve the quality of worship there, and he stays there until the next year after his arrival in 458
or so [7:04].

In 454, 10 years after the enthronement of Artaxerxes, he launches his campaign to win back Egypt which
made use of Jerusalem as strategic ground, and wins, though not easily. [7:39]

As Ezra has pointed out, in these we can get a glimpse of God’s providence, where He even uses unbelievers
and their shemes for His purposes and for the good of His people.

In 445, Nehemiah is sent to Jerusalem by Artaxerxes to improve Jerusalem’s political well being and
defense by rebuilding the wall around it [12:31]. After that, in 432 Nehemiah returns to Persia as the
contractor governor for 12 years [13:20].

Two years later, with the death of Ezra and Nehemiah’s absence, Malachi came [13:42]. Malaichi was not
happy with the state of being of Jerusalem though, and he critiques them in 2 points [14:11];

1) They’re now decreasing in the quality of their worship and reverence to God in reference to their
offerings of sacrificial animals. Malachi goes so far as to say that they are robbing God, and challenges
them to test God; to improve their obedience in the expressions of their devotion to God, and see if God
won’t increase His blessings on them even more.

2) They’ve also been backsliding morally, committing divorce and other dishonorable acts.

But he doesn’t just criticize them of their backslidings, but he also prophesies about the coming Messenger
of the Covenant, who is God’s final expression of the completion of all His promises to His people. And
this Messenger of the Covenant is none other than Christ Himself [15:34].

The Greeks Seek for Wisdom

In the Philosophic age of the Greeks, the Greek language was upgraded by Plato and Aristotle [7:36] from
a crude language of warfare into a refined language of thought, as the philosophers challenged the warfare
paradigm of that time while reflecting on the mistakes of their warlike past. [5:58]. The New Testament is
a benefactor to this legacy, being written originally in Greek [7:43].

Thus, with the sufficient vehicle of God’s truth in place, the world was all the more prepared for the
revelation of His weighty truths, and the revelation of His Son.
 Alexander the Great and the Old Testament

The historical figure known as Alexander the Great was actually very favorable to the Jews for receiving
him without resistance. Thus, he did a lot for them [21:28]. He also spread the Greek language, making it
the common language of the entire western world, rendering communication of different ideas with
different people groups a lot easier, for everyone was bilingual. This greatly helped in the spread of the
Gospel [24:17] and of God’s truth initially to many, and inevitably to all nations.

Not only was there a suitable language present to sufficiently carry God’s deep truths about Himself, but
that language was the one made universal throughout a vast multitude of people. This made it so that
communication of God’s truth was not only made easier to compartmentalize and understand (since it is
hard to explain something through a medium not designed to carry such an idea), but it was also made
possible to be proclaimed easily without the need for translating or learning foreign languages, and be
received and understood by more people. Thus, Alexander unwittingly helped in the great commission.

The Hellenistic Age: Alexander to Antiochus

Interestingly, the book of Daniel actually predicts many things that must and will happen before the coming
of the Messiah.

In Daniel 11:2 for example, he predicted 3 more kings after Cyrus, which was the king in Daniel’s time,
were Cambyses, Gaumata or Pseudo-Smerdys, and Darius [4:46]. Then a strong and rich king shall arise,
who will stir up everyone against Greece as manifested in the Second Persian war, which was Xerxes the
Great, the Xerxes who ruled from 486-464 [6:11]

Then the warrior king predicted in Daniel 11:3 who will take action as he pleases was Alexander the
Great who reined from 336-323. It should be noted however, that there were a few skips of kings until
Alexander [6:43].

It was also predicted in Daniel 11:4 that the warrior king’s kingdom he had will be divided into the 4
winds of heaven, that is, north, south, east, and west, none of which was inherited by his son. This is exactly
what happened, as Alexander was still rising to power, he died an early deah, and his officers alone inherited
his kingdom, but in pieces divided westward, eastward, northward, and southward. [7:55]. The westward
kingdom belonged to Cassander, Antigonus acquired the north kingdom, the eastern kingdom was
Seleuchus’, and the south part fell on Ptolemy. [8:25].

In Daniel 11:5, he predicts that the southern king of Alexander’s divided kingdom will grow strong, but
one of this king’s officers will grow stronger and rule a larger kingdom than him. The southern king was
Ptolemy, and the officer mentioned that would grow stronger than him was Seleuchus, who was also the
king of the eastward kingdom, and it realy was the case that Seleuchus grew stronger than Ptolemy, and
had a way bigger kingdom than he.

Daniel 11:6: “After some years they shall make an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the south
shall come to the king of the north to ratify the agreement, but she shall not retain her power, and his
offspring shall not endure. She shall be given up, she and her attendants and her child and the one who
supported her” [14:18]. In history, everything corresponded to the events 50 years after the events that were
described before it, as the successor to Antiochus I, Antiochus II Theos, launches the 2nd Persian War but it
ends with a marriage treaty and this is what the verse is describing [16:45] The marriage is between
Berenice the daughter of Ptolemy is given to Antiochus the 2nd as his wife [17:43]. But then, Antiochus’
former wife Laodice was displeased, and so she poisoned her former husband Antiochus II, Berenice, and
their son [17:57].

Daniel 11:7: “But from a branch of her roots one shall arise in his place, who shall come with an army,
enter the fortress of the king of the North, and deal with them and prevail”. The branch of her roots means
her brother, Ptolemy III Eugertes, and he takes the throne in Egypt. Meanwhile, Seleuchus II takes the place
of Antiochus II. Ptolemy the III then initiates the 3rd Syrian war to avenge the death of his sister [19:31].

Daniel 11:8: “And he shall also carry their gods captive to Egypt, with their princes (or, molded images)
and their precious articles of silver and gold, and he shall continue more years than the king of the North”.
So, Ptolemy comes out victorious [20:27].

Daniel 11:9: “Then the latter shall invade the realm of the kingdom of the South, but will return to his
own land”, and indeed, Seleuchus II attempts to retaliate, but fails and loses [20:58].

Daniel 11:10: “His sons shall wage war and assemble a multitude of great forces, which shall advance
like a flood and pass through, and again shall carry the war as far as his fortress” [21:12]. The sons of
Seleuchus II were Seleuchus III who rules for a mere 4 years before being assasinated, which brings about
another regime change where Ptolemy the IV and Antiochus the III take the stage, and what the verse
describers is the events that happen between these two [21:32].

Daniel 11:11: “Moved with rage, the king of the south shall go out and do battle against the king of the
north, who shall muster a great multitude, which shall, however, be defeated by his enemy”. Antiochus III
initiates the 3rd Syrian war and attacks Ptolemy IV, who responds with a huge army. Antiochus III however
loses a major battle, and finally, the two achieve peace [22:12].

Daniel 11:12-13: “When the multitude has been carried off, his heart shall be exalted, and he shall
overthrow tens of thousands, but he shall not prevail. For the king of the north shall again raise a multitude,
larger than the former, and after some years he shall advance with a great army and abundant supplies.”
The exalted king refers to Ptolemy IV, who persecuted the Jews in Jerusalem, and the king of the north,
Antiochus III wages war against Ptolemy the IV [23:14].

Daniel 11:14, Daniel prophesizes: “In those times many shall rise against the king of the south. The
lawless among your own people shall lift themselves up in order to fulfill the vision, but they shall fail”.
This was fulfilled in a series of revolts by Jerusalem against Egypt in a misguided attempt to usher in the
Coming Messiah [24:30].

Daniel 11:15: “Then the king of the north shall come and throw up siegeworks, and take a well-fortified
city. And the forces of the south shall not stand, not even his picked troops, for there shall be no strength to
resist”. Ptolemy V becomes king in Egypt at about 8 years old, and now, Antiochus III sees this and engages
Ptolemy in the 5th Syrian war. The fortified city was called Pan, which Antiochus successfully took along
with Judah and Syria [25:31].

Daniel 11:16: “But he who comes against him shall take the actions he pleases, and no one shall withstand
him. He shall take a position in the beautiful land, and all of it shall be in his power”. This refers to
Antiochus taking Judah [26:58].

Daniel 11:17: “He shall set his mind to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and he shall bring
terms of peace and perform them,. In order to destroy the kingdom, he shall give him a woman in marriage;
but it shall not succeed or be to his advantage”. This pertains to Antiochus giving his daughter Cleopatra to
Ptolemy, who is now a teenager, in hopes that she will influence Ptolemy to be under Antiochus’ rule. But
Cleopatra instead persuades Ptolemy to ally with Rome rather than her father [27:31].

Daniel 11:18: “Afterwards he shall turn to the coastlands, and shall capture many. But a commander shall
put an end to his insolence; indeed, he shall turn his insolence back upon him. This pertains to Antiochus,
being displeased of her daughter’s decision, tries to assert his power to his daughter by engaging with the
Romans to push them out of Asia Minor, but instead, he was defeated [30:48].

Daniel 11:19: “Then he shall turn back toward the fortress of his own land, but he shall stumble and fall,
and shall not be found. The Romans enforced extremely burdensome terms for him to pay off for picking
a fight with them. He was murdered in the end [31:32].

In truth, the Israelites

Putting aside the astounding accuracy of Daniel’s prophesies, it is good to note that God knows what the
future holds; indeed, He has ordained everything to happen that way. And thus, even so, God will fulfill His
promise of the Messiah. Even more so, He already has.

Also, it may not seem that none of these things are relevant to God’s plans of redemption, but one should
only think of Chaos Theory, or the Butterfly Effect. Though unclear and unapparent, everything here caused
everything in the future to happen; the kinship of Herod, the existence of certain people groups in Israel,
the establishment of Herod’s Temple, and so on, all of which played a part in the events that took place in
God’s introduction of Himself through His Son.

Antiochus, Epiphanes, and the Maccabees

Continuing from the previous section;

Daniel 11:20: “Then shall arise in his place one who shall send an official for the glory of the kingdom;
but within a few days he shall be broken, though not in anger or in battle”. Seleuchus IV Philopater takes
over Antiochus’ place in Syria, while Ptolemy VI Philometor becomes king in Egypt. Being left with his
father’s war debts, Seleuchus did the same thing that his father did before he died; loot various temples.
One of which was the Temple in Jerusalem, of which he sends one of his commanders, Heliodorus, to loot
the Temple. But as it turns out, the priests and the general populace weren’t going to let them without a
fight. They were very effective as it turns out, and Heliodorus retreats back to report the incident to
Seleuchus. Heliodorus assassinated Seleuchus a time after the incident [2:06].

Meanwhile, two political parties, the Oniads who were the conservatives, and the Tobiads who were the
liberals, arose, with respect to issues of traditions and culture [4:20].

Daniel 11:21: “In his place shall arise a contemptible person on whom royal majesty had not been
conferred; he shall come in without warning and obtain the kingdom through intrigue”. This pertains to
Antiochus IV Epiphanes who replaces Seleuchus IV by claiming to do so on behalf of his brother
Demetrius, who was held prisoner in Rome [5:31].

Proverbs 21:1 (KJV): The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: he turneth it
whithersoever he will.
This does not mean that God causes men to be evil, for men are evil by nature and what actually makes
them good is God’s common grace. But this only shows that whatever the king does is permitted and
influenced by God’s sovereign will and providence for his own good purposes.

In fact, God gives us a hint, if not a direct answer, for why He let this king become king, in Daniel 11:35;
God purifies His people through trials and tribulations. As it is said in the book of Proverbs 17:3 (NIV):
The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the LORD tests the heart. Therefore, it can be deduced
that God used this “contemptible” person to purify His people, which is needful for the preparation of the
way of the Coming Messiah.

Daniel 11:22: “Armies shall be utterly swept away and broken before him, and the prince of the covenant
as well”. This characterizes his rule, and the fact that the death of Priest Onias III, which would be described
as the prince of the covenant, was connected to him, which may be due to Onias’ resistance against him
[6:39].

Daniel 11:23: “And after an alliance is made with him, he shall act deceitfully and become strong with a
small party” [7:19]. This pertains to the fact that when he has secured his rule, and acquire a small number
of loyal followers, he then proceeds to renounce his brother in Rome and take up the rule, thus acting
deceitfully.

Daniel 11:24: “Without warning he shall come into the richest parts of the province and do what none of
his predecessors had ever done, lavishing plunder, spoil, and wealth on them. He shall devise plans against
strongholds, but only for a time”. Now that the debt to the Romans was somewhat resolved, he uses his
wealth to bribe a lot of the nobility in Syria to be loyal to him [7:59].

Meanwhile, as Antiochus plans to eventually assault Ptolemy and his kingdom Egypt, the high priest Onias
III’s brother Jason (or Joseph, which is his Hebrew name) petitions Antiochus to depose Onias III and put
him into the position of high priest, to benefit Antiochus financially and influence Jerusalem with Greek
culture. And when the conditions were met, indeed, Jason was true to his word [8:49].

Years later, a Jewish official named Menelaus saw what Jason did to the priesthood. So Meneleus appeals
to Antiochus to outcompete Jason in making Jerusalem more Hellenistic and give to Antiochus even more
money. It was the moment that Melenaus became the high priest that the priesthood in Jerusalem became
illegitimate [12:42].

Onias, outraged that someone who wasn’t a descendant of Aaron became the high priest, publicly
condemned Menelaus, in response, Melenaus ordered that Onias be executed on the authority of Antiochus.
[14:13].

It cannot be dogmatically stated whether things would have ended up differently if the priest at the time of
Jesus’ trial and crucifixion was a legitimate descendant of Aaron. One thing is for sure; The high priest
that partook in the condemnation of Jesus, though he was evil in repudiating the Messiah, was nonetheless
used by God to complete the salvation of His people; as Joseph had said to his brothers who sold him to
slavery; “You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good”. It applies to the high priest, to Jason the
sacrilegious brother of Onias, and it applies to Antiochus Epiphanes.

One might say however, “If God let it happen, why does He still find fault in the Israelites for rejecting
Him?” It should be remembered that God’s people, the Israelites, were supposed to love their God above
all else, and so they must love His glory and dignity. They ought to have had reacted violently upon hearing
that an illegitimate priest had taken up the mantle of the high priest. But instead they let it be, and worse,
when Onias had protested and was killed, they, the people in general, did not protest, atleast in a way that
would have mattered. Thus, the Israelites are still at fault here, for they have not love the Lord with all their
heart, soul, mind, and strength. And again, what they meant for evil, God meant for good; what these people
had neglected, God had planned, used, and intended for His own good pleasure.

The Oniads in response appealed to Egypt, to Ptolemy VI, for help [14:50].

Daniel 11:25: “He shall stir up his power and determination against the king of the south with a great
army, and the king of the south shall wage war with a much greater and stronger army. But he shall not
succeed, for plots shall be devised against him by those who eat of the royal rations”. Ptolemy, considering
the appeal from Jerusalem, in caution engages an incursion with a moderate military force into the southern
part of Syria in which includes Jerusalem. Despite being designed not to incite a lot of attention, it instead
incites a massive response from Antiochus. Ptolemy had a larger force. But then, he was betrayed by some
of his closest advisors into Syrian hands [15:37].

Daniel 11:26: “They shall break him, his army shall be swept away, and many shall fall slain”. Ptolemy’s
army surrendered since he was captured, and Ptolemy himself became Antiochus’ puppet. Despite all of
this, the city of Alexandria, which was the strongest city in Egypt, rejecting Antiochus’ puppet rule over
their king, appointed Ptolemy’s younger brother as king. He came to be known as Ptolemy VIII Phiscon
(Fat Belly) [17:29].

Daniel 11:27: “The two kings, their minds bent on evil, shall sit at one table and exchange lies. But it
shall not succeed, for there remains and end at the time appointed”. The two kings mentioned are Ptolemy
VI and Antiochus IV, and they negotiated a hypocritical agreement to destroy Ptolemy VIII, but both of
which have designs to get rid of each other. Antiochus then went home to gather a bigger force, while
leaving Ptolemy VI to rule in Egypt as his puppet. [19:17].

Daniel 11:28: “He shall return to his land with great wealth, but his heart shall be set against the holy
covenant. He shall work his will, and return to his own land”. On his way from Egypt back to Syria, he
stops by Jerusalem and, with the help of his officer Menelaus, imposes a special tax on the people of
Jerusalem. Then, he goes on in his way [20:34].

Ptolemy VIII Phiscon meanwhile successfully drives out Ptolemy VI, who then flees to Rome and asks for
help to reinstate him back to Egypt.

Daniel 11:29: “At the time appointed he shall return and come into the south, but this time it shall not be
as it was before”. Phiscon’s action to dethrone Ptolemy VI causes Antiochus IV to return angry and with a
great military force, but not only is he greeted by Egyptian military forces, but also by a small Roman force
led by a senator, who were sent in favor of Ptolemy VI [22:08].

It may not be so readily apparent, but Antiochus’s victories and apparent might can be seen in the
perspective of God’s providence as preparing him to become prideful, elevating his pride to such a level
that, when it is utterly crushed, will cause him to lash out against something else, in this case, Jerusalem,
and eventually, its surrounding communities.

Daniel 11:30: “For ships from Kitim shall come against him, and he shall lose heart and withraw. He
shall be enraged and take action against the holy covenant. He shall turn back and pay heed to those who
forsake the holy covenant”. Antiochus, present with a fairly impressive army while dressed in full military
uniform, gets humilliated by the Roman senator G. Popillius Laenas, who literally drew a line on the sand,
which signified that if ever Antiochus and his armies crossed the line without giving him a response, it
would be interpreted not just a declaration of war against Egypt, but against Rome itself. The proud
Antiochus, utterly humiliated, he retreated back to Egypt, but while on his way he passed by Jerusalem and
took his anger against it. The abuses he did against Jerusalem were as follows: [23:08]

1) Tore down people’s homes to build with it a fortress to prevent Roman incursions into his territory

2) Changed YHWH’s name to Zeus Olympus, so that people would worship him now

3) Ordered Jews to begin sacrificing pigs to Zeus

4) Prohibited celebrations of festivals, the Sabbath, and rits of circumcision

5) Went to the Temple and slew a pig in front of the Brazen Altar, which is sometimes called the
Abomination of Desolation

6) Plundered the Temple treasury

7) Left a bunch of troops to oppress the people in Jerusalem

Daniel 11:31: “Forces sent by him shall occupy and profane the Temple and fortress. They shall abolish
the regular burnt offering and set up the abomination that makes desolate”. At this time, the Temple was
effectively shut down by the Syrians [28:13].

Daniel 11:32: “He shall seduce with intrigue those who violate the covenant; but the people who are loyal
to their God shall stand firm and take action”. There were two groups in Jerusalem; the Jewish Hellenists
or Proto-Sadducees, and the Hasidim (The Pious Ones) or the Proto-Pharisees. The Proto-Sadducees simply
accepted the abuses of the Syrians, while the Proto-Pharisees heroically and bravely opposed them [29:06].

Daniel 11:33: “The wise among the people shall give understanding to many; for some days however,
they shall fall by the sword and flame, and suffer captivity and plunder” The faithful uncompromising
teachers remained leading and teaching people, and all the while heroic martyrdoms took place in the tens
of thousands for their faith [29:56].

Daniel 11:34: “When they fall victim, they shall receive a little help, and many shall join them
insincerely”. Bruce Gore’s best guess was that it refers to the Maccabean revolt, which provided a little
help, while many joined in the revoluton, but not due to commitment to God but for other not-so honorable
reasons [31:07].

Daniel 11:35: “Some of the wise shall fall, so that they may be refined, purified, and cleansed, until the
time of the end, for there is still an interval until the time appointed”. The time appointed pertains to the
time when the Messiah will arrive, and indeed the whole thing purified God’s people greatly, preparing the
way for the Messiah. Later, this purification manifested by the fact that there were many people looking
forward to the coming of the Messiah in Christ’s time [32:13].

It was during this period that the Maccabean revolt took place, when it was initiated by the priest Mattathias
about a year after Antiochus’ abusive encounter with Jerusalem [32:57]. After Mattathias’ death, his 3rd son
Judas took over his leadership against the Syrian forces [34:44].
All things work together according to God’s sovereign will and everything that comes to pass has been
ordained to happen by Him according to His own purposes. The things that had happened eventually led
to the purification of God’s people, preparing them for the arrival of the Redeemer. What God revealed to
Daniel was everything that must come to pass before the coming of the Messiah; an assurance that His
Promised One will definitely come, a calendar to observe as they waited for Him, and a testimony to God’s
foreknowledge and omnipotent sovereignty; that everything will happen for the redemption of God’s people
to His Glory by His Son Jesus Christ.

Rome and Israel Collide

Though the one who sparked a revolt was his father, Judas Maccabeus was the one who really had the
Maccabean Revolt going, and even despite the Syrians outnumbering them, he was nonetheless consistently
victorious [3:43], even reclaiming the Temple [4:24].

After this however, Judas was killed in a battle [5:46]. Judas’ brother Jonathan then took over his place.
Being a great diplomat, he successfully stabilized Jerusalem by manipulating the politics, and after 15 years
he was successful in negotiating Israel’s full independence, which lasted from 146-63 BC [6:06].

In 140 Simon Hasmonean takes over Jonathan after his death [7:22]. He had less religious integrity than
his family members, however, which is the reason behind some of the controversial things he had done
[7:42]

The first thing he did was combine the offices of king and priest, which was forbidden except for the coming
Messiah [8:14], then he combined the official diplomatic recognition of Rome, provided that they won’t
pick a fight with them [11:00], he secured the borders of Israel [11:43], and he introduced a heavily
Hellenistic influence, despite his brother Judas’ animosity towards the prospect [12:27]. He was
assassinated by his son-in-law in 135, however [13:18]

After him came John Hyrcanus [13:35]. he was successful in expanding Israel’s borders [13:54]. He
occupies Edomia, and then forces them to either convert to Judaism or leave [15:53]. This action of his bred
resentment among the Idumaeans against the Jewish faith for a long time [16:39]. One of these Idumaeans
was Herod [16:57]. John then does the same to Samaria [17:38] while also destroying their worship centers
[18:14].

At John’s death in 104, authority was temporarily divided between the king and the priest [19:24]. John’s
successor was Aristobulos his son [19:32], who rules for a single year only [19:37]. He was responsible for
adding Galilee to the territory of Israel [19:41]. However, he had animosity towards the Pharisees and
persecuted them greatly [21:32], who were at this time the faithful and courageous people loyal to true
Judaism [22:47]. He died a year after his succession to the throne due to a painful disease, which may have
been due to being poisoned [23:40].

The one who succeeded him was Alexander Jannaeus, the brother of John Hyrcanus and husband to his
widow [23:52]. He also expands Israel’s borders [24:41] and, like his father, was also extremely harsh
against the Pharisees [25:00].

At his death, John Hyrcanus II the son of Alexander took over, and was the last king of independent Israel
[25:32]. He only takes the priestly office while his mother stays as the Queen [26:00].
He then takes the throne after his mother’s death, but his younger brother Aristobulos II attacks and drives
him out successfully [26:34]. John then goes to “Navita” to hire a mercenary army to help him take the
throne from his brother, and puts Jerusalem under siege [27:02]

King Pompeii negotiates with Hyrcanus to help him win back Jerusalem, but on the condition that he will
no longer be king but a high priest and chief authority only, he will swear fealty to Rome, enter into a
tributary relationship with them, and Israel will be under the overseeing authority of Rome. He agrees with
the terms [28:12]. King Pompeii then launches an all-out effort to occupy Jerusalem [29:10]. And after the
successful invasion, Israel is no longer an independent state but an occupied region [30:42].

It might be seen as a bad thing that Israel the Holy Nation of God was now occupied by a pagan nation.
But if it wasn’t the case, then the Jews wouldn’t have had a reason to crucify Him, that is, Him claiming
the title of a King when it was treasonous to do so. Now that might sound way worse, but if it wasn’t for the
death of Christ Jesus, none would be saved. And so, it was only by God’s good will that Rome conquered
Israel through corrupt rulers and bad circumstances, to lay down the path for God’s redemptive act for the
salvation of His people and the glorification of Himself.

Augustus Caesar and Imperial Rome

In God’s appointed time, he raised up Octavian, who will be called Augustus Caesar, to become ruler of
Rome, even at the age of 18 [26:50]. According to Bruce Gore, he was the greatest Caesar in the history of
Rome and everyone would likely agree [27:09].

Among the things he did which were noteworthy were;

1) Reforming Rome’s finance and tax systems, making them more equitable [35:08]

2) Created a permanent army to secure the border [35:13]

3) Brought stability, predictability, and equity to the Roman world [35:27], hence he was the one
closely associated to the “Pax Romana or the peace of Rome [28:27]

4) In Augustus’ own words: “I found Rome brick – I left it marble” [35:42]

5) Transformed the roads, trade, mail, and transport of the Roman empire, which gave the spread of
the Gospel a huge boost [35:52]

6) Created Rome’s first police and fire Departments [36:06]

7) Tried to improve the degraded moral character of the people of Rome by advocating and even
modelling good marital fidelity [36:09]

Augustus not only improved the state of Rome, he also, though unwittingly, helped in the spread of the
Gospel message. To quote Bruce Gore:

[28:41] “And I always think when i hear that expression of Paul’s comment to the Galatians, when he
says in Galatians chapter 3 that ‘Christ, in the fullness of time’ - the ‘play roma to cairo’, the fulness of the
time is and is a very rich Greek word or phrase that Paul uses there meaning that everything in a sense had
come together for this moment and what’s astonishing to me is that even though Augustus Caesar was such
a powerful character, you have to say from the point of view of a Biblical perspective that he waws only
doing God’s bidding, and that God had indeed intended that there would be this great ‘Pax Romana’, there
would be this fullness of time, and that there would be all of the astonishing benefits that would accrue to
the Roman world by virtue of this genius just so that when Christ was born with the least impediment that
Gospel would spread throughout the world in the most rapid possibly – possible conceivable way, you see.”
[29:49]

Herod the Great

Herod was a son born in 74 [0:02] to Antipater his father and an Idumaean while his mother was a Nabatean
[0:18]. Antipater was an official under John Hyrcanus II [1:50], and towards the end of his career was
appointed the governor of Judah. Consequently, he became the political representative of Rome [3:19] . In
that position he assigns Herod, who is now 25 years old, to be a subservient overseer over Galilee [3:32].

After a few years, Antipater was assassinated, and when that happened he was succeeded by Herod [5:02].
Around this time, there has been a conflict in the Roman world, and so when Herod saw that Octavian and
Mark Antony won the battle at Philippi, immediately Herod declares his loyalty to them. In response they
confirm him as the governor of Judea [6:51].

Two years later though, he was driven out by Antigonus, a Hasmonean prince [7:33]. Herod then flees to
Rome and seeks help to be reinstated back to his former rule [9:55], but instead of his old position, the
senate appoints him as the “King of the Jews” instead [10:28], and Mark Antony offers to helps him reclaim
back Judah [11:22]. And so a two year battle ensued until finally the Romans winned, Antigonus is killed,
and Herod becomes the king [11:47].

As king, he exiles his first wife Doris and their child Antipater [14:01], and then marries a beautiful
Hasmonean princess in her late teens named Mariamne to boost his popularity among the people, and
indeed the endeavor was successful. [12:36]. in order to boost the favor of the people for him even more,
he appoints Aristobulus III as the high priest. The Jews adored Aristobulus greatly for they loved the
Hasmoneans in general [14:35].

But to the eyes of Herod, the high priest he chose was beginning to be more popular than him, so he arranges
a celebration where Aristobulus dies in a pool “accident”. It is unanimously agreed upon that it was
definitely Herod who killed him or atleast ordered him to be killed, but nobody was able to pin it down to
him [15:23].

After some period of time, Herod executes Mariamne on charges of infidelity, though it was highly unlikely
that she was unfaithful to Herod, but it is highly likely that their relationship had grown cold [21:47]. Then
he executes his brother-in-law Kostabar on charges of conspiracy [23:11]. Then he accuses his two sons
from Mariamne of high treason, whom he has executed the following year [30:26]. He also acted against
the Pharisees, who were blatantly against him [31:12], and he even executed his very first son from Doris
[31:30].

Though, he did do some “good” throughout his reign; He builds the city of Sabaste in Samaria [23:55], he
also waived the taxes and distributed grain to the Jewish people due to a great famine [24:43], he builds the
Herodian fortress facility outside of Jerusalem [24:57], he builds a city called Caesarea Maritima [26:31],
and lastly, he begins building the Temple that existed during Jesus’ time [27:39].
At the end of his life though, he dies of an painful, awful, and loathesome sickness sometime before 0 B.C
[31:56]. For his heinous acts he was also universally disliked and he knew it; he knew that the people would
likely celebrate his death [32:31]. Just to prevent this, he arrested some well-received young men for
vandalism (due to them removing a pagan symbol from the Temple) and ordered that they be executed upon
his death. His decision was reversed after his death [32:49].

The noteworthy members of his family (Wives and children respectively) are as follows: [33:31]

Doris, who bore him Antipater (executed)

Mariamne, who bore him Alexander and Aristobulos (both executed)

Mariamne II, who bore him Herod Philip I (disappeared)

Malthace, who bore him Herod Archelaus (reigned at the place of his father for a short time) and
Herod Antipas (the one who executed John the Baptist and the one whom Jesus appeared to at His trial)

Cleopatra, who bore him Herod Philip II (becomes the ruler of Perea and the one from whom Antipas
stole the wife from)

Other relevant members include

Agrippa I (son of Aristobulos, grandson of Herod from Mariamne, struck by God by being eaten
by worms in Acts)

Agrippa II (grandson of Aristobulos and the one before whom Paul made his defence and the one
who said “This man could have been released had he not appealed to Caesar”)

According to Proverbs 21:1 (KJV): “ The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of water: He
turneth it whithersoever He will”. Herod is no exception to this rule. In one instance He played a part in
the life of Christ the true King of Israel, in a time when he was hostile to any claimants to his throne. In
chasing after the Messiah and attempting to kill Him, he unwittingly fulfilled the prophesy that would
happen to Him. He was also used by God as an instrument to build the Temple in Jerusalem. Despite his
moral degeneracy he still helped sustain the existence of the people in Jerusalem. Lastly, some of his
surviving sons went on and became rulers in Israel themselves, being rulers at the time when the Messiah,
the True Ruler of the Universe, was dwelling among them, playing their part in the plan of God to glorify
Himself.

Tiberius and Christian Beginnings

Herod had sons that survived from him. Archelaus, took the position of his father Herod in Judea [3:01],
his son Herod Philip II governed up the east of Jordan [3:19], and Herod Antipas ruled Galilee [3:32].

Archelaus was actually so bad that he was universally hated by the people. He ruled only up until 6 C.E..,
at which point the Roman government fired him from the position and sent him off to exile [4:18] and at
that point onwards Judah was ruled by governors [5:14]. He was the one Joseph was worried about when
he thought of going back to Judea, at which point an angel warns him, which led him to go to Nazareth
[4:34]. This fulfilled the prophecy: “He shall be called a Nazarene”.
Jesus, 12 years old at that time, visits the Temple [5:56].

John the Baptist started preaching in 27 C.E. [18:29], and he introduces Jesus in 28 [20:21]. The following
year John the Baptist was executed by Herod Antipas [21:06], and the next year after that was the high
point of Jesus’ ministry, with everything culminating inthe Holy week in C.E. 30 [27:36],wherein the
following events took place:

Sunday: Jesus’ triumphal entry celebrating His victory, yet the battle being celebrated over had yet to
be fought by Him, and his “home city” is more akin to enemy territory.

Monday: Jesus exercises His authority as being both King Priest, reclaiming the Temple, which has
become a den of thieves, by cleansing it Himself

Tuesday: Jesus exercises His authority and role as The Judge, and He Judges Israel, finding that they’ve
been unfaithful, His verdict is that the kingdom of God will be taken from Israel and will be given to a
nation worthy of it.

Wednesday: Jesus “prepares for battle”, as nothing big happens in this day

Thursday: Christ solemnizes a new covenant that took the form of the Last Supper; a covenant of
bread and wine.

Friday: The new covenant is ratified in His suffering and death at the cross

Saturday: The very last celebration of the Sabbath of the Old covenant

Sunday: Christ and the New Covenant was vindicated in His ressurection

And after these, Christ lingered for 40 days. In those days He appeared to His followers in numerous
occasions, and after that, He ascended to the Third Heaven to rule the cosmos [35:49], and 10 days after
his ascension, He sends His promise, the Holy Spirit, to His people, empowering them to proclaim His
Gospel to all people [36:28]. The New Testament church then began in 31-32 [36:48].

In the letter to the Galatians, Paul writes: “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son,
born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive
adoption as sons.”. History has its fill of wicked people. It contains a lot of tragedies and calamities. But
behind it all, The Sovereign God worked all these things, everything that was meant for evil, for good, and
good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.

And so, He prepared everything in history so that one day when everything has been put into its proper
place God can send His Son to the world to reconcile all of His children who are scattered everywhere to
Himself. Therefore, He not only prepared everything for the entrance of the Messiah, but also for the exit
of the Good News to all the ends of the Earth and everywhere in between.

He has redeemed His people, now all that’s left to do is teach His people how they ought to live, presere
His word, and gather up all of His children from the ends of the Earth.
 Caligula, Agrippa, and a Sermon to Cornelius

In the time period between the enthronement of the Roman emperor Caligula and the succession of Roman
emperor Claudius to the throne, there are three crucial events which took place

1)The birth of the Church with everything in the first 8 chapters of Acts from the ascension of
Christ, Pentecost, and to the preaching of the Gospel in Samaria taking happened within a year since
the death and resurrection of Christ, according to Bruce Gore [17:35].

2) Paul, while on his way on the road to Damascus for the sake of finding and arresting Christians,
Jesus Christ appears to him, and gets converted [22:27]. After the event, Paul says that he stayed
in Damascus for three years [22:51]

3) The gentile Cornelius gets converted through the preaching of Peter, along with his relatives and
close friends [24:30].

Everyone who belongs to the church of God is saved from sin and condemnation and has been reconciled
to God, and this is only possible due to the fact that Christ’s sacrifice ws successful. Not only that, but the
church, that is, the kingdom of God is not only for the Jews, but as demonstrated by the conversion of
Cornelius and the ministry of Paul, every person under heaven is welcome to enter God’s kingdom.

Another thing is the conversion of Paul. In Paul’s own words: “Even though I was once a blasphemer and
a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief.”. Even
someone as evil as Paul, who persecuted Christ and His church, was reveived into the kingdom of God.

For this reason God’s kingdom will be composed of people from “every tongue and tribe”, and all men, no
matter how evil, is welcome to receive God’s grace and forgiveness; God is willing to receive any person
who will repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Claudius and the Journeys of Paul

In the year 41, Agrippa I, a descendant of Herod and the best friend to Caligula the previous emperor, was
appointed to rule over all Jewish domains [22:56].

However, he saw that the Christian people were disliked by the population. To win the favor of the
population he goes on to execute James [23:22]. He also intended to execute John, but John was
miraculously rescued out of prison [23:36].

However, he dies in 44 rather abruptly. As mentioned in the book of Acts he died by being eaten by worms
for accepting the worship given to him [23:49].

Then there came a famine in the year 44 which lasted until the year 46. In 44, Paul visits the Christians in
Jerusalem to help them, as they were going through a famine at the time. In this time, he also had a brief
meeting with the apostolic leaders [24:09].

After a period of time, Paul goes on his first missionary journey in 46 until 47 [24:45]. In 48, Paul rebukes
Peter for his inconsistency; for his treatment of the gentiles in the presence of Jews [25:37]. It was in the
year 49 when Paul writes his letter to the Galatians as a response to the Judaizers [25:44]. He goes to the
Jerusalem council in 50 [26:31]. He then proceeds to go to his 2nd missionary journey in 51, which lasted
until 53 [27:13].

It was in this timeframe that emperor Claudius was elected after the death of his nephew the previous
emperor Claudius [0:31] and assassinated by his 4th wife Agrippina the Younger for the purpose of ensuring
Nero’s succession to the throne [22:05].

What Agrippa I did to James was merely a foretaste of the horrendous persecuton that will come to all
Christians in the future, and it was through the error of a competent ruler that Nero was able to take the
throne, and persecuted the Christian people.

Yet even so, God was working all of this to help strengthen and build up His Kingdom. Not only that, but
through the apostle Paul, the Gospel was now spreading among the Gentiles. Soon, through the persecution
of the Christian church, it will only grow even further not only despite the sufferings, but through the
sufferings.

Nero and the Imperial Persecution of Christians

A background check on Nero would reveal startlingly disturbing characteristics about him.

At first, his adoptive father Claudius favored him to be the next emperor, but after a while he changes his
mind due to observed behavioral problems in him [3:20]. He wouldn’t have been an emperor had it not
been that Agrippina poisoned Claudius [3:51]. Nero then becomes the next emperor at the age of 16; the
youngest emperor in the history of Rome [4:09].

Though his early years as ruler wasn’t so bad, it was only thanks to his three advisors; A highly regarded
philosopher named Seneca, Burrus the head of the Praetorians, and his mother Agrippina the Younger
[4:18], though even at this time, he was already exhibiting bad behavior unbefitting an emperor [6:21].

This got so bad that even his mother, who wanted him to become the emperor at first, saw him as unfit if
not dangerous to be on the throne. Therefore, she started to support Britannicus, Claudius’ son and her
stepson, in hopes that he will replace Nero as the emperor [7:24]. Nero however acquired knowledge, and
then he has his mother assassinated (in his second try). Agrippina’s final request was for her to be stabbed
in her womb, because that was the womb that created Nero [7:24]. One by one his advisors died, and by
the end no one was controlling Nero [8:47].

In 64, there was a great fire that burned down Rome, lasting for weeks. It was so catastrophic that it burned
down a third of the city. Nero at first acted as a sort of benevolent savior for all the people who suffered in
the fire, but soon after around a week or so, Nero put forth elaborate and extravagant plans to rebuild the
city, which would have been extremely unlikely to have been developed over that short period of time, and
so everyone was highly suspicious if not absolutely certain that it was he who started the fire [11:15].

To deflect public suspicion from him, he puts the blame on the universally disliked Christian populace. He
then goes on a step further, ordering the horrific persecution of these Christians, making them suffer ghastly
deaths [15:16].

Over time, Nero became increasingly paranoid, megalomaniacal, destructive, and erratic. Finally, the
Praetorians decided to kill him. Nero heard about the decision of the Praetorians, and thus he fled to Greece,
but his assassins caught up with him, and choosing between being killed by them and killing himself, he
ended his own life there in Greece [15:16]

In the background of all these events happened the events recorded in Acts, beginning in the same year
Nero was enthroned that Paul began his third missionary journey in 54, which lasted until the year 58
[16:24]. The first place he goes to is the city of Ephesus [16:54]. Meanwhile, Apollos was being trained by
Aquilla and Pricilla [18:34].

Apollos was called to handle the Corinthian church in Corinth as Paul was reaching Ephesus [20:07], but
in 56, after 2 years or so, Apollos leaves the Corinthian church, which may have been likely due to it being
a very problematic church as many converts were converted out of a very perverse cult, and thus they
brought quite a lot of their previous pagan influences with them [20:57].

After this, the Corinthians sent a letter to Paul, and Paul writes in response 1 Corinthians of the New
Testament [23:00]. According to Bruce Gore, about the same time that Paul’s letter was abut to arrive that
the Judaizers arrived in the church, who slandered and denigrated Paul while presenting themselves to be
true apostles. They were successful to the point that the church actually openly rebelled against Paul
[24:14].

Paul then, in sorrow, goes to Corinth in 57 to try and win them back to the true Gospel and himself [25:18],
but being unsuccessful he goes home and he writes his “severe letter” to the Corinthan church [26:03].

Paul then goes to Troaz, but because he didn’t meet Titus there, he goes to Macedon, where he does run
into Titus, who tells him that the Corinthian church did indeed repent [28:39]. This prompts him to write
2nd Corinthians [29:02].

After a series of trials and one imprisonment, Paul undertakes his “4th” missionary journey, visiting Spain,
Crete, Ephesus, and finally Nicopolis, where, somewhen inbetween 66 to 67 he was arrested and taken to
Rome for a second imprisonment and execution, along with Peter in respect to time [37:28].

The persecution suffered by the Christians under the rod of Imperial Rome is only one of the many
persecutions that had come and will come. But instead of annihilating the Christian faith it vindicated it
instead, even to this day. For questions such as “if the apostles made it all up, why would they suffer and
die for something they know to be false?” cannot be answered reasonably except for one answer: Jesus
had indeed lived, and indeed He had ben ressurected; an astonishing testimony for every skeptic to either
unreasonabloy reject or fully accept.

Instead of culling their numbers, Christians instead became very numerous by the end, as the church father
Tertullian has said: “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church”. This should be no surprise, for
God has declared in Christ Jesus in Matthew 24:35: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will
never pass away.”

The Fall of Jerusalem and the Apocalypse

There was a rising tumult tension in Israel between the liberals, who didn’t mind the Roman presence, and
the conservatives, who wanted the Romans and their influences out of their land [1:47]. This sentiment was
al the more intensified due to corrupt procurators [2:54], but the one who really pushed beyond the limit
was the procurator/governor Gessius Florus, which he did by plundering the Temple treasury and killing
3600 peaceful civilians in his 5 month reign of terror [3;36]. These acts of abuse only popularized the people
called the Zealots, the ultra-conservatives that were committed to a violent revolution against the Roman
presence [4:28].

In the fall of 66, the Jews rather unexpectedly revolted and successfully drove out the Roman presence. In
response, Syria’s Roman governor Cestius Gallus laid siege to Jerusalem to stop the rebellion. But for
inexplicable reasons he left the scene, along with his army at the 6th day, even when he had locked them in
certain victory [6:44]. The Zealots interpreted it as divine intervention, and so they chased after the
retreating Roman forces, defeating them at Beth-Horon [7:07]. Because of this the moderates were
discredited and radicals took over Jerusalem. Everyone saw it as God’s way of saying He was for them and
their endeavors [7:52] — except the Christians who remembered Christ’s prophesy in Luke 21:20 (NIV):
"When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near.” and fled
quickly in response [8:14].

Seeing the insurrection by the Jews, Nero appoints Vespasian, the most profoundly competent military
character in Rome in his time according to Bruce Gore, to quell the uprising [10:10]. Vespasian’s campaign
included 60,000 elite Roman troops, With it he completely crushed the rebellion in the north by 68, working
his way down towards Jerusalem [10:42].

Thousands of Jews fled to Jerusalem for safety [11:55], but Jerusalem itself was locked in a civil war
between the moderates who wanted to make peace with Rome and the militants who wanted to continue
the conflict [12:34].

Vespasian’s campain was cut short halfway through by an event that’s called the “Year of the 4 Emperors”
after the death of Nero, finally becoming the fourth emperor after the deaths of the preceeding three [13:16].

Vespasian left the problem in Jerusalem in the care of his son whose name was Titus (not to be confused
with the Titus mentioned in the Bible), who had to hire mercenaries owing to the fact that Vespasian took
the best of his military forces back to Rome [17:44]. Jerusalem was under siege in April of 70 [18:59].

Jerusalem was able to hold out against sieges for years on end, yet it fell to Titus only after a few months
[19:19] due to the Zealots burning down their food reserves creating an artificial famine just to incite a
violent response. This famine led to unspeakable acts being done just to survive and not be hungry [19:47].

Finally, the walls were breached in 70. The Roman forces witnessed the starvation and the overall weakness
of everyone inside the city. The mercenaries responded by pillaging, raping, and burning things. Finally,
Jerusalem was ruined, and the Temple was burned and utterly destroyed [21:14].

The Israelites have rejected their True King and God Christ Jesus. God is not mocked. If He is disgraced,
be sure that He will repay. If His honor is dishonored, He will be glorified by justice. Thus the verdict of
God was that Jerusalem was destroyed. Also, the words of the Apostle Paul holds true to them —Acts 13:46
(NIV): “Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: "We had to speak the word of God to you first.
Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles”. Why
did they disobey? Paul also has something to say about this matter in Romans 11:30 (ESV): “30 For just
as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, 31
so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive
mercy.”
Three Threats, Three Apologists, Three Fathers

Christianity is still at its early stages. In a secular perspective, such a movement is still prone to become
distorted or wiped out over the centuries. In reality, prone is an understatement, for powerful threats were
coming against it from all sides; the state the Christians lived in had a high tendency to try and exterminate
them, distortions were threatening to mar the Christian message, and distortions were off to cloud and
destroy what God has made known God.

After the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. was a quiet that lasted for about 30 years [0:03], which ended
in 95 under emperor Domitian, who launched an official persecution that was severe but lasting only few
months, after which were sporadic, sometimes prolonged but at most times brief persecutions of the
Christian populace, but yet again, though being members of an officially illegal religion, it was peaceful
for the Christians a lot of the times [1:02].

There were three threats to Christianity at that time; The Roman political threat, the Jewish religious threat,
and the pagan philosophical threat [2:08]

From Rome came the persecutions. Case in point; Pliny the Younger, a proconcul and judge who was
dealing with Christians wanted to know how to proceed with them . So in 117 he writes a letter he writes
to emperor Trajan [2:33]:

[4:02] “And he says quote: ‘It is customary for me, sir, to refer to you in all matters wherein I have a
doubt. For who truly is better able to rule my hesitancy, or instruct my ignorance? I was never present at
examinations of Christians, therefore I do not know what is customarily punished, nor to what extent, nor
how far to take the investigation. I was quite undecided; should there be any consideration given to age?
are those who are however delicate no different from the stronger? Should penitence obtain pardon; or, has-
bsng(?)— has been the case particularly with Christians, to desist makes no difference? (clears throat)
Should the name itself be punished (even if crimes are absent), or the crimes that go with the name?’ So
you could tell the guy’s at(?) a quandary. ‘What do I do with these folks? They seem like nice enough
people. They’re obviously committing a crime to be Christians but.. goodness sakes! What should I do’ —
and so tra-uh-plyn-Pliny here in order to sort of get some clarity as to his judicial responsibilities writes
this letter off to Trajan.’”

“He says ‘This is the method that I have followed with those who were brought before me-as Christians.
I asked them directly if they were Christians. The ones who answered affirmatively I questioned again with
a warning, and yet a third time: those who persisted I ordered led away. For I have no doubt whatever else
they confessed to certainly this pertinancy and inflexible obstinancy ought to be punished’ If nothing else
they should be punished for being stubborn, you know. (Clears throat) So this is what he’s done so far and
he’s wondering if this is the right approach and he proceeds along these lines: ‘Those who denied that they
were or ever had been Christians, when they swore before me, called on the gods and offered incense and
wine to your image (which I’d ordered brought in for this purpose, along with the images of the gods) and
also cursed Christ (which it is said it is impossible to force those who are real Christians to do, I thought
worthy of being acquitted’ So Pliny says ‘If I could get somebody to-to disparage Christ — curse Christ, I
figured they’re not a real Christian regardless of the accusations because I’ve(?) heard that real Christians
cannot do that — Isn’t that an interesting comment? So already, in the year 117, you know — a scant 50
years after the destruction of Jerusalem, Christian people are not only out there but they have a reputation
as people whose allegiance to Christ is so deep that you cannot under any threat, force them to disparage
or curse Christ you know. And it reminds me of that text from 1st Corinthians that we read a little bit earlier.”
Tribulations are akin to a refinery of gold or silver; much like how intense heat melts away the waste and
leaves behind the precious metals, severe trials melt away false professors and leave behind the true
Christians. Indeed, there were professors of Christianity who left the faith due to affliction. When they did,
they demonstrated themselves to be false-Christians, expulsing the dross and leaving behind a purer people
of God.

This tenacity of Christians mirrored the tenacity of the Christian faith itself in the face of many challenges
and threats. The truth of Christ has come, and the message is here to stay, and it will keep on reaching the
lost until the appointed number is fulfilled.

“’All the more I believed it necessary to find out what was the truth from two mai— two servant maids,
which were called deaconesses, by means of torture.’ So he took two women who were deaconess in the
church, and began to torture them hoping to extort from them — extract from them some insight into the
character of this Christian movement. ‘Nothing more did I find than a disgusting, fanatical superstition.
Therefore I stopped the examination and hastened to consult you. For it appears to me(?) a proper matter
for councel, most greatly on account’ — listen to this — ‘of the number of people endangered, for many of
all ages, all classes, and both sexes already are brought into danger and shall be in the future, and not only
the cities; the(?) contagion of this superstiton is spread throughout the villages and the countrysides, but it
appears to be possible to stop it and put it right.’, you know.” [8:02].

Christians, true Christians, are chiefly characterized by one thing; their love for Christ. As Peter says in
1st Peter 1:8; “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you
believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy”. This love for The One that Died for
them is what drove them to be bold and courageous in the faith, being wrought by the Holy Spirit and giving
them an almost omnipotent willpower. In this God is glorified, for they were willing to suffer much for Him,
whom they saw was infinitely worthy who surpasses everything this world had to offer.

Even at this time, Christians have been from every level of society and had been so many that they were
noticeable even to a prominent Roman judicial officers [8:03].

From the Jews came the religious threat. After the destruction of Jerusalem, many Jewish Christians went
and settled in Antioch of Jerusalem, and it became the center of a highly Jewish approach to the Christian
faith. There were doctrinally sound Christians there but nevertheless there are others who held a distorted
view of the faith [9:24]. Case in point was the Alogoi movement, who believed that Jesus being the logos
was incorrect since they saw it as the contamination of Greek philosophy into the understanding of Christ
[10:25].

In the early second century, a kind of extension of the Alogoi arose which were called the Ebionites. They
represented a highly Jewish Judaizing approach to the Christian faith which is mentioned sparsely
throughout the New Testament [11:29] that also denied the deity of Christ, though they affirm that He was
the Messiah and was born of a virgin. They taught what is called Adoptionism, which teaches that God
adopted Christ in His baptism [11:49]. This heretical movement eventually led to the conception of
Arianism [12:34].

And from the pagan Greeks came the Philosophical threat. The threat was an attempt to bridge Greek
philosophy and the Christian message, which was generally called Gnostisism [13:22]. The term
“Gnostisism” came from the Greek word gnosis which meant knowledge. It has some connection to Plato’s
philosophy of a higher world of transcendent truth, that some people had an insight into that, and that those
people should be the rulers, i.e. the philosopher kings [13:36], and the Gnostics incorporated that into their
doctrines, where there was the “Gnostikoi” who had a spiritual insight and who should be followed [14:06].

The most famous Gnostic was a man named Marcion, who lived from 85 to 160 [14:29]. He hated any
Jewish influence in Christianity, repudiated the Old Testament and the God of the Old Testament, calling
Him a demiurge and accusing Him of being wicked and inconsistent [14:45]. He even goes so far as to say
Jesus came to save us from the God of the Old Testament, not reconcile us to Him [15:33]

Why is a correct view of God so important? To be saved and for the True God to be truly glorified, one must
know who This True God really is. To distort that knowledge is to create a false god and worship an image
made by humans or demons, and to do so is to forsake the true God and forfeit salvation, for Jesus said in
John 14:6 (NIV): Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through me.”

Thus, these heretical threats are extremely hazardous, and if left unchecked, could mean the end of authentic
Christianity, and the dishonor of the name of God. This will never be allowed by God, so in His providence,
He chose to raise up Christians that will defend and sustain Christianity.

These threats summoned apologists to try and fend off these threats, but the course only focused on three
of them [15:54].

The first but not necesarily the most prominent is named Justin Martyr who was a wandering philosopher
who would offer philosophy lectures by the streets for a living [16:31], but in the middle of his career he
becomes a Christian [17:50].

In a persecution took place under the emperor Antonius Pius for dubious accusations against them such as
cannibalism, incest, and insurrection, and even atheism, for Christian doctrines and practices that were
grossly misunderstood [18:52]. Justin Martyr proceeds to defend Christians in light of their moral integrity,
making the case that they were the best citizens in Roman world [20:04].

The second but not necessarily the mediocre one is Irenaeus, a scholarly character [20:41] who was also a
student of Polycarp, who was a student of John, who was a student of Jesus [21:18]. He’s the one that deals
with Gnosticism, writing a critique against it [20:45].

The last but not necessarily the least is a man named Tertullian, who was a lawyer turned Christian lawyer
defending Christianity as a whole [22:34]. One noteworthy thing he did was to describe God’s rather
complex nature; in Bruce Gore’s own words:

[23:07] “He’s the first guy that we know of in church history to use what was a latin term intended to
describe the character of God; the rather complex character of God that we find in the new testament, and
he took two latin terms, put them together and produced the phrase “tri-unity”, and from that point on we
regarded God as Trinity, you see. It was Tertullian who first gave us that term” [23:31]

However, a dark cloud went over his reputation due to his affiliation with the Montanus movement, a
movement of a dubious characteristic [23:50].

And to sustain the Church, there were the apostolic fathers, people who bridged the New Testament era and
the church era after the apostles [24:11]. The lecture focuses only on the three most popular ones.
The first of which is Clement of Rome [24:39]. He was the 3rd overseer/bishop/pastor of Rome [24:49]. He
wrote a letter to the to the Corinthian church regarding the issue of young people advocating to replace the
old leaders, where he rebukes them to respect the elderly leaders in their church [22:22].

Clement also in considerable amounts of instances quote from what we now recognize as the New
Testament [27:23]. Another noteworthy thing to note is the fact that the name “Clement”, who is
traditionally held to be this Clement, is mentioned by the Apostle Paul in Philippians 4 [28:21].

The second to be mentioned is Ignatius of Antioch, who was the bishop in Antioch and a well-known
Christian leader [28:51]. He was arrested as a Christian leader and was taken to Rome to be thrown to wild
beasts [29:04]. On the way, he writes letters of encouragement in the faith to every city he visits, and not
only was he not consumed by terror, rather he was looking forward to his execution [29:16].

And the last to be mentioned is Polycarp of Smyrna [30:14]. He was trained by John the Apostle [32:31].
After John’s death, Polycarp is eventually ordained as the bishop of the church in Smyrna [32:50]. He was
martyred in 155 A.D. [35:35].

His martyrdom was recorded by his fellow church members. It proceeded as follows [36:05]:

[36:23] “And it uhh reads this—this is just(?) excerpts from it: ‘As he was brought forward the tumult
became great when they heard that Polycarp was taken. When he came near, the proconcul asked him
whether he was indeed Polycarp. On his confessing that he was, the proconcul sought to persuade him to
deny Christ, saying, ‘Have respect to your old age!’ and other similar things according to their custom such
as ‘Swear by the fortune of Caesar; repent, and say, ‘Away with the atheists!’’”— because Christians were
called atheists, you know—“but Polycarp, gazing with a stern countenance on all the multitude of the
wicked heathen then in the stadium and waving his hand toward them while with groans he looked up to
heaven said ‘Away with the atheists.’”— not exactly what the proconcul had in mind you know *clears
throat*— “Then the proconcul urging him and saying ‘Swear, and I will set thee at liberty, reproach Christ!’
Polycarp declared, ‘Eighty and six years have I served Him, and he never did me any injury. How then can
I blaspheme my King and my Savior?’”— one of the most famous short speeches in the history of the
Christian movement.

“When the proconcul yet again pressed him and said ‘Swear by the fortune of Caesar’, he answered,
‘Since you are vainly urgent that as you say I should swear by the fortune of Caesar, and pretend not to
know who and what I am, hear me declare with boldness, I am a Christian. If you wish to know what the
doctrines of Christianity are, appoint me a day and you shall hear them.’ The proconcul replied, ‘Persuade
the people.’ But Polycarp said, ‘To you, I have thought it right to offer an account of my faith, for we are
taught to give all due honor (which entails no injury to ourselves) to the powers and authorities which are
ordained of God. As for these, I do not deem them worthy of receiving any account from me.’”— This is
the New Testament principle ‘Don’t cast your pearls before swine’, you know. These rabid folks in the
stands just wanted to see blood and cheap entertainment, and Polycarp isn’t gonna condescend to honor
them with a presenta(?)— but the proconcul he will.”

“The proconsul— threatened Polycarp to be thrown to the wild beasts. Polycarp famously responded,
‘Bring them. I would change my mind if it meant going from the worse to the better, but not change from
the right to the wrong.’— you know. It’s like Polycarp is saying, ‘you know, we Christians are taught to be
repentant. We like to repent, but usually repentance means repenting from the worse thing to the better
thing, not the other way around so sorry, I can’t do as you uhh suggested’ When the proconcul threatened
him with fire, Polycarp said, ‘You threaten fire that burns for an hour and is over. But the judgment on the
ungodly is forever.’”

“When(?) Polycarp was lashed up to the stake, this was recorded as his final prayer, ‘Father I bless you
that-you-have(?) deemed me worthy of this day and hour, that I might take a portion of the martyrs in the
cup of Christ. Among these may I today be welcome before thy face as a rich and acceptable sacrifice.’”
[39:45]

The church and the message of Christianity was in danger from many fronts. It was in danger of being
corrupted beyond recognition, or eradicated into extinction, by heretics and persecutors. But even then, the
message of Christianity still exists till this day.

This feat was entirely possible (and inevitable) only because God is all-powerful. His true people never
died and forsook their faith because God’s Spirit was within them, sustaining their faith to hold out even
in the midst of the most terrible circumstances, and in God’s providence, He raised up apologists, defenders
of the faith who stood for true Christianity, and shepherds of his people, who sustained and fed them in
their faith.

Matthew 24:35: Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. Even if all the forces
of hell fight against God’s plans, they will never prevail. He will save all of His people, and He will be
glorified unto the end.
 Conclusion

God’s word tells us that God, in His desire to showcase His awesome wonder, set up a plan of redemption
to show everyone how good he is, for God is totally committed to the exaltation of His glory (which does
not entail increasing His glory, for He was always perfectly and infinitely glorious, but rather to showcase
it).

In history, we see two main hazards that risk foiling God’s plan, and these are that the promised Messiah is
never born, and thus rendering humanity hopeless, and that the message of redemption is eradicated.

The promised Messiah is foretold many times throughout the Old Testament. One is the promise that He
will be born from the lineage of Abraham as the seed from whom he will be a father of many nations, and
David, for it is by Christ that David’s throne will become an everlasting throne. Therefore, Jesus must be
born a Jew. Then there’s the promises which imply that by the time of the arrival of the Messiah, Israel
must still exist,

And so the stakes are absolutely high: If Israel is to be gone forever, and the Jewish race extinguished, then
the Messiah will never come, God’s plan is foiled, there will be no hope of redemption for humanity from
the power and guilt of sin, and worst of all, God’s honor will be defiled, for He has not fulfilled His promise,
among other things. And even if at least one man from the Jewish race were to live, I suspect that this will
be an extremely major problem in the years to come, for what sort of evidence will be there that the man
from whom the Christ descended was in fact a Jew?

Thus, the danger is exceeding if it weren’t for the fact that the I AM is the one and only true God, who is
infinitely powerful and wise, inasmuch as nothing can ever stop His plans from coming to pass — He even
revealed the things that must happen before His Son arrives to the prophet Daniel.

Even after He let Jerusalem and its Temple be destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, He also told His people that
He will restore them to the land after 70 years. And it can all be seen in God’s providence how He not only
protected His people, but He also prepared the way for the arrival of His Son in full humanity (and full
Deity) as the Messiah. He guided them through His prophets in building the Temple and how they ought to
live and worship, He purified His people through trials and tribulations, and He even set the stage in such
a way that His Son will be killed in the end, to accomplish His redemptive work.

With the Christ accomplishing His goal, He has set a way for all humanity to be saved and reconciled to
Him— all that is left is to gather up His children from across the world, and that is through the message of
the perfect sinless life He lived in our stead, the wrath He suffered and death He died for the death and hell
we deserved for our sin, and His bodily resurrection that manifested that His sacrifice was accepted by God,
able to save even the chief of sinners.

But now there’s a second risk; that the Gospel message will be lost either by corruption or by annihilation.
Even at the time of the apostles, threats to their lives were starting to spring up. Not only that, but even they
dealt with damning heresies that would corrupt the Gospel message into a false Gospel.

These threats sprang up even at the infancy of Christendom; when it was the least established and the most
vulnerable. But then, Jesus assured in Matthew 24:35 (NIV), “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my
words will never pass away.” And so we see the key for why Christianity is still alive and strong to this
day: Divine omnipotent providence.
To combat the fear of death and feed the sheep, the church fathers took care of the flock that the apostles
left behind. To combat heresies, there were the apologists who defended orthodox biblical truths and
assaulted antagonizing heretical views.

Despite these threats, even after centuries, even after millennia, Christianity is still standing, spreading
throughout the world, and influencing it altogether for good. And so, God is (unsurprisingly) victorious.
And thus, He is glorified, and people all around the world are being saved, building up the kingdom of God