{"id":29639,"date":"2021-01-07T15:40:51","date_gmt":"2021-01-07T21:40:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=29639"},"modified":"2021-01-07T15:41:44","modified_gmt":"2021-01-07T21:41:44","slug":"when-the-fullness-of-time-had-come","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/when-the-fullness-of-time-had-come\/","title":{"rendered":"When the Fullness of Time Had Come"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\tby Wayne Chamberlain
\nSentry Magazine<\/em>, December 2002\n

Throughout history, God has used natural events, nations, cultures, individuals, and even beasts to facilitate and accomplish the fulfillment of His will. Evidence is strongly indicative that God used some of these same components in preparation for the corning Messiah and the carrying of His message into all the world. Certainly, John the Baptizer functioned in this way: “Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You. The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the\u00a0LORD, Make His paths straight.<\/em>“1<\/sup> But even more precursory were the various cultural contributions from the Romans, the Greeks, and the Jews.<\/p>\n

The apostle Paul stated that “when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son<\/em>“2<\/sup> Mark’s gospel also quotes Jesus saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand<\/em>“3<\/sup> These passages cause one to conclude that the timing of Christ’s birth was not a random thing. God “sent forth His Son” when the world was ripest for Him.<\/p>\n

Romans<\/h2>\n

\"\"The Romans contributed politically to this ripeness in five major ways:<\/p>\n

Unity<\/h3>\n

Two elements fostered a sense of unity among those who were under the yoke of the Romans: A common law and citizenship.<\/p>\n

The lex XII tabularum<\/em><\/h4>\n\n

Roman Citizenship<\/h4>\n\n

The pax romano<\/em><\/h3>\n

The pax romano<\/em>, or the Roman Peace: Much criminal activity had been checked by the Roman military. The peace that followed contributed greatly to the freedom of movement enjoyed by Christ and particularly Paul in his efforts to spread the gospel.<\/p>\n

An Excellent Road System<\/h3>\n

Once the early church began to see its mission to gentiles, instead of to the Jew only, the spreading of the gospel was facilitated by the exceptional network of roads the Romans had developed throughout their empire. Paul’s travels in Acts verify this.<\/p>\n

The Roman Army<\/h3>\n\n

The Religious Element<\/h3>\n

The Scriptures record numerous examples of conquered peoples turning away from their gods because their gods were unable to protect them from the conquering nation. The subdued people would then serve the gods of their captors. This effect was brought upon those conquered by Rome; however, the Roman gods (Greek gods with new names) were unable to offer anything better than the impotent gods before them. Thus these people “were left with a spiritual vacuum that could not be filled satisfactorily by the religions of the day.”7<\/sup> This, no doubt, contributed to a readier reception of the gospel. There were, however, “various mystery religions (that) seemed to offer more than this in the way of spiritual and emotional aid.”8<\/sup> Yet, time revealed that they were merely empty rituals through which neither forgiveness nor hope could be found.<\/p>\n

Greeks<\/h2>\n

\"\"The Greeks contributed intellectually to this ripeness in three major ways:<\/p>\n

A Universal Language<\/h3>\n\n

The New Testament was also written in this language. The Koine Greek was the perfect language for clarity and precision in discussing the topics found in the New Testament. “It frequently has been said that the precision and depth of meaning available to the Greek language rendered it the perfect vehicle for the thought of Plato and Aristotle. In the same manner, the directness and precision of koine made it the ideal vehicle for the ‘Word of God.'”10<\/sup> Surely God’s hand was in the forces that brought about the Koine Greek and its universal usage throughout the world during the time of Christ and the New Testament.<\/p>\n

Greek Philosophy<\/h3>\n

The rational thinking of Socrates and Plato did much to undermine and destroy the bankrupt philosophies of the pre-existing religions. As time transpired and the Hellenistic influence expanded, Greek philosophy, though itself inadequate to fulfill man’s spiritual needs, showed the foolishness and emptiness of the polytheistic religions of Greece and Rome.<\/p>\n\n

The Religious Element<\/h3>\n\n

Both of these were materialistic religions: Epicureanism taught, “The human soul is made of particularly small, mobile atomic bodies; there is nothing incorporeal or immortal about it;”14<\/sup> and Stoicism taught, “The human soul is simple and solely rational.15<\/sup> Thus their negative response to Paul’s preaching on the resurrection in Acts 17:30-32.<\/p>\n

With the polytheistic religions discredited, philosophy itself found hollow, and the materialistic religions of Epicureanism and Stoicism offering nothing better than a “do-it-yourself’ ethic with no hope beyond the grave, the gospel of Christ-with its emphasis upon the spiritual, a relationship with God, forgiveness, freedom from guilt, and hope of eternal life-was found more appealing and was no doubt given more serious attention than it would have been given centuries earlier.<\/p>\n

Jews<\/h2>\n
\"\"

At the synagogue on the Sabbath (Mark 1:21)<\/p><\/div>\n

The Jews contributed religiously to this ripeness in six major ways:<\/p>\n

Monotheism<\/h3>\n\n

Messianic Hope<\/h3>\n\n

Ethical System<\/h3>\n\n

Old Testament Scriptures<\/h3>\n

That the Old Testament finds its fulfillment in the New Testament is clearly seen in the books of Matthew, Romans, Hebrews, and others. The books of Romans and Hebrews consist of nearly one-third Old Testament quotations. Not only is it impossible to understand these letters without a good knowledge of the Old Testament, but it is clear that the New Testament is the spiritual fulfillment of the physical elements in the Old Testament.22<\/sup> Thus the Old Testament was the canvas upon which the New Testament was painted.<\/p>\n

Philosophy of History<\/h3>\n\n

The Synagogue<\/h3>\n

Synagogue worship is thought to have begun during Babylonian captivity when the Jews had no access to the temple. For seventy years they met, recited and read Scripture, and sang songs in worship to God. When they returned from captivity, and as they dispersed throughout the world, the synagogue became a standard fixture wherever there were enough Jews to have one.26<\/sup> The significance of the Jewish synagogue as it relates to the preparatory element of Christianity is that:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. It was the synagogue that fostered and nurtured the five previous points we have just discussed the teaching of the One God, the coming of the Messiah, the high standard of morality and ethics, and the Jewish philosophy of history were all taught in the synagogues as they read and studied the Old Testament Scriptures continually; and<\/li>\n
  2. The synagogue served as an open forum for teaching the gospel. Christ made use of the synagogues, and Paul took advantage of the “open doors” of the synagogues everywhere he traveled.27<\/sup><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n

    Conclusion<\/h2>\n\n

    Bibliography<\/h2>\n
      \n
    1. Mark 1:2-3 (All Bible quotes are from the New King James Version.)<\/li>\n
    2. Galatians 4:4<\/li>\n
    3. Mark 1:15<\/li>\n
    4. q.v.Matthew 28:18-20; Ephesians 1:15-23 et al<\/li>\n
    5. Galatians 3:28<\/li>\n
    6. Earle E. Cairns, Christianity Through The Ages, p. 37<\/li>\n
    7. Earle E.Cairns, Christianity Through The Ages, p. 37<\/li>\n
    8. Ibid.p.37<\/li>\n
    9. The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, Vol.2,p. 828<\/li>\n
    10. Ibid. Vol.2, p.833<\/li>\n
    11. Earle E. Cairns, Christianity Through The Ages p.40<\/li>\n
    12. The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, Vol. 2,p. 336<\/li>\n
    13. Earle E. Cairns, Christianity Through The Ages, p. 40<\/li>\n
    14. 1992 Grolier Electronic Encyclopedia, Epicureanism<\/li>\n
    15. 1992 Grolier Electronic Encyclopedia, Stoicism<\/li>\n
    16. See John 17:20-23; I John 5:7<\/li>\n
    17. See Acts 14:8-18;17:22-29,et al<\/li>\n
    18. Acts 2:22-ff,3:11-26,9:20-22,et al<\/li>\n
    19. Earle E. Cairns, Christianity Through The Ages, p. 40<\/li>\n
    20. See James 1:1;2:1-13;4.6,10; I Corinthians 5:1-ff;6:9-11;8:1-ff<\/li>\n
    21. Earle E. Cairns, Christianity Through The Ages, p. 42<\/li>\n
    22. Hebrews 9:23-28,et al<\/li>\n
    23. See Earle E. Cairns, Christianity Through The Ages, p.15<\/li>\n
    24. See Earle E. Cairns, Christianity Through The Ages, p.15-16<\/li>\n
    25. Revelation 6:.9-11; II Corinthians 5:10<\/li>\n
    26. Packer, Tinney, White, The Bible Almanac, p. 502. This wasn’t difficult since “only 10 Jewish men were needed.”<\/li>\n
    27. Luke 4:16-ff;Acts 13:13-16;et al<\/li>\n
    28. Earle E. Cairns, Christianity Through The Ages, p. 41<\/li>\n
    29. Daniel 2:44<\/li>\n
    30. Earle E. Cairns, Christianity Through The Ages, p.43<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

       <\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      by Wayne Chamberlain Sentry Magazine, December 2002 Throughout history, God has used natural events, nations, cultures, individuals, and even beasts to facilitate and accomplish the fulfillment of His will. Evidence is strongly indicative that God used some of these same components in preparation for the corning Messiah and the carrying of His message into all…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[590,279,557,73,274,626],"class_list":["post-29639","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-greek-empire","tag-history","tag-israel","tag-jesus","tag-jews","tag-roman-empire"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":58428,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-fullness-of-time\/","url_meta":{"origin":29639,"position":0},"title":"The Fullness of Time (Tant)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 25, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jefferson David Tant In two passages, the apostle Paul uses the expression \"the fullness of the time,\" and this expression is very \"full\" in its meaning. Among other things, it shows God's wisdom in preparing the world for the coming of his Son, and as we look at the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":62516,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-fullness-of-time-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":29639,"position":1},"title":"The Fullness of Time (Hamilton)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 14, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Download Audio by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text Galatians 3:26-4:7 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0For a plan to succeed there must be preparation \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The plans of the diligent succeed - Proverbs 21:5 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In part because he isn\u2019t lazy about accomplishing what he plans - Proverbs 13:4 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a02.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The lesson of the ant is that they\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":36714,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/jerusalems-fall\/","url_meta":{"origin":29639,"position":2},"title":"Jerusalem’s Fall","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 16, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton Though Jerusalem had been destroyed during the Babylonian period (536 BC) as predicted by Jeremiah, it was also predicted that the Lord of hosts would be riding on the clouds to bring about that fall, and later the fall of Babylon, which was used to bring\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20690,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-christians-have-similar-religious-freedoms-under-rome-as-the-jews\/","url_meta":{"origin":29639,"position":3},"title":"Did Christians have similar religious freedoms under Rome as the Jews?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 31, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: During Jesus' generation and the Roman Empire, how much freedom did a person have under the Roman law to worship, conduct business and personal affairs? And, can you give references? Some treat\u00a0the Romans\u00a0as bullies and dictators, and some Caesars were, but the Bible puts many in a good reference.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16966,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/would-the-gentiles-have-been-saved-if-the-jews-had-not-rejected-jesus\/","url_meta":{"origin":29639,"position":4},"title":"Would the Gentiles have been saved if the Jews had not rejected Jesus?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 6, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a question from one of my students. I know half the answer, but he did bring up an interesting question: if the Jews weren't provoked to jealousy and didn't reject God, would the Gentiles have received salvation? Even though from the prophets writing it was decided a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5347,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-god-knows-everything-then-why-did-jesus-marvel-at-the-centurions-faith\/","url_meta":{"origin":29639,"position":5},"title":"If God knows everything, then why did Jesus marvel at the centurion’s faith?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 16, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I would like to ask some questions, not about the ability or power of God, but I would like to know if God planned these things. Jesus marveled at the centurion's strong faith when the centurion pleaded with him to cure his servant by just a word in Matthew\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29639","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29639"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29639\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}