Christ and His Church: An Overview of the History of Christianity

By Frank Lanza

BACK TO THE FUTURE!
 
Hope for tomorrow from the church's yesterdays
 
 
It has been said that history repeats itself because no one is listening. But the truth is that history repeats itself because through it God is speaking, for those who want to hear.
 
This book will help those tuning their ears to His voice to trace it through almost two thousand years of church history.
 
From the Roman Empire and the Crusades to the Reformation and the rise of Islam, Frank Lanza shows how despite persecution from without and struggles within, the church has survived because it is part of “a grand divine plan.”
 
This brisk history reveals the ways in which God has protected and shepherded His church so that it can stand victorious against an ultimate challenge to His reign.
 
You will find renewed hope for tomorrow from a clearer view of God's ways in the past.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Creation House
• Release date: Aug 5, 2014
• ISBN: 9781621367581

Book preview

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Chapter 1

THE FIRST CENTURY: ROME AND JERUSALEM

GEOPOLITICAL INTERACTIONS BETWEEN Rome and Judea in the first century, and their historical effect, bear similarity to events occurring today. The Middle East was then, as it remains today, a critical land bridge connecting Europe, Africa, and Asia. It connected Rome’s European empire with its African counter-part and stood squarely astride three major trading routes: the Silk Road, the Via Maris, and the Trans-Saharan trade routes. The world’s commerce moved through the Middle East; control of that region resulted in control over a large part of that commerce. Rome dominated the Western world. Its major enemy, Parthia, stood opposite in central Asia. The Middle East remains astride a major trade route today: the Suez Canal, which joins Asian and Indian oceanic trade with that of the Mediterranean and Atlantic. The Middle East also serves as a connection between Eastern and Western culture. Finally, our modern economy is dominated by a dependence on fossil fuels, of which the Middle East is a principle supplier. In Roman times Egypt possessed a similar and equally valuable commodity: grain. It should come as little surprise, then, that the Middle East continues to exercise a significant influence over world events today as it did two millennia ago.

The history of the first century cannot be placed into context, however, without knowledge of the events in the preceding centuries. Under Kings David and then Solomon, Israel was a powerful Jewish state. After Solomon’s death circa 924 BC, the kingdom divided into two smaller states, Israel in the north and Judah in the south. The Assyrians conquered Israel in the north in 722 BC; the southern state, Judea, did not fall to the Babylonians until 586 BC. Those kingdoms, in turn, were defeated by the Medes and Persians and became part of the greater Persian Empire. The Persians, in their turn, were conquered by Alexander the Great in 330 BC.

The conquest of Persia, encompassing most of the Middle East as we know it today, was probably the single most important event in the history of Israel between the death of Solomon and the birth of Jesus. Alexander the Great spread Greek language, culture, and philosophy throughout the region, and established numerous cities. Greek culture was prevalent everywhere, and Greek was the official spoken and written language of the Middle East at the time of Jesus. Yet despite Alexander’s hellenization of the region, many Jews retained their Hebrew language and customs.

Alexander died at age thirty-three and his empire was divided between four of his generals. The area which we know today as Palestine was allotted to Seleucus, later known as the King of Asia, who established the Seleucid dynasty. It was Antiochus IV Epiphanes, his fourth generation great-grandson, who defiled the temple, causing the abomination of desolation. While trying to suppress Jewish religion and customs, he erected a statue of Zeus in the temple. Antiochus’s efforts resulted in the Maccabean revolt in 167 BC and the subsequent period of Jewish self-rule in Palestine until Roman conquest by Pompey in 63 BC. The conquest of Jerusalem brought an end to the independent Jewish nation, which became a tributary of Rome.

In 37 BC, Rome made Herod, an Idumenian, king of Judea. Sometimes known as Herod the Great, he ruled until his death in 4 BC. This generally accepted historical date coupled with biblical accounts, such as the story of the wise men, Herod’s plot, and the flight into Egypt, fix Jesus’s time of birth to approximately early in 4 BC or late 5 BC.

Augustus was emperor in Rome at that time and it was he who ordered the census of the Roman Empire, which sent Joseph and his family to Bethlehem and later to Egypt. The subsequent death of Herod was, therefore, propitious. Joseph’s choice of returning from Egypt to Nazareth is interesting. Augustus had divided the land among Herod’s sons: Judea to Herod Archelaus, Idumea to Herod Philip, and Galilee to Herod Antipas. The Jews hated Herod Archelaus because he was a non-Jew from Idumea, a tyrant, and a hellenizer. Joseph, therefore, felt that it would be safer for his family to go to Galilee, which was under the rule of a far milder and more tolerant Herod Antipas. Nothing else was heard about Jesus until He is taken to the temple at age twelve by His parents and there He gives a strong indication of His knowledge and intelligence. Where was He the rest of the time until the beginning of His public life? Stories abound that He appeared in India, China, and Africa, but there is an interesting verse in the Gospel of John that gives us a clue: and the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel (Luke 1:80). Of course, He could have been in other deserts in other lands, but given the circumstances of life and travel in the first century this would be highly improbable.

The rule of Herod Archelaus in Judea was cruel and oppressive, so much so that in a rare show of unity both the Jews and the Samaritans sent a delegation to Rome to petition for his removal. Surprisingly, Augustus agreed. Herod Archelaus was deposed and sent into exile in Gaul. Why did the emperor of the most powerful nation in the world agree to remove the man he himself had appointed only two years previously?

As already noted, Judah was extremely important strategically. In 53 BC, a large Roman army (seven legions) led by Crassus was destroyed by the Parthians at the Battle of Carrhae. The Parthians at that time occupied much of modern Iran, Iraq, and Jordan. In 40 BC, the Parthians invaded Judea and captured Jerusalem. Herod the Great went to Rome for help and in 37 BC, with the assistance of two Roman legions, drove the Parthians out. Herod then became king of Judea until his death in 4 BC.

Parthia was a major threat to Rome in the first century, primarily because it stood opposite the strategically critical