In the Fullness of Time – Part 1

(Galatians 4:4-7)

Understanding the Book of Acts through a First Century

AD “Lens”

The Fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC

The Babylonian Exile

The Jewish Diaspora

The Persians and the Edict of Cyrus

The Restoration Jewish Community and Its Leaders

The End of the Old Testament

• What is our Ultimate Destination? What do we do now?• A Strong Messianic Expectation (Psalm 2). What happened

to Zerubbabel?• The Book of Chronicles: A Message to the Restoration

Jewish Community

Terminologies for Our Study• 586-539 BC: The Exilic Period• 539-333 BC: The Post Exilic Period / The Persian

Period / The Restoration Period / The Return to Zion• 332-63 BC: The Hellenistic Period, including the

Hasmonean Period of ca. 140-63 BC• 63 BC-AD 330: The Roman Period• ca. 400 BC-ca. 4 BC: The Inter-Testamental Period

(the 400 “silent years”)• ca. 4 BC-ca. AD 90: The New Testament Period• 539 BC-AD 70: The Second Temple Period / The

Second Commonwealth (both in Jewish Terminology)

The Birth of Judaism and the Origin of the Synagogue

• beth ha’am: “The House of the People” (Jeremiah 39:8) hints at activity during the reign of Josiah or earlier, during the brutal reign of Manasseh (2 Kings 21:16)

• beth midrash: “House of (Bible) Study or Learning” (literally “to seek”)

• Synagogues were certainly in use during the Exile as a beth haknesset or “House of Assembly” (a Jewish Community Center)

• The Synagogue is a Jewish prototype for the Christian Church and provided a pre existing public platform and aid in Jewish (and Gentile) evangelism for Paul and the other Apostles

Gamla: A First Century AD Synagogue

The Samaritans

The Arrival of Hellenism

• A Pantheon of Deities• The Gymnasium• A Cultural and Religious Threat to

Judaism• Koine (Common) Greek: The

International Trade Language• The Septuagint (LXX) translation of

the OT (ca. 250-200 BC in Alexandria, Egypt)