"The Fulness Of The Time"
As readers of this journal know, the editor is now engaged in an intense teaching program with the Park Hill church in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Something over one hundred individuals are now taking one or more of the classes in Personal Evangelism, Christian Evidences, Church History, Teacher Training, and Conduct of Public Worship. Believing these matters to be of general interest, and in the hope that many other congregations may be encouraged to enlarge their teaching programs, we expect to share with our readers from time to time some of the lessons we cover in these classes. For instance, one of our early lessons in "Church History" had as its subject, "Preparations for Christianity," and for its Biblical text Galatians 4:4: "But when the fulness of the time came, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law."
God, of course, in his own infinite wisdom had determined the proper time for his Son to enter upon the stage of human action. But we, looking at the event with limited vision and imperfect understanding, can still recognize some highly significant factors in the world picture of that day which made the time ripe for the advent of the Savior.
Heathenism
Heathenism had without conscious design, of course, made tremendous preparation for the coming of Christ. This had been done in two ways, physically and intellectually. Physically, the Roman nation had become dominant in the civilized world, and the bitter tribal and national wars had subsided. While there would continue to be rebellions against Rome which would have to be put down (as, for instance, the Jewish rebellion), the world had come to a general state of tranquility which it had never known before in recorded history. What is known in history as "Pax Romana" (the Roman Peace) now made travel and commerce between nations far easier than it had ever been before. There were still highwaymen, and many well organized bands of cut-throats and thieves in operation throughout the world, but they did not offer the insuperable barriers to travel and communications which had prevailed before the Roman state became dominant. The magnificent military roads (some of them still in use) which the Romans built made travel relatively easy; the great increase in the commercial shipping on the Mediterranean provided passage to any area in a very short time.
Add to this the fact that the Greek Language had now become familiar to the civilized world, and that, furthermore, this language had a precision and accuracy about it that no language, before or since, has equaled, and we see once again that "the time was full" — the world physically was ready for a divine revelation of truth.
Heathenism had made two great contributions intellectually to the birth of Christianity: (1) it had demonstrated the absolute bankruptcy of philosophy to bring salvation, and (2) had begun to have serious doubts as to the pagan religion to bring the desired end. Greek philosophy was the sublimest attempt ever made by unaided human reason to understand and explain the mystery of man and of God. It reached its zenith in Socrates (399 B. C.), Plato (348 B. C.), and Aristotle (322 B. C.). Then began the decline as seen in Epicurus (271 B. C.) father of Epicureanism, Zeno (260 B. C.) father of the Stoic system, and Arcecesilas (241 B. C.) whose contribution was Skepticism. Thus human wisdom and human reasoning had come to a dead end — absolute bankruptcy.
In like manner the pagan religions were losing their hold on the hearts and minds of men. As men grew skeptical of the gods, they were hungering with vague, uneasy, scarcely articulate longings for something to fill the vacuum in their lives. There was a general air of "expectancy" pervading the whole heathen world at the time of Christ's birth — a waiting, a longing, an anticipation of something about to happen.
Judaism
It Would Be Impossible To Set Forth All The Factors In Judaism Which Contributed To "The Fulness Of The Time;" But Certainly Among The Most Important Would Be (1) The Solidifying Of Their Faith In An Absolute Monotheism, (2) The Dispersion, And (3) The Rise Of The Synagogues. All Three Of These Factors Weighed Heavily In The Rapid Spread Of The Gospel; The Absence Of Any One Of Then Would Have Hindered And Handicapped The Evangelism Of Those Early Years.
For fifteen hundred years, as we all understand, God had been preparing the Jewish nation for the advent of Messiah. But in spite of all the teachings and warnings of prophets, the severe judgments of God, and the constant reminders of priests, and sacrifices, Israel never overcame her weakness for idolatry until the Babylonian captivity. It was here in this crucible of suffering and loneliness that the Jews finally and forever turned their backs on polytheism and came to an unaltering and unalterable acceptance of the one true God. Never again does the nation waver on that point.
When Ezra, Nehemiah, and Zerubbabel brought their brethren back from Babylon a rich and influential part of the community remained behind. Also no doubt the descendants of those Jews who had fled to Egypt in the days of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 41:17) still existed in that country. This marked the beginning of the Diaspora — the dispersion. These Jews of the dispersion gradually spread all over the civilized world. On the whole they were richer, more cultured, and far broader in outlook and understanding than were the Hebrews (the Jews who continued to reside in Palestine). Wherever the Lord's disciples might take his message, into any part of the civilized world, they were bound to find colonies of Jews — people who were utterly dedicated in their monotheism, who had a fine knowledge of the Old Testament, and who (except for the hardening that befell them) could have become a tremendously powerful and effective corps of "shock-troops" to introduce Christianity to the world.
Not to be overlooked in this summary are the synagogues. Corresponding in many ways to our modern church institutions, the synagogues were a development of the Babylonian captivity. Being separated from their native land, and prohibited from going to Jerusalem to worship, the Jews in Babylon developed the "synagogue" as a teaching facility rather than a worshipping arrangement. In any community in the world, no matter how distant from Jerusalem, nor how poor their purse, where, ten Jewish families resided one could expect to find a synagogue. This synagogue was ordinarily open to any pious Jew of any sect or party (be he Pharisee, Sadducee, Zealot, or Christian) to set forth whatever he might have to say which would be helpful. Hence, we find Christ going about in all Galilee, "teaching in their synagogues" (Matt. 4:23), Paul repeatedly going into the synagogues to "reason" and to "persuade" (Salamis, Antioch of Pisidia, Iconium, Thessalonica, Berea, Corinth, Ephesus, and no doubt many other places), and it seems certain that in the early years of the church the Jewish synagogues afforded the first and most favorable opportunity in any town for the disciples to find an audience.
These are but a few of a great many factors, political, economic, religious, and philosophical which converged on that first century to make the time propitious for the birth of Christianity. It was indeed "the fulness of the time." Under God's guiding hand the world had been brought to readiness. The "mystery" of God's eternal purpose could now be revealed to the children of men.
F. Y. T.