Pastor Ralph Posted January 6, 2012 Report Share Posted January 6, 2012 Q2. (Galatians 4:4) Why do you think it took so long to send the Messiah? What about the first century world made it fertile ground for the revelation of the Messiah and the spread of the gospel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissioned Posted February 17, 2012 Report Share Posted February 17, 2012 Q2. (Galatians 4:4) Why do you think it took so long to send the Messiah? It took so long to send the Messiah because God planned the right moment when He would arrive, at the fullness of time. What about the first century world made it fertile ground for the revelation of the Messiah and the spread of the gospel? Whe Christ did arrive the first century social, economic and governmental systems were correctly set to promulgate the gospel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IvoryEagle Posted February 18, 2012 Report Share Posted February 18, 2012 Q2. (Galatians 4:4) Why do you think it took so long to send the Messiah? What about the first century world made it fertile ground for the revelation of the Messiah and the spread of the gospel? The system of communications was in place. To get to the people with the "path of least resistance" was drastically enhanced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travis63 Posted February 18, 2012 Report Share Posted February 18, 2012 Why do you think it took so long to send the Messiah? It was according to prophecy, in Genesis it was prophesied that the children of Abraham would go into bondage in Egypt. Jeremiah and his contemporaries prophesied of the Hebrews going into bondage at the hands of Babylon. In Daniel it was prophesied not only of the four empires, not only of the Hebrews coming out of bondage but also of the arrival of the Messiah. During the fourth empire world reign, after about 490 years ( I can't specifically recall) it speaks the Messiah. This was prophesied by Daniel in chapter 9, there are many, many interpretations on chapter 9 of Daniel, nonetheless it speaks concerning the Messiah regardless how you slice it. Verse 27 is crucial, and I believe it speaks directly to this question. I also agree with Pastor Ralph, for the things he mentioned coincide: The time was right religiously - There was a great need for a refocus; The time was right culturally; The time was right commercially; and The time was right politically. What about the first century world made it fertile ground for the revelation of the Messiah and the spread of the gospel? The influence of the Holy Spirit. After being anointed, Christ began His ministry, He Himself said He came to set the captive free (Luke 4:18). The religious authority of the day were sharing and upholding the gospel from a misunderstood and misinterpreted perspective. The ground was fertile because the prophesy was coming to fruition, as Isaiah prophesied. First unto the Jews and then to the nations, whereby all that came would become children of the Most High. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haar Posted February 18, 2012 Report Share Posted February 18, 2012 Q2. (Galatians 4:4) Why do you think it took so long to send the Messiah? What about the first century world made it fertile ground for the revelation of the Messiah and the spread of the gospel? God took so long to send the Messiah because He was waiting for the rght time to come. The first century world was that right time because it was a fetile ground for the revelation of the Messiah and the spread of the gospel because it was religiously, politically, culturally and economically ripe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janissi Posted February 19, 2012 Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 (Galatians 4:4) Why do you think it took so long to send the Messiah? God's timing had to be just right. What about the first century world made it fertile ground for the revelation of the Messiah and the spread of the gospel? The roads were set up for easier travel. There was a common language spoken (Greek) so communication was much easier. There had also been a common law that was put into place. It was safer to travel as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen Posted February 19, 2012 Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 Q2. (Galatians 4:4) Why do you think it took so long to send the Messiah? What about the first century world made it fertile ground for the revelation of the Messiah and the spread of the gospel? I am curious about the phrase "took so long" to send the Messiah. I think that is our perspective and not God's. In the fullness of time was when the time was ripe. God's timing is always right. I sometimes would like things to happen faster however that is just me, not God. When I look back I see how wonderfully God worked in me and for me when I didn't know. I just marvel at how He used the most pagan nations to get some of the conditions right in our hearts and religiously, culturally, commercially and politically. What a mighty God we serve! God Bless! Jen Romans 15:13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PriscillaM Posted February 19, 2012 Report Share Posted February 19, 2012 (Galatians 4:4) Why do you think it took so long to send the Messiah? God chose the right time to send the Messiah. He came at God's chose time not our time. Which appears long to man. What about the first century world made it fertile ground for the revelation of the Messiah and the spread of the gospel? 1. The time was right religiously. The Old Testament canon had been completed, the synagogue system had developed to the point that it functioned as a school, a court, and for worship. In Israel at the time there was also a fervent expectation of the Messiah's coming. 2. The time was right culturally. There was now a common language (koin? Greek) spoken throughout the known world and a common Greek culture was widespread. 3. The time was right commercially. The Roman system of roads connected the empire, making it easy for the gospel to spread from city to city and from country to country. 4. The time was right politically. Rome had instituted a common system of law that resulted in the Pax Romana (the Roman peace) There was very little armed conflict, and the roads were safer. This made travel from one country to another much easier and safer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delivered Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 Q2. (Galatians 4:4) Why do you think it took so long to send the Messiah? God does all things in His appointed times. The "FEASTS" given to Israel are God's appointed times. The Son was sent in the fullness of time and the Lamb was given in God's appointed time, the "Feast of Passover", the Holy Spirit was given in God's appointed time "Feast of Pentecost" - so that the world might have life eternal and would know THE ONLY TRUE GOD, the God of Israel, and Yeshua the Messiah. (John 17:3) And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. We of FAITH are still watching and anxiously waiting for God's appointed time to come, when the Messiah, King of the Jews will come and take His rightful seat on the throne of David, the world is in great need of the "Prince of Peace" to come. Next year in Jerusalem? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charisbarak Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 It was totally in God's timing, fulfilling scripture. In the religious community there was a strong expectation of the coming of Messiah. There were good roads for travel and common laws to protect travelers. And, there was a common language. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
courageous1 Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 Question 2-1 asks why do I think it took so long. As we all may have experiended, God has his own timing on things. Clearly, many things needed to occur before HE felt the world was ready. I wouldn't necessarily call it long. It was just right. 2-2 The first century had many things in place that made spreading the gospel safe and easier. The conditions of roads were safer, there was a common language, it was the 'new testment age' (meaning the old testment was known and in place), and the time period itself was a more peaceful time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raph Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 Q2. (Galatians 4:4) Why do you think it took so long to send the Messiah? It took so long to send the Mesiah because the right time had not come. What about the first century world made it fertile ground for the revelation of the Messiah and the spread of the gospel? The first century world was made it fertile ground for the revelation of the Messiah and the spread of the gospel by enabling religious, commercial, cutural and political factors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanMary Posted February 21, 2012 Report Share Posted February 21, 2012 Q2. (Galatians 4:4) Why do you think it took so long to send the Messiah? God is never in a hurry! He is all wise, all knowing and the Master Architect of the Universe! There had been 400 years of silence since the last prophet had spoken God's Words.....a pregnant silence! The silence created an expectancy of hearing from God once again. Great question, Pastor Ralph! It caused me to think of how the star which led the wise men had to be created and put into the perfect orbit at creation to be ready and in the right place and the right time for them to see it and to understand that it was prophetic for that very season and be willing to follow. He had to wait until the young virgin Mary was old enough to carry a child and for Joseph to fall in love with her enough to stand by her side through the humiliation of her situation, and for them both to be from the prophesied lineage.....for Caesar to get the idea to force a tax and census upon the people which would take Joseph and Mary to the prophesied Bethlehem at the exact time for the days of her pregnancy to be accomplished so that Jesus would be born there according to His Word. For Elizabeth to conceive miraculously in her old age to give birth to John the Baptist, Jesus' cousin who would be inclined to proclaim and prepare the way for Messiah. Herod the evil king had to be on the throne who in his jealousy would fulfill the prophecy of killing all male children under 2 in Bethlehem, which removed any possibility of another born in that village who could try to be an imposter. There were dozens of prophecies to be fulfilled to the letter....so it was the perfect time, and on the exact day that God ordained Jesus to be born, before the foundations of the world when He knew Adam would fall and we'd need a Savior to purchase us back from Satan, with His sinless shed blood. What about the first century world made it fertile ground for the revelation of the Messiah and the spread of the gospel? One good reason was that the Roman Empire had spread throughout the known world and they had built an amazing network of good roads for those who would carry the Gospel to travel on. I'm sure Alexander the Great and others had no clue why they were stirred up to build such fabulous roads! The Jews were under bondage to the Romans and were crying out for deliverance, just as they had done when they were enslaved by the Egyptians. They were expectant and looking for a deliverer to come.....just as we are looking for Him to come again! "Even so, come Lord Jesus!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lion of Grace Posted February 21, 2012 Report Share Posted February 21, 2012 Q2. (Galatians 4:4) Why do you think it took so long to send the Messiah? What about the first century world made it fertile ground for the revelation of the Messiah and the spread of the gospel? The coming of the Messiah was at exactly the right time according to God's plan and purposes. The first century world was the fertile time for the coming of Jesus and for the spread of the gospel because: The time was right religiously. The old testament canon was complete. The time was right culturally:There was a common language and a common greek culture. The time was right culturally: There was a system of roads connecting the empire making it easy to spread the Gospel. The time was right politically: Rome had a common system of law and enforce it through out the empire. There was little armed conflict and roads were safer. These conditions did not exist before this time and not always afterwards either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marloes Posted February 21, 2012 Report Share Posted February 21, 2012 religion: the synagogue-system developed in that way the apostels were able to speak there, and the OT was complete culture: a common Greek language politics: Pax Romana, Christians were thrown out of Rome and other places so the gospel could spread, Paul had the change to have court in Rome so he could spread the word there too economics: good roads so the apostels could travel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highohfaith Posted February 22, 2012 Report Share Posted February 22, 2012 God had tried since the beginning of time to make His people righteous, but they continually rebelled against Him. They continually disappointed Him. He destroyed the world once with the great flood in which He saved Noah, his family and a pair of all the species of animals on earth. As soon as Noah came off the ark, he brought sin back into the world. By getting drunk and exposing himself naked to his daughters while sleeping thus inviting sin back into the world again. The one man God had considered righteous among all of mankind had sinned against God. This broke God's heart. God promised ( made a covenant, sealed with a rainbow) that He would never again destroy the world by flood. God tried in many ways to make His people obey. He wanted them to be joyful and obedient, faithful and loving to each other but this was against the nature of mankind, since Adam invited sin into the world.God invented the law as a tutor, guidance, a way to teach man in His ways, but that too, they distorted. God had a plan for a very long time to save His people once and for all, because He loved His people.He was our creator. He did not want to see us perish in the fires of hell from our sinful nature. The coming of the savior was prophesied many times in the Old Testament. God's plan was made evident. It was also made evident that the savior would come in all His fullness at God's chosen discretion. All the 'conditions' as prophesied by the Old Testament prophets had to be in 'place' for the birth of Jesus. God's time is not our time. God would send a savior. His seed to atone for the sins of all of mankind. He would provide a way for redemption, through His beloved son. He was waiting for just the right time to send the Messiah. At the time of the coming of the Messiah there were many factors present: The time was right religiously, The Old Testament canon had be completed. The religious "climate" was right. The people were eagerly awaiting the Messiah. Culturally is was the right time..cultures were 'blending' and Greek was being spoke throughout the world. Commercially-roads and other means of transportation was making traveling from one place to another ( to spread the word ) much easier. Politically,there was much more of a peaceful Roman army in existence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hanks Posted February 22, 2012 Report Share Posted February 22, 2012 Q2. (Galatians 4:4) Why do you think it took so long to send the Messiah? What about the first century world made it fertile ground for the revelation of the Messiah and the spread of the gospel? Our Heavenly Father chose the perfect time for the coming of His Son to make possible the transition from bondage under Law to spiritual sonship. From a historical perspective the conditions in the Roman Empire itself were right. The system of roads connected city with city, and all cities ultimately with Rome. Roman laws protected the rights of citizens, and Roman soldiers guarded the peace. At the same time koinē Greek was the common language. All of these conditions helped in the spread the gospel fairly quickly throughout the known world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosegarden Posted February 24, 2012 Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 Q2. (Galatians 4:4) Why do you think it took so long to send the Messiah? What about the first century world made it fertile ground for the revelation of the Messiah and the spread of the gospel? 2.a. God waited until the time was right to send forth His son into the world to redeem mankind. b. God arranged the time perfectly. The time was right religiously - at this time there was an expectation of the Messiah coming, The time was right culturally - there was a common language and the Greek culture was now widespread. The time was right commercially - The Roman systems of roads now connected the empire and makling it easier for the Gospel to be spread. The time was right politically - Rome had instituted a law that resulted in the Roman peace and it was enforced across the empire, there was little armed conflict, the roads were safer and travel from one country was easier and safer;. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blezed Posted February 25, 2012 Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 Why do you think it took so long to send the Messiah? It took a long time to send the Messiah because of God's plan. He had been planning this for a long time and when the right time came, God sent His Son. What about the first century world made it fertile ground for the revelation of the Messiah and the spread of the gospel? 1. The time was right religiously. 2. The time was right culturally. 3. The time was right commercially. 4. The time was right politically. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Jerry Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 I think that it took so long to send the Messiah because God was letting everything develop is a way that only He could. Only God knew that the time was perfect to send his Son. The first century would was made fertile ground for the revelation of the messiah and the spread of the gospel. It is just like God is waiting for the right time to send Jesus back to claim the world. The timing is going to be perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RodR Posted March 1, 2012 Report Share Posted March 1, 2012 Paul says the Messiah came, “in the fullness of time…” The Message version of the Bible puts it this way, “when the time arrived that was set by God the Father…” It took just the right amount of time on God’s calendar. He had been planning for Jesus to come since creation and He knew when the world’s conditions would be right to reveal the Messiah and spread the gospel. The first century world was the right time because it was religiously, politically, culturally and economically prepared to receive God’s Son. But mostly, it was right because God had prepared the first century world for the Messiah. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cocoa Posted March 3, 2012 Report Share Posted March 3, 2012 I echo the answer of my mother when I used to ask "Why?"; her response was "Ask God when you get to heaven". For me that meant, and it still does, that God has the ultimate answer and my mum's answer would only be supposition. However, I would like to "copy and paste" the answers of JanMary and Travis63. Thanks! As for the first century? Well, Pastor Ralph, you've got it covered. The world was "prepared". John the Baptist declared "Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight." John the Baptist was declaring "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done!". I think it is interesting that God even chose the timing of John the Baptist to aid in creation, through Godly Words, the "King" dom come! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tammie7 Posted March 4, 2012 Report Share Posted March 4, 2012 It took some long because,the condition had to be right for the messiah to come. With the first century the timing will be right for Jesus to come back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eudora Posted March 11, 2012 Report Share Posted March 11, 2012 Why do you think it took so long to send the Messiah? Galatians 4:1-45 ¶ Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. Before we were called or chosen into the knowledge of truth, we all served the god of this world. Through the Messiah, we have all, Jews and Gentile alike been joined together into a single people of God. The elements of the universe are under a certain limited power by the god of this world. People are lead astray by the demonic spirits and even legalism is governed by the powers of the let’s say... the underworld. Paul discusses this or at least hints at this in the passage below to the folks in Ephesus. Ephesians 2:1-3 ¶ And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. We can all rest assured, this limited ability will one day run out. God sent forth His Son speaks of a pre-existence of God who sends His own form to the woman Mary who gave birth to the form of God in the flesh. This is what Paul is talking about when he mentions that He (the Son) was born of a woman (Mary) which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh. This and the little snippet from Romans 1:3 that I mentioned is all Paul mentions in any of his letters about the miracle birth that came upon Mary. Even though Yahushua was a heir and Lord of all, while He was a child, He was under those who tutored Him until God appointed that the time would come when He would begin His ministry and joyfully and willingly give His life to reconcile us back to the Father. Yahushua was born into a culture during the time when legalistic perversion of the law was in full swing. It was a normal occurrence then just like it is to this day. Being under law is not a phrase that most folks really understand. ‘Under law’ is a technical term that means being subject to the system which results from perversion of the law into the legalism of it. The law of God had been so far perverted that folks could hardly do anything with out running into some extra added teaching by those who thought they knew what they were doing, when in all reality they themselves were being taught and led astray by the spirit of the god of this world. An article that really helped me understand why all this junk is happening on our planet became easier for me to understand once I read an article called ‘War in Heaven’. This is a really interesting article if you have time to read it. Here is the link: http://glowonline.org/tract/war-in-heaven/ A paragraph that I find very interesting from this article is : With this insight we can better understand why earth and the human heart so often experience unrest. Satan today is a hater of the law of God, which is the foundation of God’s government. God is seeking subjects for His kingdom, but they must be willing to abide by the laws of Heaven. The same is true for any government. I had never really thought about the law being the foundation of God’s government. I had always thought of it as boundaries to live in a communal setting which is basically the same thing, but I attributed it to living here on earth now and not living in the kingdom although I knew that His law would remain even in His kingdom. I think that the culture that believes that the law is done away with is an inner way of saying, “I will live my own life the way I see fit an call it grace instead of living the way that God demands.” Jesus was not subject to the oppression of the laws sense of subjection. Jesus willingly submitted to God’s will that he be born a Jew in a Jewish society where legalism was wide spread. Paul understood this because he too grew up in this life of lies and deception just like we all have. But for yahushua, He grew up in all this mess so that He might redeem those who are in subjection to legalism. We thank God that He did. If He had not been born into all this mess how could He possibly understand what we have to go through to be re-programmed by the truth. He had to grow up in the circumstances that all Jews were by this time in order to redeem humanity who have been legally bound by a covenant to obey the Torah (Exodus 24:7) and yet at the same time be in a culture where that same law was perverted into a legalistic system. So you wee the dilemma here. In order to enable them and us, Jew and Gentile, to be made God’s son’s, Jesus had to be born into that culture at that time. Paul seems kind of empathetic here to these folks and their dilemma but he has to remind them of the circumstances from where they have come from and where they are being sucked back into, so that they are completely aware of the falsity of it all. What about the first century world made it fertile ground for the revelation of the Messiah and the spread of the gospel? The prophets had spoken so much of Him and the people were awaiting Him. They just failed to recognize Him which boggles my mind at times and I ask the question... Will we do the same when He returns? For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Seems like an apparent warning that this is possible huh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda bass Posted March 24, 2012 Report Share Posted March 24, 2012 The reason God may have waited so long to send the Messiah was that He was waiting for the right time to do so. Several areas about the 1st century world probably made it a fertile ground for the revelation of the Messiah and the spreading of the gospel. 1]The time was right religiously-the OT canon had been completed.plus there was anticipation of Messiah's coming. 2]The time was right culturally-a common Greek language was spoken throughout the known world and a common Greek culture was widespread. 3]The time was right commercially-Rome's system of roads connected the empire. This made it easy for the spreading of the gospel. 4]The time was right politically-it was the time of the Pax Romana or Roman peace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.