2000 Year History of Christendom: The First Quarter 0-500 A.D.

2000 Year History of Christendom: The First Quarter 0-500 A.D. is the history of how Christianity became the largest, the most widespread and the most successful Religion in the world, as it is today. This series will cover the great and glorious 2000 year history of Christendom in 4 segments or quarters. This segment focuses on the first 500 years of the common history of all Christians together.

The First Hundred Years: Christ rises from the Dead.

The Apostles preach the Gospel everywhere. The Church rises, the Synagogue falls.

Summed up in a catchphrase, the History of the First Christian Century would be: "The Church rises, the Synagogue falls". Seen through a theological lens, we could say, "God elects His Church, reprobates the Synagogue". And we see then how the history of the 1st Century confirms the Truth of Christ's Word in the Gospel: "Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit." (Mat 21:43). As we scroll back through the pages of history, we see that this is what took place. He who knows the true history almost knows, or comes, to the True Faith. Because History is ultimately His Story, and His Imprint is all over it. The Historical Evidence for the Divine Origin of Christianity is strong.

The 3 best sources to trace this history are (1) the 4 Gospel Records, the best historical biographies in existence, confirmed by the blood of martyred eyewitnesses, and by the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ Himself, who maintained that He was the Son of God even to His own Holy Sacrificial Death, as the Apostles would later maintain it to their own. (2) the Book of Acts, which is sometimes called "The Fifth Gospel", or "The Gospel of the Holy Spirit", or "The Gospel of (the first part of) Church History", because it is the record of the Acts of some of Christ's Apostles, mostly St. Paul's, for most of their lives until nearly their deaths. This will be covered and elaborated upon in this series. And for further and later events, we will consult the (3) Ecclesiastical History of St. Eusebius, who brings us down to the time of the Emperor Constantine, and for reason of which St. Eusebius is rightly called "the Father of Church History".

The first third of the first century: (from 2 BC - 33 AD)

In retelling this history, it is absolutely key to fix dates that can be known with certainty. A great example of why this is so is the Gospel of Saint Luke. In chapter 3, the Evangelist tells us: "John the Baptist Prepares the Way: 3 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, 2 while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness." Just at a glance, we are amazed at how many historical markers that Luke the Evangelist - nay, Luke the Historian (as Sir William Ramsay credited him as being: "Luke is a historian of the first rank; not merely are his statements of fact trustworthy. …[He] should be placed along with the very greatest of historians." - provides us to date these events.

Today, any child with an internet connection can realize (1) the 15th Year of Tiberius Caesar is 29 A.D. - though of course this was not so easy to date in the ancient world - because he began to reign in 14 A.D. That is our first clue or marker. (2) the 2nd is the tenure of Pontius Pilate as governor of Judea, which we can now fix as between 26 A.D. and 36 A.D. which confirms Christ's Death took place by then.

The 2nd third of the first century: (from 34 A.D. to 67 A.D.)

This is the history marked by several great events, but in particular one: The magnificent conversion of Saint Paul on the Road to Damascus. Saint Paul would then begin a roughly 33 years of Evangelistic Ministry, or Christian Priesthood, almost like a 2nd Christ on Earth, i.e. as if Christ really and truly came to live in him, as he writes in Galatians: "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (Gal 2:20).

He wrote 13 Epistles and founded numerous Churches in this time in the Name of, and by the Authority, of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Church History records that, together with Saint Peter, he culminated his life in a Glorious Martyrdom, which he had prophesied of in 2 Timothy: "7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the Faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the Crown of Righteousness, which the Lord, the Righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing." (2 Tim 4:7-8). He finally won his Martyr's Crown by being martyred with St. Peter under the pagan Emperor Nero near where the Vatican stands today.

We will quote Church Historian Saint Eusebius on this and other parts of this important history, which should be required reading for Christians, particularly teachers of the Faith: "The Roman Tertullian is likewise a witness of this. He writes as follows: “Examine your records. There you will find that Nero was the first that persecuted this doctrine, particularly then when after subduing all the east, he exercised his cruelty against all at Rome. We glory in having such a man the leader in our punishment. For whoever knows him can understand that nothing was condemned by Nero unless it was something of great excellence.” Thus publicly announcing himself as the first among God’s chief enemies, he was led on to the slaughter of the apostles. It is, therefore, recorded that Paul was beheaded in Rome itself, and that Peter likewise was crucified under Nero. This account of Peter and Paul is substantiated by the fact that their names are preserved in the cemeteries of that place even to the present day. It is confirmed likewise by Caius, a member of the Church, who arose under Zephyrinus, bishop of Rome. He, in a published disputation with Proclus, the leader of the Phrygian heresy, speaks as follows concerning the places where the sacred corpses of the aforesaid apostles are laid: “But I can show the trophies of the apostles. For if you will go to the Vatican or to the Ostian way, you will find the trophies of those who laid the foundations of this church.” And that they both suffered martyrdom at the same time is stated by Dionysius, bishop of Corinth, in his epistle to the Romans, in the following words: “You have thus by such an admonition bound together the planting of Peter and of Paul at Rome and Corinth. For both of them planted and likewise taught us in our Corinth. And they taught together in like manner in Italy, and suffered martyrdom at the same time.”

The 3rd third of the first century: (from 67 A.D. to 100 A.D.)

"We name our children Peter and Paul, but our dogs Caesar and Nero". The Complete Triumph of Christendom over pagandom is encapsulated in these words. Nero might have thought by killing Saints Peter and Paul he had killed Christianity, as Caiphas, Judas, the Pharisees and the Jews thought they were rid of Jesus Christ and His Christianity after killing Him.

But they were entirely mistaken, and the history of the next 250-300 years after the Martyrdom of Saints Peter and Paul down to the Conversion of Emperor Constantine provides the reason as to why. We cover that next in this history. But first the pivotal year of 70 A.D.

The Pivotal Year of 70 A.D: The destruction of the Temple

In each of the 3 Synoptics, which we will see shortly had to have been written before 55 A.D., the destruction of Jerusalem is clearly foretold. St. John would have omitted it because it was too well known to be repeated. In each of the first three Gospels, the penalty or punishment of the destruction of the Temple is explained to be God's Wrath upon an unfaithful people i.e. it is because of their rejection of Him as Messiah, as King and God, as Lord and Savior, that Jerusalem, once a faithful bride, but now an unfaithful adulteress, deserved to be destroyed. “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” (Mat 24:2).

History bears complete testimony that these words of Our Lord Jesus Christ had their complete fulfilment. For, shortly afterward, so severe a punishment as could have come upon the Jews only for a very Great Crime of theirs, did in fact come upon them. And indeed it did not take even a generation, as 70 A.D. was less than 40 years after He spoke those words during His Ministry.

Josephus relates: "And truly, the very view itself was a melancholy thing; for those places which were adorned with trees and pleasant gardens, were now become desolate country every way, and its trees were all cut down. Nor could any foreigner that had formerly seen Judaea and the most beautiful suburbs of the city, and now saw it as a desert, but lament and mourn sadly at so great a change. For the war had laid all signs of beauty quite waste. Nor had anyone who had known the place before, had come on a sudden to it now, would he have known it again. But though he [a foreigner] were at the city itself, yet would he have inquired for it.