An Overview of Christian History by Felix Just, S.J., Ph.D.
[still under construction]
History of Israel & Judaism before Christianity:
In order to understand the beginnings of Christianity, one really must know some basics about the history of the Israelites and the Jews before the time of Jesus. One cannot understand the New Testament properly without knowing a whole series of biblical characters and events:
Ancestral Generations: Abraham, Sarah & Hagar, Isaac & Ishmael; Jacob/Israel; Twelve Sons of Jacob
Exodus Generation: Moses, Aaron, Miriam; Passover; Torah; Joshua & conquest of Holy Land; period of Judges
United Monarchy: Kings Saul, David, Solomon; conquest of Jerusalem; building of first (Solomon's) Temple
Divided Monarchies of Israel & Judah: N/S rivalries; destruction of Samaria; destruction of Jerusalem
Babylonian Exile: leaders exiled in Babylon; other Jews scattered elsewhere; compilation of Torah
Persian Era: Post-Exilic Restoration; Ezra, Nehemiah, the building of the Second Temple of Jerusalem
Hellenistic Era: Antiochus IV Epiphanes; desecration of Temple; Maccabean Revolt; Hasmonean dynasty
Roman Era: conquest by Pompeii; reign of King Herod the Great; rebuilding & expansion of Temple Mount
63 BCE - Roman army under General Pompey takes over much of Middle
East, incl. Israel (see HCSB, maps 12-13)
40-4 BCE - HEROD the Great; Roman Senate
names him "King" over Judea, Idumea, Perea, Samaria, Galilee
40-37 - Herod fights to gain sole control over Israel; defeats &
executes Antigonus II (who was high priest 40-37)
37-7 - Herod consolidates his power, executes scores of enemies, and begins massive
building/rebuilding projects, including cites with Roman temples (esp. Caesarea
Maritimae - huge artificial harbor; Sebaste - formerly Samaria), fortresses (Masada,
Herodium, Hyrcania, Machaerus, etc.), and esp. rebuilds/expands the Jerusalem
Temple
ca. 6-4 BCE - JESUS is born in Bethlehem, a small town in Judea, just before Herod dies (Matt 2); but he grows up in Nazareth, a small village in Galilee (so he's usually called "Jesus of Nazareth")
4 BCE - 66 CE- when Herod the Great dies, his kingdom
is divided between three surviving sons & one sister (HCSB 1862; see
also chart of Herodian Dynasty):
4 BCE - 6 CE - Herod Archelaus rules as "Ethnarch" of
Judea, Idumea, Samaria (Matt 2:22)
6-66 CE - Judea, Idumea, Samaria under direct rule of Roman Procurators (e.g.
Pontius Pilate), responsible to the Governors in Syria
4 BCE - 33 CE - Herod Philip rules as "Tetrarch" of regions North-East of
the Sea of Galilee (Mark 6:17)
4 BCE - 39 CE - Herod Antipas rules as "Tetrarch" of Galilee and Perea (Mark
6:14; Luke 23:6-12)
ca. 27-30 CE - preaching of John the Baptist and public ministry of
Jesus both take place mostly in Galilee and Perea ca. 29/30 CE - arrest, crucifixion & death of Jesus (maybe
as late as 33), while Pontius Pilate (26-36 CE) is Procurator of Judea
37-44 CE - Herod Agrippa I(a grandson of Herod the Great) allowed
by Romans to rule more of Palestine
ca. 41 - Herod executes James, the brother of John (sons of Zebedee),
and imprisons Peter (see Acts 12:1-5)
50-70's - Herod Agrippa IIrules parts of Palestine, esp. in Northeast;
Paul imprisoned in Caesarea (Acts 25-26)
50 (or 49) - "Council of Jerusalem"- early Christian leaders
meet; decide Gentile converts to Christianity do not have to become Jews
first (don't have follow Jewish ritual or purity laws, circumcision or sabbath
rest; see Acts 15)
49-54 - "all Jews" (incl. Jewish Christians) expelled from Rome by "Edict of Claudius" (until his death)
50's-60's - Christian preachers travel throughout Roman Empire; earliest
NT letters written by Paul 64 - Emperor Nero burns Rome and blames Christians; Peter & Paul both
martyred in Rome
66-74 CE - FIRST JEWISH
REVOLT against Rome; begins in Galilee and Jerusalem (recorded in Josephus'
Jewish War)
67-68 - Roman armies under General Vespasian retake Galilee, Samaria,
Perea, and most of Judea; also destroy Qumran
68-70 - pause in war because Emperor Nero dies; 3 transitional emperors; then Vespasian
himself becomes emperor
70 - Jerusalem captured by General Titus; whole city burned; destruction
of the Second Temple by the ROMANS; Gospel of Mark
probably written slightly before or just after the destruction of Jerusalem
73/74 - Roman conquest of last Jewish holdouts in the desert fortress of Masada,
overlooking the Dead Sea
74-132 CE - Romans rule Israel directly; Christians and Jews spread further outside
of Judea; other Gospels and Acts written
79 - catastrophic volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius (S. Italy);
cities of Pompey, Herculaneum, etc. totally buried
ca. 90 (or 85) - "Council of Jamnia" - leading Jewish rabbis
meet to consolidate Judaism; expel "heretics" from synagogues, probably including
those who believe Jesus is the Messiah; they also determine the "canon"
of the Hebrew Bible
90's - Christianity gradually separates from Judaism and emerges as independent
religion; local sporadic persecutions of Christians in Roman
Empire slowly increase, esp. in Asia Minor under Emperors Domitian and Trajan
ca. 110 - last NT books written;
Christian writings begin to be collected; Christianity continues growing
throughout the Mediterranean
132-135 CE - Second Jewish revolt, led by Bar Kochba, put down
by Emperor Hadrian; Jerusalem completely destroyed; all Jews banned from
Judea after 135; Jerusalem rebuilt as Roman city called Aelia Capitolina; Israel
renamed "Palestine"
ca. 250 - first empire-wide persecutions of Christians under Emperor
Decius; churches destroyed, books burned, leaders arrested
ca. 300 - worst empire-wide persecutions of Christians under Emperor Diocletian;
tries to eradicate Christianity
313 - "Edict of Milan"; Emperor Constantine I makes Christianity
a legally recognized religion; official imperial support allows Christians to build
large churches, produce large durable Bibles, obtain more converts, develop structures,
etc.
614 CE - Muslim Invasion leads to Islamic Rule of Palestine
and entire Middle East; only few Jews and Christians remain in Holy Land
1054 - "Great Schism" divides "Orthodox" Christians in the East (center in Constantinople) from "Catholic" Christians in the West (center in Rome).
1060's-1240's - Medieval Crusades; control of Jerusalem goes back and forth
several times between Moslems and Christians;
1517 - Martin Luther begins "Protestant Reformation," leading to division of Western Christianity into many churches & denominations
1962-1965 - The Second Vatican Council (a.k.a. Vatican II) renews the Catholic Church.
Abbreviations:
ca. = circa = "approximately"; cf. = confer = "see and compare";
BCE = "Before the Common Era" (same as BC = "Before Christ"); CE = "Common Era" (same as AD = Anno Domini = "The Year of Our Lord")
HCSB = charts and maps in back of HarperCollins Study Bible; NOAB = essays and timeline (pp. 507-533) in New Oxford Annotated Bible
See the MAPS in the back of most Study Bibles and other textbooks for historical and geographical contexts.
