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jpn
Guest
Why was the fullness of time, a little over 2000 years ago, the fullness of time? Do we know specifically why the incarnation happened at this point in time, say versus 500 hundred years later?
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IrishRush
Guest
**Isa 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. **
I’d say only God knows why He chose that time.
I’d say only God knows why He chose that time.
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Joe_Kelley
Guest
At that point the prophets had completed their work of preparing Israel to receive the Messiah and His message.
At the same time He had brought the Roman Empire to the point that it had a transportation and communication system which facilitated the spread of the New Way.
At the same time He had brought the Roman Empire to the point that it had a transportation and communication system which facilitated the spread of the New Way.
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puzzleannie
Guest
I think it is in the Christmas proclamation, which when describing what this moment of time in human history meant to various civiliations, ends with “the whole world being at peace” (which the known world was under Caesar Augustus), The Jewish people had been prepared for the coming of Christ, and John the Baptist, the last prophet, was on hand to proclaim it at the proper time.
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bmullins
Guest
I think looking at it in the context of the phrase is important. Fullness of time in Greek is
plērōma tou chronou
πλήρωμα τοῦ χρόνου
fullness of the time
This seems to indicate more of a sense of ‘the right time had come’ or ‘the appropriate time’ had come. In other words, at the time that God chose for it to happen. I find it helpful to think of the phrase in the light of an hour glass. As an hour glass fills up, it is counting time to an event, most of the time for the passage of a certain amount of time. The fullness of time in Galatians 4:4 indicates that the hour glass had filled itself up to the mark that God had appointed, and that it was at the designated time that He chose for it to happen.
plērōma tou chronou
πλήρωμα τοῦ χρόνου
fullness of the time
This seems to indicate more of a sense of ‘the right time had come’ or ‘the appropriate time’ had come. In other words, at the time that God chose for it to happen. I find it helpful to think of the phrase in the light of an hour glass. As an hour glass fills up, it is counting time to an event, most of the time for the passage of a certain amount of time. The fullness of time in Galatians 4:4 indicates that the hour glass had filled itself up to the mark that God had appointed, and that it was at the designated time that He chose for it to happen.
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fhansen
Guest
Yes, the Roman empire’s far reach facilitated the spread of the gospel and eventually the solidification of the Church. Humankind had reached a point where Greek philosophy had reasoned its way to a deity of order independent of religion which confirmed and correlated well with the Christian God, and the influence of Hellenization was very widespread in the Roman Empire. The Jews had centuries of struggling to fulfill the law, to finally arrive at a point where, according to Christianity, at least, we could realize that the Law couldn’t justify anyone; it had done it’s job serving as a teacher. Mankind was ready for a New Covenant-just barely.
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Joe_Kelley
Guest
I often find that God has a higher estimate of how ready I am than I do.
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jpn
Guest
Wow! to all who replied - that’s what led me to join.
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Julia_Mae
Guest
And, the Jews were about to be forcibly scattered, including the Christian ones, the Apostles, heart of the Church, to carry that message with them. And, there was a language of the empire and a fairly widespread literacy, so that His Gospel could be written and disseminated. And those documents and the Traditions would be so numerous and widespread that it would be impossible to destroy them all. (I’m thinking of the tragedy of the loss of the library at Alexandria.)
I’m glad this thread was started, it’s such an uplifting thing to think about.
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jpn
Guest
I’m new at this, so I don’t know exactly what a “thread” is, but I do have another question that has to do with “timing”. I understand that God does not want us to know the exact day and hour of Christ’s Second Coming, and I understand that this lack of knowing the exact timing is for our own good, but why did Christ (i.e. God) say that only the Father knows? - this apparently has to do with understanding Christ’s humanity vs. Christ God, because God knows, and therefore Christ knows the timing. This, I think, is probably the answer, and I feel naïve asking the question, but is there another explanation?
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