All Things Christmas by E. G. Lewis

so that the Apostles could disperse this new faith , which would come to be called Christianity , throughout the world. How and why did He choose that particular moment in history?
    A Moment in Time
    The phrase the fullness of time is ripe with expectancy…waiting…longing. It brings to mind a convict in his cell leaning against the barred window and wistfully watching the sun set. Another day is done, one less day to be served. Perhaps that was what Paul had in mind when he penned those words. A captive world bound and chained by sin anxiously awaiting its promised Redeemer. Clearly this is how the Jews felt as they struggled und er the thumb of Rome and Herod.
    Though most people ascribe the Book of Daniel to the period of the Babylonian Exile (586-536 BC), there are some who would have us believe it to be much newer than that. They say it was composed during the Maccabean period, more precisely in the time of Antiochus IV, Epiphanes (175-164 BC). However, the date of the Book of Daniel is not relevant to this discussion. We know that Jesus made a specific reference to a passage from Daniel in Matthew 24:15 when he said, “So when you see the desolating sacrilege spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place…” This validates both the Book and its existence in the First Century.
    We also know that apocalyptic literature of all kinds was very popular during that period of time. As much as anything it was probably a backlash to high taxes and oppressive rulers. The Messianic hope reached a fever pitch in the early 1st Century. Several sections of the Book of Daniel contain Messianic predictions. The primary one being the prophecy of the seventy weeks found in Daniel 9:2 4-27.
    Deciphering Daniel’s Prophecy
    Like all prophetic writings, as specific as it sounds, the prophecy of the seventy weeks still required interpretation. When did one begin counting the weeks? What was to occur when this period of time had elapsed? Some would say it would mark the arrival of the Messiah, but in what form? Would that be the date of his birth, the beginning of his ministry/revolt, the declaration of his kingdom? Things were just obscure enough to allow for multiple opinions. Consequently, a number of Messianic Pretenders arose around the time of the birth of Christ. Their appearance, and almost instant success in gathering a conquering army, was no doubt motivated as much by frustration as by prophecy.
    Messiahs aside, there were other factors that had to be in place and, in retrospect; we can see the hand of God moving the various playing pieces into position. Astronomers have developed a set of criteria necessary for a planet to support life. Without factors such as a temperate climate, oxygen, liquid water and so on, life as we know it, whether created or evolved, can never exist. Perhaps it would be helpful to draw up a similar list of factors required for any Messianic movement to grow and flourish. First of all, the people had to be open to the message. While readiness may be hard to quantify, we can make several observations.
    Putting the Pieces in Place
    Though the presumption among Jews was that the Messiah would be a warrior king, the message Jesus brought was spiritual, not temporal. This meant that there had to be a certain level of intellectual curiosity, if you will, about spiritual matters. The F irst C entury was a time of wildly divergent religious beliefs. As the Romans annexed territory, they also assimilated the local gods of that region into their pantheon of divinities. This combined with a general freedom of worship meant that a person could explore any and all alternatives.
    Plato and Aristotle developed the idea of a soul, or spiritual essence, that was immortal. The rise of philosophies such as Hedonism, Epicureanism, and Stoicism, which generally rejected the established gods, created a spiritual void while the mystery cults emphasized a savior-god and required worshipers to offer blood