Acts to Revelation | Episode 15 | TBN
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Acts to Revelation | Episode 15

Watch Acts to Revelation | Episode 15
July 18, 2018
27:32

Drive Thru History: Acts to Revelation

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Acts to Revelation | Episode 15

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  • Da
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  • Dave
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  • Dave S
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  • Dave Sto
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  • Dave Stott
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  • Dave Stotts:
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  • Dave Stotts: I
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  • Dave Stotts: In
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  • Dave Stotts: In
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  • Dave Stotts: In
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  • Dave Stotts: In ou
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  • Dave Stotts: In our
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  • Dave Stotts: In our la
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  • Dave Stotts: In our last
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  • Dave Stotts: In our last e
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  • Dave Stotts: In our last epi
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  • Dave Stotts: In our last episo
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  • Dave Stotts: In our last episode
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  • Dave Stotts: In our last episode,
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  • Paul was taken to Rome where he was delivered to the Praetorian
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  • guard and held under house arrest for two years.
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  • This is where the book of Acts ended,
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  • with Paul awaiting his trial before the Roman emperor.
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  • We also explored the life of Peter in Rome.
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  • He was living with the Jewish and Christian communities,
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  • probably on the west side of the Tiber River.
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  • Peter was writing letters to the persecuted church,
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  • while also providing Mark with eyewitness information for his
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  • Gospel accounts.
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  • Opposition was heating up for the Christians in Rome
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  • and throughout the entire Roman Empire.
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  • Dave: The first Christians were no
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  • strangers to cruel treatment.
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  • From the brutal deaths of Stephen and James to the
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  • repeated beatings and imprisonments of Peter and Paul,
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  • suffering merely for being a follower of Jesus was becoming
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  • a common price to pay in the early church.
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  • Yet, in 64 A.D., Christians would encounter cruelty on
  • 00:01:59.280 --> 00:02:04.100
  • an altogether new and unimaginable level.
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  • This was no longer about religious differences
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  • or political insecurities.
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  • This was about sheer evil, cruelty for its own sake.
  • 00:02:13.050 --> 00:02:18.010
  • Now, Christians, like everyone else in the Roman Empire,
  • 00:02:18.020 --> 00:02:21.060
  • had heard nasty stories about Emperor Nero's wild parties,
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  • public narcissism, and insane cruelty.
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  • Now Christians were about to experience
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  • that brutality firsthand.
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  • Dave: The great fire of Rome broke out on
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  • July 18, 64 A.D.
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  • Rome had endured fires before, but this was the
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  • worst in its history.
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  • The historian Tacitus said that the fire began at the east end
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  • of the Circus Maximum, at the foot of Palatine Hill.
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  • After about a week, the raging fire consumed 10 of Rome's 14
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  • districts, nearly three-quarters of the entire city.
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  • There were countless dead and an estimated 200.000 homeless.
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  • Dave: There were reports that those trying to fight the fire
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  • were prevented from doing so.
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  • Many said this came on orders from the imperial palace.
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  • In the end, rumors started to spread that Nero himself was
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  • responsible for burning Rome so that he could
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  • rebuild it in his own glorious image.
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  • According to ancient historian Tacitus,
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  • this is when things got really bad for the Christians.
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  • Dave: "Consequently, to get rid of the reports,
  • 00:03:34.090 --> 00:03:36.120
  • Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite
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  • tortures on a class hated for their abominations,
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  • called Christians," Tacitus, "Annals."
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  • In addition to throwing Christians into the arena
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  • to fight beasts such as lions, bears,
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  • and wild dogs, Nero crucified them and burned them alive,
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  • using them as human torches to light the city at night.
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  • The worst persecution of Christians to this point in
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  • history had started.
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  • Unimaginable cruelty would now spread throughout Rome and the
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  • rest of the Roman Empire.
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  • Dave: This is the Circus Maximus,
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  • the largest of all entertainment venues in the Roman Empire.
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  • It was originally built for public games connected
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  • to religious festivals.
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  • Now, the Circus Maximus has a capacity of over 150.000 people
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  • and it was used for horse races, chariot races,
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  • festivals, music, plays, athletics,
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  • and gladiator contests.
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  • However, during the persecution of Nero,
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  • the Circus Maximus was also used for the killing of Christians
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  • who were forced to fight wild beasts here and endure other
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  • horrific executions.
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  • Dave: Here's what the Circus Maximum probably looked like
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  • just before the great fire of Rome.
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  • The smaller Circus of Nero on the other side of the Tiber
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  • River was also used for inflicting torture and death on
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  • the Christians, especially while the Circus Maximus was being
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  • repaired after the great fire.
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  • Although the great fire of 64 A.D.
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  • severely damaged the structures on Palatine Hill,
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  • it also cleared a huge amount of space in the city.
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  • This allowed Nero to construct a new gigantic palace complex,
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  • complete with an artificial lake and gardens that occupied at
  • 00:05:33.110 --> 00:05:36.250
  • least 100 acres of central Rome.
  • 00:05:36.260 --> 00:05:40.070
  • This new palace of Nero was called the Domus Aurea,
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  • or the Golden House, due to its over-the-top decorations of
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  • gold, jewels, ivory, marble, and a revolving ceiling.
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  • Outside the main entrance to the palace complex was a huge,
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  • nearly 100-foot bronze statue, called Colossus Neronis,
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  • the Colossus of Nero, which towered over the area and
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  • portrayed Nero as a God.
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  • Dave: The persecution of Christians here in Rome
  • 00:06:08.290 --> 00:06:11.130
  • was now widespread.
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  • We don't know the circumstances, but about three months after the
  • 00:06:13.160 --> 00:06:17.150
  • great fire, Peter was arrested and executed by crucifixion.
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  • Remarkably, over 30 years earlier,
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  • Jesus had predicted that Peter would be crucified.
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  • Dave: "'Very truly I tell you,
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  • when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where
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  • you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands,
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  • and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not
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  • want to go.'
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  • Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by
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  • which Peter would glorify God.
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  • Then he said to him, 'Follow me!'"
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  • John 21:18-19.
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  • Dave: Church sources from the 2nd and 3rd centuries say that
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  • Peter was crucified upside-down.
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  • Some say that it was his request since he saw himself unworthy to
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  • be crucified in the same manner as his Lord.
  • 00:07:11.030 --> 00:07:14.130
  • 00:07:14.140 --> 00:07:24.140
  • Dave: Peter was buried in a cemetery near the north wall
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  • of the Circus of Nero, probably being crucified
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  • in the gardens nearby.
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  • In the 4th century A.D., Emperor Constantine built a church to
  • 00:07:38.170 --> 00:07:42.030
  • commemorate the martyrdom of Peter at the location marked
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  • since the 2nd century.
  • 00:07:46.230 --> 00:07:48.210
  • This church became known as the incredible Basilica of
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  • Saint Peter.
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  • Dave: However, it wasn't until the 20th century that
  • 00:07:55.170 --> 00:07:57.290
  • archeological discoveries provided evidence to confirm
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  • this as the actual location for the ancient tomb of Peter.
  • 00:08:01.160 --> 00:08:06.040
  • When the tomb under the Basilica was excavated,
  • 00:08:06.050 --> 00:08:08.260
  • archeological material such as coins and inscriptions indicated
  • 00:08:08.270 --> 00:08:12.290
  • its use as early as the 1st century.
  • 00:08:13.000 --> 00:08:16.220
  • Later, bones were discovered which were determined to be
  • 00:08:16.230 --> 00:08:19.230
  • those of a man about 60 to 70 years old.
  • 00:08:19.240 --> 00:08:23.160
  • Additionally, the bones of the feet below the ankles were
  • 00:08:23.170 --> 00:08:27.010
  • missing, suggesting the possibility that the man was cut
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  • down from a cross after being crucified upside-down,
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  • just as the ancient accounts say.
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  • Dave: Finally, an inscription of Petras,
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  • or Peter, from the 2nd century was discovered
  • 00:08:41.090 --> 00:08:44.070
  • on the wall near the tomb.
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  • Therefore, the tomb monument seems to have been made in the
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  • 2nd century in a cemetery that was used as early as the 1st
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  • century, and then continuously visited and revered until the
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  • 4th century, when Emperor Constantine built a church over
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  • the tomb to protect it and to commemorate the martyrdom
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  • of Saint Peter.
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  • While not absolute, we have very good evidence to believe that
  • 00:09:09.070 --> 00:09:12.140
  • the tomb of Peter is housed here at the Basilica of Saint Peter,
  • 00:09:12.150 --> 00:09:17.170
  • now on the grounds of the Vatican.
  • 00:09:17.180 --> 00:09:21.000
  • Dave: So, what about the Apostle Paul?
  • 00:09:21.010 --> 00:09:22.210
  • Last we saw, he was being held under house arrest,
  • 00:09:22.220 --> 00:09:26.110
  • a prisoner of Rome, encouraging Christians and making converts,
  • 00:09:26.120 --> 00:09:30.110
  • even as he awaited his trial.
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  • Dave: Following his release from his two-year imprisonment
  • 00:09:33.090 --> 00:09:36.170
  • in Rome, Paul had a brief period of freedom where he continued to
  • 00:09:36.180 --> 00:09:40.120
  • preach, teach, and encourage the churches
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  • around the Mediterranean region.
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  • Paul seems to have brought the gospel then to Spain,
  • 00:09:45.180 --> 00:09:48.290
  • which was his stated intention a few years earlier
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  • in his letter to the Romans.
  • 00:09:51.280 --> 00:09:54.230
  • Although we know very little about this journey,
  • 00:09:54.240 --> 00:09:57.040
  • a brief record of it has been preserved in the 1st century
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  • writings of Clement.
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  • Dave: In addition to Spain, Paul went to the island of
  • 00:10:04.020 --> 00:10:06.210
  • Crete, and then onto Nicopolis in the province of Macedonia
  • 00:10:06.220 --> 00:10:10.220
  • in late 65 A.D.
  • 00:10:10.230 --> 00:10:13.140
  • It was an Nicopolis where Paul wrote a letter back to Titus at
  • 00:10:13.150 --> 00:10:17.030
  • Crete and his first letter to Timothy at Ephesus,
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  • two letters we explored in previous episodes.
  • 00:10:21.020 --> 00:10:25.140
  • Dave: According to Roman history,
  • 00:10:25.260 --> 00:10:27.060
  • Emperor Nero visited Nicopolis in 66 A.D.
  • 00:10:27.070 --> 00:10:31.150
  • to compete in the Actian games.
  • 00:10:31.160 --> 00:10:33.230
  • Since Nero was a megalomaniac feared by all the people,
  • 00:10:33.240 --> 00:10:38.130
  • the contests were rigged so that he won every event that
  • 00:10:38.140 --> 00:10:42.030
  • he competed in, from music contests to chariot races.
  • 00:10:42.040 --> 00:10:46.070
  • Yeah, that sounds like a lot of fun.
  • 00:10:46.080 --> 00:10:48.230
  • Dave: Did Paul and Nero meet up again in Nicopolis?
  • 00:10:48.240 --> 00:10:52.170
  • Was Paul arrested there and brought back to Rome?
  • 00:10:52.180 --> 00:10:55.200
  • We just don't know, but shortly after the Actian games,
  • 00:10:55.210 --> 00:10:59.250
  • Paul was back in Rome, in prison,
  • 00:10:59.260 --> 00:11:02.240
  • and ultimately condemned to death.
  • 00:11:02.250 --> 00:11:06.110
  • Dave: Paul's second imprisonment in Rome may
  • 00:11:06.120 --> 00:11:08.120
  • have started in the Praetorian barracks or another
  • 00:11:08.130 --> 00:11:11.040
  • rented apartment, but it probably ended here at
  • 00:11:11.050 --> 00:11:14.090
  • the infamous Mamertine Prison.
  • 00:11:14.100 --> 00:11:16.200
  • Now, this prison was originally constructed
  • 00:11:16.210 --> 00:11:19.000
  • in the late 7th century B.C.
  • 00:11:19.010 --> 00:11:22.070
  • as a water cistern, but the Romans used it for high profile
  • 00:11:22.080 --> 00:11:26.020
  • criminals under sentence of death.
  • 00:11:26.030 --> 00:11:29.030
  • There's an ancient tradition that both Paul and Peter were
  • 00:11:29.040 --> 00:11:33.190
  • held here during the final years of their lives.
  • 00:11:33.200 --> 00:11:37.280
  • Dave: The dungeon of this prison was called the Tullianum,
  • 00:11:42.280 --> 00:11:46.040
  • from "tullius," meaning a spring of water.
  • 00:11:46.050 --> 00:11:48.280
  • The Tullianum was a rounded subterranean
  • 00:11:48.290 --> 00:11:51.280
  • chamber about 23 feet in diameter.
  • 00:11:51.290 --> 00:11:55.200
  • Usually prisoners were removed from the chamber to be executed,
  • 00:11:55.210 --> 00:11:59.210
  • although some faced their end inside the chamber itself.
  • 00:11:59.220 --> 00:12:04.280
  • Dave: Some time during his final house arrest,
  • 00:12:07.040 --> 00:12:09.190
  • before coming here to Mamertine Prison,
  • 00:12:09.200 --> 00:12:12.120
  • Paul wrote his second letter to Timothy.
  • 00:12:12.130 --> 00:12:15.040
  • He seems to already know his final verdict of execution and
  • 00:12:15.050 --> 00:12:19.210
  • is simply waiting for his sentence to be carried out.
  • 00:12:19.220 --> 00:12:22.130
  • This is what Paul wrote.
  • 00:12:22.140 --> 00:12:24.280
  • Dave: "For I am already being poured out like a drink
  • 00:12:25.190 --> 00:12:28.110
  • offering, and the time for my departure is near.
  • 00:12:28.120 --> 00:12:32.090
  • I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race,
  • 00:12:32.100 --> 00:12:35.260
  • I have kept the faith.
  • 00:12:35.270 --> 00:12:38.020
  • Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness,
  • 00:12:38.030 --> 00:12:41.280
  • which the Lord, the righteous Judge,
  • 00:12:41.290 --> 00:12:44.040
  • will award to me on that day--and not only to me,
  • 00:12:44.050 --> 00:12:48.020
  • but also to all who have longed for his appearing,"
  • 00:12:48.030 --> 00:12:51.250
  • 2 Timothy 4:6-9.
  • 00:12:51.260 --> 00:12:55.090
  • Dave: Paul was executed here in Rome in about 67 A.D.
  • 00:12:55.100 --> 00:13:00.070
  • According to ancient sources such as Clement,
  • 00:13:00.080 --> 00:13:03.170
  • Dionysius, Eusebius, and Tertullian,
  • 00:13:03.180 --> 00:13:06.160
  • Paul was executed by beheading, a death befitting
  • 00:13:06.170 --> 00:13:10.210
  • a Roman citizen.
  • 00:13:10.220 --> 00:13:12.180
  • Ancient records suggest that Nero himself knew Paul,
  • 00:13:12.190 --> 00:13:17.050
  • so it's likely that he had Paul beheaded through order of the
  • 00:13:17.060 --> 00:13:20.170
  • prefects of Rome.
  • 00:13:20.180 --> 00:13:23.070
  • Dave: From the location of Paul's martyrdom,
  • 00:13:24.170 --> 00:13:26.170
  • some of Paul's friends took his body roughly two miles up the
  • 00:13:26.180 --> 00:13:30.070
  • road, called the Austian Way, and laid it to rest in
  • 00:13:30.080 --> 00:13:33.180
  • the family tomb of a Roman Christian named Matrona Lucilla.
  • 00:13:33.190 --> 00:13:38.080
  • There, a memorial was erected, which quickly became a place
  • 00:13:38.090 --> 00:13:41.200
  • of pilgrimage to Christians in the 1st century.
  • 00:13:41.210 --> 00:13:45.000
  • Today, an enormous basilica sits atop this location,
  • 00:13:45.010 --> 00:13:49.190
  • a sacred destination for modern pilgrims that provides
  • 00:13:49.200 --> 00:13:53.040
  • protection for the ancient memorial still
  • 00:13:53.050 --> 00:13:55.280
  • visible to us today.
  • 00:13:55.290 --> 00:13:57.270
  • 00:13:57.280 --> 00:14:07.290
  • Dave: It was here in the 4th century that Roman
  • 00:14:16.190 --> 00:14:19.090
  • Emperor Constantine built the first church
  • 00:14:19.100 --> 00:14:22.020
  • commemorating Paul's martyrdom.
  • 00:14:22.030 --> 00:14:24.090
  • It was also in the 4th century that tradition tells us that
  • 00:14:24.100 --> 00:14:27.250
  • Paul's remains were moved into a marble sarcophagus
  • 00:14:27.260 --> 00:14:31.180
  • and buried in the church's crypt.
  • 00:14:31.190 --> 00:14:35.220
  • Dave: The tombstone reads, "Paulo, Apostolo,
  • 00:14:38.000 --> 00:14:41.190
  • Mart," Latin for "Paul,
  • 00:14:41.200 --> 00:14:44.180
  • Apostle, Martyr."
  • 00:14:44.190 --> 00:14:49.010
  • Dave: During the 4th and 5th centuries,
  • 00:14:51.040 --> 00:14:53.020
  • four other Roman emperors expanded the site.
  • 00:14:53.030 --> 00:14:56.230
  • Today, the church is known as the Basilica of Saint Paul
  • 00:14:56.240 --> 00:15:00.240
  • Outside the Walls, with the latest construction
  • 00:15:00.250 --> 00:15:04.010
  • completed in 1800.
  • 00:15:04.020 --> 00:15:09.290
  • Dave: But is there any truth to the idea that Paul
  • 00:15:10.000 --> 00:15:12.140
  • is buried here?
  • 00:15:12.150 --> 00:15:14.100
  • On December 6, 2006, after four years of careful excavation,
  • 00:15:14.110 --> 00:15:19.190
  • Vatican archeologists confirmed the discovery of a white marble
  • 00:15:19.200 --> 00:15:24.100
  • sarcophagus beneath the church's altar.
  • 00:15:24.110 --> 00:15:28.020
  • They left it in place, but they allowed one of its sides
  • 00:15:28.030 --> 00:15:30.270
  • to remain visible.
  • 00:15:30.280 --> 00:15:33.000
  • Then in 2009, the Vatican revealed that the sarcophagus
  • 00:15:33.010 --> 00:15:36.150
  • had bone fragments and a purple linen cloth laminated with gold.
  • 00:15:36.160 --> 00:15:42.030
  • Scientists ran tests on the bone fragments and confirmed that
  • 00:15:42.040 --> 00:15:45.180
  • they dated to the 1st or 2nd century.
  • 00:15:45.190 --> 00:15:49.220
  • The Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls is now
  • 00:15:49.230 --> 00:15:52.270
  • considered by many scholars to be the
  • 00:15:52.280 --> 00:15:55.090
  • authentic site of Paul's tomb.
  • 00:15:55.100 --> 00:16:00.250
  • After Peter and Paul were gone, the Roman church
  • 00:16:02.010 --> 00:16:04.240
  • continued to grow.
  • 00:16:04.250 --> 00:16:06.190
  • Despite being an illegal religion,
  • 00:16:06.200 --> 00:16:08.230
  • followers of Jesus continued to meet in
  • 00:16:08.240 --> 00:16:11.030
  • the homes of wealthy Christians.
  • 00:16:11.040 --> 00:16:13.220
  • In his final letter to Timothy, Paul mentioned one of these
  • 00:16:13.230 --> 00:16:17.000
  • churches meeting at the house of Pudens.
  • 00:16:17.010 --> 00:16:20.020
  • Pudens is thought to have been the son of Senator Quintus
  • 00:16:20.030 --> 00:16:23.160
  • Cornelius Pudens and the church would've met at the
  • 00:16:23.170 --> 00:16:26.140
  • family villa or domus.
  • 00:16:26.150 --> 00:16:31.040
  • Dave: In the 4th century, the church of Santa Pudenziana was
  • 00:16:31.200 --> 00:16:35.210
  • built over the remains of an earlier house church that dates
  • 00:16:35.220 --> 00:16:39.190
  • back to at least 140 A.D.
  • 00:16:39.200 --> 00:16:43.030
  • Recent evidence, including the mosaic floor of a 1st century
  • 00:16:43.040 --> 00:16:46.240
  • home, indicates that this may have been the actual house of a
  • 00:16:46.250 --> 00:16:51.050
  • Roman Christian named Pudens mentioned in Scripture.
  • 00:16:51.060 --> 00:16:55.040
  • 00:16:55.050 --> 00:17:01.160
  • Dave: That beautiful mosaic up there dates to about 420 A.D.
  • 00:17:01.170 --> 00:17:06.230
  • It's remarkable because there aren't that many mosaics
  • 00:17:06.240 --> 00:17:09.270
  • depicting Jesus Christ that survive from such
  • 00:17:09.280 --> 00:17:13.010
  • an early period.
  • 00:17:13.020 --> 00:17:14.280
  • 00:17:14.290 --> 00:17:21.240
  • Dave: According to tradition, church leaders lived here for
  • 00:17:21.250 --> 00:17:24.180
  • the first couple of centuries of the Roman church.
  • 00:17:24.190 --> 00:17:27.280
  • Despite numerous persecutions of Christianity during those early
  • 00:17:27.290 --> 00:17:32.220
  • years, the church here in Rome persisted.
  • 00:17:32.230 --> 00:17:36.140
  • In 313 A.D., Roman Emperor Constantine legalized
  • 00:17:36.150 --> 00:17:41.060
  • Christianity with the Edict of Milan.
  • 00:17:41.070 --> 00:17:45.010
  • Now, nearly 2.000 years after the gospel arrived here in Rome,
  • 00:17:45.020 --> 00:17:50.030
  • Christianity lives on in this eternal city.
  • 00:17:50.040 --> 00:17:54.290
  • Dave: Even in death, Paul's legacy lived on
  • 00:17:56.030 --> 00:17:58.090
  • throughout the Roman Empire.
  • 00:17:58.100 --> 00:18:00.030
  • Prior to his execution, Paul worked tirelessly to establish
  • 00:18:00.040 --> 00:18:04.090
  • Christian churches throughout Asia Minor,
  • 00:18:04.100 --> 00:18:06.250
  • Macedonia, and Greece.
  • 00:18:06.260 --> 00:18:09.090
  • Along the way, he was joined by a number of courageous,
  • 00:18:09.100 --> 00:18:12.110
  • loyal, and even scholarly helpers that continued their
  • 00:18:12.120 --> 00:18:16.140
  • ministries after Paul was gone.
  • 00:18:16.150 --> 00:18:18.290
  • A man named Apollos, a member of the large Jewish community in
  • 00:18:19.000 --> 00:18:22.230
  • Alexandria, Egypt, ended up teaching the gospel at the
  • 00:18:22.240 --> 00:18:26.040
  • synagogue in Ephesus.
  • 00:18:26.050 --> 00:18:28.030
  • He was very well trained in the Scriptures and could handle
  • 00:18:28.040 --> 00:18:31.030
  • himself in debates with the toughest opponents.
  • 00:18:31.040 --> 00:18:34.160
  • Paul's assistants, Priscilla and Aquilla,
  • 00:18:34.170 --> 00:18:36.230
  • heard him teach at Ephesus and recruited him to Paul's work.
  • 00:18:36.240 --> 00:18:41.170
  • Apollos was sent across the Aegean Sea to Corinth,
  • 00:18:41.180 --> 00:18:45.110
  • a city where the new Christians faced constant struggles.
  • 00:18:45.120 --> 00:18:49.000
  • Apollos was so successful in his ministry there that he got quite
  • 00:18:49.010 --> 00:18:52.290
  • a following for himself.
  • 00:18:53.000 --> 00:18:55.030
  • In one of his letters to the Corinthian church,
  • 00:18:55.040 --> 00:18:58.000
  • Paul mentioned that Apollos was developing the kind of personal
  • 00:18:58.010 --> 00:19:01.190
  • reputation that Christian leaders should discourage.
  • 00:19:01.200 --> 00:19:05.000
  • Paul wrote that Christians should not consider themselves
  • 00:19:05.010 --> 00:19:08.150
  • disciples of Apollos, or Peter, or Paul,
  • 00:19:08.160 --> 00:19:12.030
  • but rather disciples of Jesus Christ.
  • 00:19:12.040 --> 00:19:15.020
  • It was Christ who was crucified for the sins of his followers.
  • 00:19:15.030 --> 00:19:18.070
  • His followers merely have particular jobs
  • 00:19:18.080 --> 00:19:21.090
  • to do in the church.
  • 00:19:21.100 --> 00:19:23.040
  • "What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul?
  • 00:19:23.050 --> 00:19:27.070
  • Only servants, through whom you came to believe--as the Lord has
  • 00:19:27.080 --> 00:19:31.040
  • assigned to each his task.
  • 00:19:31.050 --> 00:19:33.210
  • I planted the seed, Apollos watered it,
  • 00:19:33.220 --> 00:19:36.160
  • but God has been making it grow.
  • 00:19:36.170 --> 00:19:39.060
  • So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters
  • 00:19:39.070 --> 00:19:42.010
  • is anything, but only God, who makes things grow,"
  • 00:19:42.020 --> 00:19:47.020
  • 1 Corinthians 3:5-7.
  • 00:19:47.030 --> 00:19:50.220
  • Dave: At this point, Apollos vanishes from
  • 00:19:51.040 --> 00:19:53.190
  • the biblical record.
  • 00:19:53.200 --> 00:19:55.010
  • Church tradition takes him from Greece to Rome,
  • 00:19:55.020 --> 00:19:58.220
  • and it was here about ten years later that a mysterious letter
  • 00:19:58.230 --> 00:20:03.030
  • was written, a letter with incredible insights into the
  • 00:20:03.040 --> 00:20:07.000
  • identity of Jesus Christ.
  • 00:20:07.010 --> 00:20:09.180
  • The letter was addressed to the Jewish followers of Jesus,
  • 00:20:09.190 --> 00:20:13.000
  • probably in Judea and Galilee, who were being
  • 00:20:13.010 --> 00:20:16.040
  • tempted away from the faith.
  • 00:20:16.050 --> 00:20:18.240
  • The letter is known to history as the Epistle to the Hebrews,
  • 00:20:18.250 --> 00:20:22.120
  • or the book of Hebrews, or simply, Hebrews.
  • 00:20:22.130 --> 00:20:26.220
  • Dave: Although Hebrews made it into the New Testament,
  • 00:20:27.220 --> 00:20:30.000
  • nobody really knows who wrote it.
  • 00:20:30.010 --> 00:20:32.070
  • In the late 2nd century, church historian Tertullian
  • 00:20:32.080 --> 00:20:35.220
  • gave credit to Barnabas.
  • 00:20:35.230 --> 00:20:37.150
  • Others have said Luke, Philip, Silas, or Clement of Rome.
  • 00:20:37.160 --> 00:20:42.240
  • During the 2nd and 3rd centuries,
  • 00:20:42.250 --> 00:20:44.240
  • church scholars in Alexandria came to
  • 00:20:44.250 --> 00:20:47.060
  • believe the writer was Paul.
  • 00:20:47.070 --> 00:20:49.150
  • However, detractors argue that Hebrews doesn't match the style
  • 00:20:49.160 --> 00:20:53.070
  • or content found in any of Paul's other letters.
  • 00:20:53.080 --> 00:20:57.040
  • Today, some New Testament scholars
  • 00:20:57.050 --> 00:20:59.260
  • support Apollos as the writer of Hebrews.
  • 00:20:59.270 --> 00:21:02.200
  • In the 16th century, Martin Luther eventually made this
  • 00:21:02.210 --> 00:21:06.020
  • conclusion and others have followed suit.
  • 00:21:06.030 --> 00:21:09.080
  • Dave: But one things scholars can't agree on is the importance
  • 00:21:09.090 --> 00:21:12.280
  • of Hebrews in the New Testament.
  • 00:21:12.290 --> 00:21:15.110
  • Since the letter assumes all the rituals and sacrifices are still
  • 00:21:15.120 --> 00:21:20.010
  • taking place at the temple in Jerusalem,
  • 00:21:20.020 --> 00:21:22.180
  • that means Hebrews was written before its destruction
  • 00:21:22.190 --> 00:21:26.060
  • in 70 A.D.
  • 00:21:26.070 --> 00:21:27.250
  • This matters because the book of Hebrews presents Jesus Christ
  • 00:21:27.260 --> 00:21:31.170
  • as divine, fully human and fully God.
  • 00:21:31.180 --> 00:21:34.240
  • Therefore, the divinity of Christ is
  • 00:21:34.250 --> 00:21:37.100
  • a very early Christian doctrine.
  • 00:21:37.110 --> 00:21:40.040
  • Dave: Hebrews opens by declaring Jesus as
  • 00:21:40.050 --> 00:21:43.090
  • the Son of God.
  • 00:21:43.100 --> 00:21:45.050
  • Through the Son, God made the world.
  • 00:21:45.060 --> 00:21:47.100
  • By going through death, the Son conquered sin and
  • 00:21:47.110 --> 00:21:50.270
  • death on our behalf.
  • 00:21:50.280 --> 00:21:53.170
  • "In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets
  • 00:21:53.180 --> 00:21:57.050
  • at many times and in various ways,
  • 00:21:57.060 --> 00:22:00.060
  • but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son,
  • 00:22:00.070 --> 00:22:04.110
  • whom he appointed heir of all things,
  • 00:22:04.120 --> 00:22:06.260
  • and through whom also he made the universe.
  • 00:22:06.270 --> 00:22:10.050
  • The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact
  • 00:22:10.060 --> 00:22:13.280
  • representation of his being, sustaining all
  • 00:22:13.290 --> 00:22:17.130
  • things by his powerful Word.
  • 00:22:17.140 --> 00:22:19.220
  • After he had provided purification for sins,
  • 00:22:19.230 --> 00:22:22.210
  • he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven,"
  • 00:22:22.220 --> 00:22:26.270
  • Hebrews 1:1-3.
  • 00:22:26.280 --> 00:22:29.220
  • Dave: According to the book of Hebrews,
  • 00:22:29.230 --> 00:22:31.170
  • Jesus Christ's once-for-all sacrifice had replaced the
  • 00:22:31.180 --> 00:22:36.120
  • need for the recurring animal sacrifices of the temple.
  • 00:22:36.130 --> 00:22:40.040
  • The new covenant has replaced the old,
  • 00:22:40.050 --> 00:22:42.280
  • but this teaching would've been outrageous for religious
  • 00:22:42.290 --> 00:22:46.060
  • Jews living in the 60s A.D.
  • 00:22:46.070 --> 00:22:49.090
  • The rites and rituals of the temple were in full operation
  • 00:22:49.100 --> 00:22:53.110
  • like they had been for centuries,
  • 00:22:53.120 --> 00:22:55.220
  • however in just a few years, Jerusalem and its holy temple
  • 00:22:55.230 --> 00:23:00.140
  • would be utterly destroyed.
  • 00:23:00.150 --> 00:23:03.140
  • In 66 A.D., Nero ordered an attack on Judea and its
  • 00:23:05.100 --> 00:23:10.010
  • surrounding territories in order
  • 00:23:10.020 --> 00:23:12.160
  • to quell a variety of rebellions.
  • 00:23:12.170 --> 00:23:15.080
  • He sent his trusted general Vespasian and an army of
  • 00:23:15.090 --> 00:23:18.200
  • 60.000 to handle the job.
  • 00:23:18.210 --> 00:23:21.180
  • Dave: The Romans were successful in taking Galilee
  • 00:23:22.170 --> 00:23:25.130
  • and sections of Judea, but the walled city
  • 00:23:25.140 --> 00:23:28.010
  • of Jerusalem held out.
  • 00:23:28.020 --> 00:23:29.280
  • Nero died in June of 68 A.D.
  • 00:23:29.290 --> 00:23:33.030
  • and the Roman Empire was thrown into chaos.
  • 00:23:33.040 --> 00:23:36.010
  • Ultimately, Vespasian was proclaimed emperor and
  • 00:23:36.020 --> 00:23:39.140
  • called back to Rome.
  • 00:23:39.150 --> 00:23:41.030
  • Vespasian's son, Titus, took over command of
  • 00:23:41.040 --> 00:23:44.080
  • the Judean assault.
  • 00:23:44.090 --> 00:23:45.230
  • By the spring of 70 A.D., Titus and his three Roman legions
  • 00:23:45.240 --> 00:23:50.100
  • advanced on the city of Jerusalem.
  • 00:23:50.110 --> 00:23:52.280
  • After a brutal siege lasting months,
  • 00:23:52.290 --> 00:23:56.000
  • the Romans finally conquered the city
  • 00:23:56.010 --> 00:23:58.140
  • on August 30, 70 A.D. and totally destroyed the temple.
  • 00:23:58.150 --> 00:24:06.150
  • Dave: The Arch of Titus here in Rome still stands as a
  • 00:24:06.160 --> 00:24:09.180
  • testament to the sacking of Jerusalem and the destruction
  • 00:24:09.190 --> 00:24:13.200
  • of the Jewish temple.
  • 00:24:13.210 --> 00:24:15.100
  • Dave: It shows the Romans hauling off the seven-branched
  • 00:24:15.110 --> 00:24:19.040
  • menorah and other religious instruments used in the temple.
  • 00:24:19.050 --> 00:24:23.000
  • This was dramatic imagery, symbolizing the end of a
  • 00:24:23.010 --> 00:24:26.170
  • centuries-old system of traditional rituals and
  • 00:24:26.180 --> 00:24:29.230
  • animal sacrifices.
  • 00:24:29.240 --> 00:24:31.150
  • Dave: Just as the writer of Hebrews suggested,
  • 00:24:31.160 --> 00:24:34.210
  • the old covenant had been surpassed by the new.
  • 00:24:34.220 --> 00:24:38.050
  • Dave: Jesus himself foretold the destruction of the temple
  • 00:24:38.060 --> 00:24:41.210
  • some 40 years earlier.
  • 00:24:41.220 --> 00:24:44.090
  • "As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples
  • 00:24:44.100 --> 00:24:47.030
  • said to him, 'Look, Teacher!
  • 00:24:47.040 --> 00:24:48.230
  • What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!'
  • 00:24:48.240 --> 00:24:52.090
  • 'Do you see all these great buildings?'
  • 00:24:52.100 --> 00:24:54.190
  • replied Jesus.
  • 00:24:54.200 --> 00:24:56.010
  • 'Not one stone here will be left on another;
  • 00:24:56.020 --> 00:25:00.140
  • every one will be thrown down,'" Mark 13:1-2.
  • 00:25:00.150 --> 00:25:05.100
  • This is exactly what the historian Josephus reported.
  • 00:25:05.110 --> 00:25:10.080
  • The temple was so thoroughly destroyed that every stone
  • 00:25:10.090 --> 00:25:14.010
  • was stripped from its foundation and thrown
  • 00:25:14.020 --> 00:25:16.160
  • down off the Temple Mount.
  • 00:25:16.170 --> 00:25:18.180
  • To this day, these huge stones lie here in Jerusalem
  • 00:25:18.190 --> 00:25:22.260
  • as a testimony to that fateful event in Jewish history.
  • 00:25:22.270 --> 00:25:28.050
  • Dave: After Vespasian's death in 79 A.D., his son
  • 00:25:28.060 --> 00:25:32.060
  • Titus went on to become emperor of Rome.
  • 00:25:32.070 --> 00:25:35.060
  • He served until his death in 81 A.D.,
  • 00:25:35.070 --> 00:25:39.000
  • when his brother Domitian took over power.
  • 00:25:39.010 --> 00:25:42.100
  • Dave: Domitian ushered in a new era of hate and persecution
  • 00:25:42.110 --> 00:25:46.250
  • against the Christians.
  • 00:25:46.260 --> 00:25:48.100
  • Ancient historians describe Domitian as a violent madman
  • 00:25:48.110 --> 00:25:52.190
  • who insisted on being worshiped as a god,
  • 00:25:52.200 --> 00:25:55.280
  • and he began to build temples to himself all
  • 00:25:55.290 --> 00:25:57.290
  • over the Roman Empire.
  • 00:25:58.000 --> 00:26:00.080
  • One of these temples was built in about 86 A.D.
  • 00:26:00.090 --> 00:26:04.090
  • in the city of Ephesus, and the Christians there were being
  • 00:26:04.100 --> 00:26:07.280
  • forced to worship Domitian and make sacrifices to him.
  • 00:26:07.290 --> 00:26:11.260
  • This didn't sit well with an aging apostle who was helping
  • 00:26:11.270 --> 00:26:15.280
  • lead the church in Ephesus, a weathered fisherman
  • 00:26:15.290 --> 00:26:19.110
  • from Galilee named John.
  • 00:26:19.120 --> 00:26:21.130
  • 00:26:21.140 --> 00:26:31.140
  • CC by Aberdeen Captioning 1-800-688-6621 www.abercap.com
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