World English Bible · Under Rome
Acts 14
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In , they entered together into the of the , and so spoke that a great multitude both of and of . But the disbelieving stirred up and embittered the of the against the brothers. Therefore they stayed there a long time, speaking boldly in , who testified to the word of his , granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands. But of the city was divided. Part sided with the and part with . When some of both the and the , with their , made a attempt to mistreat and stone them, they became aware of it and fled to the cities of Lycaonia, , , and the surrounding region. There they preached the . At a certain man sat, impotent in his feet, a cripple from his mother's , who never had walked. He was listening to speaking, who, fastening eyes on him and seeing that he had to be made whole, said with a loud voice, "Stand upright on your feet!" He leaped up and walked. When saw what had done, they lifted up their voice, saying in the language of Lycaonia, "The gods have come down to us in the of men!" They called "", and "", because he was the chief speaker. The priest of , whose temple was in front of their city, brought oxen and garlands to the , and would have made a along with the . But when , and , heard of it, they tore their clothes and sprang into , crying out, "Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men of the same nature as you, and bring you , that you should turn from these things to the living , who made , the earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who in the generations gone by allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways. Yet he didn't leave himself without , in that he did good and gave you from and fruitful seasons, filling our with food and gladness." Even saying these things, they hardly stopped the from making a to them. But some from and came there, and having persuaded the , they stoned and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was . But as stood around him, he rose up, and entered into the city. On the next day he went out with to . When they had preached the to that city and had made many , they returned to , , and , strengthening the of , exhorting them to continue in the , and that through many afflictions we must enter into Kingdom. When they had appointed for them in every , and had with , they commended them to on whom they had . They passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. 25When they had spoken the word in , they went down to . From there they sailed to , from where they had been committed to the of for the work which they had fulfilled. When they had arrived and had gathered together, they reported all the things that had done with them, and that he had opened a door of to the nations. They stayed there with for a long time.
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The world at this moment · Under Rome, 63 BC to AD 100 ›
Judea as a client kingdom and then a province. Roads, garrisons, taxes, crucifixion, and a common Greek language that let a message travel the empire faster than any before it.
- Rome
- The republic tears itself apart in civil war and comes out as an empire under Augustus. What follows is two centuries of relative peace across the whole Mediterranean, enforced by legions and paid for by taxes, with safe roads and safe sea lanes. Every one of Paul's journeys depends on that.
- Judea
- Governed first through Herod the Great, a client king of enormous ability and enormous brutality who rebuilds the temple into one of the wonders of the ancient world, then directly by Roman prefects. Crucifixion is the standard penalty for sedition and is used often and publicly.
- The wider world
- Greek is spoken from Spain to Syria, which means a letter written in Corinth can be read in Rome without translation. Jewish communities already exist in most major cities, which is where the first Christian preaching lands. Mystery religions, imperial cult, and philosophy all compete in the same marketplace.
- Further afield
- The Han dynasty rules China and trades silk westward along routes that touch the Roman world at second hand. In Britain the Roman conquest begins within a decade of the crucifixion.