World English Bible · Under Rome
Acts 8
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was consenting to his . A great persecution arose against which was in in that day. They were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of and , except for . Devout men buried and greatly over him. But ravaged , entering into every house and dragged both men and women off to prison. Therefore those who were scattered abroad went around preaching the word. went down to the city of and proclaimed to them the Christ. The listened with one accord to the things that were spoken by when they heard and saw the signs which he did. For came out of many of those who had them. They came out, crying with a loud voice. Many who had been paralyzed and lame were healed. There was great joy in that city. But there was a certain man, by name, who used to practice in the city and amazed the people of , making himself out to be some great one, to whom they all listened, from the least to the greatest, saying, "This man is that great of ." They listened to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his sorceries. But when they preaching concerning Kingdom and the name of , they were , both men and women. himself also . Being , he continued with . Seeing signs and great miracles occurring, he was amazed. Now when who were at heard that had received the word of , they sent and to them, who, when they had come down, for them, that they might receive ; for as yet he had fallen on none of them. They had only been in the name of Christ . Then they on them, and they received . Now when saw that was given through the laying on of ' hands, he offered them money, saying, "Give me also this , that whomever I lay my hands on may receive ." But said to him, "May your silver with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of with money! You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for isn't right before . therefore of this, your wickedness, and ask if perhaps the thought of may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the poison of bitterness and in the bondage of ." answered, " for me to , that none of the things which you have spoken happen to me." They therefore, when they had testified and spoken the word of , returned to , and preached the to many villages of the . Then of spoke to , saying, "Arise, and go toward the south to that goes down from to . This is a ." He arose and went; and behold, there was a man of , a of great under Candace, queen of the , who was over all her , who had come to to . He was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the . said to , "Go near, and join yourself to this chariot." ran to him, and heard him reading the , and said, "Do you understand what you are reading?" He said, "How can I, unless someone explains it to me?" He begged to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of the which he was reading was this, "He was led as a sheep to the slaughter. As before his shearer is silent, so he doesn't open his . In his humiliation, his was taken away. Who will declare His generation? For his life is taken from the earth." answered , "Who is the talking about? About himself, or about someone else?" opened his , and beginning from this , preached to him about . As they went on , they came to some water; and said, "Behold, here is water. What is keeping me from being ?" 37He commanded the chariot to stand still, and they both went down into the water, both and , and he him. When they came up out of the water, of caught away, and didn't see him any more, for he went on his way rejoicing. But was found at . Passing through, he preached the to all the cities until he came to .
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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.