World English Bible · Under Rome
Philippians 3
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Finally, my brothers, rejoice in ! To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not tiresome, but for you it is safe. Beware of the dogs; beware of the evil workers; beware of the false . For we are the , who in , and rejoice in Christ , and have no confidence in ; though I myself might have confidence even in . If any other man thinks that he has confidence in , I yet more: the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of , a of ; concerning , a ; concerning , persecuting ; concerning the which is in , found blameless. However, I consider those things that were gain to me as a loss for Christ. Yes most certainly, and I count all things to be a loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ , my , for whom I suffered the loss of all things, and count them nothing but refuse, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a of my own, that which is of , but that which is through in Christ, the which is from by , that I may know him and the of his , and the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming conformed to his , if by any means I may attain to the from . Not that I have already obtained, or am already made perfect; but I press on, that I may take hold of that for which also I was taken hold of by Christ . Brothers, I don't regard myself as yet having taken hold, but one thing I do: forgetting the things which are behind and stretching forward to the things which are before, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the high calling of in Christ . Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, think this way. If in anything you think otherwise, will also that to you. Nevertheless, to the extent that we have already attained, let's walk by the same rule. Let's be of the same . Brothers, be imitators together of me, and note those who walk this way, even as you have us for an example. For many walk, of whom I told you often, and now tell you even weeping, as the of of Christ, whose end is , whose is the belly, and whose is in their , who think about earthly things. For our citizenship is in , from where we also wait for a , , who will change the body of our humiliation to be conformed to the body of his , according to the working by which he is able even to subject all things to himself.
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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.