Copies of Bible Study Class Charts Presented on 9/9/14

Copies of Bible Study Class Charts

Presented on 9/9/14

Review from the 1st week

• Overview of God’s divine plan to lead us to Christianity by his calling of the Jewish people

• Jesus’ call of the 12 Apostles and who they were– 11 from Galilee– 1 from Judea

• Review of what was important in the 1st Century Jewish worldview– Jerusalem – the City of David – capital of Israel– Temple – Political and religious center of Judaism– Sanhedrin – governing body of the Jews

Review from last week

• Role of the Synagogue• Review of how ancient man sought God• An overview of the Septuagint • Covenant of Israel• Geography; Rulers; Language; Players• 613 rules• Kosher

The Four Empires and the Book of Daniel• Babylon

• Persia• Greece• Rome

The Prophesies of Daniel

• Dn 7:1-8 Presents a dream of Daniel depicting the kingdoms that will dominate the future of Israel as symbolized by beasts (The first dream was of King Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, in Dn 2:31-45 depicts four parts of a statue)

Beasts EmpiresLion BabylonBear Medo-PersianLeopard GreekBeast w iron teeth Rome

The Prophesies of Daniel (Cont)• Dn 2 The prophet is called to interpret the king’s dream after the failure of his

wise men (covers time from present to Christ)

Statue EmpireGold BabylonSilver Medo-PersianBronze GreekIron Rome

Fifth empire from a small stone not made by human hands that becomes the great “kingdom of God” which is the Church

• What was the history of foreign occupations?

– Assyrian - Overran 10 northern tribes in 722 BC– Four Kingdoms predicted by the Prophet Daniel

• Babylonians – Took most of Judah into captivity between 605 and 587 BC

• Persians – Defeated the Babylonians and allow the Jews to return to Judea in 538 BC

• Greeks – Captured the known world the occupied Israel by 323 BC

• Romans – Occupy Israel in 3 BC by Pompey and they imposed: – Taxes– Occupation troops– A Roman governor

1st Century Worldview (Cont)

The Prophesies of Daniel (Cont)

• Dn 9 provides the response by the angel Gabriel (Dn 9:21)with the clue to the remaining time for the exile – 7X 70 years = 490 years– This turns out to be 70 years of dishonored Sabbaths – This can be interpreted two ways using a Catholic

understanding:• During the period of Maccabees (175-63 B.C. )• During the 1st century with Jesus (9 – 33 A.D.)


– The “anointed one” (Dn 9:25)• Jesus Christ• A religious priest and political messiah

– A Kingly historical figure• King Cyrus will be referred to by God as his Christ who will rebuild

Jerusalem• Antiochus Epiphanes IV will then desecrate the temple

• Both traditions depend on the dates used for the declaration for the rebuilding of Jerusalem


– After the 1st return in 538 B.C. there were several delays in the reconstruction of the temple

– Thus the people of the 1st century were still looking for the messiah at the time of Christ

– People of that day named their children after historical figures• Marian (sister of Moses)• Judas, Simon, Jonathan and Joshua (Maccabees)


• Dn 9 ends with the prediction of a future destruction of Jerusalem (which happened in 70 A.D.) (Dn 9:26)

Transition

• Jesus calls the Apostles to spread the gospel (Good News) about the Kingdom of God to all of the world

The Commission of Peter

• Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, “Who do men say that the Son of man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “but who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Then he strictly charged the disciple to tell no one that he was the Christ. (Mt 16:13-20; Is 22: 15-25 [740 – 680 B.C.])

The Commissioning of the Apostles

• Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshipped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.” (Mt 28:16-20)

The Commissioning of the Apostles • Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they sat at table;

and he upbraided them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen. And he said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in m name they will cast out demons; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them, they will lay their hand on the sick, and they will recover. So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that attended it. Amen. (Mk 16:14-20)

The Commissioning of the Apostles

• Then he said to them, “These are my words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms must be fulfilled. Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city, until you are clothed with power from on high.” Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried into heaven.” And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God. (Lk 24:44-53)

What Happened to the Apostles after Pentecost?

• Simon: Preached among the Jews in Judea and as far as Babylon, martyred in Rome around 66 A.D. (along with Paul) under Emperor Nero, crucified upside down

• Andrew: Preached in Scythia, Greece and Asia Minor (in the land of the man-eaters – today’s Soviet Union), crucified on an X shaped cross (the St Andrew’s cross) in Achaia Greece

• James: Preached in Jerusalem and Judea and was beheaded by Herod around 44 A.D.

• John: Preached in Asia Minor, leader of the church in Ephesus where he lived with the Blessed Mother, banished to the Isle of Patmos, later freed and died a natural death


• Philip: Preached in Samaria, Carthage in N. Africa, Asia Minor, led the Ethiopian eunuch to Christ, stayed with Paul in Caesarea, said to have died by hanging, was said to have been a major figure in the missionary enterprise of the early Church

• Bartholomew: Preached with Philip in Phrygia, Hierapolis, in Armenia (founder of Armenian Church), and India with Tomas, returned to Armenia, Ethiopia and S. Arabia, was martyred by being flayed alive by knives

• Thomas: Preached in Parthia, Persia and India, was martyred near Madras

• Matthew: Preached in Parthia and Ethiopia, was martyred in Ethiopia


• James: Preached in Palestine, Syria and Egypt, was crucified in Egypt

• Thaddaeus: Preached in Edessa and elsewhere, was killed by arrows at Ararat

• Simon: Preached in Persia, was crucified for refusing to sacrifice to the sun god

• Judas Iscariot: hanged himself in Jerusalem before the crucifixion

What Did the Apostles (and Paul) Preach?

• The Kerygma – To proclaim the initial and essential proclamation of the gospel message

• The Apostle’s Creed – 12 articles attributed to the Apostles • The Didache – The teaching of the 12 Apostles• Eucharistic celebration *

• Baptismal liturgies *• •

The Kerygma – Based on Peter’s speeches in Acts (Prof C. H. Dodd)

• 1. The Age of Fulfillment has dawned, the latter days foretold by the prophets

• 2. This has taken place through the birth, life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ

• 3. By virtue of the resurrection, Jesus has been exalted at the right hand of God as Messianic head of the new Israel.

• 4. The Holy Spirit in the church is the sign of Christ’s present power and glory.

• 5. The Messianic Age will reach its consummation in the return of Christ.

• 6. An appeal is made for repentance with the offer of forgiveness, the Holy Spirit, and salvation

Expanded Summary of the Kerygma

• The promises of God made in the OT have now been fulfilled with the coming of Jesus the Messiah

• Jesus was anointed by God at his baptism as Messiah• Jesus began his ministry in Galilee after his baptism• He conducted a beneficent ministry, doing good and

performing mighty works by the power of God• The Messiah was crucified according to the purpose of

God

Expanded Summary of the Kerygma (Cont)

• He was raised from the dead and appeared to his disciples

• Jesus was exalted by God and given the name “Lord”

• He gave the Holy Spirit to form the new community of God

• He will come again for judgment and the restoration of all things

• All who hear the message should repent and be baptized

• Then 12 articles of the Apostle’s Creed outline the fundaments doctrines of Christianity

• It is a faithful summary of the Apostles’ faith• It is considered the oldest Roman catechism• A tradition from the Middle Ages holds that on

Pentecost, while under the influence of the Holy Spirit, each Apostle composed a separate article

• This creed is use in prayers like the Rosary and was expanded into the Nicene Creed

Apostles’ Creed

• I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

• I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.• He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and

born of the Virgin Mary.• He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died,

and was buried. • He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose

again. • He ascended into Heaven, and is seated at the right

hand of the Father.

The 12 Articles of the Apostle’s Creed

• He will come again to judge the living and the dead

• I believe in the Holy Spirit,• The holy catholic Church, the communion

of saints, • The forgiveness of sins, • The resurrection of the body,• And the life everlasting. Amen

The 12 Articles of the Apostle’s Creed (Cont)

The Didache – The Teachings of the Twelve Apostles

• A brief early Christian treatise dated from the mid to late 1st century

• The Greek manuscript was rediscovered in 1873 • It is the oldest surviving written catechism

containing 3 main sections:– Christian ethics– Rituals (Baptism and Eucharist)

Church organization (considered the first example of the Church Orders)

The Didache – The Teachings of the Twelve Apostles (Cont)

• Although anonymous it is considered part of the category of second-generation Christian writings know as the Apostolic Fathers

• It is a pastoral manual which reveals more about how Jewish-Christians saw themselves and how they adapted their Judaism for gentiles

• The contents can be divided into 4 parts– Two Ways, the Way of Life and the Way of Death– A ritual dealing with Baptism*, fasting and Communion*– The ministry and how to deal with traveling prophets– A brief apocalypse– * The Hidden Manna p. 18-19

Apostolic Fathers• What are the qualities that distinguish an Apostolic Father?

– Those who came right after the Apostles and who were directly acquainted with them

– They were instructed by the Apostles– Their writings coincide with the end of the writings of the NT

between 80-100 A.D.• Who were the Apostolic Fathers?

– St. Clement – Peter and Paul– St. Ignatius of Antioch - John– St. Polycarp – John

• Other document attributed to the Apostolic Fathers– The Didache

The Explosion of Christianity

• 12 Apostles • Grew to over

• 2.18 Billion Christians • In the World by

• 2010

Catechism of the Catholic Church

• Part I The Profession of Faith• Part II The Celebration of the Christian

Mystery• Part III Life in Christ• Part IV Christian Prayer

Early Christian Time Line*

• 63 BC Pompey captures Jerusalem• 37 – 4 AD Herod the Great – roman puppet– Archelaus 4BC-6AD Banished by Rome– Herod Philip 4BC-34AD - Died– Herod Antipas 4 BC-39 AD – Banished

• 0-6 AD Birth of Jesus the Christ• 6-15 Annas – High Priest appointed by Rome• 18-37 Caiaphas – High Priest selected by the

Jews

Early Christian Time Line (Cont)

• 26-36 Pontius Pilate – 5th Prefect of Rome• 30-33 Christ is crucified, raised and ascends• 33 Pentecost• 33 Stephen is martyred• 33-34 Saul’s conversion• 41-44 Herod Agrippa I assumes throne• 45-58 Paul’s three missionary journeys• 50 – 70 Matthew’s Gospel completed


• 50 Council of Jerusalem• 50-51 Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians• 55-58 Paul’s 1st and 2nd Corinthians• 58 Paul’s Romans• 60-69 Luke’s Gospel completed• 62 Luke completes the Book Acts• 64-68 Christian persecution begins under Nero• 64-67 St Peter and St Paul martyred in Rome


• 66-69 Mark’s Gospel completed• 66-70 War of the Jews• 68 Acts of the Apostles completed• 70 Destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem • 80-100 John’s Gospel completed• 80-100 Didache the first catechism produced• 95-96 Christian persecution continues under

Domitian


• 95 Paul’s Epistles and Acts used in liturgy• 98-117 Christian persecution continues under

Trajan• 100 Jamnia Conference decides Hebrew canon• 105 John dies ending Apostolic age

Transition

• Next we will look at an introduction to Acts and the Epistles of Paul

Documents

Copies of Bible Study Class Charts Presented on 9/9/14