Dr Paul Allen

English: Roman Triumphal arch panel copy from Beth Hatefutsoth, showing spoils of Jerusalem temple. עברית: העתק של שער הניצחון של טיטוס (מוצב במוזיאון התפוצות) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Gessius Florus loved money and hated Jews. As Roman procurator , he ruled Judea, caring little for their religious sensibilities. When tax revenues were low, he seized silver from the Temple. In 66, as the uproar against him grew, he sent troops into Jerursalem to crucify and massacre some of the Jews. Florus’s action sparked the explosion of a rebellion that had been sizzling for some time. For the previous century, Rome had not handled the Jews very well. First Rome had propped up the hated usurper Herod the Great. For all the beautiful public buildings he erected, Herod could not buy his way into the people’s hearts. Herod’s son and successor, Archelaus, was so bad that the people cried to Rome for relief. Rome obliged by sending a series of governors—Pontius Pilate, Felix, Festus, and Flo...

Without the Roman Empire , Christianity might never have spread so successfully. You could say the empire was a tinderbox awaiting the spark of Christian faith . The empire’s unifying elements aided in the expansion of the Gospel: Roman roads made travel easier than it had ever been before; throughout the realm, people spoke Greek; and the mighty Roman army kept peace. As a result of the increased mobility, pockets of migrant craftsmen settled for a time in a major city— Rome , Corinth, Athens, or Alexandria—then moved on to another. Christianity stepped into an open climate, religiously. In a sort of “new age” movement many people had begun to embrace eastern religions—the worship of Isis, Dionysus, Mithras, Cybele, and others. Worshipers searched for new beliefs, but some of these religions had been declared illegal, because they were suspected of offensive rituals. Other faiths were officially recognized—like Judaism, which had enjoyed a protected position since the days of J...