The original gospel events occurred in a set piece of history like a jewel in a crown. Just like a jewel sparkles in the light - the earth sparkled with the Light from the Messiah. The entire planet had been staged to create the perfect setting for the Messiah to deliver his message.

Jesus lived during the time period that is often referred to as the Pax Romana. According to all surviving historical records, there were no major wars during Jesus’ lifetime. While Jesus was alive humanity experienced the least amount of violence in the history of the planet. The period of peace provided a quiet setting that allowed large crowds to gather and hear the message of the Messiah unmolested or disturbed by warfare.

The reconstruction of the temple of Jerusalem was completed by Herod just over a decade before Jesus was born. Herod’s temple was the largest version of the temple that had been created and was possibly the largest building erected on the planet in the 1^st century BC. Some of the stone blocks used for the temple weighed over 100 tons with the largest over 500 tons. It was one of the most famous structures in the Roman Empire at the time of its completion. When Jesus taught in the temple prior to Passover visitors to the building may have numbered as high as 400,000 people. When Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem for the last time riding a donkey – he was hailed as the Son of David by the largest crowd of people anywhere on earth.

Israel was ruled for the last time by a Jewish king prior to Herod’s takeover of the nation. The Jewish nation would be conquered by the Romans forty years after Jesus’ crucifixion and destroyed slightly over a hundred years after his ascension. Paganism had taken over the entire planet with the exception of Israel. The last group of people on the planet who weren’t pagans were about to be conquered and forcibly converted to paganism or become slaves. The instructions Jesus gave his disciples in the Olivet discourse saved the Christians from the Roman destruction and preserved the Christians to convert humanity from paganism.

Dr. J. Michael Clontz – Editor of The Comprehensive New Testament