A Brief History of Mesopotamia and Jesus’ Life
(This is an excerpt from a University Of Metaphysical Sciences course at www.umsonline.org, please feel free to visit the school website)
The history of this region of the world goes back some 5,000
years. The Canaanites were the earliest known inhabitants of
Palestine
, about 3,000 B.C. They became
urbanized and lived in city-states, one of which was
Jericho.
Moses leads the Jews, wondering in
the desert for 40 years, on the Exodus from
Egypt
in the 12th century B.C. In
1,230 B.C., Joshua conquered parts of
Palestine
.
In 1,000 B.C. King David, defeated the Philistines, and eventually assimilated
with the Canaanites. The unity of
Israel
allowed David to build a large independent state, with
Jerusalem
its capitol. In 333 B.C. the
Persian domination of
Palestine
was replaced by Greek rule when Alexander the Great of Macedonia took the
region. Alexander’s successors, the Ptolemies of Egypt and the Seleucids of
Syria, continued to rule the country. The Seleucids tried to impose Hellenistic
(Greek) culture and religion on the population. In 132-35 BC Jewish revolts
erupted, numerous Jews were killed, many were sold into slavery, and the rest
were not allowed to visit
Jerusalem
.
Judea
was renamed Syria Palaistina. It was
into this social unrest that Jesus of Nazareth was born.
Most theologians and religious
historians believe that the approximate birth date of Yeshua of Nazareth
(Jesus) was in the fall, sometime between 7 and 4 BCE during the rule of King
Herod, although we have seen estimates as late as 4 CE and as early as the
second century BCE. Jesus was born in
Bethlehem
in the Roman
province
of
Judea
. His mother is
commonly thought to have conceived him through the “immaculate conception,”
meaning that his mother was given Jesus not through sexual intercourse, but
rather by God itself. However, this is actually a misconception. The Doctine of Ineffabilis Deus,
presented by Pius IX, and accepted by the Catholic Church on December 8th, 1854
asserts that Mary was exempt from original sin (the sin committed at her conception),
making her a pure receptacle for Christ, is largely responsible for this
belief. Joseph and Mary, his parents, lived in
Nazareth
,
a Roman
province
of
Galilee
. Years after,
he began his teaching mission. His attempts to call people back to pure
teachings were judged subversive by the authorities. He was tried as a heretic
and sentenced to death on the cross (a common sentence for prisoners.)
After the death of Jesus many Christian groups were formed. By the
end of the 1st century, three main movements remained in Christianity. One
group was the Pauline Christians: a group of mainline congregations, largely of
non-Jewish Christians. Some had been converted by Paul and his colleges. They
evolved to become the established church. Another group was the Gnostic
Christians, who claimed salvation through special, otherwise secret, gnosis (knowledge).
They were declared heretics and were gradually suppressed. A third group was
the Jewish Christians, a group originally headed by James, the brother of
Yeshua, and Jesus’ disciples. They were scattered throughout the Roman Empire
after the destruction of
Jerusalem
in 70 A.D. and gradually disappeared. By 400 A.D., The Bishop of Rome was
recognized as the most senior of all bishops. Siricius (384-399 CE) became the
first bishop to be called Pope. Pauline Christianity became a bonafide religion.
