1. In the Fullness of Time – Part 1 (Galatians 4:4-7)
Understanding the Book of Acts through a First Century AD “Lens”

2. The Fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC

3. The Babylonian Exile

4. The Jewish Diaspora

5. The Persians and the Edict of Cyrus

6. The Restoration Jewish Community and Its Leaders

7. The End of the Old Testament
What is our Ultimate Destination? What do we do now?
A Strong Messianic Expectation (Psalm 2). What happened to Zerubbabel?
The Book of Chronicles: A Message to the Restoration Jewish Community

8. Terminologies for Our Study
BC: The Exilic Period
BC: The Post Exilic Period / The Persian Period / The Restoration Period / The Return to Zion
BC: The Hellenistic Period, including the Hasmonean Period of ca BC
63 BC-AD 330: The Roman Period
ca. 400 BC-ca. 4 BC: The Inter-Testamental Period (the 400 “silent years”)
ca. 4 BC-ca. AD 90: The New Testament Period
539 BC-AD 70: The Second Temple Period / The Second Commonwealth (both in Jewish Terminology)

9. The Birth of Judaism and the Origin of the Synagogue
beth ha’am: “The House of the People” (Jeremiah 39:8) hints at activity during the reign of Josiah or earlier, during the brutal reign of Manasseh (2 Kings 21:16)
beth midrash: “House of (Bible) Study or Learning” (literally “to seek”)
Synagogues were certainly in use during the Exile as a beth haknesset or “House of Assembly” (a Jewish Community Center)
The Synagogue is a Jewish prototype for the Christian Church and provided a pre existing public platform and aid in Jewish (and Gentile) evangelism for Paul and the other Apostles

10. Gamla: A First Century AD Synagogue

11. The Samaritans

12. The Arrival of Hellenism
A Pantheon of Deities
The Gymnasium
A Cultural and Religious Threat to Judaism
Koine (Common) Greek: The International Trade Language
The Septuagint (LXX) translation of the OT (ca BC in Alexandria, Egypt)