JESUS ESCAPES IN EGYPT - THE FULLNESS OF TIME (2)

At first, Jesus hardly seemed a threat to the political power.

JESUS was born under Caesar Augustus, at a time when hope wafted through the Roman Empire - "Pax Romana"(universal peace). More than any other ruler, Augustus raised the expectations of what a leader could accomplish and what a society could achive. It was Augustus, in fact, who first borrowed the Greek word for "Gospel" or "Good News" and applied it as a label for the new world order represented by his reign. The empire declared him a god and established rites of worship. His enlightened and stable regime, many believed, would last forever, a final solution to the problem of government.

Meanwhile, in an obscure corner of Augustus' empire, the birth of a baby named Jesus was overlooked by the chroniclers of the day. We know about Him mainly through four books written years after His death. Jesus' biografers would also borrow the word "gospel", proclaiming a different kind of new world order altogether. They would mention Augustus only once, a passing reference to set the date of a census that ensured Jesus would be born in Bethlehem...

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