cheenc03a.pdf

ROME (EMPIRE)
Marcion laid the foundations of a recognition of a
written norm of truth, of belief jxou&v ~ $ 5 &hnsriar,
7% ~IsT~wI). one gospel and tm
Pauline Epistler
libratwe,
jib E6oyyihcov nai
d 'Arborohor [~A'Aroorahmbv]), which
the church as it grew Catholic soon spread far and
wid" and accrofed-alons " with the older traditionas
the touchstone of truth. Into thir leccleriantical!
canon Rome, according to the list dkcovered
published in modern times by Muratori, introduced a
larger collection of Old-Christian writing8 differing but
slightly in extent from the NT an that was finally fired
by well-nigh the xrhole of Christendom. Marcion alro
wrotean orthodoxlyconceioed 'E~lstle' and 'Antitheses'
or ,separuaon dr 1.a~ and Gospel' (~ntithricr or
Seporotio iffir at eyongciii) ; Valentinus was the author
of ' E~i~flcs.' ' Homilies.' and ' Pralmr.' Some un-
(iviru,i&r repi ripirnl -1 bpo~~ias). conreived, according
to its o,?n description of itself (6321, in the interests of
peace in the churches, and especially in the matter of
the election of elders, and the second is an 'Exhortation
concerning continence' (Zupp~uhia rep1 bnprriar,
15x1. Hermas wrote his Shepherd to stir up all to
repentance ; ' Ignatiur ' composed his ' Epistles' upon
love for the promotion of martyrdom and an behalf of
right views in doctrine and in life. He and others
contributed largely to the upbuilding of their own as
well as other churches, where their epistles %,ere diligently
read. Thus the Roman leaderr exercised influence in
ever-widening circles, and opened up the my, often
quite unconsciously, far the spiritual predominance of
their felloir-believers abroad. Fro", the middle of the
second century another element that had no small
influence alro was the eKort after a one-man government
of the church, first on the part of Rome alone, but
afterwards also on thnt of others who afterwards
nriocinfed thrmselver with it in this. Polycvrp of
Smyma, seeking for comfort at the hands of Anicetus
of Rome in the mattpr of orthodox observance of Easter.
of the Qytodecimans. Polycrater of Epherus, was
excommun~cated by Victor of Rome and cur off from
the felloivship of the fairhful (see Raur, Das Chrirtenfhum
u. d Chri~tl. Kirchc dcr drei Erilrn johrh. 1853,
pp. qr-157). In thir manner the preponderance and
authoritativenesr, and ultimately the supremacy, of the
church of Rome had already come to he recognised in
the East before the end of the second century.
ROME (EMPIRE). The Roman Empire has been
:yp-d Lo be alluded to in Dan. 2 and 7, but the interprera8ol
83 one which the progrer5of hirtory hnr to be untcn=ble
(Driver Dnnirl, 98; see the whole dircurrron,
is cefeded to by name in hihlisal writings for t?%~,t ti$?:
connection with Antiachui Epi hams: this 'sinful mot we
ave told. had been n hartnge at Zoma (I Macc. 1.0, is
4" .ri '?&*,,).
ROME (EMPIRE)
The topography and history of Rome and of the Roman
Empire is so vsrr a suhject and is so fully dealt wirh by various
writcrrand ineasily accersiblework,ofreference th., ir harbcen
deemed sufficient, in rhe rpcc our dirpo~~, ;imply to touch
upon the ~~?hl~rn of the relsrion of Ronle to Judrirm and to
earl" Chrinran~rr.
Destined to play such an important part in the
~olitical and relizious history of the lews, the Em~ire
bme and the came into close touch with them for
Hasmoneans, the first time in the early days of the
revolt a~ain~f the vouer of Syria.
About the year 161 B.C. judni the 6lllaccabee hu'ing
heard of the great fame of the Romans, rent nn emharry
'to make a league of amity and confederacy nith them.
and lhat they should take the yoke from them ; forthey
snw that the kingdom of the Greeks did keep Israel in
bondage' (I 3lacc.81$ : cp 2 Macc 1134, Jor Ant.
xii. 106 Justin363). The mission war rucceiiful : but
before the news ariived Judas was slain (I Macc. 91-18 ;
I . A . xi. 1 In la? ,-
B.C. the alliance wan
&wed by the 'stairsmanlike Jonathan (I hlacc.
121-+ 16: J05. Ant. ~iii 58). On the death oiJanathan.
Simon, his brother and successor, like his ~redccerroir.
also sent to Rome to reek a reneiial df friendshsp:
The nrnbussador, thir time Numenius, was sgnin
soccerriul, and 'the Romans issued a decree to all the
peoples of the East, announciug that they had entered
into a league of friendship with the Jens' (W. D.
Morrison. ThelmsvnderKornonRuir. '3). H~'C""US,
again, Simon's son and successor, after the death of
Antiochus (129 B.C.), to escape paying any "lore the
tribute which the Syrian had exacted, rent yet another
embassy to Rome, and again 'in accordance with the
settled principle of Roman policy in the Eaat. the Jui~ish
mission was received in a friendly manner, their
grievances were attentively heard. and n decree uas
issued. ordering the Syrinnr to relinquish their clnims
to frillute, and declaring void whatever Antiochur had
done in Juclara in opposition to previous declarations
of the senate [Jos. An/. xiii. 92 f 1' (Morrison, op. iii
6 ) . After this several causes combined to n.eaken
the oorer of the Svriani, , . so that the Tews no loneer "
had any cause to fear them.
Such were the first rclntions of the ewi with the ~omnn
Empire, if we =re to trust tradition; d"t rr Morriron s~ain
ohserves (ry), 'ronie of thase ruppored alliances rest upon rery
slender hirtor~cal foundations.' Fur further detail% we murr
refer the reader to rhe article Macc~srzs(cp is was^).
While the Roman Empire was becoming more and
more im~erialirtic, within the Te\viih nation was aririne. "
through the play of new id*?% thnt spirit
part
,, Jeaish
y-apki t ,~f faction which was to rend it asunder
even in the face of a common foe isee
SADDUCEES, SCRlBEs AND PHARISEES : Cp ISRAEL).
See again on the history of the period M~ccna~~s,
and JINNXVS. The disputer b~tween Pharisees and
Sadducees did not end hith words ; in the coliteit
between the soldiers of Alexander and the Pharisees
much blood rraa spilt. The struggle went on throughout
the reign of Alexander, though towards the end
he was able to ruidue the Pharisees and their allies
the Syrians: it continued during the reign of Salorne
Alexandra (78-69 B.c.). in which John Hyrcanus. one
of Alexander's sons was contenl to act ns high priest;
and into the reign of Aristobulus (69~63 nc).
Alexander's other son. It rapped the strength of the
nation ro that it war ready to fall an easy prey to a
power that aimed at expansion. U'hen the Romans.
who for a time had been otherwise occupied, again
turned their attention to the &?st, having been roused to
action by the revolt of Mithridates. king of Pontur, in
88 BC., and when success had attended their arms in
the very neighbourho~d of this people that had wantonly
reduced itself to a state of miserable weakness, it uas
natural and inevitable that the Roman Emoire should
be further extended. Another civil war in Palestine
(66 sc.) gave Pompey his opportunity. Hyrcanus.
lnflueneed by the schemer .4nripater, had plotted to