1. The Coming of Christ

2. Jesus of Nazareth
• Most important human who has ever lived
• Mary was a descendant of King David

3. Jesus was Lord, Christ & Savior
• Lord because Jesus would fulfill the Davidic
Covenant
• Christ because he was the Messiah
• Savior because he would save his people from
their sad condition

4. The New Covenant
• Jesus’ death would mark the beginning of the
New Covenant
• The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ
mark the most important turning point in
history
• The gospel – Jesus dies for the sins of humans
and has been raised again to save them
forever

5. Spread of Christianity
• Jesus told his disciples to tell all nations about
the Gospel (Matt. 28: 18-19)
• He gave the holy spirit to his people at
Pentecost and the Christian church was born

6. Saul of Tarsus
• He practiced Judaism which is the religion of
the Jews
• He tried to wipe out the Christian church

7. • Jesus confronted him and he was converted
• He became a leader in the spread of
Christianity
• Spread Christianity into Asia Minor, Greece,
Rome and perhaps even Spain

8. Paul taught two truths:
1. no one could be saved from sin by obeying
the conditions of the Mosiac Covenant
2. Jesus was the promised seed of Abraham
who would bring a blessing to all nations

9. Growth of Christianity
• Jerusalem was destroyed and the temple
burned by Romans
• This actually helped Christianity
1. Ended the persecuting of Christians from
Judaism
2. Drove Christians out of Judea

10. Roman Persecutions
• Emperor Nero blamed
the Christians for the
fire that swept through
Rome in AD 64

11. • Violent persecutions
were recorded by the
historian Tacitus

12. Emperor Diocletian

13. • The Great Persecution occurred under
Diocletian
• Had to offer sacrifices to pagan gods or be
tortured and killed

15. • Jean-Leon Gerome
• Oil painting
• French painter
• 1883

16. • Romans hoped that these persecutions would
put an end to Christianity
• Christianity was purified through the
opposition, not destroyed

17. Emperor Constantine
• He converted to Christianity
• Issued the Edit of Milan which put an end to
almost 300 years of persecution
• Moved capitol of Rome to Byzantium. The
people called it Constantinople.
(Constantine’s City)

18. Emperor Constantine

19. Istanbul not Constantinople
by the Four Lads

20. Council of Nicaea
• Organized by Constantine,
• They met to consider the deity of Christ
• They concluded there was only one God
• They affirmed the doctrine of the Trinity

21. The Trinity

22. Theodosius I
• Made Christianity the only recognized religion
in the empire. All others were illegal.
• Divided Rome into two empires: Roman
empire and Byzantine Empire
• The Roman empire was conquered by
barbarians and Christianity was blamed

23. Theodosius I

24. The City of God
• A book written by Augustine (North Africa)
after Rome fell
• Said that Christians should not fear Rome’s
fall. Empires come and go, but God’s city is
forever.

25. Augustine