Ever wondered how history and the Bible fit together?

People that you have heard about in the history books, stories that you have read about, and even movies that you have watched, do they ever come together and connect? Yes! The Greek city of Philippi is a perfect example of watching real historical events & people connect to real Biblical characters and events. Just look at some of these extraordinary and interesting stories that make those kinds of connections.  You are going to love this!  I do!

HISTORY OF PHILIPPI:

Okay, so first of all… this is not that blah blah boring history.  This is exciting history.  So don’t check out. You are about to have an “aha moment”!

The city of Philippi was located in Upper Greece (Macedonia), and was a heavily populated Roman Colony at the time of Paul.  When Rome conquered Greece, it allowed most of the cities to remain Greek. The Romans liked the Greek culture and Greek gods, and were known to mix the culture with their own. But something happened in Philippi that caused it to become overwhelmingly Roman. The city was a strong Roman colony. Hang on to that thought, and I’ll come back to it in a minute.

So, we need to back up just a little bit in the history of Philippi to get the full story. I’ll keep it brief.

WHERE PHILIPPI GOT ITS NAME

Do you have any idea where the city got its name? Philippi. The city was named after the Macedonian King Phillip. Who was Phillip? The father of Alexander the Great. Isn’t that cool? Now, we are all very familiar with the infamous Alexander the Great. The conqueror of all the known world! It is reported in the history books that he was sad that there was nothing left to conquer. Wow! He came on the scene like a strong hurricane wind and took the world by the tail. He swiftly took over the Persian Empire and continued to expand all the surrounding land mass. During the heights of his glory years, he was unbelievable. He was unbeatable. He was one of the best warriors of all time.

So, Alexander’s father conquered the city of Philippi in 356 BC and renamed it after himself.

PHILIPPI, AN IMPORTANT CITY

The Via Egnatia, (see previous post on this amazing road) went straight through the city and straight to the city of Rome. It makes sense that Philippi was on one of the main trade routes, which made it a very important city. It was in a very strategic location during ancient times. Not only that, but it was famous for gold mines (Can you say money?) and for many springs of water. (How about that? Maybe one of the springs ran into the extremely cold water of the river that we talked about in an earlier post. The river where Paul met Lydia.) So… by the time that young Alexander rose to power, the city of Philippi had become the capital of the Greek Empire. A very influential and important city. 

So,  after Alexander died at the age of 32, things were never the same. The empire was divided among 4 generals, and within a short time, it became weakened and was defeated by Rome. Rome made its final takeover of Greece in 146 BC at the Battle of Corinth (Yes, the same city of Corinth in the Bible that you know that Paul establishes a church and writes a few letters. Corinthians.) Are you seeing all the connections already? We haven’t even got to the good stuff yet.

After the takeover, the Romans embraced the Greek culture and allowed Greece to remain several independent city-states. However, Philippi was one city that became a strong Roman Colony due to the Roman road, the great wealth, and a large number of Roman military & veterans settled here. Here’s where the story gets really interesting…

THE BATTLE OF PHILIPPI

There was a HUGE Battle that took place in Philippi. It is known as the Battle of Philippi (makes sense) and was fought in 42BC. You may be thinking, “So what?” I mean, why would you even have ever heard of that battle? Maybe you haven’t, BUT you have heard of the people who were involved in that battle. Ever heard of Julius Caesar? Of course!  Okay, let’s connect! Isn’t this fun????

We all remember the story of Julius Caesar, the self-appointed dictator of Rome. He was brutally assassinated by the Roman Senate in 44 BC. Stabbed to death by each of the members. The attack was led by two guys in the Senate. Their names were Brutus & Cassius.  Well, Julius Caesar’s good friend, Marc Antony wanted to seek revenge for his death against the two leaders who headed up the killing mob. Now, Marc Antony does not go it alone. Someone else joins the fight. His name: Octavian. This is Julius Caesar’s adopted son and would inherit the leadership of the empire. You may not recognize the name Octavian, but hang on to that name because you will recognize who he is. I promise! This will blow you away!

So, Marc Antony  & Octavian join forces to seek revenge against Brutus and Cassius.  Marc Antony & Octavian chased them from Rome to the city of Philippi, where the battle ensued. The battle was considered the largest military battle fought on Greek soil and the largest conflict involving the largest number of Roman legions in a single battle.  It was a HUGE BATTLE with an estimated 200,000 Roman troops, with fairly equal numbers on both sides. Equally matched. 

Who won the Battle of Philippi? You guessed it! Marc Antony & Octavian did what they sought to do. Together, they defeated the forces of those who had assassinated Julius Caesar and avenged his death. Just an interesting side note: Brutus and Cassius were not killed in combat, but they both committed suicide.

After the war, many of the Roman soldiers stayed and settled in the city of Philippi. So, that is why it was heavily influenced by the Romans when many other Greek city-states remained Greek. Isn’t that interesting?

So, this is one of the reasons why the Roman laws about religion were more strict in Philippi than in some of the other cities that Paul & Silas visited, because of the heavy population and influence of the Romans. 

OCTAVIAN

Okay, back to Octavian. Remember, I said that you would recognize Octavian? So, we already identified that he was the adopted son of Julius Caesar. But… there is SO MUCH MORE to the story.

Later, after the Battle of Philippi, when Octavian & Marc Antony fought together on the same side, they then began to fight against each other. Each is fighting for the throne. Octavian against Marc Antony and Cleopatra of Egypt for the empire. After their long war, Octavian finally defeated both of them, and he became the first official Roman Emperor in 27BC.

Here is the deal. Octavian changes his name. Are you ready? He changes his name to Augustus.  (31BC-14AD). Augustus is actually the first ruler of Rome and uses the name Caesar after Julius and his dynasty.

Does the name Caesar Augustus ring a bell with anyone?

Luke 2, “In those days, Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman World…and everyone went to their own town to register.”  

Isn’t that crazy? Caesar Augustus is Julius Caesar’s son. All of these things happened just before the time of Christ’s birth. Julius Caesar, Marc Anthony, and Cleopatra lived during the time in history that led to Caesar Augustus, which led to the time of Jesus. All are connected to Caesar Augustus, who was the Caesar of Rome at the time of Christ’s birth.

Now, that is an intersection of History and the Bible! That is an “AHA MOMENT!” Don’t you love it?

Jesus lived in the history of the world. The Apostles and Paul lived right in the middle of history. The Bible is not separated from history but is being played out alongside history. It may be more true history than what we read in the history books. God is the One who is in control of history and events. Everything will end exactly as He says. No matter the battles, or the wars, or the struggles, God has it ALL under control. Oh, and by the way… in case you are wondering… God WINS! The end of “His Story” is already written. I’m so thankful that I am on God’s team!