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GOD’S PLAN FOR THE AGES LUKE THE WRITER, HISTORICAN, PHYSICAN AND MISSIONARY

Luke 1:1-4 42.2

Charles e Whisnant, February 26, 2012

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Remember the motion picture titled “The Greatest Story Ever Told.” (1965). The story about Jesus. Interesting the world seem to understand that this was the greatest story ever told. I have heard a lot of stories over the years. Some of course are very good stories, I have told a few myself over the years. But you know there is only one story that transcends time and space. There are stories with come great plots, some are true, some are fiction, some are made into motion pictures and some are factual.

But none in my mind transcends the story of Jesus Christ. A story that has and will continue to effect peoples lives. And Luke writes about this man called Jesus. And truly is indeed the greatest story ever told.

God had a plan from eternity, some where in eternity God had a plan. I don’t know of course, but Heaven was on His mind, I believe. Heaven was the starting point of His plan.

The Father talked to Son and the Holy Spirit, and they drew up a blueprint of what Heaven should be like, and who is going to live there. “Somewhere in Time.”i No not the one where Christopher Reeves and Jane Seymour started in in 1980. The plan was made.

God has a plan for the ages. ii

Is 46:10 "I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please."

So what was the plan set forth? The plan was perfect.iii

How did God design history?

God in His infinite wisdom and power would not have created a world without a definite plan for that world.

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The Pelagian denies that God has a plan; the Arminian says that God has a general but not a specific plan; but the Calvinist says that God has a specific plan which embraces all events in all ages. In recognizing that the eternal God has an eternal plan in which is predetermined every event that comes to pass, the Calvinist simply recognizes that God is God, and frees Him from all human limitations. The Scriptures represent God as a person, like other persons in that His acts are purposeful, but unlike other persons in that He is all-wise in His planning and all-powerful in His performing. They see the universe as the product of His creative power, and as the theater in which are displayed His glorious perfections, and which must in all its form and all its history, down to the least detail, correspond with His purpose in making it.iv

God’s plan is eternal. It didn’t just occur to Him on the spur of the moment. There was never a plan B. Even if it looks like it to us. Adam and Eve event. Noah and the flood. Jesus death on the cross.

Well God had his creation and creatures in mind when He did.

God put together a wonderful plan for eternity. There are no random events of God’s plan.

“The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is form the Lord” Proverbs 16:33

Now when He created mankind He desired to have fellowship with Him and have His creation worship and give Him glory for ever in time and space and in eternity.

The omniscient Creator presupposes that God has a plan and an order for the universe He created. This plan was made.

The Scriptures about with statements describing God's plan and purpose for creation, for man and for history. These statements will go far beyond the normal ...

THE PLAN OF GODv

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"This is the plan devised against the whole earth; and this is the hand that is stretched out against all the nations. "For the Lord of hosts has planned, and who can frustrate it? And as for His stretched-out hand, who can turn it back?"

As I said this Plan was formed before the Creation. Ephesians 1:4; and 2 Timothy 1:9.

Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. (Ephesians 1:4).

Who has saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted to us in Christ from all eternity. (2 Timothy 1:9).

Of course the plan of man seem to contrast with the eternal plan of the Lord. Psalms 33:10-11

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"The Lord nullifies the counsel of the nations; He frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart from generation to generation." (Psalm 33:10-11).

The plan of God is unchangeable, even if it seems to appear to change from man’s point of view

Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation, or shifting shadow. (James 1:17).

God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, the He should repent; has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? (Numbers 23:19).

We can conclude from this that God's plan was both determined before the creation, that it is unchangeable, and that it will continue to stand forever in this unchangeable state.

God has a plan for all events in History you now.

In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will. (Ephesians 1:11).

God's Plan includes where and when men live.

"And He made from one, every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times, and the boundaries of their habitation." (Acts 17:26).

The phrase "having determined" is translated from the aorist active participle of the Greek verb horizo. It is a general rule of Greek grammar that the action of an aorist participle precedes the action described by the main verb which governs it. In this case, the main verb is found in the phrase, "He made from one" and refers to the creation of man. This means that God has predetermined when and where on earth all men would live.

God's Plan includes all of the Acts of Men.

This is stated as a general principle in the book of Proverbs where we read: "The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps." (Proverbs 16:9)

God's Plan includes the Sinful Acts of Men.

God's plan includes the acts of men which are sinful and evil in nature. This principles is illustrated in the sin of the sons of Jacob in selling their brother Joseph into slavery.

But Joseph said to them, "Do not be afraid, for am I in God's place? And as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive." (Genesis 50:19-20).

God's Plan includes "Chance Happenings."

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The plan of God includes those events which appear to be merely "chance happenings" - those events which seem to come about just by chance. The principle is stated in Proverbs.

The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord. (Proverbs 16:33).

God discloses his purposes in sacred or redemptive history.vi

The Bible has at least four historical narratives: (1) mankind from creation to flood (2) covenant nation Israel (3) Jesus life and ministry, and (4) the early church. The Bible is the inspired record of these histories and the inspired interpretation of God's purposes in these events.

Yes, the events in Genesis with Adam and Eve was part of the plan. God has a plan. And that plan is revealed in the beginning with the opening chapters of the book of Genesis and continuing to the book of Revelation.

God planned for a SALVATION HISTORY. God’s plan was to bring salvation to a fallen mankind. And the Lord planned the events.

The coming of God’s Son to earth is an event of such immensity that God willed to prepare for it over the centuries. He makes everything come together on Christ. Christ in the Old Testament and the New Testament is the greatest story ever told.

An as we go aboard upon this unbelievable gospel of Luke, the longest book of the gospels, (yes Kindra, this series could take some time.) What a remarkable gospel,

But before we get into the Gospel story which begins in verse 5, I want you to meet Luke, because he is not to be heard of again.

LUKE THE WRITER, PHYSICAN, HISTORIAN, THE SERVANT

Let me again read to you the first four verses:

"Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eye witnesses and servants of the Word have handed them to us, it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning to write it out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus, so that you might know the exact truth about the things you have been taught

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Luke gives us a prologue in which he discusses the sources of his story about Christ. Luke wants us to understand that he is not writing in a vacuum. He’s not writing intuitively or he’s not writing some tale that he himself has invented, but rather he is writing a legitimate history and Luke wants us to know something of his sources, and something of his intentions, and his purposes and the direction that he is going to go in this history that he is going to write.

Now we knew Matthew and we know Mark and even John, but where did Luke come from? He just appears unannounced and unexpected. Where he was before now, who knows. And he does not even name himself ever in this gospel.

So how do we know it was Luke. Well in Acts 15 we see something of him. 15:9-10. We see “we” and “us” In Acts 28 Paul notes that Luke was with him in the end. And it seems that Luke was a long-term companion of the Apostle Paul. And 2 Timothy 4:11 Luke is named again Paul says Luke is still with me..only Luke. So at the end of Paul’s life, in his final Roman imprisonment , Luke is still with Paul.

We know that Luke was the only Gentile writer of the Bible. Colossians 4:11, Paul introduces his Jewish companions and fellow workers, then he refers to Luke who therefore is understood to be a Gentile.

You can know a lot about someone why the company they keep. Luke was a long time co worker with Paul. That would make him faithful. And being with Paul he must have had come endurance. He must have had stick-with-it. Brave to have stayed with Paul in all his missionary trips.

In the first four verses we learn he was educated. He was skilled in language. Really? His prologue is done in classic Greek. And from 1:5 to the end the writing was in Koine Greek.

He wrote the opening in classic Greek as would any Greek classical writer would typically introduce their writing.

And he knew Theophilus who was somebody of a higher caliber than normal.

So it appears he was a man of culture. He must have been somewhat sophisticated that was acquired through education and exposure to the arts. Just a guess. He was writing for people of culture.

Just to note, the apostles were very common. And they were associated with common folks. They were known as unsophisticated Galileans. They were seen as ignorant and unlearned men.

Many be that is why Paul hung out with Luke. Paul was not ignorant or unlearned. Paul was a very well educated man in the Hellenistic culture of his day. After all Paul did set at the of the greatest Jewish teach of his time a man by the name of Gamaliel.

God wanted the learned people to be saved too, and not just the poor and lower class of people. The Gospel is for all people of all walks of life. Salvation is not just for men but women.

Luke was humble. Notice he never mentions himself. He doesn’t go around and telling people he wrote this book. Proud people talk about themselves. Humble people usually don’t. In Luke or Acts Luke did not mention himself.

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Luke was a careful scholar, and exact scholar. He would carefully investigate the truth. He was very accurate and exact in what he wrote.

He liked geography? He mention a number of geographical locations? The number of cities and towns and place mention in Luke and really in Acts are a lot.

Luke was aware that Matthew and Mark had written a gospel. But he wanted to write a longer and a more comprehensive and more complete and a more detailed comprehensive record of Jesus and the gospel.

As a matter of fact, the book Luke and Acts are really one book in two volumes. And this greatest story ever told, Jesus Christ, is a narrative over 60 years from the birth of John the Baptist to Paul’s preaching the Gospel in Rome.

Luke was physician, he was an historian, and he was a theologian and a pastor.

Luke was a missionary:

Paul and Luke left Philippi for Neapolis and sailed to Alexandria Troas to rendezvous with the others. The voyage took 5 days; it only took 2 days going the opposite direction on the second missionary journey.vii

Luke was a Gentile, a physician, and one of Paul’s disciples and fellow missionaries in the early spread of the Gospel through the Roman world. He is the author both of the Gospel that bears his name and its sequel, the Acts of the Apostles. He apparently did not know Jesus, writing that he compiled his narrative from the report of “those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses” (Luke 1). A tradition attested by Eusebius holds that he was one of the first members of the Christian community at Antioch.viii

Paul

Colossians 4:14 tells us that he was a physician. He was a scientist. He was an analytical man, and a careful thinker, and was educated. Was there an University in Antioch in Syria? He was after all a physicianix.

Luke most likely became a Christian in Antioch where Paul was on of five pastors. Maybe Paul who even led Luke to the knowledge of the gospel. Luke ever saw Christ, Christ died before Luke was converted.

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Luke stayed with Paul even thought he went to prison with Paul one in Caesarea and two in Rome. The traveled with Paul over a 1000 miles. He was Paul’s private personal physician.

Luke was a great HISTORIAN. 1:1-4 gives us that idea.

An historian want to be exact, they want to have all the facts, they are those who do a lot of research, they look at all the available accounts. And Luke had gathered a lot of sources. He kept good records.

He made every effort to base his writing on accurate sources. He want to write down the truth. He investigated every detail carefully from start to finish. He looked for eye witnesses and servants of the Lord who had first hand knowledge of Christ.

So he is going to be able to give an exact, historical detail accunt form all his notes. And of course the Holy Spirit will reveal things to him that he didn’t know, a combination of which, as we’ll see come together in the gospel of Luke.

LOOKING AT CHAPTER ONE

1Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us, 2Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;  3It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,  4That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.

Verse One:

1Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us

Luke’s method of researching for truth about Jesus and His ministry

Luke tells us that many have undertaken to compile an account. Matthew and Mark and others had written down autobiography of the experiences and the teaching of Jesus. Too bad there was no tape recorder or Kodak Share. There much have been reportor from the local newspapers.x

Rome had a particularly sophisticated system for circulating written news, centered on the acta -- daily handwritten news sheets, which were posted by the government in the Roman Forum from the year 59 B.C. to at least A.D. 222 and which were filled with news of such subjects as political happenings, trials, scandals, military campaigns and executions. China, too, had early government-produced news sheets, called the tipao, which were first circulated among officials during the Han dynasty (202 B.C. to A.D. 221) and were printed at some point during the T'ang dynasty (618 to 906

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Acta Diurna (Latin: Daily Acts sometimes translated as Daily Public Records) were daily Roman official notices, a sort of daily gazette. They were carved on stone or metal and presented in message boards in public places like the Forum of Rome. They were also called simply Acta or Diurna or sometimes Acta Popidi or Acta Publica.xi

Why did Luke say this in the first place: The gospel record is more than the life of Christ, it’s more than the story of Jesus, it’s the story of redemption, it’s the sotry of salvation accomplished among us. John MacArthur.

The main character is CHRIST, the main subject is salvation. The story is the story of what God accomplished through Christ in us by way of salvation

VERSE TWO

2Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;  

These accounts that have come to us of what God has accomplished among us come from eye witnesses and servants of the Word who have handed them down to us.”

Historian want back up to their writing. First hand source material. Luke was a true historian who cared about the facts been true.

Luke was indeed a reliable writer of the story about Christ. He gave first-hand authenticity.

Now I need to correct this point. Luke knew MARK. Mark traveled with Paul. And Mark had received first hand records from Peter.

Luke was a great interviewer. Critical to getting to the truth, eye witnesses.

These eye witnesses were those who became servants of the Word, that is the Gospel. They were those who were given the task by God to become servants of the gospel. Gospel preacher/teacher. These were those who knew Jesus and they watched His life and His ministry and they went out and preached the gospel They were faithful preachers who really established the truth.

These eye witnesses who were the servants of the Word, preacher of the Gospel, who knew Christ.

Remember God is in control of history and events? God gave them the first hand eye-witness experiences, then God enabled them to preserve those until a time as Matthew, Mark and John could be inspired and inscripturation them down.

This then is part of God’s plan for the preservation of the truth that is involved in maintaining the message.

This is so amazing to me. This I have never seen…

Luke is saying this: From the original starting place (with Christ) preserved by the servants of Jesus and the gospel.

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3It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,

As I have reviewed all the first hand material, I find the information accurate and to be creditable. And I have come to a perfect understanding of everything from the beginning of the gospel. And now after all this research and coming to a perfect understanding, I am now ready to write this book about Jesus Christ and the Gospel unto salvation.

First Luke gained an understanding of the life of Christ and Christ’s purpose of His coming as man through all the talking to those who knew Christ, and what he did not know the Spirit of God gave to him supernaturally. And the Holy Spirit guarded supernaturally, so he write down so very accurately and precisely and exactly as God wanted it to be recorded without error.

THE WRITTEN FORM OF THE GOSPEL OF LUKE: THE CODEXxii1Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us

i http://www.somewhereintime.tv/intro1.htm

ii http://www.disciplemakerministries.org/Pages/Books/ChartsIndex.htm

iii http://bible.org/seriespage/god%E2%80%99s-perfect-plan

iv http://www.mbrem123.com/calvinism/godplan.php great article.

In a very illuminating article on "Predestination," Dr. Benjamin B. Warfield, who in the opinion of the present writer has emerged as the outstanding theologian since John Calvin, tells us that the writers of Scripture saw the divine plan as "broad enough to embrace the whole universe of things, and minute enough to concern itself with the smallest details, and actualizing itself with inevitable certainty in every event that comes to pass." "In the infinite wisdom of the Lord of all the earth, each event falls with exact precision into its proper place in this unfolding of His eternal plan; nothing, however small, however strange, occurs without His ordering, or without its peculiar fitness for its place in the working out of His purposes; and the end of all shall be the manifestation of His glory, and accumulation of His praise. This is the Old Testament (as well as the New Testament) philosophy of the universes world-view which attains concrete unity in an absolute decree, or purpose, or plan of which all that comes to pass is the development in time." (Biblical Doctrines, pp. 13, 22.)

The very essence of consistent theism is that God would have an exact plan for the world, would foreknow the actions of all the creatures He proposed to create, and through His all-inclusive providence would control the whole system. If He fore- ordained only certain isolated events, confusion both in the natural -world and in human affairs would be introduced into the system and He would need to be constantly developing new plans to accomplish what be desired. His government of the world then would be a capricious patch work of new expedients He would at best govern only in a general way, and would be ignorant of much of the future. But no one with proper ideas of God believes that He has to change His mind every few days to make room for unexpected happenings which were not included in His original plan. If the perfection of the divine plan be denied, no consistent stopping place will be found short of atheism.

In the first place there was no necessity that God should create at all. He acted with perfect freedom when He brought this world into existence. When He did choose to create there was before Him an infinite number of possible plans. But as a matter of fact we find that He chose this particular one in which we now are. And since He knew perfectly every event of every kind which would be involved in this particular world-order, He very obviously predetermined every event which would happen when

He chose this plan. His choice of the plan, or His making certain that the creation should be on this order, we call His foreordination or His predestination.

v

SCRIPTURE PROOF

1. God's plan is eternal:

1. II Tim. 1:9:(It is God) who saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before times eternal.

2. Ps. 33:11: The counsel of Jehovah standeth fast for ever, The thoughts of His heart to all generations.

3. Is. 37:26: Hast thou not heard how I have done it long ago, and formed it of ancient times?4. Is. 46:9, 10: I am God and there is none like me; declaring the end from the beginning, and from

ancient times things that are not yet done.5. II Thess. 2:13: God chose you from the beginning unto salvation in sanctification of the Spirit

and belief of the truth.6. Matt. 25:34: Then shall the King say unto them on His right hand, Come, ye blessed of my

Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.7. I Peter 1:20: (Christ) who (as a sacrifice for sin) was foreknown indeed before the foundation of

the world.8. Jer. 31:3: Jehovah appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting

love.9. Acts 15:18: Saith the Lord, who maketh these things known from of old.10. Ps. 139:16: Thine eves did see mine unformed substance; And in thy book they were all written,

Even the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was none of them.

2. God's plan is unchangeable:

1. James 1:17: Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, neither shadow that is cast by turning.

2. Is. 14:24: Jehovah of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely, as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand.

3. Is. 46:10, 11: My counsel shall stand and I will do all my pleasure: . . . yea, I have spoken, and I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed I will also do it.

4. Nu. 23:19: God is not a man, that He should lie, Neither the son of man, that He should repent; Hath He said, and shall He not do it; Or hath He spoken, and shall He not make It good?

5. Mal. 3:6: I, Jehovah, change not; therefore, ye, 0 sons of Jacob, are not consumed.

3. The divine plan Includes the future acts of men:

1. Dan. 2:28: But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and He hath made known to the King Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days.

2. John 6:64: For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who it was that should betray Him.

3. Matt. 20:18, 19: Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests and scribes; and they shall condemn Him to death, and shall deliver Him unto the

Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify ; and the third day He shall be raised up. (All the Scripture prophecies which are predictions of future events come under this heading. See especially: Micah 5:2; Cp. with Matt. 2:5, 6 and Luke 2:1-7; Ps. 22:18, Cp. John 19:24; Ps. 69:21, Cp. John 19:29; Zech. 12:10, Cp. John 19:37; Mark 14:30; Zech. 11:12, 13, Cp. Matt. 27:9, 10; Ps. 34:19, 20, Cp. John 19:33, 36.)

4. The divine plan Includes the fortuitous events or chance happenings:

1. Prov. 16:33: The lot is cast Into the lap; But the whole disposing thereof Is of Jehovah.2. Jonah 1:7: So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah.3. Acts 1:24, 26: And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, who knowest the hearts of all men, show

of these two the one whom thou has chosen . . . And they cast lots for them; and the lot fell on Matthias.

4. Job 36:32: He covereth His hands with the lightning, And giveth it a charge that it strike the mark.

5. I Kings 22:28, 34: And Micaiah said, If thou (Ahab) return at all in peace, Jehovah hath not spoken by me . . . And a certain man drew his bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the armor.

6. Job 5:6: For affliction cometh not forth from the dust; Neither doth trouble spring out of the ground.

7. Mark 14:30: And Jesus said unto him (Peter), Verily I say unto thee, that thou, today, even this night. before the cock crow twice shall deny me thrice. (Cp. Gen. 37:28 and 45:5; Cp. I Sam. 9:15,16 and 9:5-10.)

5. Some events are recorded as fixed or inevitably certain:

1. Luke 22:22: For the Son of man indeed goeth, as it hath been determined; but woe unto that man through whom He is betrayed.

2. John 8:20: These words spake He in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no man took Him; because His hour was not yet come.

3. Matt. 24:36: But of that day and hour (the end of the world) knoweth no one, not even the angels in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father only.

4. Gen. 41:32: And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharoah, it is because the thing is established of God, and He will shortly bring it to pass.

5. Hab. 2;3: For the vision is yet for the appointed time, and it hasteneth toward the end, and shall not lie; though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not delay.

6. Luke 21:24: And Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

7. Jer. 15:2: And it shall come to pass when they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt tell them. Thus saith Jehovah: Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for famine, to the famine; and such as are for captivity, to captivity.

8. Job 14:5: Seeing that his days are determined, And the number of his months is with thee, And thou has appointed bounds that he cannot pass.

9. Jer. 27:7: And all nations shall serve him (Nebucbadnezzar), and his son, and his son's son, until the time of his own land come; and then many nations and great kings shall make him their bondman.

6. Even the sinful acts of men are included in the plan and are overruled for good.

1. Gen. 50:20: As for you, ye meant evil against me (Joseph), but God meant it for good.2. Is. 45:7: I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I am Jehovah that

doeth all these things.3. Amos 3:6: Shall evil befall a city and Jehovah hath not done it?4. Acts 3:18: The things which God foreshowed by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ

should suffer, He thus fulfilled.5. Matt. 21:42: The stone which the builders rejected, the same was made the head of the corner.6. Rom. 8:28: To them that love God all things work together for good, even to them that are

called according to His purpose.

--END--

http://www.angelfire.com/nt/theology/elect-01.html

vi http://www.swierenga.com/GodsHandBibleStudy.html

vii http://www.welcometohosanna.com/PAULS_MISSIONARY_JOURNEYS/3mission_4.html

viii http://forallsaints.wordpress.com/2011/10/18/saint-luke-the-evangelist/

ix The first known Greek medical school opened in Cnidus in 700 BC. Alcmaeon, author of the first anatomical work, worked at this school, and it was here that the practice of observing patients was established. Ancient Greek medicine revolved around the theory of humours. The most important figure in ancient Greek medicine is the physician Hippocrates, known as the "Father of Medicine", who established his own medical school at Cos.[1]

x The first American newspapers. Britain's American colonies, because of their sparse populations and strict governments, entered the world of the newspaper relatively late. Public Occurrences, Both FORREIGN and DOMESTICK was printed in Boston on September 25, 1690. The first story in this the first newspaper printed in America seems well chosen: "The Christianized Indians in some parts of Plimouth, have newly appointed a day of thanksgiving to God for his Mercy..."http://www.nyu.edu/classes/stephens/Collier%27s%20page.htm

With the arrival of writing and literacy news reports gained added reliability and, in advanced societies like that of Rome and China, became more formal.

Rome had a particularly sophisticated system for circulating written news, centered on the acta -- daily handwritten news sheets, which were posted by the government in the Roman Forum from the year 59 B.C. to at least A.D. 222 and which were filled with news of such subjects as political happenings, trials, scandals, military campaigns and executions. China, too, had

early government-produced news sheets, called the tipao, which were first circulated among officials during the Han dynasty (202 B.C. to A.D. 221) and were printed at some point during the T'ang dynasty (618 to 906).

I googled “News sheet in the Roman Form….

xi http://handwrittennews.com/2011/06/20/acta-diurna-it-59-b-c/

Acta Diurna (IT, 59 B.C.-ca. A.D. 222)

June 20, 2011

Roy Alden Atwood, Ph.D. 059 B.C., A, Alphabetical Order, Community Papers, Italy, State or Government Papers Leave a comment

Publication History:

Place of Publication: Rome, Italy (capital of the Roman Empire until its move to Constantinople)

Frequency: Possibly daily

Volume and Issue Data: Beginning 59 B.C. to circa A.D. 222

Size and Format: Variable; handwritten on stone tablets, metal (lead plates), papyrus and/or vellum/parchment, or early bulletin boards

Editor/Publisher:  Unknown, variable

Title Changes and Continuation: None

General Description and Notes:

These are among the earliest examples of a regularly published proto-newspaper.

According to media historian Mitch Stephens, the Acta were one of several early forms of news publication:

Rome had a particularly sophisticated system for circulating written news, centered on the acta — daily handwritten news sheets, which were posted by the government in the Roman Forum from the year 59 B.C. to at least A.D. 222 and which were filled with news of such subjects as political happenings, trials, scandals, military campaigns and executions. China, too, had early government-produced news sheets, called the tipao, which were first circulated among officials during the Han dynasty (202 B.C. to A.D. 221) and were printed at some point during the T’ang dynasty (618 to 906). (Stephens, “History of Newspapers,” for Collier’s Encyclopedia)

Acta Diurna (Latin: Daily Acts sometimes translated as Daily Public Records) were daily Roman official notices, a sort of daily gazette. They were carved on stone or metal and presented in message boards in public places like the Forum of Rome. They were also called simply Acta or Diurna or sometimes Acta Popidi or Acta Publica.

The first form of Acta appeared around 131 B.C. during the Roman Republic. Their original content included results of legal proceedings and outcomes of trials. Later the content was expanded to public notices and announcements and other noteworthy information such as prominent births, marriages and deaths. After a couple of days the notices were taken down and archived (though no intact copy has survived to the present day).

Sometimes scribes made copies of the Acta and sent them to provincial governors for information. Later emperors used them to announce royal or senatorial decrees and events of the court. Tacitus and Suetonius apparently used these Acta as sources of information about the empire’s early emperors in their histories of Rome.

Other forms of Acta were legal, municipal and military notices. Acta Senatus were originally kept secret, until then-consul Julius Caesar made them public in 59 B.C. Later rulers, however, often censored them.

Publication of the Acta Diurna stopped when the seat of the emperor was moved to Constantinople. (From Wikipedia)

Acta Diurna’s state-appointed reporters, called “actuarii,” gathered information on events ranging from wars and legal decisions to births, deaths, and marriages. (From the World Association of Newspapers)

Information Sources:

Bibliography: Leclerc, Des journaux chez les Romains (1838); Renssen, De Diurnis aliisque Romanorum Actis (1857); Hubner, De Senatus Populique Romani Actis (1860); Gaston Boissier, Tacitus and other Roman Studies (Eng. trans., W. G. Hutchison, 1906), pp. 197-229 (From Classic Encyclopedia [11th ed.,  Encyclopedia Britannica, 1911]); C.T. Cruttwell, A History of Roman Literature (1877), pp. 206-207; Mitch Stephens, A History of News (1996); Mitch Stephens, “History of Newspapers,” for Collier’s Encyclopedia.

Locations: No known genuine extant fragments

Join the Empire! Become a Roman Citizen!

http://rome.mrdonn.org/dailylife.html

xii Codex http://legacy.earlham.edu/~seidti/iam/codex.html

A handful of the 400 tablets found in 1973 at Vindolanda – a Roman encampment on Hadrian’s Wall – detail the hundreds of items chiefs at the settlement expected to be reimbursed for. They include exciting things like

ears of grain, hobnails for boots, bread, cereals, hides and pigs.

http://heritage-key.com/blogs/malcolmj/ancient-romes-own-expenses-scandal

Roman Newspaper

The codex format was probably developed as a way to make the contents of a document more readily accessible in contrast to the roll. Callimachus, a cataloguer of books at the great library of Alexandria, is noted to have said, "A big roll is a big nuisance."

As to the relative frequency of use of the roll and of the codex, in an enumeration of 476 second-century non-Christian literary papyrus manuscripts from Egypt, 465 or more than 97 percent are in the form of the roll; but eight Christian biblical papyri known from the same century are all in the form of the codex. Likewise in the entire period extending to shortly after the end of the fourth century, out of 111 biblical manuscripts or fragments from Egypt, 99 are codices. That the codex increased in use in comparison with the use of the roll is natural in view of the many obvious advantages of the leaf book, not the least of which is that it is more feasible to write on both sides of a leaf, and hence such a book is cheaper. But the statistics just given indicate a particular and very early preference for the codex form on the part of Christians. This also is natural in view of the advantages of the codex with respect to matters of particular interest to the Christians. For example, the single Gospel according to Luke would probably have filled an average papyrus roll of approximately thirty feet in length, and Paul's ten collected church letters (including Philemon) would probably have occupied two ordinary rolls, but all Four Gospels or all of the Letters of Paul could readily be brought together in a single codex book. Likewise it is much more difficult to turn quickly to a specific passage in a roll, and much easier to do so in a codex.

Finegan, Encountering New Testament Manuscripts, p. 29.

Papyrus codices are the first to appear and are then joined by codices made of parchment. Almost all of the manuscripts of the New Testament are in the form of the codex. In fact, some believe the codex had its origins in early Christianity and was adopted by others later on.

The most common form of the codex was made up of a number of "gatherings" sewn together and placed within a sturdy covering. Each "gathering" starts out as four sheets which are folded in half to make eight leaves (folios) (16 pages). This "gathering" was called a "quire."