Epochs
From Missiopedia
Epochs are "supercenturies" are used by some missiologists who examine history to organize a macroview.
Epochs are 400-year periods. They are essentially comprised of ten 40-year generations. Of course, they do not work in exactly 400-year sequences; some writers "cut them" at different periods (for example, Epoch 2 is said to start in 410 with the pillaging of Rome by Alaric).
Secular writers have noticed these trends. Examples include Kondratieff waves and books like The Fourth Turning (Strauss & Howe, see http://www.fourthturning.com). This latter work has particularly looked at Turnings which typically last one generation (generally, about 30 to 40 years). Their work suggests Turnings come in sets of fours, covering a period of about 200 years. They analyzed the periods from 1435 on and projected out to 2026. Thus, they cover part of Epoch 5 and all of Epoch 6.
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[edit] Epoch 1: 0-400
The first epoch, witness to the birth of Christianity, began during a period of military calm and philosophical stirring. The Pax Romana gave about 2 centuries of relative peace to North Africa, Western Asia and southern Europe. During this period, trade, philosophy and religious thinking all rapidly developed. The major empires of the day were the Roman Empire, the Persian Empire, India and China. Significant trade spread along the Silk Road between them, and with the merchants came missionaries of Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism and Judaism. Christianity itself grew from a religion of the slaves and poor to a multicultural faith; persecution shoved it outward to the fringes of Rome. After Constantine's Edict of Toleration in the 4th century, it solidified and developed lasting structure. By the end of the epoch 1 in 10 people in the world were Christians. The pivotal Council of Nicaea developed a standardized creed, and great theological works from men like Augustine of Hippo burst into the world. However, dark clouds hovered on the horizon as nomadic tribal peoples began invading.
- See also 1st century, 2nd century, 3rd century, 4th century.
[edit] Epoch 2: 400-800
This period was a time of great confusion and disarray for the Empires. While the Gospel flourished, it became less and less aligned with any particular world Empire. One of the great virtues of its penetration of Ireland was its "de-culturalization"; it came to Ireland without any Roman culture attached. As a result the Irish missionary movement became one of the most vigorous in the world, planting the Gospel throughout Europe during the course of the Epoch. Outside of Ireland, Christianity had pushed south into Africa and East into China during the early part of the Epoch, but then persecution in China eradicated it there. In the north, movements of tribal nomads pushed south against the church and the Empire, culminating in the sacking of Rome by Alaric the Goth. In the south, the Arab Muslim military expansion of the 7th and 8th centuries took much of the African and Asian territory away from the church. The sweep of the nomadic tribal peoples from northern Europe into western and southern Europe saw much violence and conflict, and many churches and monasteries were destroyed. Nevertheless in the end Christian mission brought the Gospel to these peoples. Complicating and perhaps sparking much of this movement was the world-changing Krakatoa volcano eruption that truly caused much darkness, disaster, plague and crop failure in the world.
- See also 5th century, 6th century, 7th century, 8th century.
[edit] Epoch 3: 800-1200
- At the beginning of this epoch, the Vikings began to pour out of Scandinavia.
The 10th century saw solidification: of Christianity in Europe, of Islam in Africa and southern Europe, of the rise of a new dynasty in China. Major new evangelistic efforts were underway in northern Europe, particularly in Russia.
- See also 9th century, 10th century, 11th century, 12th century
[edit] Epoch 4: 1200-1600
See also 13th century, 14th century, 15th century, 16th century.
[edit] Epoch 5: 1600-2000
[edit] Epoch 6: 2000-2400
This is the epoch that we live in now.
