"Nothing like the civilization of the times of Jesus has been seen in the Occident before or since those days."

Four Great Gentile Philosophies

  First Century Schools of Philosophy

1

2

3

4

"The gentile world was then dominated by four great philosophies, all more or less derived from the earlier Platonism of the Greeks."

Reference
Paper 121  The Times of Michael's Bestowal
Section 4  Gentile Philosophy

First Century Gentile Religions

 Religions of the Occident

1

The pagan cults

These were a combination of Hellenic and Latin mythology, patriotism, and tradition.

2

Emperor worship

This deification of man as the symbol of the state was very seriously resented by the Jews and the early Christians and led directly to the bitter persecutions of both churches by the Roman government.

3

Astrology

This pseudo science of Babylon developed into a religion throughout the Greco-Roman Empire. Even in the twentieth century man has not been fully delivered from this superstitious belief.

4

The mystery religions

Upon such a spiritually hungry world a flood of mystery cults had broken, new and strange religions from the Levant, which had enamored the common people and had promised them individual salvation. These religions rapidly became the accepted belief of the lower classes of the Greco-Roman world. And they did much to prepare the way for the rapid spread of the vastly superior Christian teachings, which presented a majestic concept of Deity, associated with an intriguing theology for the intelligent and a profound proffer of salvation for all, including the ignorant but spiritually hungry average man of those days.

Reference
Paper 121  The Times of Michael's Bestowal
Section 5  The Gentile Religions

Jewish Program for Child Rearing and Education

 Seven Stages of a Child's Life

1

2

The suckling child.

3

The weaned child.

4

The period of dependence on the mother, lasting up to the end of the fifth year.

5

The beginning independence of the child and, with sons, the father assuming responsibility for their education. [1]

6

The adolescent youths and maidens.

7

Reference
Paper 123  The Early Childhood of Jesus
Section 2  The Fifth Year (2 B.C.)

"And all the day through, those who listened marveled at these questions, and none was more astonished than Simon. For more than four hours this Nazareth youth plied these Jewish teachers with thought-provoking and heart-searching questions."

"And so, my friend, if you would be a faithful and just steward of your large fortune, before God and in service to men, you must approximately divide your wealth into these ten grand divisions, and then proceed to administer each portion in accordance with the wise and honest interpretation of the laws of justice, equity, fairness, and true efficiency; albeit, the God of heaven would not condemn you if sometimes you erred, in doubtful situations, on the side of merciful and unselfish regard for the distress of the suffering victims of the unfortunate circumstances of mortal life. When in honest doubt about the equity and justice of material situations, let your decisions favor those who are in need, favor those who suffer the misfortune of undeserved hardships."

Reference
Paper 132  The Sojourn at Rome
Section 5  Counseling the Rich Man

"On the third day of this isolation Jesus promised himself he would go back to the world to finish his earth career, and that in a situation involving any two ways he would always choose the Father's will."