The Problem with KOSMOS as Universal

The Problem with KOSMOS as Universal

When Jesus meant WORLD he meant the first century Greco Roman world/Eastern Roman Provinces/Provinces of the Orient. Places ONLY under the jurisdiction of the Roman Empire.

NOT THE MODERN UNITED STATES, CANADA, MEXICO, RUSSIA, AUSTRALIA, etc.

Soon and near meant 70AD.

John 8:26
“I have much to say about you and much to judge, but he who sent me is true, and 👉I declare to the world 👈what I have heard from him.”

John 18:20
Jesus answered him, “👉I have spoken openly to the world👈. I have always taught in 👉synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together👈. I have said nothing in secret.”

John 12:19
“So the Pharisees said to one another, ‘You see that you are gaining nothing.👉 Look, the world has gone after him.’” 👈

John 16:20
“Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but 👉the world will rejoice👈. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.”

John 7:7
“👉The world cannot hate you, but it hates me👈 because I testify about it that its works are evil.”

John 17:14
“I have given them your word, and 👉the world has hated them 👈because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.”
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In the 1st century, “countries” as we think of them didn’t exist; instead, there were kingdoms, tribal confederations, and client states.
Here are some notable examples from around that time, yet Jesus wasn't talking about them either!!!

Within or near the Roman sphere but not named in the NT

Parthian Empire (covered modern Iran and parts of Iraq; a major Roman rival)
Kingdom of Armenia (buffer state between Rome and Parthia)
Nabataean Kingdom (centered in Petra, modern Jordan/Saudi Arabia — Rome annexed it in 106 AD)
Kingdom of Mauretania (modern Morocco/Algeria, a Roman client kingdom until 40 AD)
Kingdom of Adiabene (in northern Mesopotamia; notable for its rulers converting to Judaism)
Bosporan Kingdom (Crimea and Black Sea coast; a Roman client kingdom)
Farther away, completely outside the NT focus
Kushan Empire (Afghanistan, Pakistan, northern India)
Kingdom of Axum (Ethiopia/Eritrea — though Ethiopia is mentioned in the OT, Axum as a state is not in the NT)
Han Dynasty (China)
Satavahana Dynasty (Central India)
Kingdom of Himyar (Yemen)
Various Celtic kingdoms in Britain and Ireland (Britain is not mentioned in the NT)
Various Germanic tribal confederations north of the Roman frontier (e.g., Marcomanni, Cherusci)

Basically, if you looked at a 1st-century map, a huge number of political entities existed but never show up in the NT simply because the biblical writers were focused on the Roman-controlled Jewish and Gentile world of the Mediterranean.

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