I'm spoiled. Maybe you're spoiled too. Every morning at about 11:30 a friendly lettercarrier from the U.S. Postal Service climbs my front steps and leaves the daily mail. Prompt mail delivery at an affordable price is one of my privileges as a resident of the United States. I sincerely appreciate it.

I'm doubly spoiled. Maybe you too. My computer sends and receives electronic mail from all over the world. A few months ago I sent a note to an associate in Washington D.C.---he responded from Australia. Another time I sent off a note to a church official here in the states and promptly received his reply from India.

Recently, I read that a particular electronic mail service was considered slow because it took all of five minutes for a message to be delivered. Such ease of communication certainly was not the case in the times of Jesus and the Apostles when letters were handwritten on scrolls and delivered by the best means possible. A large part of the New Testament is made up of copies of letters that were sent to various churches in the Roman Empire. In Romans 16:1,2 we note that Paul's letter is to be delivered by a friend named Phebe. Such letters must have taken weeks or even months to deliver.

Even wealthy people, who dictated their letters to secretaries, had them hand delivered as snail-mail, by slaves. Evidence of this is found in the large amount of letters sent by Cicero. The lower classes, who could neither read nor write, could go the public square and have a letter written for them. Of course, delivery was either done personally, or by chancing to entrust the letter to a stranger, who happened to be going where the letter was addressed. Either way, by our standards, the mail was painfully slow and unreliable.

Government officials had an advantage, they speeded up their mail by using the Roman Pony Express. They had horsemen stationed along the road system about every 10 miles where the official couriers could change horses. Moreover, it was a safe road system that helped to hold the Roman Empire together and to provide the stability for the spreading of the Gospel. The main Roman roads were well paved and had bridges and ferries. Also, they were guarded by army patrols to reduce the danger of bandits. Since most people walked, inns were located about every 25 to 30 miles, depending on the terrain. The well-to-do might ride a camel, horse or a donkey. The wealthy, such as the Ethiopian eunuch traveled in vehicles pulled by horses or mules.

However, even with Roman law and order, the Apostle Paul said traveling was no picnic, "...I have been shipwrecked three times, and I even had to spend a night and a day in the sea. During my many travels, I have been in danger from rivers, robbers, my own people, and foreigners. My life has been in danger in cities, in deserts, at sea, and with people who pretended to be the Lord's followers." 2 Corinthians 11:24-26 CEV.

Looking back, it's a miracle to see how the Gospel spread and eventually conquered the Roman Empire from the inside out. Certainly a large share of the credit can go to the free exchange of ideas through the mail, that was made possible by the relatively safe roads of the Roman Empire and the Roman Pony Express.

Blessings in your study of God's Word!

Marvin Hunt

There is never a charge for my articles, and if you have a good reason, there is no limit to how many you may request. However, if you find them valuable you may want to order my latest book, History, Mystery and Facts About the Bible. Order at 1-800-845-7618 (ext. 301). You may also order from Amazon.com. Proceeds from the book go to support this ministry.

Blessings!
Marvin Hunt

Http://www.biblehistory.com

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