From a Catholic perspective, we can divide the history of the world into four phases. The first one is the original state of blessedness of humanity. When God created the world, he created a perfect world, without suffering or death. Humanity was to live in this perfect world without end. But through human sin, the world fell from grace, causing suffering and death to enter the human experience.
The fall of humanity ushered in the second phase of the history of the world, characterized by sorrow, the self-destructive cycle of sin, and the inevitability of death. But though the world had fallen into darkness, God did not abandon humanity. He called the Jewish people for a special mission. They were to be his chosen people, set apart from the rest of the world in preparation for the coming of the Messiah, who would redeem the fallen world. We see the centuries of preparation unfolding in the Old Testament Scriptures, through the ups and downs of the history of the Israelites, leading up to the coming of Christ.
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