Posted on 11/22/2019 9:33:32 AM PST by ShackledNoMore
Great short history lesson on the 'silent' period of the Word of God. Old to New Testament.
Question: "What happened in the intertestamental period?"
Answer:
The time between the last writings of the Old Testament and the appearance of Christ is known as the “intertestamental” (or “between the testaments”) period. It lasted from the prophet Malachi’s time (about 400 BC) to the preaching of John the Baptist (about AD 25). Because there was no prophetic word from God during the period from Malachi to John, some refer to it as the “400 silent years.” The political, religious, and social atmosphere of Israel changed significantly during this period. Much of what happened was predicted by the prophet Daniel. (See Daniel chapters 2, 7, 8, and 11 and compare to historical events.)
Israel was under the control of the Persian Empire about 532–332 BC. The Persians allowed the Jews to practice their religion with little interference. They were even allowed to rebuild and worship at the temple (2 Chronicles 36:22–23; Ezra 1:1–4). This span of time included the last 100 years of the Old Testament period and about the first 100 years of the intertestamental period. This time of relative peace and contentment was just the calm before the storm.
Prior to the intertestamental period, Alexander the Great defeated Darius of Persia, bringing Greek rule to the world. Alexander was a student of Aristotle and was well-educated in Greek philosophy and politics. Alexander required that Greek culture be promoted in every land that he conquered. As a result, the Hebrew Old Testament was translated into Greek, becoming the translation known as the Septuagint. Most of the New Testament references to Old Testament Scripture use the Septuagint phrasing. Alexander did allow religious freedom for the Jews, though he still strongly promoted Greek lifestyles. This was not a good turn of events for Israel, since the Greek culture was very worldly, humanistic, and ungodly.
After Alexander died, Judea was ruled by a series of successors, culminating in the Selucid king Antiochus Epiphanes. Antiochus did far more than refuse religious freedom to the Jews. Around 167 BC, he overthrew the rightful line of the priesthood and desecrated the temple, defiling it with unclean animals and a pagan altar (see Mark 13:14 for a similar event to take place in the future). Antiochus’ act was the religious equivalent of rape. Eventually, Jewish resistance to Antiochus, led by Judas Maccabeus and the Hasmoneans, restored the rightful priests and rescued the temple. The period of the Maccabean Revolt was one of war, violence, and infighting.
Around 63 BC, Pompey of Rome conquered Israel, putting all of Judea under control of the Caesars. This eventually led to Herod being made king of Judea by the Roman emperor and senate. This is the nation that taxed and controlled the Jews and eventually executed the Messiah on a Roman cross. Roman, Greek, and Hebrew cultures were now mixed together in Judea.
During the span of the Greek and Roman occupations, two important political/religious groups emerged in Israel. The Pharisees added to the Law of Moses through oral tradition and eventually considered their own laws more important than God’s (see Mark 7:1–23). While Christ’s teachings often agreed with the Pharisees, He railed against their hollow legalism and lack of compassion. The Sadducees represented the aristocrats and the wealthy. The Sadducees, who wielded power through the Sanhedrin, rejected all but the Mosaic books of the Old Testament. They refused to believe in resurrection and were generally shadows of the Greeks, whom they greatly admired.
The events of the intertestamental period set the stage for Christ and had a profound impact on the Jewish people. Both Jews and pagans from other nations were becoming dissatisfied with religion. The pagans were beginning to question the validity of polytheism. Romans and Greeks were drawn from their mythologies toward the Hebrew Scriptures, now easily accessible in Greek or Latin. The Jews, however, were despondent. Once again, they were conquered, oppressed, and polluted. Hope was running low; faith was even lower. They were convinced that now the only thing that could save them and their faith was the appearance of the Messiah. Not only were people primed and ready for the Messiah, but God was moving in other ways as well: the Romans had built roads (to aid the spread of the gospel); everyone understood a common language, Koine Greek (the language of the New Testament); and there was a fair amount of peace and freedom to travel (further aiding the dissemination of the gospel).
The New Testament tells the story of how hope came, not only for the Jews but for the entire world. Christ’s fulfillment of prophecy was anticipated and recognized by many who sought Him out. The stories of the Roman centurion, the wise men, and the Pharisee Nicodemus show how Jesus was recognized as the Messiah by those from several different cultures. The “400 years of silence” of the intertestamental period were broken by the greatest story ever told—the gospel of Jesus Christ!
The Maccabees, for one thing.
Also called the “second Temple” period.
One can go to DRMSH.com to really get the skinny on that.
It’s Dr. Michael S Heiser.
Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Empires. Great family fun!
The Greeks brought in something the Jewish Nation had never had to deal with: a new philosophy. Until then, all nations essentially agree that they needed a god to worship (and please) and established a liturgy around this worship. The Greeks, however, did not care who/what was worshiped. But they did have a reverence for their bodies (thus installing a gymnasium at the site of the temple). The Jewish leaders did not know how to deal with this indifference - or new philosophy. In the end Maccabeus staged a revolt which ended the question - at least for the time being.
We are now dealing with indifference and new philosophies - and having just a much trouble with it as they did back then.
Last one to ever get a semblance of control over the Afghanis. I swear, they’re just like teenagers on a field trip!
This period of time in the Bible always puzzled me. It’s as though God had no more to say, and just wait. But for a purpose, it seems. To reveal his greatest gift—salvation itself. The way and the truth and the life. There’s no more need for the old-style prophets anymore; the path we should take has been made clear.
Daniel Chapter 11 covers those 400 years. Before it even happened.
Ultimately it was discovered that the 5 books comprised a “living, breathing document,” and all was resolved by Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Zayid Ibn Thayit, Joseph Smith, etc., and now all are enlightened.
The sun rose. The sun set. God finished off a few buckets of popcorn and decided it was about time to send his Son to get folks back on the right path. Sadly, it wasn’t long before folks wandered off the path again.
Even in the New Millennium with no war, abundant prosperity and the world resorted to Pre fall conditions, people will be still be prone to wandering off the path. That’s why He will rule the nations with a “ rod of iron”. And many people will not like it, being unredeemed but living outwardly righteous.
How did you know about my morning?
Yes this relates...
Jacob is associated with the moon (lunar calendar), and Esau with the sun (solar calendar). Also as Jews and Christians. How to connect...
Fifty years ago, on July 20, 1969, the Apollo 11 Mission landed on the moon. Neil Armstrong became the first human to walk on the moon, declaring the immortal words, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” For a moment, the entire world was united in awe as they contemplated the wonder of humans on the moon. “For one priceless moment in the whole history of man, all the people on this Earth are truly one,” Pres. Richard Nixon told the astronauts while they were still on the moon.
The moon plays an important role in Judaism. It’s both metaphor and measure of our days. As the world marks half a century since we first ventured to its surface, here are seven Jewish facts about the moon.
Judaism’s Lunar Calendar
The Jewish calendar differs from the secular Gregorian calendar that many of use today. It relies heavily on the moon’s cycle to regulate the Jewish months. As the Talmud says, “The other nations count by the sun, while Israel counts by the moon” (Sukkah 29a).
It's almost Thanksgiving, the annual feast for all the family (Jews and Gentiles -- Jew and Joe is the same word in Hebrew, spelled gimel vav, all Americans).
Going on the 400th since 1620.
A solar eclipse happens when the Moon passes in front of the Sun and casts a shadow across Earth. It's also known as an occultation. The reason solar eclipses happen is that the distance between the Sun and the Earth is about 400 times the Moon's distance from the Sun and the Sun's diameter is approximately 400 times larger than the Moon's.
What this means is that the Sun and the Moon both have a very similar size when viewed from Earth, so when the Moon passes in front of the Sun, it blocks the light from reaching Earth.
In astronomy, a syzygy (/ˈsɪzɪdʒi/; from the Ancient Greek σύζυγος, suzugos, 'yoked together'[2]) is a roughly straight-line configuration of three or more celestial bodies in a gravitational system.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syzygy_(astronomy)
Because there was no prophetic word from God during the period from Malachi to John, some refer to it as the “400 silent years.”
And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men.. (Gen 33:1)eclipse (n.)
c. 1300, from Old French eclipse "eclipse, darkness" (12c.), from Latin eclipsis, from Greek ekleipsis "an eclipse; an abandonment," literally "a failing, forsaking," from ekleipein "to forsake a usual place, fail to appear, be eclipsed," from ek "out" (see ex-) + leipein "to leave" (from PIE root *leikw- "to leave")..
That's a lot of "talking turkey"... let's get this thing wrapped up.
Gather together and be blessed.
One of the traditional names of the Messiah is Chaninah [חנינה], which in the context of Thanksgiving is the President's official "pardon" [חנינה] of the turkey.
Slang. a person or thing of little appeal; dud; loser. a naive, stupid, or inept person.
Okay so everyone's a turkey.. your sins are forgiven so you can get up now. Let's eat.
Jesus saves. Leftovers. How many baskets?
Isaiah 53:2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him.
Thanks. Interesting that it works... I really should have restated the word “turkey”, which is what the definition/idiom is referring to.
To expand your comment that the ‘Greeks brought something new to the Jewish Nation’, how does the Gospel of Thomas (part of the Gnostic Gospels) circa 60 BC to 100 AD, fit in with this discussion of the interstitial period between strict pagan Hellenism 400 BC to Christianity approx 250 AD.
I’m afraid I am not that familiar with that gospel account. I got my information from 1 Maccabees. We had a lot of resistance to studying this in our Bible Study, but found it really set the table for many of the events in the New Testament.
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