Transcript The Intertestamental Period

The Intertestamental Period
400 Years of Silence
The Inter-testamental Period
• Many things mentioned in the New
Testament, especially the Gospels and book of
Acts, find their roots in the 400 years between
testaments.
• To help us understand many of those things,
we’re going to do a very quick study of this
period.
The Inter-testamental Period
• The 400 years of the inter-testamental period
cover the time between the last writings of
the Old Testament and the appearance of
Jesus.
• These years are known as the “silent years”
because God did not send any prophets to the
nation of Judah (Jews).
The Prophet Daniel
• Daniel was a prophet during and after the
exile of Judah
• He interpreted Nebuchadnezzar’s dream
about the statue (Daniel 2)
• He was a trusted advisor of the Persian Kings:
Darius and Cyrus
• He made a great deal of prophecies about the
time leading up to and during the intertestamental period.
Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream
• The large statue of
Nebby’s dream
represented the four
kingdoms that would
dominate as world
powers.
• He prophesied that all
of these kingdoms
would be crushed by
the Kingdom of God.
Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream
Part
Material
Head
Gold
Empire
Babylonian
Chest & Arms
Silver
Medo-Persian
Belly & Thighs
Bronze
Greek
Legs & Feet
Iron & Clay
Roman
Statue Destroyed
Rock cut from a
mountain
Jesus!
Babylonian Empire
• Responsible for:
– Destroying the temple in Jerusalem
– Taking the Jews into exile
• Conquered the same night that Daniel
interpreted King Belshazzar’s message from
God
– King Darius, a Medo-Persian, was the conqueror
Persian Empire
• While the Persians controlled the Jews, they
were allowed to live in peace.
– They rebuilt the temple.
– They continue to worship freely.
– Judah was ruled by High Priests who were
responsible to the Jewish government
• Defeated by Alexander the Great, who
ushered in the Greek Empire
Greek Empire
• Alexander the Great believed Greek culture
was superior to everything
– It was promoted in every land that he conquered
– The Hebrew Old Testament was translated into
Greek, known as the Septuagint
• Alexander the Great did allow religious
freedom for the Jews.
– His promotion of Greek Culture was not good for
the Jews, because it was very ungodly.
Antiochus – Hellenistic Period
• After his death, Judea was ruled by a several
people, ending with Antiochus
– He began “Hellenizing” the Jews: making them
replace their Jewish religion with the Pagan Greek
religion
– Antiochus did not allow religious freedom for the Jews
– He overthrew the rightful priests and made the
temple unclean with Pagan worship and idols
– Eventually, the Jewish resistance restored the priests
and recued the temple
• The period that followed was one of war and
violence
The Hasmonean Period
• The Jews Revolted against the Hellenistic
Leaders
– Led by Judas Maccabeus: Maccabean Revolt
– Jews regained freedom after 25 years of fighting
• This period of Jewish Freedom was called the
Hasmonean Period
– Jewish Rulers were called “Hasmoneans”
– This 80-year period was the first time since the
Exile that the Jews had control over their own land
The Roman Empire
• When the Hasmonean Jews began to fight
about who would be the next king, the
Romans stepped in to restore the government
• In the year 63 BC, the Jews were taken over by
the Roman Empire, once again dominated by
a foreign empire.
The Roman Empire
• The Roman Empire had levels of government:
Emperor: Ran the empire from Rome
(Caesar)
Governor: Took care of running specific area/country
King: Puppet ruler to keep the Jews Happy
(Herod the Great)
The Roman Empire
• Herod the Great:
– reigned as king of Judea from 37 BC until his death in
4 BC
– Did A LOT of building in Jerusalem during his reign,
including a new temple; bigger than Solomon’s!
– Very jealous and violent man; murdered several of his
own children
– Matthew 2: Herod was worried when he heard that
the “King of Jews” had been born; he ordered all
infant boys (2 and under) in Bethlehem to be killed;
The Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him
to escape to Egypt.
Jewish Religious Groups
• During the Roman Empire, Jews had different
ideas about how God’s people should
maintain their identity.
• Because of this, several Jewish “parties”
developed:
– Pharisees
– Sadducees
– Essenes
– Zealots
Jewish Religious Groups
• Pharisees: Had great knowledge of and took the
Law very seriously. Looked down on those who
could not afford to fully follow the Law.
• Sadducees: a priestly group that ran the temple
and cooperated with the Roman government.
They accepted some “Hellenism”.
• Essenes: believed everyone else was evil and too
lazy with the Law; separated themselves into
communities away from others.
• Zealots: a bold and violent group of Jews in their
resistance of Hellenism