The Intertestamental Period

INTERTESTAMENTAL PERIOD

TWO THINGS STAND OUT:

First, many times God allowed a desperate situation to arise before presenting His message or providing His deliverance. 

Secondly, He always called upon a faithful servant to “stand in the gap,” making intercession to Him on behalf of the people, and to be His agent through whom He performed His work. (Ezekiel 22:30)

SIX HISTORICAL DIVISIONS ARE APPARENT:

1.     The Persian Era (Dates back to 536 B.C. but coincides from 397-336 B.C.)

a.     Daniel 5:30-31, Daniel 7

b.     The rise of the synagogue as the local center of worship can be traced back to this period. 

2.     The Greek Era (336–323 B.C.)

a.     Alexander the Great, in many respects the greatest conqueror of all time, was the central figure of this brief period. 

b.     This process, called Hellenization, included the adoption of Greek culture and their polytheism. 

3.     The Egyptian Era (323–198 B.C.) 

a.     Daniel 8:21-22 

b.     Four Nations: Ptolemy, Lysimachus, Cassander, and Selenus. 

c.     Worship was influenced to become more external than internal, a notion that had a lasting impact upon Judaism.

4.     The Syrian Era (198–165 B.C.)

a.     Ezekiel 5:5 I have set Israel in the midst of the nations, with countries all around…

5.     The Maccabean Era (165–63 B.C.) 

6.     The Roman Era (63–4 B.C.)

The rise of Jewish Sects began:

·       Pharisees – Emphasized law and oral traditions

·       Sadducees – Aristocratic, temple-focused, denied resurrection

·       Essenes – Separatists, possibly connected to Dead Sea Scrolls

·       Zealots – Political revolutionaries

Scriptures and Literature

·       Septuagint (LXX) – Greek translation of Hebrew Scriptures

·       Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha – Jewish writings from the period

Transition to the New Testament

·       The scene was set during those 400 years as God worked in the background preparing the right time!

·       Galatians 4:4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son…

·       Gospel opens with John the Baptist— “the voice crying in the wilderness”

·       Jesus enters a world shaped by:

o   Roman political rule

o   Greek culture

o   Jewish religious divisions

o   Strong Messianic expectation

Key Takeaways:

·       The “Silent Years” were spiritually and politically formative, not inactive

·       God was preparing the world for the coming of Christ

·       Understanding this period enhances comprehension of the Gospels’ context