Some More History...

Sorry it's taken so long to get this up. I haven't had Internet access at home and keep forgetting to stick my notes on my thumb drive. Oh, well.

So, I'm going to jump right back in:

Not too long after this (see the previous post) came the notorious Antiochus IV. He was a prideful ruler who called himself Epiphanes, meaning “manifest god,” and he enforced the Hellenization of the Jews with ruthless cruelty. The Jews called him Epipmanes (“madman”). In December of 168 B.C., Antiochus IV captured Jerusalem and seized the temple, converting it into a temple for Zeus and sacrificing a pig on the altar. The Jews fled, scattering from Jerusalem. This act was horrendous, but it did provide impetus for the Maccabean revolt and the Jews’ short period of autonomous rule.

In 176 B.C. an ambassador of Antiochus IV came to a little town called Modin to force the villagers to make sacrifices to the Greek gods. Under this coercion, one villager ventured forward to make a sacrifice, and the priest of Modin, Mattathias, was outraged. He killed the villager and then fled to the hills to hide with his sons. This began the Maccabean revolt.

Mattathias’s son Judas was the first leader of the resistance. Known as Judas Maccabeus (“the hammer”) because of his military and tactical skills, he defeated armies much larger than his own. His brother Jonathan became leader when he was killed in an ambush. Jonathan was not nearly so skilled in military maneuvers, but he was an excellent diplomat and managed to negotiate several treaties that helped advance the eventual independence of the Jewish people. Simon was the last of Mattathias’s sons to become a leader. He became high priest when the Jews finally gained their independence and began a leadership that combined both religious and civil authority.

The Jewish rule that began with the Maccabees lasted from 143 to 63 B.C. and entailed a succession of mostly weak rulers. Eventually, two brothers, Hyrcanus II and Aristobulus II, fought for control of the nation, and Rome, seeing the opportunity, stepped in to seize control. Once again, the Jews had lost their independence. But however short, the Hashmonean period had several effects worthy of attention: Jewish nationalism was greatly stirred, expectation of the Messiah was running at a high, and the Pharisees and Sadducees had developed.

The Roman governorship of Palestine began with the Herodian dynasty, under Antipater, then Herod the Great, who ruled from 47 to 4 B.C. Herod the Great was an astonishing architect, and he oversaw the rebuilding of the temple at Jerusalem in 20 B.C. The Jews experienced little political or religious interference from the Romans at this time, though the underlying Roman hatred of the idea of a Jewish Messiah (which, to the Roman mind, represented a threat to Roman authority) would later become evident when Herod the Great issued a decree to have all the children under two years old murdered when he heard that the Messiah had been born. The Roman rulers of Palestine who followed were Herod the Great’s sons, Archelaus, Herod Philip II, and Herod Antipas (who had John the Baptist killed and was involved in the later trial of Jesus). There were many other Roman governors of Palestine as well, but only three are mentioned in the New Testament—Pontius Pilate, Felix, and Festus.

The Roman rule had much effect on the Jewish people in preparation for entrance of the Messiah. The Roman system of roads provided an easy connection between nearly all places, and the Roman law made for a time of relative peace. This would tremendously facilitate the spread of the gospel. Also, Roman law officially recognized Judaism as a legitimate religion, which would protect the growth of Christianity (originally considered a branch of Judaism) during its early years.

The religion of the time was also an important factor in preparing the world for Jesus’ coming. Many religions existed in Rome—pantheism, emperor worship, mystery religions, Gnosticism, and philosophy. Judaism itself was changing in many ways. With the dispersion of the Jews during the Babylonian exile and the persecution of Antiochus IV, the Jews had been spread throughout the Roman Empire. They no longer spoke solely Hebrew; Greek and Aramaic were known by most. The Septuagint had been translated under Ptolemy Philadelphius. The temple had been destroyed and rebuilt, and synagogues had been established in many places for teaching and preserving the Jewish culture and religion. Pharisees and Sadducees had emerged, as well as the scribes, zealots, Herodians, and Essenes (Jewish isolationists). The Jews had a renewed sense of nationalism, and expectation of the Messiah was running high.

Now God, through these radical movements in politics, religion, culture, and philosophy, had all the pieces perfectly in place; the world was ready for Jesus to come. The Roman roads and common Greek language, the expectation of the Messiah, the fierce nationality that the Jews were feeling—none had come about by accident, but all were by divine design.

And what happened next? We know the story because it is recorded. The “400 Years of Silence” were broken with the proclamation of angels. The four Gospels record the unbelievable new history that began to unfold, beginning in Bethlehem, with the birth of Jesus.

And THIS is why I've loved my little historical "rabbit trail" so much.