The Basics About the Bible: Between the Testaments

Between the Testaments

  While is our Protestant Bibles contain no Scripture between the testaments , a lot happened in history.  Alexander the Great made his conquests, his empire crumbled and was divided (prophesied by Daniel), and the world took the shape we find at the beginning of the NT.

  When the OT ended, the people had returned from exile.  Since the nation is, by God's design, on an international superhighway, armies came through and conquered them again.

  Alexander absorbed them peacefully after being shown the prophecy about himself.  He liked being prophesied about.

  After Alexander's death, his four generals divided his kingdom. Antiochus Epiphanes, a successor to one of those 4 generals, sacrificed a pig in the temple, and mounted such a great persecution of Jews that the Maccabee family revolted.
   The miracle of Hanukkah occurred.  The priests were reconsecrating, or dedicating, the temple,
but, according to the laws in the books of Moses, they needed to burn the sacred oil for 8 days and only had enough for 1.   But that one day's worth lasted for the entire 8.  It's also called the Feast of
Dedication, which older translations of the NT will mark as of one of Jesus' public speaking occasions.

  For a time, there was actually an independent Jewish state again.  

  This was the time the Pharisees and the Sadducees came into being.  The Pharisees wanted to make sure everyone kept the Law, since the penalties were so awful for not.  The Sadduccees were the conservative ones.  They accepted only the first five books of our Bible as authoritative.
  The Herod family curried favor with Rome, and came to power.  

  To keep their nation, priests allowed the Romans to change the High Priest annually, instead of keeping office for life.