2020-05-29
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Around 742-687 BC Isaiah was Judah’s prophet [IS 6: 1-8], and in 650-582 BC, Jeremiah held that same post [JER 1: 4-10]. These famous mouthpieces for God were quite different in their natures. Isaiah was from a well- to- do, highly educated family. His writing style reflects this kind of training. Jeremiah had a touch situation when dealt with working naked for a time and being dropped into a narrow cistern, until he was rescued. Both men were very dedicated to God’s teaching. The period between the OT and NT, the Intertestamental Period, lasted from 721 BC until Christ’s birth. Maccabeeus 1, the first book of the Apocrypha, covered a portion of the Intertestamental period during which the story of Chanukah, the Festival of Lights took place. It was during this time (around 168 BC) when the evil Antiochus 1V Ephiphanes persecuted the Jews by wresting the Jerusalem Temple from their control and sacrificed a pig on the highest altar. That was the Abomination of Desolation, the quintessential affront to the Jews. Three years later, in 165 BC, Jewish guerillas under the leadership of Judah Maccabee, took back control of the temple. There was only enough olive oil to burn the eight Chanukah lights for one day, but God produced a miracle and they burned for 8 days. That is why Chanukah is celebrated for eight days.
THE NEW TESTAMENT TIMELINE
Six months before the birth of Christ, His cousin, John the Baptist, was born to a lady named Elizabeth. Then, Mary, who had been visited by the messenger angel Gabriel, gave birth to the Lord Jesus Himself, a virgin birth by Mary and the Holy Spirit, in Bethlehem [MT 1: 18-3: 17; LK 2: 1-3: 22]. It was during this time that Herod Archelaus ruled Judah, and the Romans occupied it (4 BC-6 AD). Between 6 and 46 AD, Judah and Galilee were ruled by a Roman governor. John the Baptist began his ministry around 26 AD, announcing that people should “prepare the way” for the Lord to come. By that same time, Christ was baptized in the River Jordan, as God pronounced, “This is My Son, in Whom I’m well pleased.” Three years later, Christ’s earthly ministry was completed, and the time of the Last Supper, the betrayal by Judas Iscariot, arrest and trial by a kangaroo court, and the events leading up to His crucifixion happened. Christ was age 33 by that time [IS 53: 1-12; MT 26: 1-28: 20; LK 22:1-24: 52]. During Christ’s earthly incarnation, there were four main groups of Jews: the largest, the Pharisees, believed in an afterlife; the next largest, the Sadducees rejected the idea of an afterlife, the Essenes-lived a communal lifestyle near Qumran, spent their time copying manuscripts, build an aqueduct, and hid the Dead Sea Scrolls in response to escalating danger from the Romans (Kittim), and lastly, the Zealots. Sadly, Qumran was destroyed in 68 AD.
In 37 AD, Saul of Tarsus was on the road to Damascus when this former member of the Sanhedrin [Jewish Ruling Council] who had persecuted Jewish Christians, was struck blind as he heard the voice of Christ saying, “Why have you so persecuted Me?” The Lord used His considerable power to convert Saul and changed his name to Paul. Five years before all of this, the faithful martyr, Stephen, had been stoned to death before Saul’s very eyes, in 32 AD. Who would know then that this plain-looking little man, would become the believing world’s greatest apostle [AC 1: 1-28: 31]. His first missionary journey took place 47-49 AD. His second journey was 49-50 AD, and his third was 52-57 AD. Paul’s epistles (letters) outlined the journeys, who he met, and what Christ taught the missionaries. The important Council of Jerusalem (49 AD) is where it was decided that Peter would lead the church in Jerusalem directed mostly at the Jews, and Paul would be the apostle to the Gentiles on his journeys outside of it.
One by one the original apostles were martyred, including Christ’s half-brother, James (who wrote the little book with his name toward the end of the NT, in 62 AD. Peter and Paul were martyred between 64 and 68 AD. Only John was considerably younger. He was imprisoned on the Isle of Patmos in the Aegean Sea where he lived in a cave. During that time, he experienced visions, which are the book of Revelation [also DN 7: 1- 12: 13]. These were visions of the future, filled with much symbolism. These visions were written down between 96 and 98 AD. For the sake of a time perspective, Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, destroying Pompeii and Herculaneum. The Dead Sea Scrolls weren’t discovered until 1947 AD by a young goatherd who was seeking a lost goat. These eventually were turned over to Dr. Yagael Yadin of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem not long afterward and after changing hands several times. Dr. Yadin devised a method for unraveling these papyrus and animal skin fragments, which mirrored the words of the Bible.
During the time of Christ’s life, another Jewish man named Josephus Flavius wrote down a history of what was going on. It agrees down the line with the Bible’s historical narrative. After suffering a second Dyaspora (loss of nationhood and scattering of the people) from 70 AD when the Romans sacked the Jerusalem temple until 1948 AD (with the restoration of Israel as a nation and homeland for the Jews on May 14th of that year), it is hoped that God has no more cause to punish the Jews. In addition, the lessons of the Holocaust (1938-1945 AD) should never be forgotten.
PRAYER: O Lord, Your power to do good in this world, challenged by the sinful nature of mankind, is unparalleled. We acknowledge our utter need for Your direction and intervention in our lives. We can’t maintain our resolve to be obediently faithful without You. Please remain active in our lives and give us the power to open our hearts to the Holy Spirit. We pledge our love and devotion to You. In Christ’s holy/mighty name, we pray. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: I am commanded by the Holy Spirit to begin writing about the book of Galatians where the gifts of the Holy Spirit [GA 5: 22-23] are presented. The Holy Spirit has indicated that we have a lot to learn about them and how they apply to our lives. There is real power to do good that our Lord uses in His efforts to make the world a better place in which to live. We can’t help but see God’s will in this, and we are given a chance to come closer to our Lord. So, jump in with me, and let what the Spirit has to say gradually change our lives for the better. Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2020. All Rights Reserved.
<-- Back to Archives