400 Silent Years

THE TIME BETWEEN THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS
Second Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.
Question: What is “All Scripture?” It is the Bible composed of sixty-six books of the Cannon, from Genesis to Revelation. Are their other books in the world inspired of God? No! The Bible is God’s Word to man.
Second Peter 1:20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. 21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
When the prophet Malachi ceased preaching, there was silence from Heaven until the prophet John the Baptist appeared.
Between the close of the book of Malachi in the Old Testament and the beginning of Matthew in the New Testament around four-hundred years elapse. This time is called the “silent years” when God did not speak thorugh a prophet on earth.
Why didn’t God speak through a prophet? Because he had already spoken and given to Israel and the world everything they needed to know in “The Law and the Prophets.”
What was the law and the prophets? The Law and the Prophets were the thirty-nine books of the Old Testament. This was the inspired word of the Living God. The Jews called it he Tenakh.

A great transition is under way that nobody understands yet!
The Jewish religious leaders of the day are blind – Luke 16:14-16.
14 And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.
15 And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.
16 The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.
“Until John” – reveals to mankind that nothing was inspired by God till John came and then things were about to change.
What is the change? There is going to be a transition period from law to grace.
Jesus said in the book of Matthew 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. The shadows of the Old Testament will now become reality (Col 2:13-17).
18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

hThe nation of Israel in 400 B.C. is free from bondage and is back again in the land of Palestine after the Babylonian captivity. However, they are under the dominion of the great Medio-Persian Empire.
In Jerusalem, the temple had been restored, although it was a much smaller building than the one that Solomon had built so elaborately.
hIn the beginning of this era, within the temple the line of Aaronic priests were still worshipping and carrying on the sacred rites as they had been ordered to do by the Law of Moses.
There was a direct line of the priesthood that could be traced back to Aaron. But the priesthood was corrupt. They were blind and deft to the words of God for so preached the prophets which had already come (Isaiah 6:10; Jeremiah 5:21. Malachi 1:7-10)
h The royal line of David had fallen on evil days. The people knew that the rightful successor to the throne had to come from the linage of Abraham, Jacob and David. The last ruler of kinship was Zerubbabel spoken of by Haggai, Zechariah, and Ezra.
But there was no king on the throne of Israel from this linage. They were a puppet nation, under the domination of Persia.
There nation was weak, their religion was formalism as the prophets have shown us, yet they were united at the beginning of the “silent years.” There were no political schisms or factions among them, nor were they divided into groups or parties at this time.
SILENCE -- FOR -- 400 -- YEARS!
h Four-hundred years later when you open the New Testament in the book of Matthew, you discover an entirely different atmosphere -- almost a different world. It is the story of Rip Van Winkle. Winkle fell asleep when King George of England ruled and woke up when George Washington was president. There is a new king!
Rome is now the dominant power of the world. The center of power has shifted from the East to the West, all the way to Rome.
Israel (Palestine) is still a puppet state -- the Jews never did regain their own sovereignty -- but now there is a king on the throne. But this king is not the descendant of Jacob and David. He is the descendant of Esau and his name is Herod the Great.
hTo make matters worse, the high priests who now sit in the seats of religious authority in the nation are no longer from the line of Aaron.
They cannot trace their ancestry line; rather, they are hired priests to whom the office is sold for political gain.
h The temple (Herod’s) is still to be the center of Jewish worship, although the building has been partially destroyed and rebuilt about a half-dozen times over the pass four-hundred years; but when Jesus comes to the temple he sees that it was now used as a den of thieves (Matt 21:13).
hSomething new has transpired. There are:
1 -- Sects and Parties:
hScribes – These men were held in high esteem by the Jewish people. They were considered the teachers of the Scriptures. They arose during the Babylonian captivity. Ezra, himself was both a priest and a scribe. However, these scribes were bitterly opposed to Christ and denounced Him.
Pharisees – These men were an influential Jewish sect that arose during the Maccabees. They were extreme legalist and traditionalist.
Sadducees – The Sadducees were the rationalist, the liberals of their day. They denied the supernatural, resurrection, immortality…
Herodians – They were not a religious sect but a political party that followed the Herod’s. They looked on Christ as a revolutionary.
Zealots – This group of extremist were fanatical defenders of the theocracy and engaged in acts of violence to so defend their faith.
2 -- Sanhedrin: In the New Testament days this group was the supreme civil and religious body within the Jewish nation. The president of the Sanhedrin was also the high priest. This group was formed at some time during the 400 years of silence; possibly under the Hasmonean Dynasty. (Page 7 u)
They had the right, granted to them by the Romans to pass sentence of death but they not have the right to execute it.
3 -- Synagogues: The synagogues began probably during Babylonian captivity. They sprung up in every Jewish city and seems to have become the center of Jewish life even more than the temple. This was the way the Jews tried to keep alive the knowledge of the Scriptures. (Page 8 v)
4 -- Scattering: The scattering of the Jews or the dispersion was evident. The Jewish people were living all over the world.
hWhy did God wait 400 years to speak? He wanted his people to spread his teaching across the known world so that all would know the true God and the Christ that would soon be born. It was a time for the Word of God to sink deep into the hearts of His people, just as today our love and life should be built around the teachings of the Bible. And we should tell others of the Christ who is to come.
h Now, what happened in these four hundred so-called "silent" years? And is there Scripture foundation for what happened?
Yes and No. The only prophet that gives us insight is Daniel (Daniel 7, 8, 11).
Yes - Daniel predicted the shift of power from the east to the west.
He foretold of Babylon’s defeat by the hand of Persian.
He then reveals the quickness of the Greeks and their power to conquer Persia.
A tremendous battle between the Persians and the Greeks entirely altered the course of history. Alexander the Great at the age of twenty led the armies of Greece in victory over the mighty Persians and completely demolished the power of Persia. Alexander began his reign around 336 B.C.
The center of world power then shifted farther west into Greece, and the Grecian empire was born.
h Legend: A year after that historic battle Alexander the Great led his armies into the Syrian world toward Egypt. On the way, he planned to destroy the city of Jerusalem.
As Alexander’s victorious armies approached the city and word was brought to Jerusalem that the armies were on their way, fear filled everyone’s heart. The high priest at that time, who was an old man took the sacred writings of Daniel the prophet and, accompanied by a host of other priests dressed in white garments, went forth and met Alexander some distance outside the city.
Alexander left his army and hurried to meet this body of priests. When he met them, he told the high priest that he had a vision the night before in which God had shown him an old man, robed in a white garment, who would show him something of great significance to himself, according to the account, the high priest then opened the prophecies of Daniel and read them to Alexander.
In the prophecies Alexander was able to see the predictions that he would become that notable goat with the horn in his forehead, who would come from the West and smash the power of Medio-Persia and conquer the world. He was so overwhelmed by the accuracy of this prophecy and, of course, by the fact that it spoke about him, that he promised that he would save Jerusalem from siege, and sent the high priest back with honors (Daniel 8:5-8).
***All this is from the report of Josephus, the Jewish historian.
hAlexander died in 323 B.C. when he was only about thirty-three years old. He had drunk himself to death in the prime of his life, grieved because he had no more worlds to conquer. After his death, his empire was torn with dissension, because he had left no heir. His son had been murdered earlier, so there was no one to inherit the empire of Alexander.
After some time, however, the four generals (predicted by Daniel) that had led Alexander's armies divided his empire between them (Daniel 8:8). Two of them are particularly noteworthy to us. One was Ptolemy, who gained Egypt and the northern African countries; the other was Seleucus, who gained Syria, to the north of Palestine.
Again, Israel was caught in a meat-grinder of the unending conflicts between Syria on the north and Egypt on the south.
Now if you have read the prophecies of Daniel, you will recall that Daniel was able, by revelation, to give a very accurate and detailed account of the highlights of these years of conflict between the king of the North (Syria) and the king of the South (Egypt) in Daniel 11.
During this time Grecian influence was covering the world and becoming stronger in Palestine. A party arose among the Jews called the Hellenists, who’s goal was to bring Grecian culture and thought into the nation and to liberalize some of the Jewish laws.
h This forced a split into two major parties. There were those who were strong Hebrew nationalist, who wanted to preserve everything according to the Mosaic order. They *resisted all the foreign influences that were coming in to disrupt the old Jewish ways. This party became known as the Pharisees, which means "to separate." (*Acts 7:51)
They wanted to preserve traditions, the old ways. As they grew stronger they became more legalistic and rigid in their requirements, until they became the target for some of the most scorching words our Lord ever spoke.
Our Lord called them serpents and hypocrites because of their traditions. Matthew 23: 33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? (Matthew 23:33-37).
They had become religious hypocrites, (Matt 23:13-29) keeping the outward form of the law and traditions, but completely violating the spirit.
h On the other hand, the Hellenists -- the Greek lovers -- became more and more influential in the politics of the land. They formed the party that was known in New Testament days as the Sadducees, the liberals.
The Sadducees turned away from the strict interpretation of the law and became the rationalists of their day. They did not believe in the supernatural in any way. We are told in the New Testament that they came again and again to the Lord with questions about the supernatural, like "What will happen to a woman who has been married to seven different men? In the resurrection, whose wife will she be?" (Matt. 22:23-33) They constantly looked for fault.
Greek culture had covered the world but the power of Syria and Egypt were still strong.
h Around 175-180 B.C., Antiochus Epiphanes of Syria, became one of the most vicious and violent persecutors of the Jews ever known.
In fact, he is often called by Judaism and Christianity alike the Antichrist of the Old Testament, since he committed some of the same atrocities that the Antichrist of Revelation will commit (Daniel 8:9).
hIt was Antiochus that disposed of the Aaronic priesthood. This ended the long line of succession, beginning with Aaron and his sons through the many centuries of Jewish life.
Antiochus Epiphanes sold the priesthood to Jason, who was not of the priestly line. Jason, sold it to his younger brother Menelaus, who then sold the golden vessels of the temple for gain.
Epiphanes overthrew the God-authorized line of priests. Then, and under his reign, the city of Jerusalem and all the religious rites of the Jews began to deteriorate as they came fully under the sadistic power of the Syrian king.
h In 171 B.C. Antiochus invaded Egypt and once again Palestine was caught in the middle of war.
Palestine is the most fought-over country in the world, and Jerusalem is the most captured city in all history.
It has been pillaged, ravished, burned and destroyed more than 27 times in its history.
While Antiochus was in Egypt, it was reported that he had been killed in battle, and Jerusalem rejoiced. The Jews organized a revolt and overthrew Menelaus, the pseudo-priest.
When report reached Antiochus (who was very much alive in Egypt) he organized his armies and swept like a fury back across the land, falling upon Jerusalem with terrible vengeance.
He overturned the city and regained his power. Some 40,000 people were slain in three days of fighting during this terrible time.
He restored Menalaus as high priest and then forced his way into the Holy of Holies. He destroyed the scrolls of the law and, to the absolute horror of the Jews, took a pig and offered it upon the sacred altar.
He then took the blood of that pig and completely defiled and violated the sanctuary. It is impossible for us to grasp how horrifying this was to the Jews. They were simply appalled that anything like this could ever happen to their sacred temple.
It was that act of defiling the temple which is referred to by the Lord Jesus as the "abomination of desolation" which Daniel had predicted (Matt. 24:15), and which also became a sign of the coming desolation of the temple when Antichrist himself will enter the temple, call himself God, and thus defile the temple in that time.
h An edict was passed to desecrate every temple in the land. Altar after altar was defiled with a pig sacrifice. In the town of Modin the Syrians came and demanded all the towns people come to the temple to make a sacrifice or die. In that crowd was Judas Maccabees. The general of the Syrians that day was Appelles. He called Judas’ name and told him that priest everywhere were making sacrifices in obedience to the king, now would he make this sacrifice. He kindly refused. Another priest volunteered to make the sacrifice. As he approached the altar with knife in hand, Judas Maccabees lunged at him, took the knife and killed him. He then turned and killed Appelles. That began the “Maccabean Revolt” that lasted for 100 years.
They captured the attention of the Israelites, summoned them to follow them into battle, and in a series of battles, in which they were always an overwhelming minority, they overthrew the power of the Syrian kings, captured Jerusalem, and cleansed the temple.
The day they cleansed the temple was called the Day of Dedication or Hanukkak. It fell on or near December 25. On that date Jews still celebrate the Feast of Dedication each year.
u The Maccabees, who were of the Hasmonean family, began a line of high priests known as the Hasmonean Dynasty. Their sons, for about the next three or four generations, ruled as priests in Jerusalem, all the time having to defend themselves against the constant assaults of the Syrian army who tried to recapture the city and the temple.
v During this time, one of the Hasmonean priests made a league with the rising power in the West, Rome. He signed a treaty with the Senate of Rome, providing for help in the event of Syrian attack. Though the treaty was made in all earnestness and sincerity, it was this pact which introduced Rome into the picture and history of Israel.
A fierce battle was waged on Israel (Palestine). It grew hotter and hotter.
Finally, the Governor of Idumea, (Edom) a man named Antipater and a descendant of Esau, made a pact with two other neighboring kings and attacked Jerusalem to try to overthrow the authority of the Hasmonean high priest.
This battle raged so fiercely that finally Pompey, the Roman general, joined forces with Antipater. Pompey came down from Damascus, entered the city of Jerusalem and again with a terrible slaughter, overthrew the city and captured it for Rome. That was in 63 B.C. From that time on, Israel was under the authority of Rome.
Now Pompey and the Roman Senate appointed Antipater or Antipas as the Procurator of Judea, and he in turn made his two sons kings of Galilee and Judea. The son who became king of Judea in 40 A.D. is known to us a Herod the Great. Thus, the king that sat on the Throne over Israel was from the descendant of Esau, not Jacob. "Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem saying, 'Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?'" (Matt. 2:1, 2)
Meanwhile, the pagan empires around the world had been deteriorating and disintegrating. Their religions had fallen upon evil days. The people were sick of the polytheism and the emptiness of their pagan faiths. There was a growing air of expectancy that the only hope they had left was the coming at last of the promised Messiah.
In the East, the oriental empires had come to the place where the wisdom and knowledge of the past had disintegrated and they too were looking for something. When the moment came and the star arose over Bethlehem, the wise men of the East who were looking for an answer to their problems saw it and immediately came to seek out the One it pointed to. Thus, "when the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son."
It is amazing how God utilizes history to work out his purposes. Though we are living in the days that might be termed "the silence of God," remember we are to live what He has already written in the Scriptures.
God's purpose and plan is in full swing. You must choose if you will be one who will stand and fight for right and truth. Will you be a Christian or will you be like the Pharisees, or the Sadducees or Herodians or Zealots.
Choose you this day whom you will serve?