December 11, 2022; Sunday School

Order of Service

• Lesson — The Inter-Testamental Period (Part 2)
• Prayer of Dismissal

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Sermon Title: The Fullness of Time — God at Work in the Four Hundred Years of Silence

Scripture: Galatians 4:4

I. Setting the Stage — The End of the Old Testament Era and the Beginning of the Silence

A. The southern kingdom falls to Babylon around 586 BC (2 Chronicles 36; Ezra 1) B. Cyrus king of Persia decrees the return of Israel to the land, approximately 538 BC C. The temple is rebuilt by 516 BC; the walls of Jerusalem are rebuilt under Nehemiah around 445 BC (Nehemiah 6) D. Malachi prophesies around 440 BC — the last inspired word until John the Baptist; the silence begins E. Purpose of studying this period:

1. To understand the "fullness of time" (πλήρωμα) in which Christ was born
2. To explain how Israel moved from prophets, priests, and kings to Pharisees, Sadducees, and scribes
3. To appreciate what God's people like Simeon and Anna were waiting and hoping for (Luke 2:25–38)

II. The Rise of Greece and the Conquests of Alexander the Great

A. Persia is the dominant world power at the opening of the silent period; Greek city-states are growing around 400–350 BC B. Philip II of Macedon unifies Greece and amasses wealth and a powerful army; he dies in 336 BC C. Alexander the Great inherits the kingdom at age 20 and conquers Persia in 331 BC, bringing Palestine under Greek control D. Alexander's education under Aristotle shapes his vision

1. Aristotle's driving passion was to unify all philosophy and knowledge under one coherent system
2. Alexander applied this passion geopolitically — he wanted one language, one culture, one way of thinking across the conquered world
3. This program is called Hellenization — the Grecification of the known world E. Alexander's empire stretched from Greece to India — one of the largest in world history; he dies in 323 BC

III. The Hellenistic Period and Its Impact on Israel

A. After Alexander's death, his vast kingdom is divided among his generals; two dynasties matter most for Israel:

1. The Ptolemies — based in Egypt (Alexandria); they control Palestine from approximately 320 BC
2. The Seleucids — they win Palestine from the Ptolemies in 198 BC under Antiochus III B. Antiochus III intensifies Hellenization with specific pressure on Israel to adopt Greek worship and culture C. Israel's response to Hellenization
3. Outward reaction: resistance and revolt
4. Inward reaction: a movement toward purification, strict adherence to the law, and the erection of protective barriers around Jewish worship
5. Some Jews capitulate; others dig their heels in — the Hasidim (the Pious Ones) emerge as champions of Jewish identity D. Positive consequences of Hellenization for redemptive history
6. A common Greek language enables the gospel to spread rapidly after Christ
7. The Old Testament is translated into Greek (the Septuagint)
8. The New Testament itself is written in Greek

IV. Antiochus IV Epiphanes and the Maccabean Revolt

A. Antiochus IV takes the name Epiphanes ("manifestation"), believing himself to be the god Zeus incarnate; his contemporaries called him Epimanes ("the madman") B. He sees Israel as a buffer state against the growing power of Rome and launches an aggressive anti-Jewish program

1. Observing the Sabbath is declared a capital crime
2. Circumcision is banned
3. Owning a copy of the Scriptures is punishable by death C. In 167 BC the desecration of the temple reaches its climax — Antiochus erects an altar to Zeus in the temple and sacrifices a pig on it (cf. Daniel's "abomination of desolation," Daniel 11:31) D. The Maccabean Revolt (166–142 BC)
4. Mattathias, an elderly priest, refuses to comply and kills a fellow priest who would have made the pig sacrifice — the revolt is sparked
5. His son Judas Maccabeus ("the Hammerer") leads the revolt with relentless guerrilla warfare
6. By 164 BC religious concessions are won; the temple is cleansed and rededicated — the origin of Hanukkah
7. By 142 BC the Seleucid king Demetrius grants the Jews full freedom; Israel is an independent nation until 63 BC

V. The Formation of the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes

A. Around the time of Jonathan (fifth son of Mattathias), interpretations of Old Testament law begin to fracture among the Hasidim B. Three distinct schools of thought emerge: the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Essenes C. Their origin is the desire for religious preservation and purity under foreign pressure D. In seeking to protect the law they overcorrect — adding man-made commandments and traditions that Jesus directly confronts in the Gospels (e.g., Matthew 15:1–9; Mark 7:1–13)

VI. Rome and the World into Which Christ Is Born

A. Rome rises to power and enters Palestine in 63 BC, ending approximately 80 years of Jewish independence B. This is the world — politically, culturally, and religiously — into which Jesus is born at the fullness of time C. Three world empires — Persia, Greece, Rome — have risen and fallen across these 400 years, yet God remains sovereign, unchanged, and working out his eternal plan

1. God ordains the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10)
2. The same pattern of waiting applies to believers today as they await Christ's return