A Case for Christ and the New Testament: What was going on between the Old and New Testament?

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As we continue our series on A Case for Christ and the New Testament we will take a look at the “Intertestimental period” of time along with reasons that mainline Protestants reject the Apocryphal books as inspired by God. Apocryphal books are found in the Roman Catholic Bible and a few other Christian denominations, and some of them do have historical insight into this period of time between the Old and New Testament. But, are they inspired by God, and should they be part of the Biblical Canon of Scripture?

First, let’s take a look at what was going on between the Old and New Testament and overview the historical landscape:

The Intertestimental Period:

  • Also known as the four hundred year period of silence.
  • During this period God did not send any prophets and His Word was not heard.
  • It was a time of turning points and historical events that set the scene for the coming of Messiah and prepared the world for the rapid spread of the Gospel.

As the Old Testament time period ends we find the Jews returning to their homeland to rebuild the Temple, and the city, in Jerusalem (Old Testament books of Ezra and Nehemiah). At this point the Jews had come to terms with, and confessed, their sin of idolatry. In an effort to reestablish their identity and religious practices they began to overemphasize the Law of Moses by adding additional rules and regulations to assure the following of the Law (this time). However, these rules became extremely burdensome to the people and by the first century AD the Jewish leaders had fallen prey to pride and greed, lording their control. There was also a political power struggle within Sanhedrin (the Jewish leadership) and tension was growing with the Roman authorities governing Jerusalem.

Important time periods leading to the advent of the Messiah:

538-333 BC:

The Persian Empire conquers Babylon and rules the region. After seventy years of exile under the Babylonians, the Persian King Cyrus allows the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple and eventually the city. This fulfills Isaiah’s specific prophecy given some 150 earlier (see Isaiah 44:28-45:1).

333-167 BC:

The Greek Empire, under Alexander The Great, conquers the Persian Empire and Hellenization begins. Hellenization is the complete dominance of the people by Greek language, culture, and society. Greek becomes the universal language for business, education, and sophisticates (similar to the English language and western culture today).

After the death of Alexander the Empire is divided between four generals:

(Daniel’s prophecy fulfilled—see Daniel chapters 2, 8, 11)

  1. The kingdom of Cassander (circa 358–297 BC) consisted of Macedonia, most of Greece, and parts of Thrace.
  2. The kingdom of Lysimachus (circa 361–281 BC) included Lydia, Ionia, Phrygia, and other parts of present-day Turkey.
  3. The kingdom of Seleucus (died 281 BC; later the Seleucid Empire) comprised present-day Iran, Iraq, Syria, and parts of Central Asia.
  4. The kingdom of Ptolemy I (died 283 BC) included Egypt and neighboring regions.

167-63 BC:

The Maccabean revolt begins a Jewish rebellion lead by the Maccabean family, specifically Judas Maccabean, against the Greeks. This is due to the oppression of the Jewish people by the Selucid rulers and the final straw is the desecration of the Temple by Selucid King Antiochus IV Epiphanes setting off the revolt. The Jews recapture, reclaim, cleanse and rededicate the Temple during this time (this is the origin of Hanukah). For now the Jews succeed in having independence from the Hellenization movement.

63 BC – AD 476:

The Roman Empire is established when the Roman General Pompey conquers Seleucid, Syria and makes Jerusalem and all Judea a vassal state. Even though the Greek Empire has now been conquered the culture remains highly Hellenized. The Romans modernize the roads for commercial travel and this enables the quick spread of the Gospel later on.

At this time Rome is generally open to all forms of religious practices as long as they do not conflict with the Emperor’s status or decrees—this will change in the late first, early second century AD, becoming a major reason for Jewish and Christian persecution.

Note: Rome will not come to accept Christianity as their official religion until the fourth century AD under the Emperor Constantine (the beginning of Roman Catholicism).

37 BC – AD 14:

Herod the Great (c. 37-4 BC) becomes the political king of the Jews with full allegiance to Rome. Herod’s grandfather and father held prominent political offices in Judea and established close relations with both the current priesthood and with the Roman government. He was responsible for the beautification, restoration, and expansion of the Temple.

Roman leaders Antony (c. 81–30 B.C.) and Octavian (64 B.C. –A.D. 14), the future Cesar Augustus and first Roman Emperor, accepted Herod and the Senate named him king of Judea.

Herod did not have the correct ancestry to claim the office and the Jews did not accept Rome’s right to choose their king for them. Herod, with Roman help, had to conquer his own kingdom and even his chief followers were soon put to death. This Herod is also responsible for the “slaughter of the innocents” in Bethlehem after the birth of Jesus.

6-4 BC:

Jesus is born.

This is where the New Testament begins, although until Jesus’ death and resurrection the time period is still considered a time under the Law.

Note: This dating is based on the difference between the Jewish calendar of 360 days versus our current calendar of 365 days in a year. Our current calendar dates the year zero at the birth of Christ.

What about those other books?

The Apocrypha: (meaning hidden or doubtful)

  • The Latin Vulgate included some of these extra books
  • They are still found in the original King James (1611) between the Old and New Testament
  • Eleven of them are in the Roman Catholic Bible today

But do they belong in the Bible?

Catholics say “yes”

Protestants say “no”

Watch this 30 minutes presentation by “World Video Bible School” that will give more detail about the difference between apocryphal books and inspired books of the Bible (worth the watch):

Overview of reasons for rejecting the Apocrypha:

  1. These books were never included in the Hebrew Old Testament, or in the Protestant New Testament, and The New Testament authors never spoke of them.
  2. They do not claim to be inspired by God.
  3. They were not written by prophets of God (1 Mac. 9:27).
  4. They were not confirmed by supernatural acts of God (Heb. 2:3-4).
  5. They were not accepted by the people of God (Judaism).
  6. They do not always tell the truth of God:
    • praying for the dead (2 Mac. 12:46)
    • working for salvation (Tobit 12:9)
  1. They were not accepted by Jesus the Son of God (Lk. 24:27).
  2. They were not accepted by the Apostles of God (who did not quote them).
  3. They were not accepted by the Early Church of God.
  4. They were rejected by the great Catholic translator of Word of God (Jerome).
  5. They were not written during period of the prophets of God.
  6. They also contain some absurdities and inconsistencies with the rest of the Biblical Canon.

Note: These books do contain some valuable historical information useful in understanding the intertestimental period, but have never been considered inspired writings by the classical Christian Church.

Bible Study:

Read the Gospel of John chapter 7, then answer the following questions:

  1. Give some examples from chapter 7 as to the confusion many had about who Jesus was and where he came from. Why were they all wrong and what do you know to be true about Jesus from your study so far?
  2. Re-read 7:37-39. Jesus gives more detail to His disciples later on—cross-reference by reading John 14:16-29. What does Jesus teach us about the Holy Spirit?
  3. Where else can we find information about the Holy Spirit in the Bible? Create your own Biblical reference list.

Join us next week as we continue our Case for Christ and the New Testament!

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You will not find this material in the public school curriculum even though it is based on solid evidence and grounded in research. It is ironic that following the evidence to where it leads stops at the door of our public schools as they will not let a “Divine footprint” in!  Join us as we examine evidence for Christianity and learn how to become a thoughtful defender and ambassador of your faith.

Click into the resource page of this website to view many of the top Christian thinkers and apologists along with some of their work; connecting to these types of resources is essential in your Christian growth.

Please let me know what you think: Give feedback, ask questions or send concerns in the comment section of the blog.

Teri Dugan

TeriDugan@truthfaithandreason.com

1 Peter 3:15

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