New Testament Background Part 01 by Rodney Bowen

In our Bibles today the Old Testament ends with the book of Malachi and the New Testament immediately begins with the Gospel accounts of the life of Jesus Christ. However between the Old and New Testament there is a gap of almost 400 years. During this time Israel experienced periods of independence and blessing, upheaval and destruction, oppression and humiliation. A mass of Jewish literature was written, for example, the books in the Apocrypha, the books of Jubilees and Enoch, the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, the Sibylline Oracles, the Septuagint, and the list goes on. Jewish theology changed with the influence of Persian and Greek mythology. For example during this time belief in evil spirits, demons, and the devil, were incorporated into Jewish thought. Empires changed with the passing of seasons, the sacred position of High Priest was defiled, and the Jewish nation became divided in allegiance and in religious beliefs. Factions such as the Scribes Pharisees and Sadducees, those who should have been leading the nation, fought, bribed and murdered one another, all to gain the rulership of Israel.

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