Second Temple Judaism
The Zadokite Priesthood,
The Essenes, The Books of Enoch and the Foundations
of Christian Theology
The Pharisees, and the Development of Rabbinic
Judaism
Rabbi Akiba, Simon bar Kohkba,
The Destruction of Messianic Judaism and the Jewish
Culture
A Master's Thesis
World Revival School of Ministry
Kansas City, Missouri
Cliff Pash
August, 2003
A very special thanks to my wife, Julie, for her
continual support and sacrifice, for so many days
of
double duty in our business while I was in class
or was studying.
I bless you, God, for bringing such a women into
my life.
I thank you Julie for 28 years of a wonderful marriage.
Table of Contents
Introduction page 1
Part I
* The Rise of Zadokite Judaism page 8
* The writings of Jeremiah page 10
* The Legacy of Zadokite Reformation and Priesthood
page 13
* The Sabbath as an example of Zadokite Holiness
page 15
* The Maccabean Crises and the Hasmonaean Dynasty
page 19
Part II
* The Essenes, The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Foundations
of
* Christian Theology page 26
* The Essenes page 27
* God at War! The Theology of a World in Rebellion
Against
* the Creator The Books of Enoch, The Beginnings
of
* Eschatological Theology page 30
* The Books of Enoch page 32 The Ministry of Jesus
page 35
* Jesus and the Battle with Satan - Luke 11 page
35
* Jesus and Love your Neighbor page 37
* Paul and the Colossian Heresy, Angelic worship
page 39
Part III
* The Pharisees, Wisdom Traditions, The Dual Torah,
Establishment of
* Rabbinical Judaism, The Jewish Messiah of Rabbi
Akiba, and the
* Destruction of the Jewish Culture. page 46
* Development of Sapiental Judaism-Wisdom Traditions,
* The Sages page 51
* Book of Ecclesiastes page 54
* Ben Sirach and the Book of Ecclesiasticus (Sirach)
page 55
* Beliefs and Doctrines of the Pharisees page 60
* The Written Law - The Torah page 62
* Oral Tradition and its Evolution into the Oral
Law page 64
* First Talmudic Claim: The Oral Law is a separate
divine revelation given by God to Moses at Sinai
page 68
* Second Talmudic Claim: The Oral law is an extended
* interpretation and elaboration of the written
Torah
* which was given to Moses. [Or, it was present
as a seed
* in the written Torah, but later grew and flourished.]
page 70
* Third Talmudic Claim: The oral law is a fence
around the
* written Torah page 72
* Summation of Oral Torah or would Moses be able
to
* recognize the Oral Torah? page 74
* The Academy at Yavneh and the beginnings of
* Rabbinical Judaism page 76
* Rabbi Akiba ben Joseph page 76
* The Office of the Rabbi page 78
* The Jewish Messiah - Simon bar Kohkba page 80
* Supremacy - From What Viewpoint?
* The Destruction of the Jewish Culture page 82
Conclusions page 84
Introduction
"(You Gentiles) at that time had no Messiah.
You were estranged from the national life
of Israel. You were foreigners to the covenants
embodying God's promise. You were
in this world without hope and without God. But
now, you who were once far off
have been brought near through the shedding of
the Messiah's blood. .......
he has made us (Jew and Gentile) both one and has
broken down the barriers
which divided us...." (Eph 2:12-14a)
With such bold proclamations, the apostle Paul
declares the covenants and promises that once were
only reserved for Israel are now available to the
Gentiles, for purposes that all men may be equal
before God. Every barrier between Jew and Gentile
are broken, and all peoples are to be one. The covenants
and promises God had made with Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob are now and forever more to be considered
the covenants and promises God has made with all
of mankind. "He did this in order to create
in union with himself from the two groups a single
humanity and thus make shalom....( Eph 2:15)
If one of the purposes of the Messiah's time on
the earth was to make both peoples one before God,
then, some may argue that the mission of Jesus Christ
has failed. The two peoples have become the most
separated peoples on the earth, with both peoples
filled with mistrust and anger and fear towards
each other. The Church has claimed they are the
true Israel, replacing the Jewish people before
God - as the chosen people of God. This theology
is commonly called "Replacement Theology".
The Jews viewed the mission of Jesus to be an apostate
mission that grew into a religion that is so far
removed from Judaism that no comparisons could be
made. However, it is written in the Talmud that
Moses himself could not recognize the Rabbinical
Judaism established near the end of the first century,
a Judaism that has continued until the present day.
Therefore, it might appear that Paul was wrong in
his summation of some of the purposes of Jesus coming
to the earth, or, secondly, that the plans of God
were not completed by His coming, or thirdly, that
both religions (Christianity and Judaism) are so
far from what they were in the first century that
even the question is no longer relevant.
History, however, was written by the winners. The
debates that raged long ago have been forgotten
and the writings and arguments have been lost. The
losers of a "war for supremacy" have either
disappeared or have also rewritten history from
their point of view, They are seldom given the opportunity
to restate their case, presenting themselves in
a better light, for the winners now rule. For the
historian, there is great difficulty in reconstructing
the passions and the battles that once raged within
the context of the world view of the people who
wrote papers long ago.
For the Christian, the destruction of the temple
in 70 c.e. signified the victory of Christianity
over the old Judaism of the Law. Christian history
records that the Jewish Diaspora began in 70 c.e.
with the destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish
temple. It has been believed that the province was
depopulated of Jewish people at this time, leaving
the Jews without a country until 1948. But the economic
devastation of Judea lasted only a short time since
the Roman Empire needed an economically strong and
populated Judean province on their frontier. The
people who wrote the history were not Jews, Messianic
or otherwise. Each side of the great debates of
the first century wrote of a history that promoted
their theological arguments.
The Jewish people rebounded from the "Great
Revolt" (66-73 c.e.), but organized diversity
decreased. Of the 37 separate Jewish Sects operating
before 66 c.e., only two survived with any strength,
the Pharisees and the Messianic Community. Both
claimed to be the legitimate religion of their forefathers.
A struggle for supremacy ensued, culminating in
the establishment of Rabbinical Judaism through
the efforts of Rabbi Akiba and the destruction of
the Jewish Culture in 135 c.e. through "the
Last Revolt" the Jews would ever have against
the Roman Empire. Rabbi Akiba used all of his Rabbinical
authority to declare Simon bar Kohkba to be the
Messiah to the Jewish People, in order to establish
Rabbinical Judaism and to discredit Messianic Judaism.
Rabbi Akiba, before he died, would "save"
Judaism from the Messianic Apostasy, no matter what
the cost. Rabbi Akiba established Rabbinical Judaism
which has survived until the present day.
Messianic Judaism was discredited, most of its
adherents were executed by the Sanhedrin at the
beginning of the Last Revolt or were slaughtered
by the Romans. Never again were the Jewish Covenants
and Promises taught to the Christian community by
the people to whom they were originally given. The
Church was severed from its Jewish Roots, and to
this present day, Jewish Messianic Leadership has
not been available to the Gentile Christian. The
Chosen People of God would not be the Royal Priesthood
for the emerging faith known as Christianity. Additionally,
Judea was renamed "Palestine" to signify
it would never again be populated by Jews, and the
people of the Land began to migrate to the Parthian
Empire.
In order to determine how the course of events
unfolded for this 100 year period from the death
of Jesus to the death of Akiba's Messiah, bar Kohkba,
this paper will begin with the end of the Babylonian
Captivity and the establishment of the Zadokite
Priesthood and religion by Ezra and the returning
exiles to Judea while under the rule of the Persian
Empire. The tenants of this "new" Judaism
were prophesied by Ezekiel, chapters 40-48. The
focus would be on maintaining a level of holiness
that would be pleasing to God, ensuring that He
would never send them into exile again. The priests
would be the rulers of the "new" nation.
Three hundred years later, long after the invasion
of Alexander the Great, during the rule of the Seleucid
kings, Antiochus III and IV, that the office of
High Priest was, for the first time, sold to raise
money for the king. First, the position was purchased
by Jason. This purchase of the High Priest position
began a period of turmoil in Judea that might best
be described as "cultural wars". It was
Jason who instituted many Hellenistic cultural reforms,
which angered the Zadokite priests. Next, it was
a man named Menalaus who outbid Jason for the High
priest position. Soon, a great cultural war broke
out and the nation was very divided. In order to
establish his priesthood among his enemies, Menalaus
asked Antiochus IV, his patron and mentor, to help
him destroy his enemies. Unforeseen by the ruling
class of Judea, the actions by Antiochus IV sparked
a successful revolt by a commoner, Judas Maccabee
and his family, which resulted in the establishment
of the Hasmonaean Dynasty, the renaissance of Hebrew
thinking, the Hebrew language and the theocracy.
The national symbol of the Hasmonaeans was the Palm
Branch (think Palm Sunday).
During this time period, the Pharisaic interpretation
of Judaism began to influence the national life
of the Jews. They brought with them a unique innovation
known as the Oral Tradition, which was given equal
consideration with the written scripture. Except
for a brief time under the Hasmonaean queen, Alexandria
Salome, the Pharisees never were influential as
the majority religious "denomination"
in Judea, until the time of Rabbi Akiba many years
later.
The Hasmonaeans never restored the Zadokite priesthood,
thereby angering the now disenfranchised leadership
prophesied by Ezekiel and established by Ezra. They
believed they were appointed by God during the Babylonian
Exile and were the only group so ordained. Their
belief was there could be no other priesthood that
could bring the proper sacrifices to God and still
be pleasing to Him. Many believed this group left
the mainstream of Jewish Life to conduct their "cult"
rituals away from Jerusalem and remain pleasing
to their God. Many believed this group became known
by the Greek name, Essenes. Interestingly enough,
the Essene theology developed over the next 230
years, and incorporated other streams of Judaism
into their thinking. Much of their writings were
hidden in caves, not to be discovered until the
late 1940's. We know of some of these writings as
the Dead Sea Scrolls. Within the Dead Sea Scrolls
were many of the foundations of thought that became
the New Testament theology, recorded by Paul in
his epistles. Much of their redefinition of meanings
of the Tanakh were the foundation for Christian
thought.
After the Zadokite Priesthood was "dethroned"
by Jason and the Seleucids, the position of High
Priest became a political position. The Hasmonaeans
held both the position of King and of High Priest.
Because Hasmonaean brothers continued to fight over
who would be king, Pompey, the Roman general was
asked to enter Jerusalem and make peace, which he
did by conquering the independent kingdom and effectively
annexing it to the Roman Province of Syria. The
Roman government ruled through surrogates, establishing
loyal citizens within Judea as High Priests from
the class of Sadducees. Their continued power depended
upon their keeping the Romans in power and keeping
dissent to a minimum.
Within Judea and the Galilee, tensions between
the Romans and the Jews remained high. The loss
of their political freedom continued to cause great
stress upon the culture of the day. The fact that
the Romans were invited in because the Hasmonean
leadership could not stop fighting among themselves
brought a sense of betrayal and a sense of desperation
to the common people of Judea. The belief arose
that God would reestablish the dynasty of David,
for only the throne of David could rule in a manner
so pleasing to God that He would send a Messiah
or deliverer to save His people from their "slavery"
or "bondage" to foreign rulers..
One group, known as the Zealots, believed they
needed increase their faith in Jehovah enough to
begin a war of independence. God would then bring
them victory. Others believed their culture needed
to be reformed to be in step with the rest of the
Roman world, believing their currant economic prosperity
depended upon a reforming of the religion of their
ancestors. Others believed the standards of Holiness
must be increased in order for God to hear their
cry and send to them a deliverer, a messiah, who
would bring them out of their slavery.
Into this political, emotional, and religious cauldron
of competing ideas and strongly held views, judgments
and anger, Jesus Christ, the Jewish Messiah was
born. The revival that Jesus brought was to turn
the people back to their God and break down the
barriers between God and man. Jesus attempted to
open the eyes of the people to see the season in
which they were living in. People were vowing to
lay down their lives for God in a way that would
bring destruction upon the peoples. The people were
not understanding the plans and purposes of God,
therefore, their religion was powerless. The Chosen
People of God were not able to find the help they
needed, and the religion was not able to bring anything
of life to the rest of the Roman world, or even
themselves. Jesus then showed the way that the power
of the living God, a power that could only come
from heaven, would come and change them, and then,
through them, would change the world. The message
was so foreign to most of the people of God that
they rejected it. In order to not offend the Romans
(and to keep their treasured position with the Romans)
the leadership of the church caused Him to be executed.
The Message of Christ continued to grow among the
peoples as yeast will grow among a loaf of bread.
The religious people, however, continued to reject
it and fight against the Messianic Heresy. After
the destruction of the temple, Judaism was once
again reformulated by the leadership into a form
the Jewish people had never known before. The foundations
of Rabbinic Judaism was born at Yavneh and developed
by one of the greatest sages Judaism has ever known,
Rabbi Akiba. By 135 c.e., on the eve of the Last
Revolt the Jews would conduct against the Romans,
the authority of the Rabbi and the Oral Law were
firmly established among the non-Messianic Community,
and Judaism has never been the same. It must be
understood that Rabbinic Judaism was the most complete
reformulation of the Jewish Religion that had ever
occurred, and it has lasted longer than any of the
other "Judaisms" that are in the Scriptures.
Beginning with the Babylonian Captivity, then,
we will attempt to follow the competing ideas and
the changing theologies. We will attempt to describe
the changing pressures that so influenced the culture
of the people who were called God's Chosen People.
At the end of this journey, we will find two completely
different religions, both birthed out of Judaism,
both birthed out of this period we call the Intertestamental
Period or Second Temple Judaism. Both religions
could be called Judaisms, but both religions had
become so changed and so different that neither
religion would have been recognized by the people
living during the time of the ministry of Jesus
Christ.
If one of the purposes of the ministry of Jesus
was to bring both Jew and Gentile into a concept
of "One New Man", then both Rabbinic Judaism
and Christianity must explore their roots and the
development of their religions beginning with Second
Temple Judaism. If both religions would return to
their roots, then, the possibility of God's Chosen
People being united may be realized. This writer
fears the walls of separation have been built so
high and so thick that neither side will ever acknowledge
their common beginnings, nor will they ever accept
each other as the "true" people of God
unless God can intervene and force His will upon
mankind.
I will, then, discuss the Zadokite Priesthood,
the Essenes, the Books of Enoch, the beginnings
of Jewish Mysticism and the development of Christian
theologies. I will discuss the rise of the Pharisees,
the beginning of the Oral Law, the Books of Job,
Jonah and Ecclesiastes. I will then discuss the
Book of Sirach, followed by the establishment of
Rabbinic Judaism. Finally, I will attempt to show
very differing theologies and methods of interpretation
of scriptures that resulted in extreme separation
among the Jews. In the end, I will offer no real
answers, but will try to clarify the roots of our
Christian faith. Hopefully this journey will challenge
us in our faith, and will stimulate discussion among
diverse peoples who believe in diverse theologies.
Part I
The Rise of Zadokite Judaism
The Babylonian Captivity brought great social,
political and religious upheaval among the people
of Judea. Whenever there is defeat among peoples,
there appears to always be lingering questions that
continue to divide peoples for generations. Blame
is often assessed, and self-righteousness exerted.
In the case of Judea, some people blamed God. Others
blamed priests, while others blamed weak political
leadership, such as Josiah, Jehoahaz and Jehoiakim.
Because Judea had many components of a theocracy,
these questions caused even more division. Jeremiah
and Ezekiel were divided in their prophetic statements
concerning the return of the people from exile.
Because Ezekiel was among the Babylonian captives,
his prophetic statements reflected the attitudes
of the people among whom he lived. Ezekiel wrote
of the coming day throughout much of chapters 40-48,
with the aim of laying the foundations of a new
order for Judea that was profoundly different from
what had been the norm.
Ezekiel's writings prophesied blame for the captivity
to the sinful behavior of the majority of Levites,
proclaiming:
"The Levites who went far from me when Israel
went astray and who wandered from me
after their idols must bear the consequences of
their sin. They may serve in my sanctuary,
having charge of the gates of the temple and serving
in it; they may slaughter the burnt
offerings and sacrifices for the people and stand
before the people and serve them. But
because they served them in the presence of their
idols and made the house of Israel fall
into sin, therefore I have sworn with uplifted
hand that they must bear the consequences
of their sin, declares the Sovereign Lord. They
are not to come near to serve me as priests
or come near any of my holy things or my most holy
offerings; they must bear the
shame of their detestable practices." (Ezek
44:10-13)
Ezekiel then singled out one family, 'the sons
of Zadok' for their faithfulness. Therefore, this
family was the only priestly family worthy of the
rights, privileges and perquisites of the priesthood
when the temple was rebuilt. The remainder of the
Levites were to become subservient temple personnel
under the sons of Zadok.
"But the priests, who are Levites and descendants
of Zadok and who carried out the
duties of my sanctuary when the Israelites went
astray from me, are to come near to
minister before me; they are to stand before me
to offer sacrifices of fat and blood,
declares the Sovereign Lord. They alone are to
enter my sanctuary; they alone are to
come near my table to minister before me and perform
my service." (Ezek 44:15-16)
Ezekiel also blames the king and envisions the
return of the exiles coming under the authority
of a king reduced in power, "a prince",
who did not have a role of prominence within the
"cult" of the temple. From the time of
King David, the king had far more authority within
the temple cult than was envisioned by Moses. Without
delving into the political landscape of the day,
Ezekiel challenged the combining of the kingship
and the priesthood as it had existed and exerted
his influence to shape the future political and
religious arena if the Jewish people ever returned
to their homeland. The exiles believed they had
been betrayed by the Davidic king, Jehoiachin.
".... And my princes will no longer oppress
my people but will allow the house of
Israel to possess the land according to their tribes.
This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
'You have gone far enough, O princes of Israel!
Give up your violence and oppression
and do what is just and right. Stop dispossessing
my people' declares the Sovereign Lord.
'You are to use accurate scales, an accurate ephah
and an accurate bath'" (Ezek 45:8-10)
"And the prince may never take anyone's property
by force. If he gives property
to his sons, it must be from his own land, for
I do not want any of my people
unjustly evicted from their property." (Ezek
46:18)
The exiles were a small percentage of the Jewish
population. They were the upper class, the royal
family, the military leaders, the priests, a total
of 4600 people (Jer 52:28-30). There were, however,
as many as 90% of the population remaining in Judea.
Because the majority remained in the land, life
continued with religious and political activity
without the deep effects of exile.
The writings of Jeremiah
Jeremiah had a different prophetic vision of the
restoration of Judea after the time of the captivity.
His prophetic understandings were that the royal
line of David and the legitimacy of the Levitical
priest would be restored. Jeremiah's prophetic vision
was the true word of God, and could never be broken
unless the covenant with the day and the night were
also broken.
"In that day ....they will serve the Lord
their God and David their king,
whom I will raise up for them." (Jer 30:9)
"For this is what the Lord says: 'David will
never fail to have a man to sit on the
throne of the house of Israel, nor will the priests,
who are Levites, ever fail to have
a man to stand before me continually to offer burnt
offerings, to burn grain offerings
and to present sacrifices.'" (Jer 33:17-18)
"The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: This
is what the Lord says: 'If you can break my covenant
with the day and my covenant with the night, so
that day and night no longer come at their appointed
time, then my covenant with David my servant --
and my covenant with the Levites who are priests
ministering before me -- can be broken and David
will
no longer have a descendant to reign on his throne.
I will make the descendants of
David my servant and the Levites who minister before
me as countless as the
stars of the sky and as measureless as the sand
on the seashore..'" (Jer 33:19-22)
Ezekiel and Jeremiah had differing prophetic visions,
perhaps somewhat shaped by the people they lived
among. Jeremiah lived among the people who remained
in the land of Judah. There are writings to indicate
the animal sacrifices formerly conducted at the
destroyed temple continued during the time of the
captivity, although in a different city, possibly
among the Samaritans. For many of the remaining
peoples in Judea, life went on somewhat as it had
before the exile, although the "nobility"
had been taken to Babylon. The economy recovered
and the Judean province was ruled by the Babylonians
for their economic and political gain. Thus, the
Jews were allowed to continue practicing their religion
and sacrifices to YHWH if the people allowed themselves
to be ruled peacefully.
The Persians, under Cyrus the Great, conquered
the Babylonian empire, brought a change to the way
the subjected peoples (including the Jews) were
to be ruled. The Medio-Persian Empire believed that
the most efficient rule of the conquered regions
necessitated self-rule of the peoples, and that
local religions and religious leaders were often
an effective tool in keeping a region prosperous
and peacable. As self-rule began to be established
(beginning the post-exile period from the viewpoint
of the Jews), the religious institutions needed
to be updated and renewed, but not begun from scratch.
The ruling class that had been in exile returned,
and expected to establish their authority over the
institutions and over the people living in the land.
When the exiles began to return to Judea, major
conflicts arose between the two groups.
A compromise was reached, giving the royal line
of David through Zerubbable the kingship, while
the Zadokite family of priests would control the
priesthood. The city walls and temple were rebuilt.
The Levitical order of priesthood submitted to the
priests of Zadok. After Zerubabble, however, there
is no record of a continued royal line. The prophesies
of Ezekiel became the blueprint for the post-Babylonian
period. The royal line of David ceased to rule and
died out. Perhaps the new Testament writings that
spoke of the restoration of the throne of David
were nothing more than a wish that the glories of
a previous age could, once again, be established
if only the royal monarchy could be reestablished.
If the glories of that age were to come again, God
must establish the Davidic throne and, thereby,
fulfill the prophecy of Jeremiah. Judaism, however,
for the first time, became a religion ruled by the
Zadokite priesthood. This particular "Judaism"
lasted for the next three hundred years.
Thus began an interesting reinterpretation of religious
history by the Priests. For the first time, the
High Priest became an exalted political, social
and economic position. Some may theorize that portions
of the Tanakh (Old Testament) were written to "justify"
these changes. Some theorize that the Books of Chronicles,
sections of Isaiah (56-66), Job, Jonah, Malachi,
and possibly Esther, Ruth and the Song of Songs,
as well as Haggai, Zechariah and Ezra were written
at this time. Some even theorize (Graf-Wellhausen
Documentary Hypothesis) that the priests of Zadok,
during this early post-exilic period, wrote the
majority of Leviticus, and inserted various writings
into other portions of the Torah. "The P or
Priestly source, distinguised by its uniform style,
orderly arrangement of meterials, and repetition
of stereotyped phrases (e.g., "these are the
generations"). This fourth major document contains
liturgical and ritualistic texts, genealogical tables
and statistics, laws and prescriptions - all unmistakable
interests of the Israelite priesthood. The P source
is assumed to be the product of postexilic priests
about 500-450 b.c.e"
The books of the Chronicles were written, establishing
the lineage of Zadok in the first chapters. The
history of the Jewish people was rewritten to legitimize
Zadokite power. Many references to the prior priestly
functions of the king was eliminated from this history.
Even King Uzziah was punished with leprosy for his
transgression of making an offering on the altar
of incense, a normal function of the kings until
this time!! (2 Chron 18:17). The Priests of the
line of Zadok established themselves as the true
sons of Aaron, the true sons of Levi, and the true
sons of Phinehas in order to fulfill every angle
of legitimacy to be the true priesthood of Israel.
The Legacy of the Zadokite Reformation and Priesthood
With the depopulation of Israel, then the exile
of most of the upper classes of Judea, followed
by the destruction of the first temple, the Chosen
People of God were reexamining their faith in the
Creator. They searched the Torah looking for answers
as to their sins, repentance and how to find restoration
to their God. What must be done to please their
God and renew the covenants and promises their forefathers
had entered into. Hill and Walton wrote:
"Israel's identity as the people of God took
on a new dimension as temple and priest
replaced state and king as the stabilizing institutions
of the Hebrew community. The
law of Moses became the charter or the constitution
by which society was reorganized
into a priestly 'temple-state.' Religious, social
and economic policy was now
determined by Torah, bringing a new emphasis on
Hebrew 'exclusiveness' and
'separation' from the Gentiles and their polluted
world order."
The Zadokite Priesthood interpreted Torah as a
blueprint for life, believing that man could keep
every aspect of "the Law", and then, become
pleasing to God, thereby ensuring His continued
favor and blessings upon His Chosen People. The
attitudes and teachings began to place increased
emphasis upon strict obedience to every word written
of Torah, yet, the Spirit of the Law, or the faith
of Abraham was somehow lost.
"The covenantal relationship between God and
Israel, as understood by the
Zadokites, is a pact for the stability and welfare
of the universe."
The theology of the day insisted that the people
of God had agreed to subject themselves to God's
Law, including the punishments listed in Dueteronomy
when the covenant was transgressed. Martin wrote
that, "The high priest .... and his priestly
kinsmen served as the human community that established
and maintained connection between the various orders
of being. Their labor in the temple preserved all
other orders of beings from collapse. Upon them,
the people of Israel, the land of Israel, and, ultimately,
the entire cosmos and its population all depended."
Their attitude was that things could be done with
an exact correctness that pleased God, and therefore,
order would be sustained in the whole of God's Creation.
There is a belief in Judaism yet today that would
say that as long as there is one Torah observant
community left in the earth, the fullness of the
judgments of God will not come to the earth. To
them, Torah observance is the key to pleasing God,
and it is they who sustain the universe. Strict
obedience, therefore, pleases God. Because of this
community, God withholds judgment from the earth,
therein, the Gentiles are blessed. If the priests
pleased God with their sacrifices and order, judgment
will be withheld from the earth.
As time passed, the Jewish leadership further distanced
themselves from the plans and purposes of God. The
ultimate Jewish prophesy of God was that through
Israel, "all the world would come to know Him
as the Lord and their is no other"(1 Kgs 8:60).
The Zadokite beliefs, however, evolved into a unhealthy
separation from the 'unclean' lifestyle of the Gentile.
They believed that the Gentile could never be equal
to the Jew before God, and, upon completion of the
Second Temple, a Gentile Court was constructed because
Gentiles were too 'unclean' and would always be
too 'unclean' to even approach the holiness of the
Living God. Although Jewish writings acknowledge
their salvation is never "earned" and
has always been a gift, the leadership believed
the gift was only for the Jews, and could never
come in its fullness to the Gentiles. They never
could understand their need for a Messiah as defined
by the life of Jesus. Therefore, because the blessings
of God's promise were not with their community,
the Mosaic Law developed layers and layers of "insurance"
or "fencing" for the people of God, and
a constant quest for holiness before God became
a preoccupation of the leaders.
As time progressed, the Zadokite world view affected
or infected every area of Jewish thought. There
arose a belief that God would send a deliverer,
a Mosaic figure, a Messiah who would come and deliver
them from the Roman rule. But the belief became
corrupted by the Zadokite world view. The Messiah
would come when the Jewish People fully accepted
the rule and reign of their God. It was only then
that the Creator God would then send the Messiah.
Every idea of holiness and the acceptance of the
rule and reign of God became incorporated in the
Second Temple Judaism theology of the Sabbath.
The Sabbath as an example of Zadokite holiness
One exegetical reading of the causes of the Babylonian
Captivity could lead the reader to conclude that
the "desecration" of the Sabbaths was
the major cause of God's wrath against His people.
Therefore, if the nation would return to God, if
the people would obey the rules God set down for
them, if the nation could come together in some
form of unity, then God would send the deliverer
and Roman rule would end and the Kingdom of God
would be restored to Israel. It was believed (and
still is believed today) that if every Jewish person
would obey the Sabbath in its entirety (interpreted
by the Jewish priests), for just one day, then the
Messiah would come. Therefore, during the time of
the direct ministry of Jesus on the earth, the Jewish
leadership believed it was Jesus who was preventing
the Messiah from being sent by God. Remember, the
Sabbath was established at Sinai in Ex 31:12 (f).
as a sign of the covenant between the Hebrews and
Jehovah:
"The Lord said to Moses, "You must also
tell the Israelites: Take care to keep my Sabbaths,
for that is to be the token between you and me throughout
the generations,
to show that it is I , the Lord, who make you holy.
Therefore, you must keep the Sabbath as something
sacred. Whoever desecrates it shall be put to death...."
The leadership of the Jewish people believed that
the primary reason for the Babylonian Captivity
of 587 b.c.e. was the issue of the Sabbath. Because
the people did not have any more understanding of
Sabbath at that time than we do today, the issue
was simplified into desecration of the Sabbath rules.
The simplest definition of "rest" would
be to do no work and to abstain from every labor.
Therefore, layer upon layer of rules and regulations
were formulated to define what work was, what travel
was, what was acceptable and what was not. Sabbath
regulations controlled the lives of the Jewish people
from the beginning of the week to the end.
If not keeping the Sabbath in its entirety resulted
in God's Punishment through the Babylonian Captivity,
surely a renewed effort to keep the Sabbath would
result in the OPPOSITE -- as in the restoration
of the people of God to the covenant promises and
blessings as well as the restoration of the Davidic
kingdom. Secondly, if every Jewish person did keep
the Sabbath in the manner prescribed by God in the
Torah (with the Zadokite world view) .......Then
Almighty God would send His Messiah and bring deliverance
to the Chosen People. Although the Babylonian captivity
was over, the national life of Judea had been controlled
by foreigners since that time. It was as if the
people were still in captivity - although this captivity
was in their own land. Because of their years and
years of strict obedience to Torah, God must and
will deliver them by sending them a messiah.
from Yerushalmi Taanit 1:1
WA commentary from the Talmud, Law states
"The Messiah will come any day that Israel
makes it possible. IF all Israel will keep a single
Sabbath in the proper (Judaic) way, the Messiah
will come. If all Israel will repent for one day,
the Messiah will come. 'Whenever you want....,'
the Messiah will come. .........the persistent hope
of the people for the coming of the Messiah is linked
to the system of Judaic observance and belief."
Many of the Jews living at the time of Jesus might
have said: "we will never allow God's punishment
to fall upon us again, if we can help it. We will
follow every Law written in Torah to the letter.
If each one of God's Chosen People will do so, the
Messiah has promised he will come and rescue us
from the bondage we are now in. If it was because
of our sin that the Romans came, and it will be
because of our Holiness, our turning back to our
first love, our obedience to the Holy one that once
again, He will hear our cry and rescue us, His Chosen
People. Praise be His name forever.".
During the time of the Roman occupation, the Jewish
leadership began to view every person who was disobedient
to Sabbath rules as being held responsible for keeping
the Romans in power and the Jews in bondage. Because
of their disobedience, it was now those people's
fault
that the Messiah did not come. The Messiah would
come whenever the whole community would repent and
observe the Sabbath in its entirety.
The prostitutes and the tax collectors were thought
to be the ones responsible for the continuing agony
of life in a police state under the Roman Soldiers.
Then, to top it all off, an upstart itinerant preacher
(rabbi) named Jesus came and openly challenged the
very Laws of Moses from the Sacred Torah. The ministry
of Jesus brought revival to the majority of the
Jewish people in Galilee until the Sabbath issue
was raised. The Pharisaic "Messiah Investigators"
might have concluded Jesus was the Messiah except
for the Sabbath issue.
The Zadokite world view was so ingrained in the
Jewish leadership during the first century of the
common era, that they had no comprehension of what
it was Jesus was saying when He said to them, "The
Sabbath was made for the sake of man, not man for
the Sabbath" (Mark 2:27 from Exod 23:12 and
Deut 5:14). The Sabbath is necessary for man because
there must be something of God that comes into man
in order for him to become one with God. The only
substance that separates God's people from the world's
people is the presence of God. The practice of obtaining
it, keeping it and finding it is the true meaning
of the
Sabbath. It is a time, not a day or a place. It
is finding the place of intimacy with God and resting
in that. In order to find that place, one must refrain
from all work, but the refraining from work is not
the Sabbath.
Although the Zadokite world view became a system
of legalisms that robbed the Scriptures of their
primary purpose, the reforms that came after the
Babylonian captivity brought the people of God together
with a common purpose and reestablished their common
destiny. The Aaronic and Levitical priesthood was
placed under the authority of the Zadokite priesthood
in line with the prophetic writings of Ezekiel.
The Davidic line of political authority was discredited
because of the corruption of the pre-exilic time,
and would never again subjugate the peoples.
"In the Zadokite world view the house of YWHW
has taken the place of the house of David, the priesthood
has replaced the monarchy, and Aaron has superseded
Moses."
The Maccabean Crises and the Hasmonaean Dynasty
After the invasion of Alexander the Great, tremendous
changes came to the world of the Jewish people and
their culture. From the time of Alexander (323 b.c.e.)
until 189 b.c.e., the Ptolemies of Egypt were the
principle rulers of the region of Judea. They ruled
with a certain amount of tolerance for the local
religions, however, the Hellenistic culture was
continually
challenging the institutions and lifestyle of the
Jewish people. The economic, religious and political
freedoms of the Greeks were challenging and bringing
change to every culture. Yet, the Zadokite Priesthood
met the challenges and effectively resisted the
changes. Although there were undercurrents of dissent,
there was a certain peacefulness in the land until
the times of the Seleucids.
During the late 3rd century, b.c.e, the political
and military strength of the Ptolemies began to
decline. At the same time, the Seleucids had a period
of strong leadership. Transference of the territory
of Judea to the Seleucids was the result. Life in
Judea began to be changed very dramatically. Although
the Seleucids brought Judea into the sphere of their
kingdom, being on the frontier with the Egyptian
Ptolemies resulted in Judea being a the buffer between
the two kingdoms. By 189 b.c.e., the Seleucid monarchy
was in desperate financial straits after they lost
a major battle at Magnesia. The monarchy could not
pay the required tribute to Rome. They needed money
and were open to finding it wherever it could be
found. Little did their king, Seleucus IV, realize
that the pent up cultural and religious pressures
among the Jewish people would open up opportunities
to obtain the needed monies. Treachery and bribes
and the lack of unity among Jews would soon create
a crises of immense proportions among the peoples
of Judea. The Zadokite priesthood was soon to fall
and the order they had kept was soon to explode
into disorder.
The second book of Maccabees narrates that Simon,
an Aaronite priest of the tribe of Bilgah "who
has been made captain of the temple, had a disagreement
with the high priest about the administration of
the city market.... and reported to (the governor
of Coelesyria) that the treasury in Jerusalem was
full of untold sums of money...(which) did not belong
to the account of the sacrifices, but that it was
possible for them (the treasures) to fall under
the control of the king" (2 Macc 3:4-6). The
anger of this priest set in motion a series of events
that changed the culture of the Jewish people forever.
The length of this paper will not allow a full development
of the events that unfolded, however, the events
brought about the end of the Zadokite Priesthood
and the order that came with their stable leadership.
The cultural pressures of the Hellenistic civilization
brought deep division within the Jewish people in
much the same way the American culture influences
the entire world in our day. The battle for the
offices of the priesthood resulted in an attempted
redefining of the office of high priest and of the
entire cult of the temple sacrifices and of the
entire religious system. The office of the High
Priest became a political tool to keep the people
peaceful. By the time of Jesus, the High Priest
was responsible to the Romans arguably more than
to God.
When the Zadokite high priest, Onias III, refused
to surrender the temple treasures, he was seized
by Antiochus IV, the new king of the Seleucids and
imprisoned. Jason (Joshua) obtained the position
of high priest through promising a huge bribe for
the right and he was given the right to become high
priest. Jason desired to implement many Hellenistic
social and cultural reforms long desired by many
within the Jewish society. Although much of what
Jason desired to implement was offensive to many
of the traditional Jews including the Zadokite priests,
he had a certain legitimacy because he was of the
house of Zadok, and a relative of the Tobiads, the
richest and most economically powerful family in
the region. Thus, the "opening" of the
culture had begun, much to the distress of the Zadokite
priests. Jason did not appear to be acting soley
out of personal ambition, but as the leader of a
reform minded group of citizens who honestly believed
the Greek ways would stimulate economic growth and,
thus, be beneficial to his people. It appears that
Jason did not persecute the existing religious system,
he only encouraged a Hellenistic change from within
Jewish society itself.
As one might expect, the cultural changes were
not embraced by all, resulting in many divisions,
factions and movements. After only three years in
power, Jason was removed from his position. Menelaus,
the brother of Simon (mentioned as the angry priest
above) "secured the high priesthood for himself,
outbidding Jason by three hundred talents of silver"
(2 Macc 4:24). Menelaus was not of the Zadokite
family and had no qualification for the high priesthood
according to the post-exile traditions. The people
of Judea became even more divided, some supporting
the still imprisoned Onias III, some the now deposed
Jason, some Menelaus. No group was dominant. The
problem intensified when Menelaus could not pay
the tribute promised to Antiochus IV and began to
sell "some of the gold vessels of the temple"
(2 Macc 4:32)
Political intrigue followed and Onias III was killed.
With such turmoil on his frontier, Antiochus IV
brought his army to Jerusalem and took the city
without a fight. He may have been invited in by
Menelaus. Antiochus IV seized the majority of the
temple treasures (looted the temple), and killed
many of those who opposed his rule. He firmly established
the authority of Menelaus who then proceeded to
"lord over his compatriots worse than the others
did" (2 Macc 5:23). From this day, worship
in the temple underwent radical changes, the daily
sacrifices were interrupted (1 Macc 1:45). A new
calendar was introduced changing the Zadokite sabbatical
calendar to a Macedonian lunar calendar. Large scale
persecution of the Zadokite religion began. The
traditional Jews and the Zadokite sect believed
very strongly that the Jews were now compelled by
their leaders to "forsake the laws of their
ancestors and no longer live by the laws of God"
(2 Macc 6:1) The voluntariness of the people to
follow Greek ways now became mandated by Menelaus,
and supported by Antiochus IV. Three hundred years
of Zadokite order were ended.
The next two years were the most confused in all
of Jewish history. These two years may have been
the most crucial to a complete understanding of
why Judaism evolved as it did. It set the stage
for the rise of the Essenes and the Pharisees, the
establishment of the Sadducees as the priesthood
of the Temple religion and the beginnings and development
of the oral tradition. Also was seen the beginnings
of the religious philosophy of the Essenes and the
foundational development of a way of thinking which
led to the New Testament teachings of Jesus and
their interpretation by Paul.
This writer has read many accounts of this time
period and can find no agreement as to what actually
happened. Therefore, I can only conclude that the
greatest enemy was often within the people (here:
the Jews), and the factional pressures became overwhelming.
The truth is often embarrassing and therefore, no
group could objectively research and tell the story.
There were times when there was not a clear right
and wrong. Antiochus IV was defeated by the Egyptians
and needed to strengthen his Judean "frontier
against attack by the Ptolemies. Menelaus was his
chosen priest for the province and had proven himself
loyal. Menelaus needed to disarm his enemies and
to establish order among the Jewish people. He needed
to be firmly established in power and legitimized
in his priesthood over the objections of the Zadokite
priests. Antiochus IV and Menelaus desired a prosperous
and peaceful country. The last thing Antiochus IV
wanted was a tribute paying region on his frontier
to be in armed rebellion against him at the very
time when his greatest fear was an attack by the
Ptolemies of Egypt. Boccaccini writes:
"Within this context, it is likely that Menelaus
himself directed the king by suggesting to him those
measures that in a very simple and effective way
could identify their (common) enemies and lead to
their punishment. 'The very fact that Antiochus
was able to individuate precisely which Jewish practices
to abolish demonstrates that the person advising
him on the matter knew the Judaism of the period
very well and wanted to destroy that particular
Judaism, not all Judaism.'" Boccaccini further
writes:
"Only in the eyes of the Zadokite law were
these measures an abomination as they challenged
the holiness and uniqueness of the Jerusalem temple.
In every other context
the same measures of benevolent patronage would
have appeared as a sign of the king's
favor and respect to the temple of Jerusalem, which
Antiochus did not destroy but honored,
and to its priesthood, which Antiochus did not
persecute but supported."
In order to retain and legitimize his power, Menalaus
developed a plan to get rid of his enemies using
the military strength of his Patron, Antiochus IV.
In order to do this, he believed he needed to discredit
or destroy the Zadokite purity laws and the priesthood
of the line of Zadok. The plan was that through
the religious reforms proposed by Menalaus, the
old ways of thinking would be wiped out and the
reformed religion would allow for new ways of thinking
to gain dominance. Thus, the religion of the Jews,
although reformed, would allow prosperity and peace
to come to their land.
There was nobody who thought that a priestly family
of Joarib, the Hasmoneans or Maccabees would take
a radically different view of the situation. This
family did not see themselves as the "leaders
of just another rival priestly family seeking power,
as they were, but as champions of the national tradition
against the Greeks, and to turn the civil war into
a war of liberation against the foreign oppressors."
The Maccabees fought a highly successful guerrilla
war against Antiochus IV, and was then able to raise
a standing army that could win with traditional
methods. They were able to defeat the armies of
Antiochus IV and establish the Hasmonaean Dynasty
for the next one hundred years. The Maccabees began
a Renaissance of the Hebrew culture, a reestablishment
of Hebrew as the dominant language of the Jewish
people, and a burst of creativity as to the plans
and purposes of God and the reasons why He chose
to come and dwell in the hearts of men.
The major sects of Second Temple Judaism all traced
their beginnings to this period. The Sadducees,
the Pharisees and the Essenes all began during the
time of the Hasmoneans. The brief period of freedom
reestablished a national identity among the Jewish
people. In fact, when Jesus rode into Jerusalem
on a donkey, the people greeted him with palm branches,
the very symbol of the independent nation of Judea
during the time of the Hasmonaean dynasty. The people
thought Jesus had come to reestablish the nation
of Judea and deliver God's people from the Roman
bondage.
Unfortunately, the Hasmonaean family was filled
with the same political intrigue as was common to
powerful dynasties. The infighting among the family
members resulted in an appeal to Pompey to make
and enforce a peace among the Jewish people. Rome
not only established peace between the family members
of the Hasmoneans, but their actions led to Judea
being conquered and ruled by Rome. The leadership
of the people of God could not lay down their lives
for the good of the nation or for the good of the
people.
Treachery and intrigue brought about the loss of
freedom in 63 b.c.e and the hopes for the establishment
of the Kingdom of God among the Chosen People of
God were once again dashed. To further add insult
to injury, it was the leadership of the "theocracy"
who sold the people out and interfered with the
plans and purposes of God. The Jewish people were
in a constant state of rebellion in one form or
another until 135 c.e. when the final revolt resulted
in a massive defeat. Jerusalem was depopulated and
an automatic death sentence imposed on all Jews
within eyesight of the City of God. The Jewish state
would cease to exist until 1948 c.e..
Part II
The Essenes, The Dead Sea Scrolls and The Foundations
of Christian Theology
There are great problems for the historian in the
determining the beginnings of a movement or a group
of people who hold common beliefs. First, there
are very little writings from the beginning of a
social or religious (or even political) movement.
Secondly, the writings must survive wars, migrations
of peoples, and time. Writings that could inform
us of the beginnings of the Essene movement do not
appear to have survived. With the discovery of the
Dead Sea Scrolls during the 1940's, we have learned
much about this group, yet, the two thousand years
that have passed since this group was in existence
continue to pose problems of interpretation of these
writings. Thirdly, history is written by the victors,
therefore, most of what is known about these people
has been colored by the various social movements
of the intervening years. Much of what is known
of the Essenes comes from Josephus, Philo, Tacitus
and others. The Essenes ceased to exist after the
destruction of the temple in 70 c.e. Fourthly, history
is debated and uncovered and studied only within
the context of broader social movements who have
evolved through time. Each group studies for purposes
of validating their own group and protecting the
myths that are always a part of each group's legacy
and history. In the case of the Dead Sea Scrolls,
debate rages over the meaning of the documents uncovered,
yet, each group studying these documents interprets
them in light of their own purposes, protecting
their myths and refusing to accept conclusions that
may show their movement in a negative light. Each
Judaism and Christianity of this current age derives
their own differing interpretations of the DSS documents.
We have discussed the Priestly reforms in the post-Babylonian
exile time period before the Hasmonaean war. We
have discussed the identity of the Zadokite priesthood
with the claims to legitimacy stemming from the
writings of Ezekiel. The common bond that the people
of Judea held was to never be punished again through
exile again by their God. These people intended
to would live the holiest life possible, thereby
bringing sweet incense to God. They thought their
obedience to the Zadokite version of Torah would
keep them from judgment.
THE ESSENES
"....both groups (Sadducees and Essenes) had
deep priestly roots. This seems to be indicated
by the very names of the two communities; thus the
Qumran group was founded and led by the sons of
Zadok (the leading priest at the time of David and
Solomon) while the term Sadducee seems to be derived
from the name 'Zadok'. Both circles opposed the
Pharisees, promoting a more rigid interpretation
of the law."
"Some entitle the document (Dead Sea Scrolls)
the Zadokite Fragments because of its
allegiance to Zadok, high priest of Solomon. The
traditional theory informing
this choice of title is that the DSS community
rejected the Hasmonaean priesthood established by
Judas Maccabeus and his brothers because it departed
from
the Zadokite lineage. .... the DSS community believed
itself to be the restored Israel;
hence its emphasis on strict obedience to the Torah."
(emphasis mine)
During the Babylonian captivity, Ezekiel prophesied
that the only legitimate priesthood was through
the family of Zadok (Ez 44:9-31) and cited above.
For three hundred years, the Zadokite priesthood
ruled the spiritual and earthly life of Judea -
being legitimized as the only acceptable high priesthood
before God. The rapid overthrow of the Priestly
system of government by Jason, Menalaus and the
Hasmoneaen dynasty threw the established order into
disarray. If the people appointed by God were not
allowed to rule Israel and govern the temple cults,
what punishment of God must be coming upon the people?
The Damascus Document (3:20-4:4) states:
"Those who remain steadfast in it will acquire
eternal life, and all the glory of Adam is for them.
As God established for them by means of Ezekiel
the prophet, saying: Ez 44:15 'The priests and the
sons of Zadok who maintained the service of my temple
when the children of Israel strayed far away from
me, shall offer the fat and the blood." The
priests are the converts of Israel who left the
land of Judah; and the 'levites' are those who joined
them; and the sons of Zadok are the chosen of Israel,
' those called by name' who stood up at the end
of days"
The leadership of this group were "priests
of the House of Zadok." Through the many decades
of Essene existence, a belief was developed, a continuation,
actually, of the belief that the true Israel must
do things in strict accordance with the Mosaic Torah,
as defined by the Zadokite priesthood. Since the
high priesthood of Israel was corrupted by political
appointees, and the religion of the people of Judea
was being corrupted by the religious practices of
the newly emerging Pharisees, their belief was that
only the Essenes would be delivered by the expected
Davidic Messiah.
Because of the ongoing apostasy, the rest of Israel
could not be saved, and, consistent with most of
the Judaisms of the day, the Gentile nations were
not a part of the salvation picture. The Essene
group gradually became an apocolyptic cult with
a sense of their own importance as they saw the
plans and purposes of God. Because Essene roots
were established with the Zadokite priesthood, the
sacrifices conducted by them were the only sacrifices
acceptable to God. As long as there was one Torah
observant community properly sacrificing to God,
He would not come and judge the world. Therefore,
it was the Essene community at Qumran that kept
the judgments of God from coming upon the rest of
the world.
According to Essene teaching, their members were
expected to be a people who seemingly loved everybody
with the love of their God, yet, who believed all
who did not join them were damned. They were the
"Sons of Righteousness" and all others,
including other Jews, were "Sons of Darkness".
The Essenes, however, appeared to love each of the
"Sons of Darkness", causing acceptance
by the general population as a people of holiness.
They were accepted by most of the nation's leadership
because they were not a threat to the governing
structure.
Documents found in the caves at Qumran have brought
a tremendous understanding to the development of
New Testament (or Messianic Writing) theology. The
development of Essene theology and scholarly writings
in the years preceding the ministry of Jesus Christ,
points to an emerging strain of theological thought
that was separate from the other prevailing Judaisms
of their day. Many of these theological ideas are
the foundations of our Christian faith. Ideas of
eternal reward and punishment (heaven and hell),
the necessity of a new Priesthood to be established
(the order of Melchizedek in Hebrews). the need
for a new heaven, a new earth and a new Jerusalem
to be established after the current creation was
destroyed were all Essene theologies. If Jesus came
to "destroy the works of the devil", the
majority of Jewish people would not have understood
the need for such a mission, since God was in complete
control of His universe. Once again, the "war"
between the adversary and God was established within
the writings of the Qumran sect. Due to space limitations,
we will only discuss three of these Essene ideas
in the context of the ministry of Jesus Christ and
the Christian faith.
God at War! The Theology of a World in Rebellion
against the Creator
The Books of Enoch, The Beginnings of Eschatological
Theology
During the intertestamental period being discussed
in this paper, the Jewish leadership and scholars,
sages and priests were overcoming the shock of the
Babylonian Captivity. Their captivity might have
been viewed as the failure of Yahweh to protect
His Chosen People and utilizing the heathen to punish
them. The assimilation of the Northern Kingdom (Israel)
into the Assyrian empire and the exile of the Southern
Kingdom caused a deep crises of faith among many
of the returning exiles.
The prophetic writings of Isaiah, Jeremiah and
Ezekiel, as well as some of the minor prophets,
kept most of the people focused upon their sins
and their need to repent. The prophetic promises
were that both Israel and Judea would be restored
and the Kingdom of God would be established upon
the earth, with the Chosen People of God being the
royal priesthood. The people either did not understand
what it was God was expecting of them, or they were
disobedient. Others had begun to believe that the
entire Jewish Religion was just a religion of men.
With the passage of time, the fullness of the prophetic
visions did not occur and the "chastisement
theology" of Ezekiel and Jeremiah and others
began to wear thin. Alexander the Great defeated
the Persians, introducing Hellenistic culture to
the Middle East. After his death, the conquered
areas were divided among his four generals. The
Ptolomies gained control of Egypt and ruled Judea.
Later, Judea became a battle ground between the
Ptolomies of Egypt and the Seleucids of Syria. The
Maccabean Revolt and the establishment of the Hasmonaean
dynasty brought continued (increased) strife as
discussed above. The people of Judea were never
really free and the reign of God was never established.
Finally, as a last straw, the inability of the Hasmonaean
rulers to make peace among themselves caused Jewish
leadership to invite the Roman Empire to rule over
the people of God. They willingly gave up their
independence because of their inability to work
together for the good of their country. Boyd wrote:
"Increasingly, Jews of the second and third
centuries b.c. began to believe that
what was happening to them could not be all their
own fault."
If the disasters and foreign domination were not
their fault, and if it was not God's fault, then,
what was happening? Many began to search the Scriptures
for an answer. They began to notice the warfare
paradigm that repeated itself throughout the Tanakh.
They speculated of a universe created by their God,
Yahweh, in which there was a spiritual rebellion
of beings placed by God over the various regions
and territories of the earth. These rebellious beings
might have become the cause of their pain and frustration.
Perhaps the princes and principalities were involved
in an actual rebellion against God. In the Watcher
Traditions developed in the Books of Enoch, it was
the Watchers who were appointed by God to administrate
His Kingdom, but now it was they who had become
the problem. In the Books of Enoch, God is seen
as attempting to restore order to His creation.
It is creation itself that will not submit to the
King of Kings. Therefore, Jesus came to "destroy
the works of the devil".
"The apocalyptic authors intensified the relatively
minor Old Testament concept of Yahweh engaging in
battle against opposing forces to preserve order
in the world. Yahweh must now do battle against
these same forces to actually rescue the world."
(emphasis mine)
The Books of Enoch
The Books of Enoch were probably written during
the period of the Hasmonaeans. The Books of Enoch
developed a whole new world view of God's creation
and its apparent decline. It is from these foundational
books, all Jewish mysticism (Kaballah) has developed.
These writings were the beginnings of Apocolyptic
and Escatological thought, and to some foundational
Christian thought. The problem, as defined by the
Enochian view, is that God had created a world in
which He appears to have lost control, but continued
salvage operations to save it. These salvage operations
would culminate in the "end of days" in
which there would be a final judgment, punishment
and reward. Then, God would create a new heaven
and a new earth which would once again be perfect
and not be subject to evil.
The ideas of Enoch were extremely radical and were
diametrically opposed to the Books of Wisdom and
Sirach, (written about the same time), and had never
been theologically accepted by the ruling Priesthood.
These writings were a radical departure from the
Zadokite world view and the developing Pharisaical
theologies which later became Rabbinic Judaism.
It appeared that the Essene/DSS/Qumran community
primarily accepted these writings and it was Jesus
and the New Testament authors who later developed
them into what was to became Christian theology.
The Books of Enoch were the first written Judaic
material to question the continued "goodness"
and sovereignty of God over His creation. God's
order appeared to have been overthrown by rebellion
and disorder in the heavenlies. His rule appeared
to have been challenged or even replaced by the
kingdom of darkness. A corruption or contamination
of God's creation had occurred. These evil forces
had made human beings, and especially God's Chosen
People "to be victims of evil they have not
caused and cannot resist" Within this world
view, the Watcher traditions were developed. It
was the Watchers who were given authority over various
territories of God's creation, but they began to
mate with the women of the earth. Their offspring
were the Nephilim, the giants in the time of Noah.
Their offspring became the evil spirits that have
led all humanity astray. (1 Enoch 15:11-12) Once
the rebellion began against the authority of Yahweh,
it spread like wildfire. The great adversary became
the ruler of this age, of the air and of this earth.
The creation was infested with hordes of unclean
spirits or demons. All manner of evil was in the
world and propagated by these fallen angels. Perhaps
God was powerless to help his chosen people.
In one of the visions given to Enoch, he was taken
on a heavenly tour (Chapters 17-36 of the Book of
Enoch). He is shown the garden of Eden in which
he described a "fragrant tree that will be
given to the righteous when God 'comes down to visit
the earth for good'" Another of the Books is
a Book on Astronomy, which sets forth a fairly accurate
solar calendar to replace the existing lunar calendar.
This book also described the heavens and the myriad
of angels that served there. Finally, in Book 81,
Enoch spoke of the death of the righteous and implies
some form of afterlife -- possibly the very beginnings
of the idea of a resurrection..
The fifth Book of Enoch, the Apocalypse of Weeks
(1 Enoch 93:1-10) probably also originated with
the Maccabean era and was also important to the
Qumran community - the Dead Sea Scrolls. To the
writers of Enoch, history was divided into "weeks"
or weeks of years, with numerous eschatological
details being revealed to him in each of these periods.
Sinners will be destroyed by the sword in the eighth
week, righteous judgment will be revealed to the
whole world in the ninth and eternal judgment will
be executed upon the Watchers in the tenth. At the
end of the Apocalypse of Weeks, the rebellion against
God is so great that God, himself, can not redeem
it. Therefore, He will need to destroy the old in
order to create a new heaven and a new earth.
"Then the first heaven will pass away, and
a new heaven will appear. After this
'there will be many weeks without number forever
in goodness and righteousness."
Before the Hasmonaean Period, salvation for the
Jewish people had always been something that God
did for His people in the here and now. There was
salvation from one's enemies, from poverty, from
sickness, and from death as announced in the Dueteronomic
blessings. The fullness of salvation was consistently
the fullness of the Rule and Reign of God upon the
earth. When people died, they went to a place called
Sheoul, simply a place for the dead.
Within the Enochian world view, a much greater
salvation was needed. The rebellion of the "Sons
of God" in Genesis was not simply a sin of
the time before the flood, but a sin that continued
into the present age, corrupting and contaminating
all of God's creation. Secondly, as God began to
"win back" his creation, the process would
culminate in the "end of days", the day
in which He would punish all of His enemies with
eternal judgment and reward His people with eternal
reward. The final battle would once and for all,
destroy these rebellious beings. Finally, God would
create a Second, more perfect creation, in which
the rebellion of this first creation would be noticeably
absent. Thirdly, the idea of a corrupt priesthood
was raised. The writer of the Letter to the Hebrews
writes of a new priesthood was that became necessary
for God to redeem His creation. This change of Priesthood
was inaugurated through Jesus, that being of the
order of Melchizedek, that semi-mythical priest
to whom Abraham gave his tithe to in Genesis. A
theology of Melchizedek was developed during this
period as God's answer to the terrible corruption
seen in the priesthood, especially from the time
of Jason onwards and outlined above. Boccaccini
wrote:
"It was only the Maccabean Revolt that caused
Enochic Judaism to grow and expand into something
different and larger -- a movement of dissent that
would be ultimately known as Essenism. What at the
beginning was probably only the experience of exclusion
of a
few priestly families generated a sophisticated
theological alternative that would attract a large
portion of the Jewish population and become a powerful
and potentially
schismatic component of ancient Jewish thought,
ultimately fostering
the most radical schism of all, that of Christianity."
(emphasis mine)
The Ministry of Jesus
Later, during the time of Jesus, we might notice
that "Jesus never once appeals to a
mysterious divine will to explain why a person
is sick, maimed or deceased. In every
instance, He comes against such things as the byproducts
of a creation that has gone
berserk through the evil influence of a satanic
army. Many times, he attributes
sicknesses to direct demonic involvement."
Sickness, then, was viewed as a casualty of war.
Sickness departed as the Kingdom of God drew near.
Sickness was viewed as "scourgings" or
"whippings" of the Adversary. The people
of God were then "saved" from these scourgings
(trials) when they were set free. In short, the
mission of Jesus Christ was to "destroy the
works of the Devil". Boyd wrote:
"What the kingdom of God means, therefore,
is that the hostile alien kingdom of
demonic captivity, oppression, poverty and blindness
(physical and spiritual) is
coming to an end through the ministry of Jesus.
He is the bringer of the Kingdom
of God, for He is the vanquisher of the kingdom
of Satan."
Jesus and the Battle with Satan - Luke 11
Paul wrote in his letter to the Ephesians that
"our struggle is not with flesh and blood,
but against the rulers, against the authorities,
against the powers of this dark world and against
the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."
(Eph 6:12) Therefore, a person's evil behavior is
really an overpowering influence by spiritual forces
that have gained a "legal right" to influence
his behavior. Paul taught that we are not to attack
the person directly, but to struggle with these
unseen forces of evil. Through our prayer, intercession
and ministry, he is set free from the "whippings"
of the Adversary, bringing him or restoring him
into a loving relationship with his Creator, Jehovah
God. Jesus brought such a freedom to a mute man
who was "possessed" by a "demon".
When the demon left, the man spoke. Some of the
crowd said Jesus could only do this by the power
of Baal-zebub, the prince of demons. Jesus, then,
said "if I drive out demons by the finger of
God, then the kingdom of God has come to you."
(Luke 11:20) Jesus, then, began to teach the crowd.
The stronger man "takes away the armor in which
the (strong) man trusted", that being an armor
that was in the house. The house is commonly accepted
to be the person who was being "scourged"
by the "whippings" of the enemy. It would
be understood that the man was, in some way, being
forced to act in ways not of his own choosing.
Jesus said there was "armor" within the
man (house) that could be used by the strong man
(the Adversary) to fight against the kingdom of
God. This armor could be used offensively by the
strong man at will because Jesus said the Adversary
trusted in this armor. To any casual observer of
revival, the truthfulness of this instruction is
shown every time there is a strong move of God among
a people. Without repentance, hidden sin will produce
dissension and the move of God will either stop
or accomplish only part of what God desired.
The third part of this teaching concerns an evil
spirit that had been cast out of a man, yet the
"armor" had not yet been taken away by
the stronger man. The context of the teaching was
that the stronger man should take away all of the
Adversary's armor. If the armor is not taken away,
the evil spirit cast out will return to the house,
bringing seven more of his friends. "The final
condition of that man is worse that the first.."
(Luke 11:26b) There is an implied understanding
that if the "armor in which the strong man
trusted" is taken away, there is no "legal
right" for the evil spirit to return. All of
this instruction on evil spirits having some measure
of control over one of God's Chosen People came
from the Enochian world view, a world view that
was increasingly the view of the Essene community
headquartered at Qumran. It was a world view that
said God's creation had somehow rebelled against
their creator and had gained a measure of autonomy
from the desires and plans and purposes of the Creator,
Jehovah. Jesus, then, came to destroy the works