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 of the devil and to reestablish the authority of the Creator over His creation.

Anyone who would walk in a love relationship with their God would no longer be under the power of the devil. They would be able to walk in victory, in the way God had shown them to live. In addition, they would have all the power and authority of heaven over these unclean spirits. They would become soldiers in this war, and be able to break the power of these unclean spirits. Through the People of God, then, the reign and rule of Jehovah would be reestablished throughout all the earth. In the end, every knee would bow and every tongue would confess Him as the Lord, knowing that there was no other.

Jesus and Love your Neighbor

Another one of the parallels we might explore between Dead Sea Scroll teaching and New Testament thought would stem from the teachings of Jesus. When Jesus spoke of 'loving your neighbor', he spoke of it in the Essene sense, rather than the prevailing Jewish thinking of the day. First, the Essene teaching from the Community Rule X:17-19 says:

"I will pay no man the reward of evil;

I will pursue him with goodness.

For judgement of all the living is with God

and it is He who will render to man his reward.

I will not envy in a spirit of wickedness,

my soul shall not grapple with the men of perdition

until the Day of Revenge."

The Essenes are the only group that would have interpreted the words of Jesus accurately when He said 'love your enemies'. Within the Jewish teaching of the day, loving of one's enemies was within the context of Community and of the Chosen People of God and of family. Never was love taught within the context of "love for the Romans" or "love for the Gentiles". Jewish thoughts on this matter are expressed by Pinchas Lapide as follows:

"the body of Jewish teaching knows no explicit demand of love of one's enemy.

To be precise, 'love your enemy' is an innovation introduced by Jesus"

There are many examples from Essene writings of 'loving one's enemies'. They actually intended to conquer their enemies through the power of love. No matter the personal feelings, they practices never judging any of God's creation, leaving all judgment to God. "But when the archangel Michael contending with the devil and disputing about the body of Moses, he dared not to bring an abusive condemnation against him, but simply said, "The Lord rebuke you". (Jude 9) One can read with amazement of the isolationist tendencies of this Essene cult, and the hatred it appears they had towards the Jewish people (as well as the Gentiles), yet, they practiced overwhelming people with love. In very strong terms, they wrote of the judgment that was to come upon the apostacized peoples of the world, yet, their contemporaries viewed them as "idealists and perfect human beings."

We might make note here of the obvious parallel to Paul's writings in Romans 12:9-13, 21. Specifically, Paul states "I will pursue a man with goodness". Throughout the development of Christian writings, the basic reformulation of the Tanakh taught by the early Christians had, at their root, Essene writings.

Paul and the Colossian Heresy, Angelic worship

In a study of Essene beliefs and practices, the Colossian heresy, with its emphasis on angel worship brings new life to the writings of Paul, and sheds more light of understanding upon some controversies of our day. If the Essene practice of the worship of God from the third heaven was being practiced among the Colossians, then the deviation of that practice began to cause controversy. Some of the people who believe they are worshipping God alongside the angels from the third heaven begin to worship either the angels or the experience rather than the Creator God. Therefore, in the Letter to the Colossians, Paul writes:

"Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions. He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow."

The fullness of meaning contained within this verse is lost within the context of the modern Christian experience. Yet, an Essene understanding of the worship of angels sheds light to the problem Paul dealt with in Colossus. Once angel worship is better understood, then, the problem Paul was addressing in his writings will be more clear. Because of the increase of Angelic Visitations, 3rd Heaven Experiences and instruction given in "Glory Schools" in our day, Paul gave us framework of understanding from his day that might be helpful to us.

The "ecstatic ascent to heaven by the righteous as participation in the age to come, which has already dawned in heaven but not descended to earth" (1 Enoch 14). The idea expressed in this form of mysticism is that the worshipper could actually come to a place and "view the glorious divine throne and participate with the angels in the worship of God." The Essenes believed it was possible to join with the angels in worshipping God via the Sabbath liturgy. The angels serving as priests in the heavenly temple and the Torah were the means for to enter and to encounter the heavenly throne. James D. G. Dunn writes:

"According to 1QSa 2:8-9 the rules for the congregation of the last days would have to be strict, 'for the Angels of Holiness are [with] their [congregation].' But the implication of their references is that these rules were already in operation, indicating that the Qumran community saw itself as a priestly community whose holiness was defined by the presence of the angels (cf. particularly 4QCD and 1QM 7:4-6 with Lev. 21:17-21). So explicitly in 1QH 3:21-22: 'thou hast cleansed a perverse spirit of great sin.... that it may enter into community with the congregation of the Sons of Heaven'. .... one of the blessings of the priest is: 'May you be as an Angel of the Presence in the Abode of Holiness to the glory of the God of [hosts] ... May you attend upon the service in the Temple of the Kingdom and decree destiny in company with the Angels of the Presence'. Most interesting of all are the recently published complete (but often fragmentary) texts of the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice (4Q 400-405), which contain songs of praise to be offered to God by angels in the heavenly temple ...... (and) the community itself (or at least its priests) joined with the angels in reciting these songs of heavenly worship"

"In addition, the writer (Thanksgiving Scroll) describes having received an

empowering spirit granting him special insight into God's will (1QH4:26),

opening his ears to wonderful divine mysteries (9:21), using him as a channel of

God's works (12:8), and fashioning him as a mouthpiece for God's words (16:16)....

No one compares with him, because his office is among the heavenly beings."

The Angelic Liturgy of the Thanksgiving Scroll maintains that when one encounters the heavenly Presence of God, he is made privy to the wisdom or council of God. He has seen wonderful mysteries, revelations, and hidden things. The one who has worshipped with the angels has participated in God's inheritance - the heavenly rest (4Q400 1:1-13). It is even within the parameters of interpretation that New Testament Christianity viewed the coming of the Holy Spirit as God providing the medium for such mystical experiences. It was thought that only through these experiences could the believer find "divine wisdom" for his life. The divine plan for the end times was being revealed through these angelic experiences. "Because such wisdom is in heaven, it requires mystic experience to be grasped."

Before the heavenly journey could take place, the believer was to engage in a period of asceticism (12-40 days) which included fasting and sexual abstinence (12-40 days). It was important that the believer achieve a level of purity similar to the angels. Before one could be with the angels, there must be a level of ritual purity that qualified them to participate in the heavenly inheritance. "The law was mediated through angels, and following that law harmonizes one with the heavenly bodies which are directed by the angels. Thus the law -- angelic revelation - is the means for joining the heavenly host in worship of God, which anticipates the restoration of true Israel."

Paul writes of the person who, after completing his heavenly worship with the angels, goes into great detail about what he has seen (upon entering the 3rd heaven?). The worshipper has completed a journey and joined with the angels worshipping God. In 4Q405:1-15:3-4, there is a temple into which the angels enter for the purpose of worshipping God, and the person has joined with them. "In light of the discussion above, the best background of the phrases 'worship of angels' and ' the things which he had seen upon entering' seem to be merkabah mysticism, in particular the kind espoused in the Songs of Sabbath Sacrifice. It is quite reasonable, therefore, to imagine a Jewish synagogue in Colossae claiming that its Sabbath worship participated in the worship of angels and thereby making inroads into the church." The increasing emphasis upon the practice of these third heaven experiences was causing great divisions among the congregation at Colossae. Paul's letter was meant to correct a situation that began to develop in his absence.

Paul writes "why ... do you submit to its rules? Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch! These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings." (Col 2:20-22) Paul has an answer to the aceticism required for such a heavenly visit. Because Paul is the Apostle to the Gentiles, he is concerned with the Jewish requirements of scrupulous observance of Torah . Paul says everything of the spirit must be accepted by faith. Whether he is speaking against a heavenly trip or not, Paul is saying that Christ should be the object of worship and that through Christ comes the heavenly wisdom. Paul says the third heaven worship of some believers had the effect of puffing up the individual without reason. The experience was developing a "sensuous mind" rather than building an unshakeable faith in the believer. Paul says the whole belief tended to dimish the superiority of Christ, and destroyed the unity of the church into a group who had participated in the mystical experience and those who had not. If the controversy of our day is any indicator, the people who claimed to have had a third heaven experience believed themselves to be superior to those who had not.

The problem may not be the worship of angels, trips to the third heaven, or the experiences of the believer while joining with the Angel of the Presence. The problem occurs when the believer begins to worship the angels instead of with the angels or begins to worship the experience of worshipping with the angels. The people Paul is talking about "goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions." These people begin to lose their connection with the Head (Christ) and with the leadership of the community. These people continually talk of their experiences and begin to treat those who will not "travel" with them in contempt, bringing division and dissension. The community of faith, then, becomes divided between those who have had mystical experiences and those who have not.

Much New Testament theology has its roots in the Essene writings (Dead Sea Scrolls, the Qumran Community). Specific teachings that appear to be unique to this community are taught by Jesus. Certain mystical experiences of the Essenes seem to have become very important to the emerging Christian practice and belief. The world view of a creation in rebellion expressed through the Books of Enoch and developed by the Essene community appear to be the world view expressed by Jesus. Each topic developed above would not have been the commonly accepted theological belief among "mainstream" Judaism.

What early Christian writers appear to have done was to take the Essene beliefs and change the focus. Essene focus was on the necessity of a holy people, set apart for God's use and God's use only. The Essene community appears to have set great importance on ministering to God. If their foundations began with Ezekiel as has been maintained throughout this paper, and if they "dropped out" of the Jewish culture as it appears they did, then, their overall beliefs remain consistent with the Zadokite Priesthood. Only those who are appointed by God could minister to God. The sacrifices of these people were a sweet smelling incense in the nostrils of God. As long as there is one Torah observant community ministering to God in the exact way He had prescribed, judgment would not come to the earth and God would keep His Chosen People at the forefront of His thoughts. This belief system fostered inward thinking, and the changing or developing standards of holiness encouraged friction with neighbors, and an increasing isolation from the remainder of the culture. The Essenes would be considered a cult in our current day. They did not influence the culture at large, nor did they shape the theology of mainstream Judaism. Through them, the world was not changed, nor even helped.

To their credit, the Essenes appear to have done something that most groups who "drop out" of society never do. They were quick to "give away" that which God had given them. They were a people who appeared to the general population as generous and loving. Their internal writings, however, describe a people who loved because they were commanded to, or loved because that would draw others to their "sect". The purity of their love, then, was questionable. Through their actions, however, something of God was given to those Jewish people who were not members of the Essene sect.

Christianity, then, appears to have taken the Essene beliefs and refocused them outwardly. God's purposes were now redefined to include all the Gentiles. All the peoples of the world were loved by God, therefore, the purposes of God were and continue to be that every tribe and tongue should come to know Him as the Lord (1 Kgs 8:60). The barrier between Jew and Gentile were broken, the Gentile was now to become equal to the Jew before God, and an equal sharer in the Covenants and Promises of God. Jesus, then, came to destroy the works of the devil, to set the people free from the spiritual bondage under which they were suffering. He inaugurated a new Priesthood, the priesthood of the believers who are empowered by the Holy Spirit to cast out devils, to heal the sick, and to train disciples who will do the same. Within the Christian believer, the power to overcome evil was given, not only within the oppressed believer, but to break that power wherever it may be found. The fullness of the Christian belief took many Essene beliefs and experiences and brought them to the entire world.

Jesus is a better deliverer than Moses, through whom the whole world can be reconciled to God. The need to be reconciled to God is the ultimate acknowledgment of the Enochian idea that the world is in rebellion against the creator. It is through Jesus's sacrifice and death and the power of the Holy Spirit that all creation will be healed and once again be subject to the Creator. By "walking in the Spirit," the believer will not be overcome by the evil of this present age, but through the Holy Spirit, even the gates of hell cannot stand in opposition.

Every idea expressed would be commonly accepted by the Essenes. As we shall see, other Judaisms of the day rejected these theological and world view ideas long before Jesus Christ ever came to the earth. These ideas were not incorporated into the theologies the Sadducees and the Pharisees. The Book of Sirach and the Book of Wisdom fully reject many of the Essene and early Christian theologies. There is little wonder, then, that the ideas of the Essenes and the early Christian theologians were also rejected.

Part III

The Pharisees, Wisdom Traditions, The Dual Torah, Establishment of Rabbinical Judaism, The Jewish Messiah of Rabbi Akiba, the Destruction of the Jewish Culture

The Pharisees

The term "Pharisee" is often used with derision from many of the pulpits of Western Christianity, often as a epitaph of legalism, obstructionism and Christ-killers. For the average Christian, most of what is known of this Jewish sect comes from our interpretation of incidents recorded in the New Testament. Because the Jewish roots of our faith have not been appreciated, there is little understanding of Jewish society and the pressures that were squeezing and shaping and changing it from the time of Alexander through the time of Jesus.

The covenant God had with the Jews was under constant pressure to be recast as the world changed. As with all peoples, many embraced change, many refused change and many were caught in between. Within the world view of the Judaisms of the Second Temple period, God has shown His people how to live, yet the instructions were not very complete. Additionally, many of the specific instructions that were given to Moses at Sinai were not applicable to the lives of the people who living in Jerusalem in the years before Jesus Christ walked upon the earth. Since the Torah was the very Word of God, it must, then, be followed to the letter. What instruction does Torah give for the usage of the automobile and airplane? If a man can only walk 3/5 of a mile before his actions are deemed to be work, then, how far can a man drive or fly? If a house of worship is three miles away, can a Jew attend without violating the rules of Sabbath rest? What should a Jew do about worshipping during a time of war? Can a Jew fight on the Sabbath? Again, if the Word of God, or Torah, must be followed with a precision that pleases God in order for Him to continue His Covenant, then, societal and cultural changes bring many challenges. How does one adapt to these changes and yet please

God? A necessity of a system of interpretation needed to be developed in order to "update" the Torah for the nation's new experiences in a rapidly changing world.

During the time period beginning with the invasion by Alexander the Great, the stresses on all local cultures of the Middle East were very great. It was a time of hope, of new beginnings, of great economic promise. Everything that might be called Hellenistic was challenging the very fabric of society of each conquered people. It can be compared to the stresses and revolutions of thought that our American culture has perpetrated upon the world since World War II. Our economic and our cultural values have been spread through our dominance of economic and military matters. While some may thoroughly hate that dominance, most nations desire the materialistic advances that have made life so much easier. In much the same way the American culture has dominated the world, so it was that the Hellenistic culture dominated the world of their day.

During this time of great cultural changes, the religious sect known as the Pharisees began to emerge. With them came a wonderful innovation for change that would help the Jewish people with their interpretation of the Torah and maintaining their obedience to God. The oral tradition, which would later be codified into the Oral Law at the Council at Yavneh in 90 c.e., allowed great flexibility of interpretation to be applied to the written Torah. This allowed the Torah to be "updated" to meet the changing demands of the times. If the oral tradition could be given proper legitimacy, then the Jews could continue to walk in their covenant promises with their creator.

As previously discussed, the "old" ways of the Zadokite Priesthood were rapidly changing. As the Zadokite priesthood gave way to the political priesthood during the time of the Roman occupation, Judaism appeared to fragment into its many sects. The Jewish elders could read the prophets warnings from a time many centuries before and wonder if the covenant they had with Jehovah had been broken once again. The Zadokite world view which demanded strict obedience to the written word continued to dominate the theologies of each group, yet, as we have previously seen, the emergence of the ideas proposed in the Books of Enoch provoked a theological crises among many of the Jewish scholars. In the same way as Israel was assimilated into the Assyrian culture, the leadership feared the loss of their Jewish identity unless the standards of holiness and obedience were upheld.

The cultural stresses reached their zenith when the Seleucid king, Antiochus III, wrested control of Judea from the Egyptian Ptolemies and began to exert his control over the region. It was during this time of change that the sect we know as the Pharisees arose and began to influence the population. We do not really know what caused their formation, what their particular doctrines were, how they grew in influence, or even how much influence they had. We only know that they began to have influence around the year 176 b.c.e. during the reign of Antiochus III and IV. During the time of the Hasmonaean dynasty the Pharisees were already an organized religious sect, but not until the reign of Alexandra Salome (76-67 b.c.e.) did the Pharisees obtain a measure of political power and control.

Evans wrote: "Because we have no surviving text written by a committed Pharisee and no archeological finds that mention Pharisees, the reconstruction of their aims and views must depend on the writings of third parties. Because none of these outsiders were primarily interested in explaining who the Pharisees were, we must be careful to interpret their evidence against their motives and larger contexts."

Saldarini comments: "The Pharisees are pictured as part of (John) Hyrcanus' circle of retainers and as a group they have achieved considerable influence, especially over how a proper Jewish ruler ought to carry out the ancestral laws and customs. The story also implies that they are an intellectual force in society with a particular way of interpreting the tradition ........ During the reigns of Alexander Jannaeus (103-76) and his wife Alexandra, who succeeded him (76-67) the Pharisees continued to seek influence and power and to act as a political interest group which sought our the ruler as patron or forged alliances with other dissident groups against the ruler." (emphasis mine)

Saldarini further states: "On his death bed Alexander bequeathed his kingdom to his queen, Alexandra (Salome), and quieted her fears about the hostility of the people with the advice that she win the Pharisees over to her side so they would control the people. ........... Alexander stresses to his wife the ability of the Pharisees to harm or help people by influencing public opinion, despite the fact they sometimes act out of envy. He also reveals the Pharisees' political agenda, that is, their desire for power over the laws governing domestic Jewish life. Alexandra is to render them benevolent by conceding to them a certain amount of power." (emphasis mine)

Josephus wrote: "There grew up beside her into her power Pharisees, a certain body (syntagma or an ordered military unit) of Jews with the reputation of being more pious than others and expounding the laws more accurately." Josephus goes on to criticize the queen for allowing the Pharisees to get too much control for they were disrupting society. For reasons that are unclear, the Pharisees lost their political power with the ascent to the throne of the sons of Alexandra, Aristobolus and Hyrcanus.

The Pharisees were an organized group, never numbering more than 6000, yet they were clearly identifiable to the people. They had a particular way of interpreting the Scriptures and Jewish traditions that was viewed as being more acceptable to the common people. They were an intellectual force and they had a reputation for piety. They were accepted by the common people in a positive light. The Pharisees, then used their political activity to pursue their cultural goals with little interest in things of an economic or political nature. They were more highly educated than the society at large and probably fulfilled many administrative and bureaucratic functions in society. They probably served as literate scribes to a variety of interests, both the public governing class and the private merchant or nobility class. Until the time of the destruction of the temple in 70 c.e., they were always present and struggling to gain access to power and to influence society.

Third party writings might shed some light upon their teachings, remembering that third party writings were probably opposed to them, thereby "coloring" their interpretations. The other two major sects of Judaism were also beginning their rise during the time of the Hasmonaeans, that is, the Sadducees and the Essenes. The group called the Essenes was probably the members of the Zadokite Priesthood that had ruled Jewish culture for 350 years and had a strong belief that it was they who were appointed by God and it was their sacrifices that were the only ones that would be accepted by God. When Jason and Menelaus purchased the High Priest position from Antiochus IV, the ousted priesthood, the Zadokites, probably became the dissenting group we know as the Essenes and the Dead Sea Scroll Society at Qumran. Saldarini wrote: "Qumran literature is filled with polemics and invective which bear witness to the social, political and religious strife among Jewish groups during the Hasmonaean period. The wicked priest, the man of lies, the man of scorn, the spouter of lies, the lion of wrath and the seekers after smooth things are only some of the adversaries condemned for a variety of crimes by the Qumran literature." (emphasis mine) The "seekers of the smooth things" have been identified with the Pharisees in Qumran literature (pesharim to Habakkuk, Nahum, Psalm 37). Saldarini further writes: "Halaqot means smooth things, flattery and falsehood in Hebrew. Is. 30:10 contrasts true prophecy with the smooth things and delusions desired by rebellious Israelites who will not listen to the Torah of the Lord. Daniel 11:32 says that Antiochus Epiphanes will seduce by flatteries those who act wickedly against the covenant. The Qumran expression may refer to those who seek modes of interpreting and living Judaism more in accord with the Hellenistic world or just in contradiction to the Qumran interpretation of the law."

If the Pharisees were interpreting Torah with their new concept of oral law or traditions, it was the Teacher of Righteousness, as the leader of the Essenes, the Zadokite Priesthood, who would have viewed the whole thing as an Apostasy of the worst sort. If the Hellenistic influences were being accommodated in any way, the Essene sect could have easily declared it to be seeking the "smooth" things or the easy way, or the false way. From the world view point of the Zadokites, any deviation from the written Torah of God and interpreted by the Priesthood of God (as prophesied by Ezekiel) would be an apostasy worthy of God sending the people into captivity once again.

Development of Sapiental Judaism - Wisdom Traditions, The Sages

As discussed above, the covenantal theology of the Zadokite priesthood raised many questions among the people of this period of Jewish history. Every disaster that came upon the people of faith was blamed upon the disobedience of the people. To many, the obvious conclusion was that the people of God could never do anything correctly, they could never please God, no matter how hard they tried. To others, the wisdom of God was never in doubt, therefore, it was the people of God who needed to study the word of God and seek Him for understanding. Ben Sirach was probably the first in a long line of sages, the very wise men who studied Torah and brought the wisdom of God to the people. The wisdom traditions, then, are a second part of the Pharisaic theology. The fascination with Second Temple Judaism, however, is that the development of these traditions took place in a time of great stress upon the culture and each of the Judaisms discussed within this paper shows the wide variety of responses to those cultural stresses. The wisdom of ben Sirach was a response to the variety of competing ideas that were developed during this period.

As noted, the economic, political and religious stresses on the Jewish culture was extreme. Many other groups and nationalities of people were absorbed into the Hellenistic culture of their day. Many Jews began to question the direction the religious authorities were taking them. A very large group of Jewish people began to see a bigger world, one in which there was economic prosperity and hope for the future, if only their leadership would embrace them. One legacy of the Hellenistic society was that every idea and world view was debated and openly challenged, thereby giving credibility to the doubts some began to have about the covenant that God never seemed able to fulfill.

The Books of Proverbs, Job and Jonah, while possibly written in a time before the exile, appeared to challenge the covenantal theology of the Zadokite priesthood. In the book of Job, the righteous man is punished, an idea contrary to the Deuteronomic covenant. Furthermore, he appears to be punished by an agreement between Jehovah and Satan. Satan was given the right to walk into the Heavenly council of gods, and "make a deal" with Jehovah God, Himself, a deal that brings a terrible punishment upon the righteous man of God. The arbitrariness of the agreement Jehovah gives to the testing appeared to be contrary to the covenantal promises of blessings and curses based upon the obedience of the Jewish people. If God is never wrong and if Job was as righteous as he believed himself to be, then there must be something wrong in the theology of the Jewish leadership. Boccaccini writes that in the end, "Job recognizes that "God's freedom and omnipotence allow no explanation. ...... If God is almighty -- and God is almighty -- then God cannot be limited by a covenant. If God is good -- and God is good -- then God does not need to be limited by a covenant. God need not give reasons to anybody, and no one can force God to answer. .... Contrary to what Zadokite Judaism claims, the almighty and good God is not bound by the covenant."

The Book of Jonah, on the other hand, could be interpreted as God offering salvation to the most evil of the Gentiles while bringing divine retribution upon Israel, the very people of God who are in a covenantal relationship with their God. The Ninevites were known as the most savage of the savage, yet God brings salvation to the very people who would later take all of Israel in to captivity, and scatter them across the Euphrates River, as prophesied in 1 Kings 14:15. With all the societal changes and pressures of this period, a God that was so unpredictable might not be worth devoting one's life to. Boccaccini further writes that "The recognition that God is not bound by any pronouncement, even pronouncements God has made is simply unbearable to him." Jonah then asked God to take his life, for there was no justice and life had now become meaningless. The most wicked could be graciously offered the opportunity to repent, while the most righteous may suffer for reasons that were hidden to them.

The Book of Ecclesiastes may be the most bitter and sarcastic of these early writings in the early Wisdom tradition. The writer of Ecclesiastes, Qoheleth, puts the Zadokite theology to the test and concludes that covenantal theology with Jehovah is a conceptual impossibility. The righteous suffer while the unrighteous triumph too frequently for us to believe in any rule that guarantees vindication for those who obey the Mosaic covenant. (Ecc 7:15). Too often, the lives of the righteous and the wicked are undistinguishable, therefore, there is no reward or punishment for either behavior. (8:14). Qoheleth also pokes fun at the Enochian viewpoint of experiencing God through celestial revelation by saying "When dreams increase, empty words grow many" (5:7) and "God is in heaven and you are on earth" (5:2). The writer's sarcasim is evident when he writes of the people who desire to "know God" as desiring to know everything, yet they cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. (Ecc 3:11)

Boccaccini comments that "To the Enochic hope of afterlife judgment and reward (1 En 22:9-10), Qoheleth opposes the notion of life after death is common to any living creatures. 'The fate of humans and the fate of animals is the same; as one dies, so does the other... ... All go to one place; all are from the dust, and all turn to dust again' (Ecc 3:19-20). He ridicules the belief that 'the life-breath of the children of men goes upward, [while] the life-breath of animals goes downward to the earth' (3:21) and urges people not to delude themselves with vain hopes that the problems of existence may find a solution beyond death, 'for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.' (9:10)" (emphasis mine) The Book of Ecclesiastes, then, celebrates a well-ordered universe in which God is in control. There is a rational, yet mysteriously ordained series of times for everything even though it is beyond the capability of mankind to understand or influence these times. In addition, humans have no influence over these times. Prayer, sacrifices and obedience will not change destiny. As one tries to make sense of the divine order of things, skepticism and frustration will be the only result. "The same fate comes to all, to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil, to the clean and the unclean, to those who sacrifice and those who do not sacrifice. As are the good, so are the sinners." (Ecc 9:2)

The joy for the believer, then, is to submit to the divine will, stand in awe of Him, live, as Boccaccini states: in "fear of God, then conform to the rhythms of God. "In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider; God has made the one as well as the other" (Ecc 7:14). The Zadokite covenantal theology "promises what is not possible to maintain. It makes people believe that through their works of obedience they have some power over God, the capability to predict God's action and influence God's reaction -- an absurd and blasphemous limitation to the omnipotence of the supreme king of the universe."

Ben Sirach and the Book of Ecclesiasticus (Sirach)

the beginning of the wisdom of the sages

Ben Sirach (Son of Sirach) was a wise man, a sage, who lived in Jerusalem, and who was thoroughly filled with love for the Mosaic Law, the Priesthood, the temple and its sacrifices, and divine worship. The wisdom traditions, as they were developing, gave over-emphasis to wisdom and behavior, yet were increasingly denying the faith of the chosen people of God. These new writers were putting their faith in Wisdom rather than in God. Therefore, it was Ben Sirach who synthesized the best of the developing wisdom traditions with the Zadokite priesthood and the Torah of Moses. Ben Sirach may have been instrumental in bringing the developing extremes of Judaism back to an emphasis upon the Mosaic Law and the Covenants that defined the Jews as the People of God.

At the beginning of the 2nd century b.c.e., before the Maccabean crises, Ben Sirach was an enthusiastic witness of the golden age of the Zadokite priesthood. He saluted the late Simon II as the ideal high priest, who gloriously ministered in the temple, and the ideal leader of a time of peace and prosperity, who 'considered how to save his people from ruin, and fortified the city against siege.' (Sir 50:1-24)" He does not write of Onias III who followed Simon II, therefore, placing the time of his writings just before the Maccabean crises and before Jason and Menelaus. Ben Sirach was the first to redefine what it meant to be a Jew. Although it does not appear to be his intent, the book of Sirach began to define wisdom as something that comes from studying Torah. This process would culminate with Rabbi Akiba during the 2nd Century of the common era. Although the Zadokite priestly religion put great emphasis on the necessity of ministering to God, the wisdom traditions placed the emphasis on the study of God and obedience to the Torah. The subtle changes of definition opened the door to Rabbinic Judaism 300 years later. Ben Sirach, then, brought a new interpretation to the Jewish past, an interpretation that opened the door to either change or apostasy, depending upon the point of view. Boccaccini writes: [Years later], "the Rabbinic notion of the preexistence of Torah has in Sirach its roots, not its first evidence."

The first step of this interpretation was to redefine the establishment of the Jewish religion as the gift of a divine revelation from God, to establish the Jewish People as a people of God. The revelation came through a mediator, that being Moses, the prophet. "[God] gave him the commandments face to face, the law of life and knowledge, that he might teach Jacob the covenant, and Israel his decrees" (Sir 45:5). Moses, then, established the priestly order of things through Aaron and the "Mosaic Torah became the Priestly Torah" Ben Sirach saw the establishment of the high priesthood with the Zadokite priesthood as being the final transformation of the Jewish religion. Many years later, Rabbinic Judaism was established using the same reasoning. Ben Sirach would be considered the first of the sages, and the first who would point to the day of Rabbinic Judaism.

Ben Sirach's maintained that the Torah was the embodiment of all heavenly wisdom. He believed that there could be no wisdom without a healthy fear of God and obedience to Torah. Wisdom could only come from the practice of and exact obedience to the written Torah. It was through Torah that a person become worthy of receiving the gifts of wisdom. Obedience to the Torah was more important than the wisdom that might come from it. The stability of the universe and individual salvation depended upon receiving and being obedient to the Torah. Wisdom came from the study of Torah.

To the people who were advocating the abandonment of Torah for purposes of honor and wealth, Ben Sirach writes that the promotion of Torah is the sole path to honor and a good name (Sir 10:19-24). One cannot hope for forgiveness from God if one refuses to forgive other people (Sir 27:30-28:7). Helping the poor becomes a treasure for the believer and is a safeguard against calamity in the day of trouble. (Sir 29:8-13) The wise person seeks scriptural counsel from the written Torah, not through dreams, divinations and omens. (Sir 34:1-8). To those who would say that God's punishment does not seem to apply to the unrighteousness, Ben Sirach replies that God's punishment is not faulty for it is His never ending mercy that causes God to delay the punishment that is due in order to allow more time for repentance. (Sir 5:4, 17:15-32) Much of the Book of Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) is then filled with practical wisdom and standards of piety.

The Book of Sirach has had a profound impact upon both Jewish and Christian religion, and has been considered as part of the cannon since the beginning of the church in the Catholic bible. Much of the Sermon on the Mount from the Gospel of Matthew could be connected to this book. Ben Sirach promotes almsgiving as "laying up treasures in heaven" in much the same way as Jesus urged his disciples to distribute to the poor so as to "have treasures in heaven" (Luke 18:22 and others) There are many verses on the power of the tongue and the need to tame it in much the same way as James has written in his epistle.

Portions of the Book of Sirach must be recognized as, not only a defense of the Zadokite priesthood, but also opposed to the developing and spreading ideas contained in the Books of Enoch. While the Books of Enoch developed the idea of the Priesthood of Melchizadek, Ben Sirach spends most of Chapter 45 defending the priesthood of Aaron and Phinehas who were raised up by Moses. The Enochian idea of a priesthood that existed before Aaron is dismissed:

"Before him, no one was adorned with these (vestments),

nor may they ever be worn by any Except his sons and them alone,

generation after generation for all time." (Sir 45:13)

The Books of Enoch purport to show that secret knowledge of heaven can be made available to men, that heavenly secrets exist, that dreams and visions are a legitimate way God might speak to His people. Sirach replies:

"....fools are borne aloft by dreams, Like a man who catches at shadows or chases the wind is the one who believes in dreams. What is seen in dreams is to reality what the reflection of the face is to itself. .... Divinations, omens and dreams all are unreal; what you already expect, the mind depicts. .... For dreams have led many astray, and those who believed in them have perished. The Law is fulfilled without fail, and perfect wisdom is found in the mouth of the faithful man." (Sir 34:1-8)

Boccaccini writes: "Ben Sirach made a strong case that the supreme authority of God could not be challenged by any rebellious power. Even the most destructive forces of nature, such as winds.... fire and hail and famine and pestilence ... the fangs of wild animals and scorpions and vipers, and the sword that punishes... were created to meet a need -- the punishment for the wicked -- and are unleashed according to God's will: 'They delight in doing [God's] bidding ... and when their time comes they never disobey his commands.'"

(Sir 39:28-35)

"When the Lord created his works from the beginning, and, in making them, determined their boundaries, he arranged his works in an eternal order, and

their dominion for all generations ... They do not crowd one another, and

they never disobey his word" (Sir 16:26-28)

Boccaccini writes: "Ben Sirach is not ready to provide any pretext for the Enochic claim that evil is a consequence of any disorder that generated in the heavenly domain among the angels." The giants of Genesis received their punishment just as all sinners do. "In Ben Sirach's world view there is no room for devils, fallen angels, or evil spirits, nor even for a mischievous officer of the divine court as the Satan of Job, or for a domesticated demon as the Asmodeus of Tobi. The only reference to 'the Satan' in Sirach is in a context (21:1-22:18) that emphasizes personal responsibility and the capability of 'whoever keeps the law [to control] his thoughts" (21:11)..... 'When an ungodly person curses the Satan, he [really] curses himself' (21:27)"

Finally, Ben Sirach reaffirmed the goodness of God's creation, rejecting any idea of the need for eternal punishment or eternal rewards - "for in the nether world there are no joys to seek." (14:16) There is no possible reason for God to destroy this creation and replace it with a new heaven and a new earth.

"Noah, found just and perfect, renewed the race in the time of devastation.

Because of his worth there were survivors, and with a sign to him the deluge ended:

A lasting agreement was made with him, that never should all flesh be destroyed."

(Sir 44:17-18)

In conclusion, the writings of Ben Sirach are most important in giving emphasis to greater commitment to the Torah at a time when many were questioning the religion of their fathers. The impact cannot be overstated. His writings began a long line of authors in the Wisdom Traditions. Boccaccini writes: "He confirmed the centrality of the covenant and the retributive principle, opposing the challenge of Enochic Judaism and putting an end to the doubts of skeptical wisdom. Furthermore, Ben Sira offered to Zadokite Judaism a sophisticated theological system in which there was a harmony between the order of the universe (Wisdom) and the priestly order (Torah), as well as a balance between revelation and experience -- notions that Job, Jonah, and Qoheleth had deemed contradictory..."

Beliefs and Doctrines of the Pharisees

Boccaccini writes: "If the Pharisees are a sect ..... they best fit the reformist type which is a group which seeks gradual, divinely revealed alterations to the world. This type of sect engages in political and social activities similar to those of the Pharisees. .... they seek change in the world, not just individuals or in a person's relations with the world"

"Josephus presents (the Pharisees) as reputedly accurate interpreters of the Jewish tradition ... They had a program of reform for Jewish life, a particular interpretation of Jewish tradition and a definable and sometimes controversial outlook on fundamental matters crucial to Judaism..... Internally, the Pharisees had their own vision of how society should be but Rabbinical literature (after 90 c.e.) indicates that they had many disagreements within their small and diverse movement.... (although) their endurance in society for over two centuries and their eventual emergence as a power in Jewish society during the second and third centuries (c.e.) argues to a coherent program and determined policy developed over time and most probably with many variations and factional disputes along the way."

It might be helpful to think of the Pharisees as, perhaps, equal to the Holiness movement in the United States in the late 1800's. There was an emphasis on a ritual purity that was believed to be pleasing to God that was also common to the Zadokites and the Essenes. Their holiness would evolve into a legalistic tithing on everything, including spices. Their practice of the Sabbath would be so perfect that God would never accuse them of desecrating them again. (The Sabbath is treated extensively in a previous section). They developed a belief in the resurrection of the body, a life after death and an eternal judgment, a concept shared by the Essenes, but not shared by many of the other Judaisms.

In general, then, the primary Judaisms of this time were concerned with pleasing God through their Holiness. The problem is that Holiness is in the eye of the beholder, therefore, holiness has different meanings to different people. Very often, a Holiness concept begins as a renewal or revival of the faith, yet begins to "feed upon itself" by constructing stricter and stricter rounds of Holiness, what might be expressed here as "putting a fence around the Torah". Because of the oppression by a series of foreign rulers, the Jewish people believed that through their Holiness, Jehovah God would hear their cries, have mercy once again upon His people, and rescue or deliver them from their bondage by sending a Messiah or deliverer.

In defense of the Pharisees and Essenes, however, the purity rules and the extreme boundary setting become very important to maintaining a culture and setting the culture apart from the dominant culture of their day. There is a tendency for a conquered people to be assimilated or absorbed by the conquering civilization. In this case, the people of God believed they must accentuate their "setting apartedness" through an ever increasing holiness before God. The greatest fear was to be taken into captivity and to be dispersed in a similar manner as Israel had been under the Assyrians.

The Written Law - The Torah

Because the Pharisees brought about innovative methods of interpretation to the Torah, we must discuss that largest innovation, the development of oral traditions, which later became the Oral Law or dual Torah. Until the times of the Pharisees, the Torah was written by Moses, although many believe some was written by the Zadokite priesthood after the Babylonian captivity. Most of the Second Temple Judaisms believed in the written law. Before we discuss the Oral Law, its beginnings and its development, we must look at the Tanakh, to see what our Scriptures say about the Written Law, or the Torah.

The scriptures of our Christian faith have been written down in books and have been handed down through generations. The basic tenants of our faith are recorded for the world to see, for them to read. While there may be wide variety of interpretations available, every idea and must be tested with and against the written word. If there was ever a book that stressed the written word, it is the Tanakh, especially the Torah portion.

There are at least 61 references throughout the Tanakh as to the importance of the Written Law. We have referenced only a few of these below. If every idea and every tradition were to be judged by the standard of the written word, the development of all religion, especially Judaism and Christianity, would be dramatically different that it has turned out to be. The degree that interpretation and tradition go against the written word is the degree that a group finds itself opposing the things of God. When we begin our study of the so-called "Oral Law", we will begin to understand the failure of the some of the Judaisms prevalent during the Second Temple.

"Moshe wrote down all the words of Adonai ...... Then he took the book of the covenant

and read it aloud, so that the people could hear, and they responded, 'Everything that the

Lord has spoken, we will do and obey. Moshe took the blood, sprinkled it on the

people and said, 'This is the blood of the covenant which Adonai has made with

you in accordance with all these words.'" (Ex 24:4-8)

Later, Moses spoke of a day when kings would rule over them. Since kings are strongly tempted to sin, each king was to guard himself from these sins, allowing him to faithfully lead his people as the Lord's servant. The priests were charged with teaching all the Israelites the decrees given to them by Moses. "When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the priests, who are Levites. It is to be with them, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the LORD his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees and not consider himself better than his brothers and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel" (Duet 17:18-20)

"When you have crossed the Jordan into the land the Lord your God is giving you, set up some large stones and coat them with plaster. Write on them all the words of this law when you have crossed over to enter the land the Lord your God is giving you... .And you shall write very clearly all the words of this law on these stones you have set up" (Duet 27:2-3,8)

Israel is called by God to be obedient to the written law, it is the written law that determines whether she will be blessed or cursed. "So Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and to all the elders of Israel. Then Moses commanded them: 'At the end of every seven years, in the year for canceling debts, during the Feast of Tabernacles, when all Israel comes to appear before the LORD your God at the place He will choose, you shall read this law before them in their hearing. Assemble the people -- men, women and children, and the aliens living in your towns -- so they can listen and learn to fear the LORD your God and follow carefully all the words of this law. Their children who do not know this law, must hear it and learn to fear the LORD your God as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.'" (Duet 30:8-10)

"After Moses finished writing in a book the words of this law from beginning to end, he gave this command to the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant before the LORD: 'Take this Book of the Law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God. There it will remain a witness against you.'" (Duet 31:24-26)

Oral Tradition and its Evolution into the Oral Law

As discussed in the opening paragraphs of this current discussion on the Pharisees, the written law was always open to changing interpretations based upon a changing society. For example, if a man can only walk 3/5 of a mile on the Sabbath, how far can he drive? The Pharisees developed a unique method of interpretation of scripture that has come to be known as the Oral Traditions. In the quest for increasing legitimacy for their point of view, the Oral Traditions became the Oral Law, probably during the time of Rabbi Akiba - discussed below. A school of interpretation must legitimize itself, for the traditions of a particular faith cannot be continued without that legitimacy being established. Rabbinic Judaism needed their legitimacy to be established.

Consider that the Roman church has given many of their traditions the full force of scripture, in part to answer problems of a day long passed, but also traditions and methods of interpretation that helped people with their faith in a day long passed. Consider the traditions surrounding the "Virgin Mary", or the traditions of Confession, Purgatory and the "infallibility" of the Pope in spiritual matters. Each was developed as a response to a particular crises of faith and brought a solution to a particular need. So it is with the Oral Traditions of Rabbinic Judaism. The concern, however, is that the traditions of men will supersede the written words of our God. As the traditions of men become dominant, the plans and purposes of God become less dominant, and the religious faith loses its ability to change lives. Virtually every denomination or sect begins with a tremendous outpouring of God upon and within the lives of the people. At some point in time, the format of the service and the tenants of the faith become set and little will ever change after that time. The people who come to the group after the initial outpouring begin to learn to act in a similar manner in order to be acceptable to the majority. The traditions of man begin to take hold and will soon rule the behavior of the denomination.

Each group's theology is developed around their own experiences rather than the written word of God. A group's theology will change over time as the corporate experience changes. Renewal comes when a group begins to challenge other members to pursue God with their whole heart, their whole soul, their whole mind and all of their strength, in order that the fullness of what is written in the word might becomea reality within the lives of the believers. The problem, however, is that religion forms, and the renewal is rejected by the group. The religion has become so ingrained in the people that renewal is normally rejected. The traditions, then, have become the religion, and the Scripture becomes of secondary importance. Jesus fought the same battle with the Jewish people of His era. He quotes Isaiah 29:13:

'These people honor me with their lips,

but their hearts are far away from me.

Their worship of me is useless,

because they teach man-made rules as if they were doctrines."

He then tells them "You depart from God's command and hold onto human tradition. Indeed," he said to them, "you have made a fine art of departing from God's command in order to keep your tradition!" (Mark 7:6-9). Jesus was telling the people of His generation that they had strayed far and wide from the written word that was recorded in the Torah. The people had their focus completely opposite of that which was the purposes and plans of God. They were trying to please God with their behavior in order that He might send a Deliverer. Jesus, then, assaulted the authority of the high priesthood and challenged the very foundations of their faith when He said:

"Shabbat was made for mankind, not mankind for Shabbat;

So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Shabbat." (Mark 2:27)

The focus of man should be to empty himself and to allow God to live and work through him. The focus of most religion is one of appeasing the gods or of making God happy, or of pleading with God in order that He might bring a blessing upon them. These perspectives are completely opposite of each other. Yet, the traditions of men are very difficult to overcome. Jesus says: "And no one after drinking old wine immediately desires new wine, for he says, "the old is better'. (Luke 5:39) The Traditions of men are ingrained in people and very difficult to overcome. Therefore, the plans and purposes of God find only partial fulfillment and evil continues to overwhelm the world.

We will discuss three claims of Rabbinic Judaism as it relates to the legitimacy of the Oral Law. As the Judaism of the Pharisees evolved, with the wisdom traditions and the Oral Law being at its major core, the faith of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob underwent major transformations, culminating in the Rabbinic Judaism of Rabbi Akiba. Without the "tool" of the Oral Law, the Rabbinic Judaism of ben Zakkai and Akiba could never have been established, nor could it have survived due to a lack of legitimacy in the eyes of the faithful. Rabbinic Judaism, then, is possibly so far removed from the Judaisms of the time of Jesus as to be unrecognizable by the people who might have lived during that tumultuous time.

The Oral Law is the foundation of Rabbinic Judaism, for the Rabbi replaces the Priest as well as every Priestly function established in Torah. Gruber states: "Since there are no rabbis in Torah or Tanakh, it can only be the oral law that appoints them the authorized interpreters and guardians of Torah. It can only be the oral law that establishes their place and authority"

As discussed above with the Essenes and the Books of Enoch, the priestly class was increasingly discredited among the peoples because of their corruption, as well as their role as intermediary between the rulers (Romans) and the people. The Book of the Letter to the Hebrews articulates the need for a "new" Priesthood, one that would be true to the plans and purposes of God, one that would usher in the "New Covenant". This new Priesthood in the order of Melchizedek was inaugurated by Jesus Christ. Because the Jewish people were divided, with a variety of differing viewpoints and opinions and solutions, Phariseeism, as it evolved, solved the priesthood problem by replacing them with the Rabbi, utilizing both the oral law and the wisdom of the sages, or the teachers of wisdom. Gruber writes:

"In rabbinic Judaism, ..... the Rabbis themselves, at least the leading scholars among them, are the judges, prophets, priests, redeemers and lawgivers. They exercise authority over the king. They have ultimate authority, and authority which even extends to the world to come. Not even God can contradict them. They are to be the most honored and the most obeyed. Failure to honor the Rabbis leads to excommunication from the community of

Israel, destruction, and eternal punishment."

The tool by which this most extraordinary transformation occurred was the introduction and development of the Oral Law.

First Talmudic Claim: The Oral Law is a separate divine revelation given by God to Moses at Sinai

"Moses received the Torah at Sinai and transmitted it to Joshua, Joshua to the elders,

and the elders to the prophets, and the prophets to the men of the great synagogue."

(Avoth 1:1)

In the Tanakh, every time God spoke to Moses, the words were written down. For example, consider Exodus 24:4-8: "When Moses initially presented to the people the covenant of the Law which he had received from the Lord, the people accepted it. Moses then wrote down all the words of the Lord ....Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, "We will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey."

The pattern is repeated throughout scripture. When God spoke, it was written down. Then, when the words were read to the people, they heard. As quoted above, even the king was to write the entire law on paper for himself in order that he (the king) would know the commands and decrees of God. Every book of the Torah stresses the importance of writing down everything that God has told His people.

The idea of an Oral Law has no clear basis in scripture. The only clear instruction that can be obtained from Torah is the importance of the Written Law. The importance of the Written Torah is repeated in numerous ways and throughout each of the books of the Torah. There can be no sense of a second book of laws that was transmitted orally, especially one that is often in contradiction to the Written Law.

It is only in the Mishna and in the Talmud that the claim of a Second Law, or Oral Law can be found. The Oral interpretations of the Written Law interpret the written law in a way that allows for the Oral Law. The text that is used comes from Joshua 8:31-32, 34-35, specifically "There in the presence of all Israel, Joshua wrote on the stones the copy of the law of Moses, which he had written." Although the obvious sense of scripture is that Joshua read the copy of the law that he, himself, had written, or copied from the original law of Moses, yet, the Oral Law use the words "the copy of the law of Moses" as their basis to say Joshua was using the Oral Torah, not the written Torah.

Gruber writes: "... There is no Biblical record of anyone - Abraham, Moses, David, Ezra, or anyone else - studying or interpreting Torah as the Rabbis say it should be studied and interpreted. The Bible does record, however, incidents when such Biblical heroes did what the Rabbis say should not be done, without any indication of guilt or disapproval.

"What then is the record of Tanakh concerning the oral law? On the basis of what is in the Law, the Writings, and the Prophets, was there, or could there have been, an oral law given by God to Moses at Sinai?

"If there was an oral law which God gave to Moses, Moses never mentioned it, nor did Joshua, Ezra or any other person in the Bible. If it existed, it was not part of God's covenant with Israel. Nor was it relevant to the blessing or judgement of God.

"No prophet, priest, or king either mentions it or demonstrates any concern to know it or obey it. It was not relevant to the governance or required worship of Israel. Nor did it play any part in the instruction of the people or their children.

"In other words, on the basis of what is recorded in Tanakh, there was no Oral Law given by God to Moses at Sinai."

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.]

The Second Talmudic Claim may be the only claim to the Oral Torah with a claim of legitimacy. To those who believe the Torah describes the only behavior that is acceptable to God, and therefore the only behavior that a Holy People of God must concern themselves with, the Torah is a very incomplete document. There are only 613 Laws or commandments in the Written Torah, and many would believe them to be a very insufficient guide to Jewish life, hence, the need for additional commentary or additional instruction, logically called the Oral Torah, or the commentary necessary to live the life the Creator has called us to live.

The simplest example of the gaps in the Torah concerns the Shabbat, one of the Ten Commandments, also, many references to the necessity of honoring God through the Shabbat. Tellushkin writes: "Yet when one looks for the specific biblical laws regulating how to observe the day, one finds only injunctions against lighting a fire, going away from one's dwelling, cutting down a tree, plowing and harvesting. Would merely refraining from these few activities fulfill the biblical command to make the Shabbat holy? Indeed, the Sabbath rituals that are most commonly associated with holiness -- lighting of candles, reciting the kiddush, and the reading of the weekly Torah portion -- are found not in the Torah, but in the Oral Law." Rabbi Tellushkin sums up the problem as follows: "For these three reasons -- the frequent lack of details in Torah legislation, the incomprehensibility of some terms in the Torah, and the objections to following some Torah laws literally -- an Oral Law was always necessary"

If the Creator, Jehovah, had commanded us to live in obedience to "specific biblical laws regulating how to observe the day" as noted above, then, there is a certain legitimacy given to the Spiritual Leadership of the community of faith in order to interpret the Written Torah and apply it to the lives of the people. Many of the examples given by Rabbi Telushkin are what might be called "cultural identity markers" of the Jewish People. These cultural identity markers define who the Jewish people are in a cultural context, not in a worldwide religious context. Yet, the "legal" case can be made that some commentary carrying the authority of law is necessary. The traditions that develop among every people group become very important as a way of defining who they are, giving them an identity that might be different from the other peoples of the earth. The question remains, however, whether cultural identity markers for a group of people carry the same importance to God and His plan for the peoples of the world. Even among a people group, there might be a great variance of opinion to this question, and certainly the Pharisaical method of interpretation of Scripture was not accepted by other groups of Second Temple Judaism. Josephus, speaking of the opposition of the Sadducess to the Oral traditions of the Pharisees writes: "What I would now explain is this, that the Pharisees have delivered to the people a great many observances by succession from their fathers, which are not written in the law of Moses; and for that reason it is that the Sadducess reject them, and say we are to esteem those observances to be obligatory which are in the written word, but are not to observe what are derived from the tradition of our forefathers...."

"Joseph M. Baumgarten and Lawrence H. Schiffman have likewise shown that the Qumran law books speak neither of an oral Torah nor of two Torahs .... It should be no less significant that the absence of the term Oral Torah from Josephus' description of the Pharisees and from the Qumran law books that this term is similarly absent from the Mishnah and the Tosefta. "

As the concept of Traditions evolved into an Oral Law, then Oral Torah, the conclusions strayed further and further from the Written Torah. Gradually, the Oral Torah gave Rabbinic Judaism the "legal" standing necessary to implement their special brand of Judaism and to violently stamp out every other Judaism of their day. The Authority of the Rabbi became supreme and the authority of Torah became dependent upon the particular interpretations of the Rabbi's. "All the rabbinic innovations -- including those that forbid what Torah permits, and permit what Torah forbids -- were said to be still tied to the Written Torah. That revelation even included 'whatever an able student may in the future propound before his teacher'....... The Scriptures, with the normal use and meaning of language offered no basis for the doctrine of an Oral Law, nor for the authority of the Rabbi's. However, the rabbinic claims are not based upon the normal use and meaning of language. (In the end) they are based upon Rabbi Akiba's unique method of interpretation."

Third Talmudic Claim: The oral law is a fence around the written Torah

Beginning with the return from the Babylonian exile, increasing layers of legalisms were added to every portion of Torah for the purposes of reducing the chances of disobedience to the Laws of God. "The Torah is conceived as a garden and its precepts as precious plants. Such a garden is fenced round for the purpose of obviating willful or even unintended damage. Likewise, the precepts of the Torah were to be 'fenced' round with additional inhibitions that should have the effect of preserving the original commandments from trespass."

The Zadokite world view outlined in Part I began the process of demanding strict obedience to the Torah. In its simplest sense, if a fast was required on a certain day, was it permissible to God for undigested food to remain in one's stomach at the beginning of the fast, or should the fast begin much earlier to ensure that there would be no food digested on the fast day. Therefore, the fast becomes one of digestion rather than the actual eating of food. If God demands a fast, would the truest fast, then, demand no digestion? Therefore, in order to avoid any willful or unintended disobedience, all eating of foods must cease at noon of the day preceding the fast of the Lord.

There is an aspect of fencing that begins to border on the absurd. The problem with the Oral Law, however, becomes one of defining whether something is being fenced in or fenced out, one of obscuring the truth or illuminating the truth, one of establishing the authority of God in one's life or establishing the authority of the Rabbi. In fact, the Oral Law began to cause people to occupy themselves with teachings and behaviors rather than with the purposes and plans of God.

"Our Rabbis taught: They who occupy themselves with the Bible are but of

indifferent merit; with Mishnah, are indeed meritorious, and are rewarded for it;

with Gemara -- there can be nothing meritorious; yet run always to the

Mishnah more than to the Gemara." (Baba Metzia 33a)

As can be clearly seen from this passage, the study of the Bible or of Torah was of no great importance, but the study of the writings of the Rabbi's brought the greatest rewards. The culmination of this "fencing" was with Rabbi Akiba who "sought to fence people off from the Torah and from all other influences that would have challenged rabbinic interpretation and authority. In the system he erected, no one else had the right to interpret Torah. Not the am ha'aretz, nor the priests, nor the prophets, nor the Sadducees, the Qumran Covenanters, the Talmidei Yeshua, nor anyone else. Not even God."

Summation of Oral Torah or would Moses be able to recognize the Oral Torah?

Gruber quotes the following from Menahoth 29b: "When Moses ascended on high he found the Holy One, blessed be He, engaged in affixing coronets to the letters. Said Moses, 'Lord of the Universe, Who stays Thy hand?' (i.e., 'is there anything wanting in the Torah that these additions are necessary?') He answered, 'There will arise a man, at the end of many generations, Akiba b. Joseph by name, who will expound upon each tittle heaps and heaps of laws'. 'Lord of the Universe', said Moses, 'permit me to see him.' He replied, 'Turn thee round'. Moses went and sat down behind eight rows (and listened to the discourses upon the law). Not being able to follow their arguments he was ill at ease, but when they came to a certain subject and the disciples said to the master 'Whence do you know it?' and the latter replied 'It is a law given unto Moses at Sinai' he was comforted. Thereupon he returned to the Holy One, blessed be He, and said, 'Lord of the Universe, Thou hast such a man and Thou givest the Torah by me!' He replied, 'Be silent, for such is my decree'.

"The story makes several important points:

1- The Halakha is an elaborate interpretation of the Torah - an infinite number of laws generated from the scribal ornamentation of individual letters.

2- Moses did not know the Halakha. He did not recognize what Akiba taught.

3- Rabbi Akiba is credited by God as being the originator of the oral law.

4- Neither Akiba nor his disciples recognized Moses. They had no interest in what his understanding of the Torah might be.

5- Moses is inferior to Akiba. This is demonstrated by the response of Moses to the Holy One -- 'Thou has such a man and Thou givest the Torah to me!' -- and by the placement of Moses behind the eighth row."

cf. Sanh. 37a Ehrhardt comments: "A second Moses, and greater than he, as predicted in Deut. 18:15, such is the verdict of this talmudic appreciation of Akiba. But a second Moses meant a new foundation established for all of Judaism, for it had been Moses who had first established Israel as a nation"

The Oral Law began its development among the Pharisees, probably during the time of the Hasmonean dynasty. As the Wisdom traditions, the Book of Sirach, the Books of Enoch, the beginnings of the group known as the Essenes all might indicate, the Hebrew Renaissance or Hebrew Reformation gave birth to many competing ideas and world views that brought much lively debate and separation to the Jewish people.

What was taught as the Oral Traditions during Second Temple Judaism changed dramatically after the Great War for Independence, beginning in 67 c.e. and ending in 73 c.e. The destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in 70 c.e. also destroyed much of the unity of the Jewish religions. No longer would tax collectors and Pharisees pray in the same building. Messianic Judaism (Talmidei Yeshua) would find increased legitimacy among the peoples and the Pharisees would fight to represent the very soul of Judaism. The Wisdom Traditions would lock themselves in a battle with the Jewish Mysticism of the Books of Enoch and the Jewish Religion would never be the same.

The Academy at Yavneh and the beginnings of Rabbinical Judaism

"When the Jewish people lost the very ground under its feet, Rabban Johanan

stepped into the breach and by reformulating Judaism on a new basis --

a spiritual instead of a territorial one -- assured the millennial survival of

the people and its faith"

Rabbi Johanan ben Zakkai obtained permission from the Roman governors to establish an academy in the town of Yavneh, west of Jerusalem. The date of its foundation varies from shortly after the defeat at Masada (73 c.e.) to 90 c.e. Johannan was a student of Hillel, and was then succeeded by Gamaliel II. Sensing the impending defeat of Jerusalem, ben Zakkai found a way to escape the city, then went to the Roman general, Vespasian to surrender. In honor of his decision to surrender, Vespasian gave ben Zakkai permission to establish a seminary or academy at Yavneh. The Sanhedrin Council was later moved to the academy. The Academy at Yavneh then became the center of Jewish thought and the subsequent development and codification of Rabbinical Judaism.

Rabbi Akiba ben Joseph

"Rabbi Akiba is a larger-than-life figure, arguably the Talmud's

greatest scholar, and certainly its greatest martyr."

When there are times of tremendous upheaval and every normal pattern of civilization has been destroyed, normal men rise to the occasion and become great. The destruction of the temple and the loss of the civil war was such a time. The centerpiece of the Jewish theocracy was destroyed and the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob did not send a deliverer, nor did He provide assistance to the fighting men. In fact, He did not even send His prophets to warn of the impending disaster and destruction of the Jewish way of life. Of the 37 differing sects of Judaism before the civil war, only two seem to have survived, the Pharisees and the Messianic Jews - the Talmidei Yeshua. Into this leadership vacuum rose Rabbi Akiba.

No person in all of Judaism's history is more revered than Rabbi Akiba. Gershon Bader expresses "The highest place of honor among all of our national heroes undoubtedly belongs to Rabbi Akiba ben Joseph". Louis Ginzberg explains in The Jewish Encyclopedia "The greatest tannaim (scholars and teachers) of the middle of the second century came from Akiba's school, notably Meir, Judah ben Ilai, Simon ben Yohai, Jose ben Halafta, Eleasar ben Shammai, and Nehemiah. Akiba's true genius, however, is shown in his work in the domain of the Halakah; both in his systematization of its traditional material, and in its further development." The Mishnah, the Tosefta, the Sifra and the Sifre all stem from the Rabbinical Judaism established by Rabbi Akiba. "We are taught according to the views of R. Akiba."

There are pages and pages of accolades given to Rabbi Akiba. Later Jewish scholars declare that Akiba saved the Torah from oblivion, his importance ranking equal or higher than Ezra and Josiah, even higher than Moses and King David, possibly higher than Abraham himself. "He had a single driving motivation in life: to create a Judaism in accordance with his vision of what it should be..... (he) fought against any and all who held to competing definitions of Judaism..... before him, there were many Judaisms, but after him there was only one. Before him there was precedent, and after him there was further development, but he is the one who put the new system together."

The Office of the Rabbi

Before R. Akiba, the term "rabbi" denoted an activity, the rabbi was simply a teacher. There appears to be no credentialing process to be a teacher and the authority of the rabbi depended upon the acceptance of that authority by a group of people. Because there were many Judaisms, important rabbis of one sect would not be accepted by the rabbis of another group. Their word carried with it a certain respect, but no given legal status or authority. Throughout the period beginning with the Hasmonaeans, the sect of the Pharisees placed great emphasis upon the study of Torah, and a certain respect began to grow among the people for a man who would spend his days studying the things of God. The respect was given by the student or by the population, not by the religious authorities of their day. "in the New Testament. ..it (the term rabbi) was an informal term of honor bestowed on a learned teacher and hence, primarily an esteemed form of address."

After R. Akiba, not even God could contradict a Rabbi. Failure to honor a Rabbi lead to excommunication - also a new concept. The greatest blessings in life came through serving the Rabbi. "Under Akiba's leadership, the Rabbis became an elite revolutionary party which transformed itself from a group of unauthorized outsiders into the holders and /or guardians of all authority in heaven and earth." From the time of R. Akiba, no scholar could interpret the Torah, or any of the other writings of the Jews except the Rabbi's, and that, only in light of the traditions of the elders.

In order to firmly establish his vision for Judaism, R. Akiba needed to establish the ultimate authority of the Oral Law, for his greatest barrier was the Tanakh, the written word of God. He established a method of interpretation that changed with the need of the moment. "This method of interpretation is universally recognized as Akiba's greatest distinctive and achievement."

Due to the limited length of this paper, a thorough treatment of R. Akiba's methods of interpretation will not be discussed, however, after R. Akiba's death, the Torah was made irrelevant and powerless and the interpretation of the Rabbi became the ultimate authority. The words of the sages were the only proper interpretation of Scripture and the only ultimate authority. If two Rabbis were in conflict, both were correct. If a Rabbi made decisions that were later shown to be highly tragic and caused great misery and destruction, the Rabbi was still correct and above all judgment. The Rabbi was a scholar and student of the word, therefore he made the correct decision based upon his relationship with the Almighty and the consequences could never be held against him. The Rabbi could not be challenged for he spoke the very words of God.

Finally, since God is the God of the "I AM", so it is that the word of the Rabbi has existed since time began and continues right through the end of the age. Therefore, if a word of interpretation or law is given by a Rabbi in the current age (today), it is to be treated as if it has existed for all time and therefore must have been a proper interpretation that existed (even if not written or spoken) since before the time of Christ and throughout all of history.

The Jewish Messiah - Simon bar Kohkba

"Many Jews in the first and second centuries believed that Numbers 24:17

prophesied the coming of the Messiah. 'I see him, but now; I will behold him,

but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel.

He will crush the foreheads of Moab, the skulls of all the sons of Seth.'"

Rabbi Akiba focused his entire life on the reformulation of Judaism, the establishment of Rabbinical Authority - or Rabbinical Judaism. He is considered to be one of the greatest rabbi's ever, an equal to Moses. He was determined to win the battle for the hearts and minds of Jewish people, no matter what the cost. The Messianic Apostasy was to be ended at all costs!!

Rabbi Akiba declared Simeon ben Kosiba the Messiah. He changed his name to bar Kohkba, the messianic "Son of a Star". Although many rabbis were in disagreement, R. Akiba's declaration prevailed. The Jews now had their Messiah. Gruber writes: "R. Akiba asserted a rabbinic prerogative in the place of priest and prophet" "Akiba proclaimed Bar Kohkba the Messiah for the same reason that he did everything else: to establish ultimate rabbinic authority over the life of Israel. Bar Kohkba was quite useful to that end"

Simon bar Kohkba initiated a revolt that was unnecessary and unwinnable. R. Akiba became one of his most ardent followers. Although lesser Rabbis ridiculed him for conferring the title of Messiah upon bar Kohkba, there is a consistency to be found in R. Akiba's actions. His whole life was focused upon the establishment of Rabbinical Judaism and the destruction of the Messianic movement. No matter the outcome of the war, Messianic Judaism would be defeated. Therefore, the historians could argue that the internal struggle for the control of Judaism was the principle reason for the revolt.

There are scholars who may argue the revolt began in response to the Roman attempts to eradicate Judaism, however, most evidence shows that The Galilee region did not participate in the bar Kohkba revolt and later became the center of what remained of Judaism within the Roman empire. In fact, The Galilee region continued to practice their religion long after the revolt was ended. The Palestinian Talmud was written less than a century later by the Jewish community living in the region of The Galilee. Because Judaism survived and thrived in the Galilee, other reasons for the bar Kohkba revolt must be studied.

Tens of thousands of Jews flocked to join the bar Kohkba revolt, initially winning most of the battles and controlling much of the land area of Judea, including Jerusalem. Heavy casualties were inflicted upon the Romans. Yet, in the end, the Roman army crushed the rebellion. There are estimates that over 50% of the Jewish people were killed and eighty-five of the most important Jewish communities were destroyed. "Five hundred and eighty thousand Jews were slaughtered in battles and skirmishes and countless numbers died of starvation, fire, and the sword. Nearly the entire land of Judea lay waste."

After two major revolts in 62 years and numerous lesser revolts, the Roman government emptied the land of Jews and forbid Jewish people to be within sight of Jerusalem. The land was renamed "Palestine" to obliterate all rights the Jewish people might retain to the land of Judea. (Palestine was formerly the land of the Philistines - a small coastal strip of land from many centuries prior to this time.) Tens of thousands were sold into slavery and prostitution, so many, in fact, that the price of slaves declined throughout the Roman empire. The price fell so low for a time that one could purchase a Jewish slave for less than the cost of feeding one's horse.

The question, then, becomes, "Why did R. Akiba declare bar Kohkba to be the Messiah?". A popular revolt does not need a designated Messiah to lead it, especially in light of the Jewish prophesies regarding the coming Messiah. This Messiah fulfilled none of the prophesies written in the Tanakh. This Messiah, Simon bar Kohkba, forced two hundred thousand of his troops to cut off their little fingers as a sign of loyalty to him. This Messiah, as he went forth to battle, is reported to have said "Lord of the World! Do not help and do not hinder us! Hast thou not rejected us, O God? Thou dost not go forth, O God, with our armies" This Messiah, with an act of untamed emotion, killed R. Eleazar of Modiin with a single kick. This Messiah treated Heaven with arrogance, and killed a revered sage out of an act of temper. God's Chosen People had finally found a Messiah they could give their lives for, yet, the plans and purposes of God were once again left unfulfilled.

Supremacy - From What Viewpoint? The Destruction of the Jewish Culture

The Messianic Jewish community would not fight for their homeland after bar Kohkba was declared to be the Jewish Messiah. Therefore, they were brought before the Sanhedrin as traitors and deserters; many were executed before the revolt began. Gruber writes: "The Gentile Church saw this action as evidence that the Jews as a whole were irreconcilable enemies of the gospel and of those who believed it. The legal execution of the Talmidei Yeshua under Akiba and bar Kohkba was different from all previous persecutions in that it was carried out as official Sanhedrin-State policy." The elevation of bar Kohkba to the status of Messiah can be seen as a deliberate move by Rabbi Akiba to turn the revolt into a life and death struggle for the supremacy of Rabbinic Judaism over Messianic Judaism. The fight against the Romans, then, becomes the secondary goal of the revolt.

By the end of the bar Kohkba revolt, the Messianic Movement was stamped out and discredited. The heresy that began with Jesus Christ would no longer threaten the religion derived from the Pharisees. Every competing Judaism would no longer threaten the now established truth that began its evolution during the time of the Hasmonaean dynasty. Finally, the long war for supremacy was won from the Jewish perspective. Rabbi Akiba took the understandings of the Pharisees and the reforms of R. Yochanon ben Zakkai at Yavneh and formulated them into a Judaism that has stood the test of time for over 1900 years. Whatever divisions exist in Judaism today, the authority of the Rabbi remains unquestioned, the method of exegesis is the norm, and the divisions that brought so much infighting among the various sects of Judaism were settled. Judaism has survived, and at times, thrived. There is much to be learned from the Jewish "culture" and education that has evolved since that time so long ago. If he had lived, R. Akiba might have declared victory. His beloved memory and honored place as the chief in the Jewish Hall of Fame declares it was this man who "saved Judaism" for all time.

After the bar Kohkba revolt, Jewish leadership of the Messianic Church ended. Most of the leaders were dead, and whatever remained was so discredited that they could never influence Gentile Christianity again. Beginning in the 140's, Christian church leadership formulated a new theology that the Church had become the "New Israel" and the promises and covenants of God were now honored for them alone. The Church began to teach that the Jews were forever cursed and rejected by God. The Church began to grow by leaps and bounds. The Glory of God appeared to be shining upon the Church and its many and varied peoples and the entire Roman Empire was declared to be a Christian empire in the 300's.

Without Jewish leadership, the Scriptures began to be interpreted in ways never intended, or at least in ways they had never been interpreted before. Origin declared the Old Testament God was a god of hate while the New Testament God was a god of love. For many, the Old Testament became an allegory that pointed to Jesus Christ, therefore, the writings were not to be taken literally. The meanings of New Testament words such as love were separated from the definitions these words had in the Old Testament. Even the idea of there being two testaments speaks of two religions. Christians today speak of the Jewish bible as if it were different than the Christian bible. Many are offended when the New Testament is referred to as "the Messianic Writings". Christians bristle when the Old Testament is referred to as the Tanakh as if it were not the Christian bible. The Christian religion has, in large measure, become divorced from the purposes and meanings established through the twenty-five hundred year history of the Jewish people and recorded in the Tanakh. Christianity, then, has become primarily a "Salvation Only" religion, with the sole purposes and plans of God to get people to heaven.

Conclusions

We began with the exiles returning from the Babylonian Captivity, vowing to make whatever changes might be necessary to reestablish the covenant with their God. The family of Zadok, with the backing of Ezekiel's prophesy, seized the high priest position and made a major transformation or reformation of the Jewish religion. There would be no king to exploit the people, the priesthood would be the predominant rulers of the theocracy. The rule of the priest would enforce the holiness required of God, to be as incense to the God of their fathers. It was the Zadokite priesthood that offered sacrifices, thereby pleasing God, and it was God, then, that caused the world to be at peace.

The Jews never obtained their freedom, although the Persian rulers encouraged the region to prosper and there was a measure of peace throughout the land. The arrival of Alexander the Great disrupted the order of the Middle Eastern world, and the perceived superiority of the Hellenistic culture created turmoil throughout the newly conquered regions. After years of Ptolemy rule, the Seleucids of Syria began their rule of Judea. For the Jews, a minor Zadokite priest named Jason obtained the high priesthood through bribery. While many Jews embraced the cultural changes Jason was encouraging, many others saw heresy and feared the punishments of God. Menelaus, then, bribed the Seleucids to become the new high priest, and a three way battle for the priesthood ensued. Menelaus appealed to his protector, Antiochus IV, to firmly establish his claims to the priesthood by helping to stamp out the Zadokite priesthood and their opposition, which then gave rise to the Maccabean revolt. The priesthood became a political office, first as a tool of the Hasmonaeans, then appointed by the Romans and used as a tool to keep the people from rising up against the Roman rule.

Many believe the Zadokite priests withdrew from the Jewish society to establish their own sacrificial system. They believed they were the one's chosen by God and they were the only ones who could please God on behalf of the Jews. Many believe they became the group we now call the Essenes. They became a people who studied the word. Because turmoil after turmoil came upon the Jews after the Hasmonaeans seized the high priesthood, people began to wonder if God had lost control of His creation. There was so much evil in the world that God could not be in control. Mystical ideas of angels, the life after death, the eschatological end of the world, and, at the end of the world, there would be the establishment of a new heaven and a new earth. The Books of Enoch and Jubilees became joined with the Zadokite world view. As the ancient scriptures continued to be studied, a new theology began to arise among the Essenes, laying the theological foundation for the New Testament authors after the death of Jesus Christ.

The Sect of the Pharisees also arose to a certain prominance beginning with the Maccabean revolt. Judaism, they believed, if it was to survive, must be flexible enough to change with the times. Thus, a unique form of interpretation arose that not only allowed for the traditions of the elders to be considered as foundational to their faith, but, also, a system of interpretation was developed that allowed for every area of their religion to be spelled out in legalistic fashion. The laws written in the Torah needed to be continually reinterpreted and amended as the culture and civilization changed. This sect of the Pharisees grew very influential and was respected by a majority of the Jewish people.

As various "Judaisms" were discussed and developed, the battle and competition for dominance of ideas developed into 37 differing sects of Judaism during the time of Jesus Christ. While there were similarities among several of the sects, there were many differences. Each had its own understanding of how to please God and how to end the political, economic and military occupation the nation was struggling under.

Jesus did not come to start a new religion and Paul had no understanding that he was starting a new religion. Paul expressly states that the Gentile populations were now made one with the Jewish covenants and promises of God. In the eyes of Paul, the Gentile would join with the Jew and become one new man before God. The Gentile peoples would be grafted into the Jewish vine. With the destruction of the Jewish culture in 135 c.e., the Jewish roots, the Jewish understandings, the Jewish leadership, the Jewish covenants and promises were removed from the church, and the Holy Scriptures were primarily limited to the New Testament. The meanings of words in the teachings of the church were divorced from their Old Testament meanings, and, to many, the Old Testament became primarily an allegory. The Christian theology that developed over the next 400 years was primarily a theology that had very few roots in the Old Testament, and therefore became a religion that Jewish people could not recognize as stemming from Judaism.

On the other hand, in order to win the war for supremacy against the Messianic Jews, Judaism itself was formulated into something that it had never been before. No longer were the priests necessary in the Judaism of Rabbi Akiba. There was no need for a priestly religion such as the Zadokites had established. The temple was destroyed and the sacrificial system of killing animals was ended. Through the instrument of the emerging oral law, Rabbinic Judaism was established. Rabbinic Judaism had very little in common with the Zadokite Judaism of the previous five hundred years, let alone the Judaism of King David, or, as we have seen, of Moses. The authority of the Rabbi was established, and the Torah itself became secondary to the traditions established by the Rabbis and the Sages. With all the emphasis upon obedience to the Laws of Moses that is written about and spoken of, Rabbinic Judaism has very little in common with the Judaism of the time of Jesus. and the understandings of Torah that would have been discussed then would cause the modern day Rabbinic Jew to be excommunicated.

We began this paper with the statements of Paul and one of the purposes of Jesus coming to the earth was to bring about reconciliation between Jew and Gentile, with both being equal before God. In an abstract spiritual sense, there is an equality before God, although the Christian theology does not recognize it. In a practical sense, that of living on the earth together and worshipping God with a unity Paul envisioned, the "one new man" of Paul has not yet occurred. Therefore, one could argue that Jesus failed in portion of His overall mission.

Paul also writes that God would do something so incredible in and through the Gentile believer that it would make the Jew jealous, and cause Him to return to God and embrace the plans and the purposes of God once again. The Christian church has, for the most part, been powerless to bring the life that comes from heaven to the earth. There are many Christians, however, they do not understand that which God has called them to become and to do. Most instruction has been a "Salvation only" theology and it is up to God to do the rest. Therefore, in two thousand years, there is very little about our Christianity that has made any Jew jealous. Whatever God has intended to do has not yet been done. The theologian could argue that it is up to God to do such a thing in and through the Gentile believers, yet, Paul wrote as if such an incredible thing was immanent and in the perfect will of the Father. Perhaps the theology of the Christian believer is so far removed from its Jewish roots that God is not able to do anything through the Gentile believer that will make the Jew jealous. Jesus said in Matthew that all power and authority has been given to us through Him in order to make a disciple. Therefore, it is up to the believer to get rid of all doubt and unbelief, and to allow Jesus to bring that power and authority to the disciple. The Christian finds the concept to be theologically unsound and the power and authority is seldom seen.

In the end, perhaps it is both the Jewish Religion and the Christian Religion that have strayed so far from Old Testament Judaism that neither would be recognizable by the people who lived during the time of the ministry of Jesus. Perhaps neither group walks in the Covenants and Promises of God in the way He intended, and therefore, neither group carries with it the Messianic Annointing, or the power and authority that Jesus was speaking of. Perhaps, then, Paul was accurate, yet, the Judaism and the Christianity he was speaking of does not exist in our day, not because of God, but because of us. It is my hope, that through this paper, a dialogue might begin that would draw both groups back to their roots, and find common areas of agreement. It is my hope, that through the further study of Second Temple Judaism, the Christian and the Jew might once again find the Presence of God that Moses understood, the Presence that would tell the believer that he has found favor and is pleasing to God, and the Presence that would speak to the people among whom they lived to know that they were distinguished from all the other peoples of the earth.

"For by what shall it be known that I and Your people have found favor in your sight?

Is it not in Your going with us so that we are distinguished, I and Your people,

from all the other people upon the face of the earth?" (Exodus 33:16)

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