1. Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews
The Dawn of Christianity
Between the Testaments
and the Early Church Age
Lesson 5
The Essenes and the Maccabees
Steve Plaster

2. Lesson Structure
Clash of Cultures: Judaism and Hellenism
People of the Book
The Sacred Writings
Apocryphal Literature, Messiahs, and Resurrection
The Essenes and the Maccabees
The Herodians, the Romans, and the Prophets
Trials and Tribulations of Jesus
Resurrection and the Birth of the Church
Paul’s Missionary Journeys
Paul’s Letters and Trials
Jewish Revolt Groups and the Temple Destruction
How We Got the Bible

4. The encounter and conflict between Palestinian Judaism and the Spirit of the Hellenistic Age. There is no Greek cultural influence on any of the Old Testament canon except Esther and the apochrypha. Koheleth seems to contain Greek philosophical thought of about BC based upon a universal concept of God. God controls everything and fate is man’s lot. Ben Sira wrote from Egypt in 117BC as a wisdom scribe about the Jewish period of 175BC. He has a strong link between human responsibility and divine retribution.

5. Creation has a purpose and man is God’s centerpiece
Creation has a purpose and man is God’s centerpiece. The high priestly families are the Oniads and the Tobiads. Both the evil and the foolish women of Proverbs are metaphors for wisdom. Aristobulus, an Alexandrian Jew, began to merge the Jewish wisdom doctrine with the Greek philosophy in BC. Some believe Socrates and Plato derived these concepts of monotheism from the Mosaic tradition. The Mosaic law was the keeping of 613 laws in one’s daily life.

6. The Hasidim (pious ones) formed as a party about 175BC
The Hasidim (pious ones) formed as a party about 175BC. The Essenes arose out of the Hasidim in about 152BC. The Hasidic apocalyptic view of historical epochs and prophetic tradition were combined in Palestine around 160BC. The Essenes spoke of the dualism of good and evil forces taken from Persian Zoroastrianism. World history timeline is linear not cyclical. Persian belief is linear, Greek belief is cyclical.

7. Jewish world history outlook embraced a unified view with Israel at the center when Greek philosophy and culture threatened its people’s morality and universal ideas over internal Jewish obedience to law concepts. The ideas of resurrection, immortality, and judgment is a response to martyrdom and outside domination by setting things right in the next world (Isaiah 26:19, Daniel 12:2). The Old Testament knows only the concept of the underworld. The concepts of afterlife are influenced by Pythagoras and Plato. Retribution and judgment of sinners universally occurs in Daniel 7:9-14.

8. Apocalyptic wisdom was based upon special revelation from God to a select few in visions and dreams. The Jewish worldview of 175BC was superior to the Greek worldview because: (1) it was older (original), (2) it contained a divine will and purpose, (3) its centerpiece Israel was explained more fully, and (4) end times were explained for both the pious and the wise understanding. Around BC, the Essenes began to focus on the predestination of God and the struggle of good and evil forces over control of the individual.

9. God will in the end punish the evil spirits and the evildoers
God will in the end punish the evil spirits and the evildoers. God also depicts the way of individual salvation. The Essene, Teacher of Righteousness, in about 150BC, guided them to separation in the desert. The Essenes propagated angels as intermediaries between God and man. They used a 364 day solar calendar rather than a 360 day lunar calendar which allowed the Sabbath and festivals to occur on the same day of the week year after year.

10. The Essenes used astrology to predict future events which were claimed to descend from Seth whereas non-Jewish astrology they believed were demonic through Canaan. They held a divine determination structured view of history.

11. Hellenistic Reform Attempt in Jerusalem
The Greeks viewed Israel as a group of people who were philosophical and led by an aristocracy of priests. Greeks viewed Jewish religion as superior to the many polytheistic religions. The Greeks viewed Yahweh as Zeus and the Romans views Him as Jupiter. By 166BC, the Greeks referred to the nameless God of Israel in a debased manner. The leading Jew, Tobias, in 250BC, was completely Hellenized and a wealthy money lender.

12. The legal foundation of the Jews in Jerusalem based on the Torah was replaced by Greek rules of society and citizenship in the polis. This occurred in 175BC under Oniad Jason and in 167BC under Tobiad Menelaus as High Priests. In 167BC, Antiochus Epiphanes prohibited worship of the Jewish religion. Zeus and Apollo were the two chief gods of the Seleucids. Only in Jewish Palestine was apostasy of foreign gods punishable by death by the Jewish rulers. Civil war between law abiding Jews and apostate Jews ensued. The apostates were backed by the Seleucid king.

13. Under the Macabees and Bar Kochba revolts, Jewish religion became inseparable from Jewish national identity even during Diaspora. The Jews of foreign lands became more syncretistic combining paganism with Judaism. The Jews of Judea became more legalistic to protect the purity of the law keeping. This is why Jesus, Paul, and Stephen had such resistance. National self-preservation became a lasting goal.

14. The Dawn of Christianity
Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews
The Dawn of Christianity
Between the Testaments
and the Early Church Age
Lesson 5
The Essenes and the Maccabees
Steve Plaster