The Valley of Waiting
In The Valley • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Waiting in silence.
Over 400 years between the old and new testament. To put that into perspective the United States has only been a country for 247 years. 153 years longer.
Malachi - Matthew: Everything changed what happened?
14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
700 years from Isaiah’s prophecy of the coming Messiah and the birth of Jesus. 400 of those years were silent.
400 years separate the time of Malachi (the last Old Testament prophet) and the time of Jesus. During those 400 years, we have no record of any prophets or inspired writers in Israel.
9 We are given no signs from God; no prophets are left, and none of us knows how long this will be.
This 400 year period is called the “400 years of silence” or the “Intertestamental Period.”
403 B.C. - Old Testament ends: Persian reign over the area.
356 B.C. - Alexander the Great is born and learns under Aristotle.
343-331 B.C. - Alexander dominates the region of Persia, Palestine, Egypt and spreads the Greek culture.
He does not know that he is working out God’s plan.
Spreads the Greek culture and Greek as a common language.
Old Test in Hebrew / New Test in Greek.
This would help spread the gospel after Jesus death and resurrection.
343-331 B.C. - Alexander dies at the age of 32 leaving his empire to “The Strongest”.
Split between his generals.
Ptolemy I: Palestine and Egypt
285-246 B.C. - Ptolemy II: Built the Great Library of Alexandria in Alexandria, Egypt, was one of the largest and most significant libraries of the ancient world.
He had Hebrew scholars translate Old Test to Greek which was called the Septuagint.
169 B.C. - Antiochus the “Madman” does terrible things to the Jews.
Robs the temple in Jerusalem, tears down the wall in Jerusalem, he band Judaism, and offered pagan sacrifices in the temple.
166 B.C. - Hasmonean Family (Maccabees) lead the Jews in a revolt.
164 B.C. - The Maccabees reclaim the temple which led to the festival we know as Hanukkah.
142 B.C. - Judah is recognized as a free state by Rome.
63 B.C. - Pompey dominates the area and extends Roman control over Israel.
Where it remains all the way through to the New Test.
Roman roads were an important part of the infrastructure built during the Roman period in Israel, which lasted from 63 BC to 324 AD
1 “I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty.
5 “See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes.
11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. 13 But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. 14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born.
16 He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
Elijah
18 Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.” 19 The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. 20 And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”
And now you will be silent - intertestamental period link?
The waiting is over!
When John the Baptist appeared on the scene, no prophetic voice had been heard in Israel for 400 years. His coming was a part of God’s perfect timing, for everything that relates to God’s Son is always on schedule.
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