My Understanding of Religion
Page 19
Book number 11, The Book of Zechariah, was important to the development of Jewish and Christian eschatology. Zechariah, who was active from 520 BC to 518 BC, was a contemporary of the prophet Haggai. He may have been one of the exiles who returned to Jerusalem from Babylon. The Book of Zechariah has fourteen chapters. Only the first eight chapters are directly connected to the prophet. Chapters nine to eleven (Deutero-Zechariah) and chapters twelve to fourteen (Trito-Zechariah) are the work of other authors working in the 4th and 3rd centuries BC. Zechariah's night visions refer to the eschatological age - the end of the world. The visions include images of horsemen, horns, a man with a measuring line, Joshua and Satan, a golden lamp stand and olive tree, flying scroll and woman, and chariots. New Testament writers applied images used in chapters nine to fourteen to Jesus. Zechariah claimed that although YAHWEH had been angry with the Jews for seventy years, a day was coming when YAHWEH would seek to destroy all of the nations that fight against Jerusalem. Chapter fourteen describes a terrible plague that will afflict the nations that fight against Jerusalem. One prophecy, which came to nothing, predicted that Zerubbabel would set up the messianic reign.
Malachi, the last of the Minor Prophets, spoke to a people whose eschatological expectations remained unfulfilled. The author of the book is unknown - Malachi is a term that means my messenger. It was probably written between about 500 BC and 450 BC. The Book of Malachi, which contains four chapters, begins with an attack upon the priests of Israel over their crooked ways and sharp practice in the worship of YAHWEH. Malachi predicts YAHWEH will send Elijah the prophet before the day of the Lord. According to Malachi the day of the Lord will 'burn as an oven'. It will be the day on which the wicked burn, but those who fear YAHWEH are saved by the 'Sun of righteousness' who has 'healing in his wings'.
Even though The Book of Daniel appears among the Ketuvim (writings) in Jewish tradition, in Christian tradition it appears among the Prophets. The Book of Daniel was written with the 6th century exile as a backdrop, however, many scholars assert it was written in the first half of the second century BC: a time when the Jews were being persecuted by Antiochus IV Epiphanes. The worship of YAHWEH was forbidden on pain of death, and an altar to Zeus Olympios erected in the Temple. Judas Maccabeus led the Jews in rebellion, and in December 164 BC was able to tear down the altar of Zeus and re-consecrate the Temple. He was killed two years later. It would seem that The Book of Daniel was composed in connection with these events. The Book of Daniel is an apocalyptic work. Apocalyptic literature is presented as revelation about the final age. It is usually pseudonymous. Authors of this kind of writing generally pretend to be characters of the past - Moses, Enoch, etc. This allows them to claim past events as prophecies about the future. For many centuries the apocalyptic nature of Daniel was overlooked; most scholars assumed it was a true history. The author of Revelation draws upon this book.
As previously stated, Jewish eschatology binds the future of Israel to the ultimate fate of all peoples. The prophets have supposedly predicted what the future of Israel will be. Most of them agree that Israel and Judah will be punished for their unfaithfulness to YAHWEH, that a remnant will return to the Promised Land, that they will fight a major war there with other nations, that YAHWEH will destroy the enemies of Israel, that an everlasting kingdom will be established by a messiah from the line of David, that Israel will be 'high above all nations', that Jerusalem will become the most important city on earth, and that YAHWEH would, from the Temple in Jerusalem, rule over all the kingdoms of the world. The prophets proclaim that Israel is the chosen instrument of YAHWEH, the one true god. Israel will be 'a light to lighten the nations'. To manifest the meaning of its special relationship with YAHWEH to the world is Israel's raison d'etre. It was expected that Israel would produce an ordered human society ruled by the justice of YAHWEH.
In the time of Jesus, Judaism was disunited and split into different groups: Pharisees, Sadducees, Zealots, Essenes, etc. Sadducees belonged to the priestly class of Jerusalem, and although they had less authority with the people than the Pharisees their influence in the time of Jesus should not be underrated. The Sadducees had an important say in the Sanhedrin: the highest religious and judicial authority. Sadducees did not continue to exist after the destruction of the Temple in AD 70. The Pharisees (separated ones) probably originated during the Maccabean period. They were a religious organization made up of laymen from various walks of life. Pharisees believed in strict devotion to the Torah, resurrection of the dead, and the Davidic Messiah - who would establish his government in Jerusalem and destroy the power of the heathen. The Zealots, who conducted an insurrectionary war against Roman occupation forces, had objectives that were religious and political: the attainment of a Jewish theocracy, the rule of the Messiah, and the annihilation of the heathen. Sadducees, Pharisees, and Zealots could be discovered among the scribes. Scribes expounded the Torah (Law) and gave guidance on every day existence. They were a respected class of teachers. Scribes wore the long robe of the scholar, sat in a place of honour in the synagogue, and were called rabbi.
Like the Pharisees the Essenes were engendered in the 2nd century BC when the Maccabees, who founded the high priestly Hasmonean line in 153 BC or 152 BC, usurped the office of high priest - the Law maintained no man who was not of priestly descent from Aaron should be high priest. Essenes are said to have set up a monastic community at Qumran between 143 BC and 104 BC. The Qumran sect looked forward to the overthrow of the wicked priests of Jerusalem and the institution of their own community as the true priesthood. The Essenes of Qumran imagined themselves to be the Sons of Light, who would at the end of time engage in cataclysmic war with the Sons of Darkness. One of the most significant written works of the Essenes is known as the War Rule. Its theme is the war of the Sons of Light against the Sons of Darkness. According to the War Rule the war between the Sons of Light and the Sons of Darkness will last for 40 years. An angelic host will join the elect, while the devil and the evil angels will fight alongside the Sons of Darkness. The victory of the Sons of Light will signal the final destruction of evil, after which YAHWEH will rule everlastingly in justice.
Before moving on to consider Christianity, it can be noted that according to their own traditions the people of Israel are entitled to see themselves as a special people destined to be the earth's most important nation - a superior race.
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