Upon this rock (39): The intertestamentary period
This article examines the intertestamental period (400 years between Malachi and John the Baptist) using both biblical prophecy and extrabiblical historical sources. Doezema traces the Jewish experience under Persian, Greek, and Seleucid rule, with particular attention to Antiochus Epiphanes' persecution, which he connects to Daniel's prophecies about the Antichrist. The piece demonstrates how biblical prophecy illuminates historical events during this silent period in Scripture.
Previous article in this series: January 15, 2019, p. 183. Scripture is silent with respect to the history of the Jewish state between the time of Malachi and the birth of John the Baptist some 400 years later. But we can learn something of that history from other sources. We know, for example, that the Jews were ruled by various world powers that rose and fell during this period. Since 536 B.C., they were under what proved to be a rather mild rule by the Persians. Medo-Persia, you will...
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