Between the Testaments describes the events that took place during the 400 year period of scriptural silence between the end of the Old Testament and the beginning of the New Testament. Through the wealth of historical and apocryphal writings of that time, we are given insights into the life and times of the first-century church. Without these inter-testamental writings, we might still be trying to answer questions that a study of the New Testament would naturally present such as:
- What was the origin and background of the Pharisees?
- What was the origin and background of the Sadducess?
- How did non-Jewish Herod become king of the Jews?
- How did the synagogue become the center of community religion?
Jack P. Lewis has done the research and provided us with well-documented answers to these questions and many more. This book sheds a welcomed light on the faith, politics, and background of the people that Jesus and the apostles encountered as recorded in the New Testament.
Table of Contents
Preface
List of Abbreviations
Introduction
CHAPTER 1: The Late Persian Period
CHAPTER 2: Alexander the Great and the Diadochi
CHAPTER 3: The Maccabean Period
CHAPTER 4: The Roman Period
CHAPTER 5: Various Groups
CHAPTER 6: Worship
CHAPTER 7: The Canon of Scripture
CHAPTER 8: Writings
CHAPTER 9: The Messianic Expectation
Bibliography