History That Shaped the New Testament: From Babylonian Captivity to 2nd Century A.D.

History That Shaped the New Testament: From the Babylonian Captivity to the 2nd Century A.D. explores the dramatic centuries of conquest, political upheaval, religious change, and cultural transformation that formed the historical world of the New Testament.Beginning with the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem and the captivity of Judah, the book traces the Jewish people through the rise and fall of the great empires that dominated the ancient Near East. It examines the Babylonian, Persian, Greek, Seleucid, Hasmonean, and Roman eras, showing how each contributed to the political, cultural, linguistic, and religious environment encountered in the New Testament.Readers will follow the return of the Jews under Persian rule, the conquests of Alexander the Great, the spread of Hellenistic culture, the persecution of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the heroic Maccabean Revolt, the rise and decline of the Hasmonean kingdom, and the eventual Roman domination of Judaea. Special attention is given to Herod the Great and his dynasty, the Second Temple, the Sanhedrin, synagogues, Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, Zealots, Roman governors, and the political tensions of first-century Judaea.The story then moves directly into the world of the New Testament-examining the historical setting surrounding John the Baptist, Jesus Christ, Pontius Pilate, Herod Antipas, the apostles, and Paul's missionary journeys. The narrative continues beyond the book of Acts to the Jewish revolt against Rome, the destruction of Jerusalem and the Second Temple in A.D. 70, the fall of Masada, and the upheavals of the second century.Drawing upon the biblical record alongside ancient historical and archaeological evidence, History That Shaped the New Testament is designed to bridge the often-overlooked historical gap between the Old and New Testaments. Its purpose is simple: to help readers understand the empires, peoples, conflicts, beliefs, and events that prepared the historical stage upon which the events of the New Testament unfolded.