The Silent 400 Years Between
Malachi and Matthew
The Silent 400 Years Between
Malachi and Matthew
JAN LILLEBY
There has been written volumes on this matter, but I dare come up with a short-version…however aided by the AI-generator available on the net.
I simply want to give my readers a basic insight, and so perhaps fill in eventual holes in our general understanding of the Bible Canon.
Just think of the present Giant-hole we have had since writing of the New Testament ended!
We have not (we: the Church) had just 400 years of silence, but almost 2000 years. Think of it. The oldest NT-scripture seem to be Luke’s Gospel published around 70-73 CE, however disputed up against John’s Book of Revelation. John did not spend his time at Patmos as an old worn out weak retiree, but he was there in the years of the psychotic Emperor Gaius Caligula, but released when Claudius became the new emperor in January 24, 41 CE, probably a few weeks after that. Claudius was the uncle of Caligula. It was held probable that the mad actions of Caligula led up to the 8 year long famine which came under Claudius’ rule. This was happening as we read Acts 11:27-28, which was in 45-54 CE. Revelation was written shortly before that time, and as we read its introduction, clearly addressed to the leaders of the apostolic congregation and NOT to a supposed publicity post-Israel’s destruction in 70 CE. Rev. 1:1, NASB,
“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John”.
Revelation was never written to “all the humankind”, but to the apostolic leadership! This means that they were alive and in ministry when the book was written.
The 400 years between Malachi and Matthew (the Intertestamental Period) is known as the "silent years" because no canonical prophetic Scripture was written. However, this era was a time of intense historical and cultural transformation, setting the exact political and religious stage for the arrival of Jesus.
The period was dominated by a sequence of massive geopolitical shifts:
The Persian Era: The Jews lived quietly under Persian rule, returning to Judea and rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem.
The Greek Era (336–323 B.C.): Under Alexander the Great, Greek culture (Hellenization) swept the region. This made Greek the common language, which later facilitated the spread of the Gospel.
The Syrian & Maccabean Era: Following Alexander's death, Judea fell to the Seleucid (Syrian) Empire. In 167 B.C., king Antiochus IV Epiphanes desecrated the Jewish Temple by sacrificing a pig on the altar. This sparked the Maccabean Revolt, a successful Jewish rebellion that restored an independent Jewish state (the Hasmonean dynasty) for about a century.
The Roman Era (63 B.C. onward): The Roman general Pompey conquered Jerusalem, placing Judea under Roman control. This brought paved roads (the Pax Romana) and efficient administration, which the early church used to travel across the empire.
These centuries also birthed new religious structures, beliefs, and groups not explicitly mentioned in the Old Testament:
The Synagogue: Because the Temple was frequently defiled or controlled by corrupt leaders, local synagogues became the center for Jewish worship and scripture study.
The Pharisees and Sadducees: These two prominent religious groups formed to navigate the pressures of foreign occupation and cultural assimilation.
Messianic Expectation: The heavy oppression and shifting empires created a deep spiritual hunger. The Jewish people increasingly prayed for God to break the silence and send the promised Messiah to deliver them.
THE PHARISEES AND SADDUCEES EMERGING
The Pharisees and Sadducees emerged during the turbulent Second Temple period (roughly the 2nd century BC). They developed in response to Hellenistic (Greek) influence and foreign occupation, taking drastically different approaches to Jewish identity, religious authority, and political power.
The Pharisees:
Origins: Tracing their roots to the Hasidim (the "pious ones") who resisted forced Greek assimilation during the Maccabean revolt, they were largely composed of scholars, scribes, and middle-class laypeople. Their name roughly means "separated ones."
Beliefs: They championed strict obedience to the Written Torah as well as an "Oral Law" (traditions of the elders). They believed in the resurrection of the dead, angels, and the spiritual afterlife.
The Sadducees:
Origins: An elitist sect formed largely from wealthy, aristocratic priestly families who controlled the Temple hierarchy. They claimed a lineage stretching back to Zadok, the high priest during King Solomon's reign.
Beliefs: They accepted only the written Books of Moses as authoritative, firmly rejecting the Oral Law. Because they denied the afterlife, angels, and fate, they were theologically conservative and politically pragmatic, cooperating with foreign powers (like Rome) to maintain their status.
Both groups ceased to exist in their original forms after the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE, though the Pharisees' dedication to the Oral Law laid the foundation for modern Rabbinic Judaism.
The Babylonian Talmud is mainly put together by Pharisaic scholars, and published around 500 CE.
JESUS REPRIMANDING THE FALSE LEADERS
OF RELIGIOUS ISRAEL IN HIS TIME
Just for the record, I like to throw in a short listing of how Jesus went against the false leadership in Israel when on earth. These leaders had added to the Law of Moses a vast number of false commandments and ordinances, so to rob their believers of much of their money, and also to dominate and harassing the general population…to control them and exploit them!
In the Gospels, Jesus frequently refutes and reprimands the Pharisees and Sadducees.
He targeted the Pharisees for hypocrisy, legalism, and pride, and the Sadducees for theological error. While both groups frequently challenged Him, Jesus used these moments to correct their misunderstandings.
Matthew
The Demand for a Sign (Matthew 16:1–4): When the groups asked for a sign, Jesus called them a "wicked and adulterous generation".
The Leaven of the Leaders (Matthew 16:6–12): Jesus warned His disciples to beware of the "yeast" (teachings) of both groups.
The Seven Woes (Matthew 23): Jesus delivered a sweeping condemnation of the scribes and Pharisees, repeatedly calling them "hypocrites", "blind guides", and "whitewashed tombs".
Refuting the Sadducees on the Resurrection (Matthew 22:23–33): The Sadducees tried to trap Jesus with a riddle about marriage in the afterlife. Jesus refuted them, declaring they were wrong because they did not know the Scriptures or the power of God.
Mark
Tradition vs. Commandment (Mark 7:1–13): Jesus reprimanded the Pharisees for invalidating the word of God by holding onto human traditions, citing Isaiah’s prophecy that they honor God only with their lips.
The Question of Authority (Mark 11:27–33): When religious leaders questioned His authority, Jesus refuted them with a counter-question about John the Baptist's baptism, ultimately leaving them unable to answer.
Luke
Dinner at the Pharisee's House (Luke 11:37–54): During a meal, Jesus bluntly addressed their external righteousness and internal greed, pronouncing a series of "woes" upon them for their hypocrisy.
The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector (Luke 18:9–14): Jesus reprimanded those who trusted in their own righteousness and despised others.
John
Children of the Devil (John 8:31–47): Jesus intensely debated the Pharisees, refuting their claim that they were spiritually free because of their lineage, and stating they sought to kill Him because His word had no place in them.
The Blindness of the Pharisees (John 9:39–41): Following the healing of the man born blind, Jesus stated that because they claimed to see, their spiritual guilt remained.
A lot more could have been said, but this is sufficient for us to have a fair opinion on those 400 “silent years” between Malachi and Matthew.
Gracepano.com
