Religion 15 - The Historical Jesus - Lecture 3 - Left Behind - Hour 1

A literary trope of the times (used in the Christian scriptures as well) for the purposes of propaganda.

Hermeneutics means to make sense out of. It comes from the god Hermes (Mercury) whose job was to bring messages from the gods. He was the interpreter of the mind of the gods for things humans couldn't make out themselves.

The same literary form of the Book of Daniel.

It says in the 5th year of rheaboam Egyptian Pharaoh Shishak overruns Jerusalem and takes everything of value. This is also mentioned in the Hebrew scriptures.

A remarkable memorial of this invasion has been discovered at Karnak, in Upper Egypt, in certain sculptures on the walls of a small temple there. These sculptures represent the king, Shishak, holding in his hand a train of prisoners and other figures, with the names of the captured towns of Judah, the towns which Rehoboam had fortified. [2]

The Merneptah Stele — also known as the Israel Stele or Victory Stele of Merneptah is an inscription by the Ancient Egyptian king Merneptah (1213 to 1203 BC), which appears on the reverse side of a granite stele erected by the king Amenhotep III.

The stele has gained much fame and notoriety for being the only Ancient Egyptian document generally accepted as mentioning "Isrir" or "Israel". It is also, by far, the earliest known attestation of Israel. For this reason, many scholars refer to it as the "Israel stele".

The period of imperial subjugation.

The persecution of Judah from 165-160 BCE.

Political action in the present.

A Jewish warrior sent by god who will liberate evil from those who are trying to subjugate it and transform it into a reconstituted Kingdom of David.

Hellenization/Globalization. The spread of Greek Pydaea as opposed to to Jewish Pydaea.

Greek Pydaea is accepted by many in the elite of Jewish society

That without giving up their jewishness they should be able to integrate into the new Hellenized culture.

The Hasidim, the holy ones. The more conservative interpreters of Torahand Judaism in the world.

Jerusalem becomes an official Hellenic polis.

That Jews may lose their identity. Similar to globalized nations today.

Antiochus plunders the temple treasury (may have done it in cahoots with some of the jewish elites).

He is then defeated in Egypt by the Egyptians in the summer of 168 BCE.

He realizes that he has to clamp down and organize his empire more strictly. The Jews will be the recipient of that strictness.

He delivered a message from the Roman Senate directing Antiochus to withdraw his armies from Egypt and Cyprus, or consider themselves in a state of war with the Roman Republic.

Antiochus said he would discuss it with his council, whereupon the Roman envoy drew a line in the sand around him and said, "Before you cross this circle I want you to give me a reply for the Roman Senate" - implying that Rome would declare war if the King stepped out of the circle without committing to leave Egypt immediately. Weighing his options, Antiochus wisely decided to withdraw. Only then did Popillius agree to shake hands with him.

He abolishes sacrifices at the temple and places a statue of himself either inside the holy of holys or oustide the main building of the temple.(The so called Abomination of Desolation set up on Dec. 6 or Dec. 7 167).

1) Passive and Religious

2) Activist Revolutionary.

The active revolutionaries are the Maccabbes. (The Hammer family).

After long drawn out battles they (on Dec 14 or 15 164 BCE) enter and cleanse the temple and start up sacrifices.

"we can't do this ourselves, it's god who must intervene, lets us wait for god to reveal himself.

The Hasmonean Kingdom is established and rules from 140 BCE -37 BCE.

Someone calls upon the Romans to come help. Roman forces led by Pompey conquered Israel in 63 BCE, making it a client kingdom of Rome

From 6 CE up until 635 CE.

The "one like a human being" takes the visage of Michael. He was himself a representation of the Jewish people. He is called "Guardian of the Jewish people"

In apocalyptic visions each nation had a representative before god called your angel.

When it speaks of Michael it really means "The Faithful Ones".

1240 days, 1335 days, and in Chapter 8:14 1150 days.

Miller was from Upstate New York. He predicted that in the fall of 1843 (september or october) that Jesus would return.

100,000 people sold all their property and gathered in upstate New York and Jesus didn't show.

That he got the date wrong. He went back and recalculated and said it would happen in 1844.

Some gathered again and it didn't happen.

After the 1843/1844 failed predictions the Millerites split up and formed the Jehovah's Witnesses who reinterpreted this.

They said 1843/1844 wasn't when he was supposed to come down to earth, but when he was elevated to a higher status in heaven, although he is still coming back to earth.

A mythical figure in Israelite and Northern Syrian lore. A wise man who shows up hither and thither.

Daniel means Judged by God.