Introduction to the Calendar of Key Events
Apocalypticism is generally acknowledged to go beyond genre and to reflect a social attitude or ideology. It is an attempt to speak to the issues of the day by a group (or cult) with distinctive religio-sociological ideas who at the same time are alienated or disenfranchised from society in some significant sense. Defined in this way, apocalypticism can be applied not only to Judaism of old, but also to modern day groups (e.g. Jonestown,Guyana; Branch Davidians, Waco, Tx). Nevertheless, our interests here are particularly with Judaism of the Second Temple period. There arose an abundance of literature that has come to be called "apocalyptic" which was generated between the years (roughly) 200 B.C.-A.D. 200. A significant amount of this apocalyptic literature was Jewish and thus was an attempt by these Jewish authors to speak to the cultural and political situation confronting the Judaism of their day (i.e. what has come to be called the Second Temple Period). Since apocalyptic literature is so distinctive and also so religio-political, there must have been something that led to the rise of this literature within Judaism at that time. The following scenario is a succinct attempt to sketch the outlines found in biblical history (i.e. the Old Testament) which may be a starting point for understanding where the roots of Jewish apocalyptic lie.
Jeremiah 25 turned out to be quite a portentous prophecy for the inhabitants of Judah. The northern kingdom had already been carried away into captivity by Assyria (722 B.C.). Judah was walking in her footsteps. In this chapter Jeremiah tells them that God had sent prophet after prophet to them admonishing them to repent and turn from their wicked ways. If they had only responded in obedience, God would have permitted them to remain in the land. But they did not. So this chapter reveals how God raised up Nebuchadnezzar to be God's servant of chastisement against Judah. He says He will make them an object of horror and scorn; they will be banished from the sounds of joy and gladness (25:9-10). Thus was the destruction of the First Temple in 586 B.C. This was the beginning of the alienation (and subjugation) of the Jews, which made them begin to question what God was doing and how He could fulfill his covenant promises to them. Their identity as a people was very much tied to Jerusalem and especially to the Temple and their cultic practices. All of this was gone at the destruction of the Temple in 586 B.C. But their faith in God and in Torah was tenacious and they refused to surrender their distinctive faith. The political world into which they were thrust suppressed their cultic identity and for many, even their future hope. Thus, some began to look for new ways to express their hope in God and in Torah.
To understand how this developed even further, click here: Fall of Jerusalem (586 B.C.).
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This page is provided by Roger DePriest, M.A., Ph.D. student, as part of the "Apocalyptic and the New Testament" site project.