To comprehend the Christian religion in more than a general way, one needs to know a good deal about the Jewish religion as it existed at the beginning of the Christian era. To grasp the ideas which Jesus taught, one ought to have a considerable knowledge of the thought-world in which he did his teaching. He adopted parts of an existing religion, and he spoke so as to be understood by the people of his time. Therefore, a student of Christianity or Christian Science is aided by an acquaintance with the above-described background, even though he is looking for only what is permanent and universal in the Master's teaching. Fortunately, the Old and New Testaments are the best sources of information on the above-stated subjects; but between them there is a long interval, reckoned by most writers as four hundred years, concerning which the Old Testament is almost silent and on which the New Testament throws light only incidentally or by implication.
The exile of the Jews deported from Palestine to Babylonia ended when Persia conquered Babylonia in 538 B.C. They began returning to Palestine the next year. The second temple in Jerusalem was dedicated in 516. Then followed slowly the return of other exiles, the rebuilding of Jerusalem, and the restoration of the temple worship with a reorganized priesthood. Persia held Palestine from 538 until Alexander of Macedon overran it in 331. In the division of his empire after he had held it less than a decade, Palestine became subject to Egypt. The Egyptian rule lasted for more than a century, that is, until Syria took Palestine in 198. After a decade or so, Syria attempted to force the Jews in Palestine to renounce their religion for the worship of Zeus. Many of them refusing steadfastly, in 167 they revolted, and in 142 they gained their independence. Then, Palestine (as including Judea, Samaria, and Galilee) kept its independence (though not always unrestricted) for almost eighty years, that is, until Rome conquered Palestine in 63 B. C. Thereafter, as everybody knows, it was subject to Rome until after the period covered by the New Testament.
Although experts differ as to when certain parts of the Old Testament were written, there is a consensus of opinion that the common version, as it is now published, contains but little which refers to anything that occurred after 400 B.C. As the King James Version was originally published, it included the writings which are now printed separately as Old Testament Apocrypha. Of these writings, I and II Maccabees contain Jewish history from about 175 to about 135, a period including the Maccabean revolt. Other information concerning events between the Old and the New Testament is furnished by other historical writings, ancient and modern.
One of the most important developments connected with Judaism between the Testaments was the forming of local congregations and the opening of synagogues in addition to the temple. Nobody knows exactly when this began to be done, but the only mention of synagogues in the Old Testament is in Psalms 74:8, which is believed to have been written long after the return from the Babylonian exile. The temple worship consisted mainly of offerings and burnt sacrifices, and it was conducted entirely by priests. In the synagogues, selections from the Jewish Scriptures were read every Sabbath (Acts 15:21), and any adult Jew might speak who would (Mark 1:39). Therefore, the synagogues did a great deal to impart a knowledge of the Jewish religion directly to the people. The synagogues also did a great deal to preserve pure Judaism from the persistent and pervasive influence of Greek philosophy and pagan worship. Furthermore, it was the synagogues rather than the temple which furnished the example for the early Christian churches, and it was the original Christian church in Jerusalem, together with the local congregations elsewhere, which furnished the precedent for the Christian Science Mother Church and its branches.
The most important development between the Testaments was the unfolding of the idea of immortality. There is very little in the Old Testament that teaches the everlasting existence of man with God. There is so little that anyone will be surprised who now for the first time looks there for this teaching. This idea developed among the Jews during the last few centuries before the Christian era. The best pre-Christian expression of immortality is not in the Old Testament, but is in the apocryphal "Wisdom of Solomon" (2:23), as follows: "For God created man to be immortal, and made him to be an image of his own eternity."
Other important events between the Testaments were the adoption by the Jews in Palestine of the Aramaic language, the translation of the Jewish Scriptures into Greek, the final separation of the Jews from the Samaritans, the forming among the Jews of the groups or parties called Pharisees and Sadducees, the instituting of the Sanhedrin, and the impression made by Greek philosophy upon the Jews, especially upon the many Jews in countries other than Palestine. One indication thereof is the Greek term "logos" in the original text of John 1:1.
To the Jews between the Testaments and at all times, a high tribute can be given for their ever steadfast adherence to their concept of the one God. It was this devotion to the God of Israel which enabled Mrs. Eddy to say (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p.360), "Of old, the Jews put to death the Galilean Prophet, the best Christian on earth, for the truth he spoke and demonstrated, while to-day, Jew and Christian can unite in doctrine and denomination on the very basis of Jesus' words and works."
