New Testament Survey Session #1 & 2

As time goes on, I would like to be putting on my blog some of the stuff that I am learning.  The New Testament Survey is basically (in a very basic form) a theology study of each book of the Bible. It explains a lot of the time period it was written, circumstances and people of the time (It helps a lot).  When I get time to type up the notes I took, I will try to post them on my blog. Obviously, unless you take this course (in Bible College with Professor Lanny Hubbard) you will only get a glimpse of what is taught from my notes - he explains a lot that wasn't written down in my notes. [Also take note that many of the charts, tables, graphs, maps and pictures within my notes, I won't be able to 'type' up into my blog - though I will try to add what I can. I will have in brackets informing you when a chart or something is suppose to be there.] There are 27 Session to the NT, and 27 Sessions to the OT - we just started the OT.  I hope you can lean some things from my notes that will help you better understand the Bible and that you then could read the Bible in a new way with new understanding.

INTRODUCTION

1.     Time of transition between the Old and New Testament

a.     Major shifts since the Old Testament

b.     Major transitions have taken place between testaments

c.      Important to become familiar with Palestine culture

d.     NT isn’t in chronological order

2.      Words to consider:

a.     Continuity

                                               i.     The early church’s Bible was the Old Testament

                                              ii.     The Promise/fulfillment format

                                            iii.     Acts 2:16

                                            iv.     Acts 15:15

b.     Discontinuity – now God is doing new stuff

                                               i.     Jesus came to make a New Covenant

                                              ii.     The Church is beginning

3.     The inter-testimental time

a.     Background

                                               i.     The heart of God’s people had become contemptuous and disillusioned

                                              ii.     400 silent years had occurred

1.     John the Baptist broke the silence

2.     Jesus came “in fullness in line”

b.     Special Circumstances

                                               i.     Other religious books appeared

1.     Jewish literature

2.     Allusions to them in the New Testament

                                              ii.      Addition of ceremonies, festivals and institutions

                                            iii.     The Mishnah appeared

                                            iv.     Various theological themes developed

1.     Doctrine of Angels and Demons

2.     The understanding of the Messiah

c.      Daniel’s Prophecy (Daniel 2)

                                               i.     He interprets Nebuchadnezzar’s dream

                                              ii.     There is a greater kingdom

                                            iii.     Other Kingdoms will come and go, but what remains is the kingdom of the “rock”

[Chart 1]

[Chart 2]

INTER-TESTIMENTAL PERIOD I

1.     Transition between the Old Testament world and the New Testament world

a.     [Map 1]

2.     Inter-testimental time periods

a.     Persian 536-333BC

                                               i.     Cyrus the Great – (Isaiah 44:28 | 45:1-5)

1.     Nicknamed “the mule” because of his mixed heritage

                                              ii.     Darius III (in table below)

                                            iii.     The desire to expand

a.     Cost empire | down fall

1.     Marched on Greece – Failed

2.     Faced Alexander the Great

Cyrus II	539-530 BC
Cambyses	530-522 BC
*Darius I	522-486 BC
**Xerxes	486-464 BC
***Artaxerxes	464-423 BC
Darius II	423-404 BC
Artaxerxes II	404-359 BC
Artaxerxes III	359-338 BC
Arses	338-335 BC
****Darius III	335-331 BC

*Darius I

1.     Restored Building House of God

2.     Put Daniel in lions Den

**Xerxes

1.     Jewish population almost annihilated

2.     Ester’s Husband

***Artaxerxes

1.     Cup bearer was Nehemiah

****Darius III

1.     Last King of Persian Empire at this point

2.     Started service circuit court justice

3.     Started postal system

4.     Standardized coinage

5.     Standardized weights

6.     Established official language

b.     Greek 333-323 BC

                                               i.     Philip II of Macedonia (Father of Alexander the Great)

1.     Unified Greece to fight as one nation

2.     His son Alexander was educated by Aristotle while Philip was off at war

                                              ii.     Alexander the Great

1.     Served as captain in the Military

2.     Succeeded his father at age 20

                                            iii.     The Jews started synagogues while in captivities

1.     Wondered if they could serve God without going to Jerusalem

2.     Ezra started the Great Synagogue to train the Jews in captivity to go out and start other synagogues

                                            iv.     Alexander changed the official language to Greek

                                              v.     Alexander’s 4 Generals

1.     Cassander ruled Macedonia and Greece

2.     Antigonus ruled Tbrace and Asia Minor

3.     Seleucus ruled Syria, Babylon, Persia, and India

4.     Ptolemy ruled North Africa and Palestine

c.      Egyptian 323-204 BC

                                               i.     The Ptolenies ruled over Israel

                                              ii.     They were crude to the Jewish people

                                            iii.     Ptolemy Philadelphus commissioned scholars to translate the scriptures into Greek (Septuagint)