CENTURIES OF SILENCE
Lesson 15
BIG IDEA
In the four centuries between testaments, God set the stage for the coming of the Promised Saviour.
START UP
A Famine Strikes
Nehemiah Malachi
"Night will come over you, without visions." Micah 3:6
"the sun of righteousness will arise with healing in its wings." Malachi 4:2
WHAT IS A CENTURY?
10 years is ... ... ... ... a decade
100 years is ... ... ... ... a century 1000 years is ... ... ... ... a millenium
From Nehemiah and Malachi at the end of the Old Testament to the beginning of the New Testament times, there are four centuries. During this time, no prophet from the Bible wrote or spoke. God warned Israel that this would happen...
The days are coming, declares the Sovereign Lord,
AMOS 8:11
when I will send a FAMINE through the land - not a FAMINE of a thirst for , but a FAMINE of the WORDS of the Lord.
PEOPLE OFTEN CALL THESE 400 YEARS THE CENTURIES OF SILENCE. BUT ALTHOUGH THE BIBLE DOES NOT TELL US ABOUT THEM, THERE WERE LOTS OF CHANGES HAPPENING.
WE WILL UNDERSTAND THE EVENTS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT MUCH BETTER IF WE KNOW WHAT WAS HAPPENING IN THOSE FOUR CENTURIES.
BUT for all the changing of nations in control of ISRAEL, we need to remember something God once told Nebuchadnezzar: ...the MOST HIGH is sovereign over the KINGDOM OF MEN and gives them to anyone He wishes (Daniel 4:25). God could have selected ANY TIME in history for JESUS to be BORN. He chose a time when the message of the Saviour could be sent QUICKLY throughout the world. Alexander the Great had established CREEK as the COMMON LANGUAGE in many lands, so people could understand visiting missionaries. The ROMANS had built a superb network of ROADS, and enforced PEACE in most of their enormous empire, which meant people could TRAVEL SAFELY and with ease. GREEK THINKERS loved asking questions and discussing NEW IDEAS, so people were ready to listen and discuss the NEW RELIGION. ...We can see that THE STAGE WAS SET for the coming of the MESSIAH promised in the Old Testament.
MEMORY VERSE
Therefore night will come over you, without visions, and darkness, without divination. The sun will set for the prophets, and the day will go dark for them.
Waiting for Jesus - Again!
Just as the stage was set for the promised Saviour 400 years after Malachi wrote, the stage is now set for his promised return to the earth. Here are some signs the Bible tells us to look for. They tell that Jesus' return is imminent (very soon). Tick any that you see in the world today.