We're Still Living Out the Old Testament


Do we really want to believe that judaism is god's message to the world, or Islam is way to peace, or Christianity is Love and Understanding, or America is the Defender of Freedom, or we are the center of the Universe?

Here's a brief script I borrowed from wikipedia not wilileaks illustrating the fact we are still living in the middle ages where all this became a reality rather than a story, just a story that Men used to rape, kill, and maim.

1500 B.CE  (approx.)

Zoroaster 

Many historians trace the apocalyptic world view back to 

                        the Persian prophet Zoroaster, who spoke of a cosmic 

                        battle between good and evil ending in a new, perfect 

                        world for humanity. The Zoroastrian tradition survives 

                        today in Iran and as the basis of Parsiism in India. 

 592 BCE to 586 BCE

The Book of Ezekiel, one of the major 

                        prophetical books of the Old Testament, is written in 

                        response to the invasion and capture of Jerusalem by the 

                        Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar and the subsequent exile 

                        of the Jews to Babylon. The Book of Ezekiel foretells 

                        the return of the Jews to their homeland and the violent 

                        destruction of future enemies. The book ends with God's 

                        admonition to the Jews reminding them that their 

                        suffering and exile resulted from their lack of faith 

                        and trespassing against Him, but foretells that after 

                        the return to the homeland, proper worship will resume 

                        and God will no longer turn away from them. 

485 BCE 

Probably inspired by the sack of Babylon by 

                        Xerxes, the Book of Isaiah is a prime example of the 

                        pre-apocalyptic Jewish prophetic tradition. The prophets 

                        were professionals who spoke to contemporary problems 

                        through poetry, often including a small amount of future 

                        prediction to enhance their authority. With its cosmic 

                        symbolism and introduction of the resurrection of the 

                        dead, Isaiah reveals important elements of the 

                        apocalyptic world view falling into place. 

250 BCE 

The series of books collectively called First 

                        Enoch, written during a period when the Jews were under 

                        the rule of the Greek Empire, see a further shift from 

                        the ancient prophetic tradition to a new apocalyptic 

                        tradition. The books take as their subject Enoch, the 

                        seventh patriarch of the Book of Genesis who, as a 

                        visionary, was reputed to have received secret knowledge 

                        from God. Many of the standard elements of the distinct 

                        literary genre of Jewish apocalyotic first emerge in 

                        these texts. The "Book of Watchers" provides the first 

                        example of the judgment of the dead in the Jewish 

                        tradition; the distinctively historical "Apocalypse of 

                        Weeks" is the first to envisage the end of the world in 

                        a literal sense. Within the series, the perspective 

                        shifts from the cosmic to the concretely historical. 



                        167 BCE 


                              The Book of Daniel 



                        The Book of Daniel is written as a product of the Jewish 

                        Maccabean revolt agaisnst persecution by the Syro-Greek 

                        dynasty of the Seleucids. After the New Testament Book 

                        of Revelation, it is the scripture most often studied 

                        and cited by contemporary prophecy believers. Daniel's 

                        dream holds that Israel will inherit "the greatness of 

                        the kingdom under the whole heaven" when God has 

                        overthrown the last of the four evil kingdoms, first 

                        represented by four metals, then by four beasts. In many 

                        ways, Daniel represents the emergence of revolutionary 

                        eschatology. In it, the world is dominated by an evil 

                        power, and the suffering of its victims--the intended 

                        audience--becomes increasingly intolerable. But at some 

                        appointed time the saints of God will rise up and 

                        overthrow the oppressor, and the sufferers will inherit 

                        the earth. 



                        63 BCE 


                              Romans capture Jerusalem 



                        With the capture of Jerusalem, the Romans make Judea an 

                        outpost of their empire. Their oppressive rule makes 

                        Rome the locus of evil in apocalyptic literature until 

                        the conversion of Emperor Constantine in the early 4th 

                        century A.D. 



                        4 BCE 


                        Jesus Christ is born in the area of Nazareth. 



                        30 CE Jesus is put to death by Roman officials. His 

                        followers--the first Christians--would use an 

                        apocalyptic framework to make sense of this unthinkable 

                        development, casting him in the role of Messiah and 

                        reasoning that he would return soon to finish his work. 



                        70 CE A Jewish rebellion against Rome ends in failure 

                        with the sacking of Jerusalem and the destruction of the 

                        Temple.

                        The Gospel of Mark is believed to have been written 

                        around this time. It includes the "Little Apocalypse" 

                        (Mark 13), Jesus' eschatological discourse to his 

                        disciples, in which he both fueled expectations of an 

                        imminent end ("This generation shall not pass, till all 

                        these things be fulfilled") and cautioned against date 

                        speculation ("But of that day and hour knoweth no man 

                        ... but my Father only."). 



                        mid-to-late

                        first century The Essene movement reaches its peak. The 

                        1947 discovery of their sacred library, known as the 

                        Dead Sea Scrolls, would reveal much about this highly 

                        apocalyptic Jewish sect. The Essenes called themselves 

                        the "sons of light," in opposition to the Jewish 

                        majority, or "sons of darkness." In texts like the 

                        so-called "War Scroll," they essentially recast the 

                        history of Israel in terms of a cosmic war between good 

                        and evil. Highly critical of all outsiders, the Essenes 

                        looked forward to the day of judgment, when they 

                        expected God to send an army to destroy their enemies. 

                        The Essenes demonstrate that the early Christians were 

                        but one of many Jewish sects animated by apocalyptic 

                        beliefs. 



                        90 CE 


                              The Book of Revelation 



                        Biblical scholars believe that around this time the 

                        Revelation of John, or the Book of Revelation was 

                        written. Destined to become the only apocalypse in the 

                        New Testament and the final Book of the Christian Bible, 

                        Revelation is the paramount source for Christian 

                        prophecy believers. Scholars are skeptical of the claim, 

                        made by those who argued for its inclusion in the canon, 

                        that the author is the same man who wrote the Gospel of 

                        John. Whatever its authorship, Revelation has had 

                        tremendous influence on our culture and history, not 

                        only motivating millions of believers but contributing 

                        vivid images and phrases to popular culture, from the 

                        "four horsemen of the Apocalypse" to the "mark of the 

                        beast." 

                        Borrowing much of its imagery from the Book of Daniel, 

                        Revelation is fairly typical of the revolutionary 

                        eschatology of the time. Addressing "the scattered 

                        Christians of Asia Minor in their hour of affliction," 

                        the author describes in vivid detail the means through 

                        which God will save his people from their suffering at 

                        the hands of Satan. "God shall wipe away all tears from 

                        their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither 

                        sorrow, nor crying; neither shall there be any more 

                        pain; for the former things are passed away." 

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