Prophets
Teacher
Lesson Summary
Charles White taught about the intertestamental period—the roughly 400 years between Malachi and Jesus—when no prophets spoke to Israel. The teacher began by explaining that after Cyrus II freed the Jews around 536 BC, Israel remained under Persian rule through various kings including Cambyses II, Darius I, and Xerxes I. During the reign of Xerxes I, the prophet Malachi delivered God's final Old Testament message, promising the Messiah's coming but also warning of judgment like refiner's fire. The people had become discouraged and complacent, even questioning the value of serving God, leading White to theorize that God deliberately stepped behind the curtain to work providentially rather than visibly. A significant misconception addressed was that most exiled Jews returned to Jerusalem when freed. In reality, many Jews remained scattered throughout the 127 provinces of the Persian Empire, with large populations in Egypt and elsewhere, never consolidating in Jerusalem. This diaspora is illustrated by the Book of Esther, where Haman describes Jews scattered and dispersed throughout the kingdom. White emphasized that God continued working His plan during these silent years, using great leaders like Alexander the Great (who unified nations and established Greek as a common language—crucial for the Gospel's spread) and other rulers as His instruments, much as He had used Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar previously. The teacher highlighted Josephus, a first-century Jewish historian, as the primary historical source for understanding this period, noting that understanding this era helps illuminate the mindset of those Jesus encountered during His earthly ministry.
Key Scriptures
Behold I send my messenger. He will prepare the way before me and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight. Behold he's coming says the Lord of hosts.
But who can endure the day of his coming and who can stand when he appears? He is like a refiner's fire and like fuller's soap. He will sit as a refiner in the fire. He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver.