Last time, we introduced the Maccabean Revolt from anti-Christ’s Seleucid rule, Antiochus IV, a.k.a. “The Madman.” Having tasted freedom of religion, there developed a corresponding desire for political freedom; this was something they had not known for about 450 years. It was not something enjoyed since their return exile.
Of the five brothers, Judas Maccabeus, the leader of the revolt, alias “The Hammer,” established the foundation for freedom. He was known for leading bold and successful guerilla forays against larger Seleucid armies. Antiochus IV sued for peace and returned to his capital city, Antioch, of Syria. In 164 B.C., the Temple was reopened and rededicated in a festival that has continued to this day, called Hanukkah.
When he died, his two brothers Jonathan and Simon continued the war until 142 B.C. Finally, Judea was free and the “Hasmonean dynasty” was established.[1] They were free but as a satellite state, paying taxes to their overlord.
The conflict with Hellenization was not over, however. Jonathan Maccabeus took over the office of high priest, despite not being of Zadokite-lineage. There was life in the centre of Jerusalem; there was also life in another community called the Essenes.
According to some scholars, this priestly usurpation was the impetus for the foundation of the Essene community; this community turned from their nation, established a colony at Qumran on the Dead Sea,
and fostered a monastic lifestyle.[2] They interpreted the Old Testament as in the process of fulfillment during their times with an imminent conflict at hand and an imminent advent of Messiah to destroy God’s enemies. In their community, they carried on academic and literary work; an extensive collection of Essene literature was discovered in 1947 at the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea scrolls consist of almost 900 documents, including texts of the Hebrew Bible. 
They were discovered in eleven caves between 1947 and 1956, in and around the ancient settlement of Khirbet, Qumran, about one-half mile inland from the northwest shore of the Dead Sea. These considerably important documents were written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, mostly on parchment, but some on papyrus. They are generally dated 150-70 B.C.
They were discovered in eleven caves between 1947 and 1956, in and around the ancient settlement of Khirbet, Qumran, about one-half mile inland from the northwest shore of the Dead Sea. These considerably important documents were written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, mostly on parchment, but some on papyrus. They are generally dated 150-70 B.C. 
The Biblical manuscripts, copies of the Hebrew text, compromise about 40% of the scrolls; apocryphal texts from the Second Temple period which were not canonized in the Hebrew Bible constitute another 30% (Enoch, Jubilees, Tobit, Sirach, and varied non-canonical psalms); the remaining 30% consists documents unique to the Essene community: Community Rule, War Scroll, Pesher (פשר = commentary) on Habakkuk, and the Rule of the Blessing. They have been a tremendous boon to textual critical studies and, rather than injured, have given powerful support to the view of the fidelity of textual transmission. Prior to the Six Day War, 1967, the scrolls were housed in the Rockefeller Museum, formerly known as the Palestine Archaeological Museum. Since 1967, they rest at Yad Vashem, the Shrine of the Book, the Israel Museum.
The significance of the scrolls lies largely in the domain of Old Testament textual criticism. Prior to the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the oldest Hebrew manuscripts were the Masoretic texts dating to the 9th century. The Dead Sea scrolls push that back to the 2nd century B.C. in Greek manuscripts such as the Codex Vaticanus and Codex Sinaiticus. A few biblical manuscripts differ significantly from the Masoretic text, but the majority differ most slightly. This provides additional confidence in variant readings where the Dead Sea manuscripts concur with the Masoretic Text.
We return to the Hasmonean or Maccabean dynasty. Progressively, they adopted Greek ways of life. The Sadducees gave their support; this was a conservative party of aristocrats who sought political stability, but acknowledged only the Pentateuch as biblically authoritative with the other books possessing lesser authority. Like the party of the Pharisees, the origins of the Sadducees is uncertain although the historian Josephus mentions John Hyrcanus I (134-104 B.C.)
The Pharisees, while not essentially political, may be viewed as a theological-opposition party to the Sadducees. They protested Hellenization, created additional regulations for Jewish life, and sought to retain the regulations of old. However, their interpretations ended up altering the biblical teaching and “in effect lowered the standards of God’s holiness and helped foster the illusion that people could please God by their own efforts (Mark 7.1-13; Luke 18.9-14).”[3] Jesus, as well as St. Paul, will later find themselves in spiritual, biblical, ideological and theological combat—the Church Militant in field operations.
For the present, we must come to an end.
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