The Struggle of Darkness and Light (~ 1.5h)
This teaching delves into the ongoing human struggle between the choice to serve God wholeheartedly and the temptation to serve personal ambitions. We follow the story of the Hasmonaean priestly family that led an uprising against Hellenistic oppression in the second century BCE. The Maccabees were granted a miraculous victory but became mired in political ambitions of statecraft and power struggles. This was a turbulent era of Jewish history when the movement of Pharisees formed their philosophy, and Sadducees established their priorities. This is also the story that explains how Herod the Great became the ruler of Judea. These events lead you right up to the moment when Gospel events begin.
If you were curious about connecting the dots in this era, I draw heavily on the Books of Maccabees, Josephus, Talmud, and the Gospels.
This teaching was recorded live, and some of the Q&A audience interactions were left intact. The video was broken up into 20-minute segments. Please consider a paid subscription to watch all segments ad-free and support my independent publishing.