Intertestamental Period Begins

After the prophet Malachi, the Jewish world entered what Christians call the '400 silent years' — a period with no new prophetic revelation. But the world was far from quiet. Alexander the Great would conquer the Persian Empire, Greek culture would reshape the Middle East, the Maccabees would fight for Jewish independence, and Rome would rise to dominate the Mediterranean. All of this set the stage for the world Jesus was born into.