SPIRITUAL CONDITIONS
Returning from the Babylonian captivity, the Jews ceased their idolatrous worship. The restored temple was meager compared to Solomon’s, and their interest in it waned. The increasing importance of the synagogue diminished the singular importance of the temple. With the synagogues came also the rabbis, who taught the Torah and its observance. Although the temple ritual was still observed, the teaching of the synagogue encouraged a deep personal religion. Hence, Judaism during the Intertestamental times became a religion of the Torah. Because of the persecution suffered, there was a rise of the messianic expectation as seen in the increase of apocalyptic literature. God would raise up a Messianic Leader or leaders to deliver them from the foreign oppressors and set up the promised messianic kingdom.