The fundamental ideas which ultimately developed into Jewish Apocalyptic go back to a hoary antiquity. Many of these ideas are present in one form or another in the Old Testament; but the different sources, some undoubtedly indigenous, others extraneous, whence these ideas emanated have, in all probability, a much longer history behind them. With the history and development of early Apocalyptic thought we are not here concerned, since our object is only to deal with _Jewish_ Apocalyptic, and this merely in its broad outlines as it appears in what is called the Apocalyptic Movement. When specifically Jewish Apocalyptic commenced it is not possible to say, for the doctrines and hopes and fears which it taught must have been in men’s minds and have been widely inculcated long before it appeared in the form in which we know it, namely, its literary form. But it is not difficult to indicate the approximate date at which the Apocalyptic literature, known to us, began to come into existence; this was somewhere about the period 200-150 B.C.; from that time it continued to grow during a period of about three centuries. The early beginnings of this literature, therefore, date from a time prior to the Maccabæan struggle. Before the Maccabæan era the two great opposing parties, Sadducæan and Pharisaic, did not exist. It is more than probable, however, as we have seen, that the _tendencies_ which, later, developed and became directly antagonistic were already in being, and that the Maccabæan struggle had the effect of greatly strengthening them. Further, in pre-Maccabæan times, owing to the influence of the Hellenistic Movement, an universalistic spirit prevailed very largely among the Jews; they saw no objection to associating with the Greeks, were glad to learn from them, and welcomed the free and wide atmosphere which was characteristic of Greek thought. The result was that Jewish Apocalyptic, enriched by extraneous ideas and beliefs, flourished among the people; to many it brought light and comfort because it solved problems which had hitherto appeared insoluble; that this life was merely preparatory to a happier and fuller one after death, when the godly would come to their own and the wicked would receive their recompense, such a doctrine laid at rest the doubts and heart-searchings of those who were shocked at seeing the prosperity of the wicked, and who were grieved at the adversity and sorrow of the righteous. Jewish Apocalyptic, therefore, flourished; it appealed to the mass of the people, for it inspired them with hope; it was individualistic, so that each felt that here was a message for him in particular as well as for the nation at large.