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wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls of which so much has been written), and others who are called, by
contemporary religious historians, Apocalyptics.

There were other divisions among the Jews who lived in the surrounding areas, such as
Egypt, Asia Minor, Mesopotamia, Greece, etc. There certainly was not just one single Jewish sect
-- Judaism was split into many fragments.

But history reveals another shocking and little-understood fact. It will eradicate the fiction
from many people's minds that the Jews, as a whole, were deeply interested in religion at this time
in history.

A Surprising Fact Comes to Light

The records show that FAR LESS THAN 5% OF THE TOTAL JEWISH POPULATION
OF PALESTINE BELONGED DIRECTLY TO ANY OF THE RELIGIOUS GROUPS MEN-
TIONED ABOVE!

Unbelievable as it sounds it is true! Over 95% of the total Palestine population were nei-
ther Pharisee, Scribe, Zealot, Herodian, Essene, Qumran, or Apolcalyptic. These people -- the
overwhelming majority in Palestine -- had no direct membership in these religious denominations
of Judaism and in most cases were not particularly religious at all.

The Pharisees referred to the mass of the people as the "Am ha-aretz." This word is He-
brew and signifies "The People of the Land," or simply, "The Common People."

These people were the multitudes who lived in the cities, towns, and country. They were,
in many respects, like many non-church members today -- some went to the synagogues frequently,
many only occasionally, and many never attended at all.

The scholar Herford has this to say about these people: "It is clear that the "Am ha-aretz"
(the Common People) were not all of one type, either in respect of their religion or socially and
economically. Just as they included rich and poor, capitalist and labourer, the merchant, the
farmer, the artisan, the tax-gatherer (publican) and the tradesman, so, on the religious side, they in-
cluded those who were just not Pharisees, and those who paid little or no heed to religion at all,
with every shade of piety and indifference in between" (ibid. p. 72).

The Population Analyzed

We can demonstrate quite easily that far less than 5% of the population in Palestine be-
longed to the Jewish religious sects in New Testament times. By comparing the number of mem-
bers within the Jewish religious sects with the sum of the total Palestine population, we will arrive
at some surprising answers. The figures should be interesting.

The Encyclopedia Biblica records that the population of Palestine must have been some-
where between 2 1/2 and 3 million inhabitants at this time (Column 3550). This is the figure that
most scholars represent as the total population of Palestine.
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