Maccabees

He was playing to the evangelicals in the crowd. The insincerity was dripping from every pore of this man’s body language. Of course, the main writer of “The Art of the Deal”, Brian Schwartz, said that if he were to write the book all over again, he’d title it, “The Sociopath”. What? You thought Trump wrote the book? I would never “personally” say Trump didn’t write it but I hear some are sayin’… (Trump tactic in play). Verse 26 has the Antichrist “coming to his end” as the kingdom is handed over to the saints for an everlasting kingdom; clearly a reference to the end of not only the Antichrist but of the age as the Lord returns to set up His kingdom on earth. The next reference in chapter 8 is even more revealing as it points to the character of Donald Trump in its typology. (Daniel 8:9-14) Out of one of them came forth a rather small horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Beautiful Land. 10It grew up to the host of heaven and caused some of the host and some of the stars to fall to the earth, and it trampled them down. 11It even magnified itself to be equal with the Commander of the host; and it removed the regular sacrifice from Him, and the place of His sanctuary was thrown down. 12And on account of transgression the host will be given over to the horn along with the regular sacrifice; and it will fling truth to the ground and perform its will and prosper. 13Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to that…

Lazarus is with Abraham in Heaven and the rich man is separated from them in Hell. Abraham tells the rich man “you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us” (Luke 16:26). The point of this parable is to emphasize that rejection of the teachings of Jesus is eternal and, once judgment has been carried out, cannot be undone or alleviated. We should not adopt the Apocrypha because its stories often contradict each other. The two books of Maccabees are about the Maccabean revolt. The…

The definition of martyrdom through the readings and lectures of the class have all fallen under the idea of giving one’s life for something greater than themselves. This something greater can range from a cause one feels strongly about, to God. In every instance, the person gets strength from and outside source, usually being the Lord. A prime example of martyrdom was in the book, Martyrdom and Noble Death, within the story of the Maccabees. The story of the Woman with seven sons showed how…

Weksler-Bdolah, Shlomit, and Alexander Onn. “Modi’in: Hometown of the Maccabees.” Biblical Archaeology Review 40:02 (2014): On-line. The authors begin with explaining that Modi’in is the hometown of the famous Maccabee family and the author Alexander Onn passed before this article was released. An important part of Jewish history lies with the Maccabee family as they were the ones who led the Jewish revolt which is celebrated with the festival of Hanukkah. Shlomit Weksler-Bdolah…

This involves the dead to awake and live again so that the righteous and the wicked can receive their appropriate retribution. Ultimately, God’s justice will prevail through resurrection. Additionally, 2 Maccabees 7:14 also refers to resurrection by stating “God’s promise that we shall be raised up by him; where are do you there can be no resurrection to new life”. Antiochus IV Epiphanes is a Greek King that rules Seleucids, he wants all Jewish people to become Greek and wants them to eat pork,…

The Old Testament was very important, as a foundation of the New Testament. The New Testament was never intended to replace the Old Testament. People who skip the Old Testament don't stop to think that this is the only BIBLE that Jesus and the apostles had. When they referred to the SCRIPTURE it was the Old Testament. The table below gives the titles of the books of the Old Testament and the New Testament. The three lists of Old Testament books show the names and order of books as…

comply for him that things went sour. Mattathias was so enraged that he not only killed the Greek officer but he also killed the villager who have offered to comply in his place. After this Mattathias’s five sons and the other villagers attacked and killed the remaining soldiers. After the altercation Mattathias and his family were forced to go into hiding for their own safety. While hiding out in the mountains other Jews who wished to fight against the Greeks came and joined them in hiding.…

Introduction By looking at Intertestamental Period or Second Temple Period between 530 BC and AD 70, we can learn that this period was a transitional time from Old Testament to New Testament. By examining this period, we see many highs and lows for Jewish people. In addition, this period is a lesson of God showing his faithfulness, but also his judgment on Israel based on their obedience. During this time, God hardly spoke to Israel for the lack of prophets that Israel did not have. The…

Roman rule The Persian rule of Palestine was replaced by Greek rule when Alexander the Great conquered Macedonia in 333 BC. Alexander’s heirs, the Ptolemies and Seleucids, continued to rule the country. The Seleucids tried to impose their culture and Hellenic (Greek) religion on the population. In the second century BC, the Jews rebelled under the Maccabees and began an independent state (141-63 BC) until Pompey conquered them Rome and made it a province, ruled by Jewish kings. During the time…

Hanukkah, also known as “the Festival of Lights,” is an eight-day Jewish holiday celebrated during the Jewish month of Kislev, which is the ninth month of the Hebrew calendar falling between November to late December, starting on the 25th day. This holiday commemorates the purification and rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem after it was defiled by the Greek Syrians, and it is also a time for rededication to the faith. The story of Hanukkah is found in the books of Maccabees I and II…