Maccabees

The journey in which the Jewish people have gone through have changed the history of the world and have had a profound effect on the development of most major religions. Throughout the ages there has been a fascination with Jewish history. People have questioned the "miracle of the continual existence of the Jewish people" – this despite the almost consistent world delight in their persecution and ridicule. Studying history gives us a deeper understanding of who we are and why we are here. The…

Daniel utilizes a new introductory formula in this verse to focus the attention of the reader to the climax of the visions of the beasts. From this group of ten horns, comes up “another horn, a little one” which displaced three other horns. This little horn had “eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things.” Nothing specifically is said about the nature of what is being said, however, within the Bible’s wisdom literature, through the eyes or speech of a person, their…

characters to illustrate how God influenced and controlled situations. They are two Old Testament stories that “served as a foil” for the crusaders. The conquest of the Promise Land by the Israelites after the exodus of Egypt and the fight of the Maccabees against the enemies of Israel are the two examples to show how it was wars fought by God’s people led by the Lord (Portraying the Crusade 55). Often times, they would reference the Old Testament as biblical examples due to the military heroes.…

Another area of divergence concerns the act of circumcision. It is clear that Jesus and Paul are Jews who are circumcised, yet throughout Paul’s epistles, he repeatedly and vehemently states that circumcision is not necessary. For example, in his first letter to Corinthians, he writes, “Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing; but obeying the commandments of God is everything. Let each of you remain in the condition in which you were called” (I Cor. 7:19-20). The significance of…

Introduction The Second Temple period is a remarkable time in history. To gain a full understanding of the New Testament, one must thoroughly explore the political and religious background of this time period. Prior to the Second Temple period, the Hebrews were in captivity under Babylonian rule. This captivity dispersed the Hebrews among many locations with major effects upon the people, including social, cultural, and religious. Although the majority of the Hebrews would never return to…

“Did Jesus have anything to do with the formation of the Christian church? And if he did, how did he shape its special character?” (Shelley 4). During the age of Jesus and the Apostles, the anti-institutional view of Christianity was so widespread that many questioned Jesus’ partaking in Christianity. In my opinion, I believe this was the most important event in church history between 6 B.C. and 1517. During the age of Jesus and the Apostles, Palestine was not a very pleasant place to live. In…

2 Maccabees 12:41-46, which is part of the Catholic doctrine, states the opportunity for the dead to find forgiveness of their sin. He developed this opinion by the verse in Matthew that claims that if one is to blaspheme the Holy Spirit, they will never be…

There is a famous passage in Second Isaiah, composed during or after the Exile, which is sometimes cited as a Jewish rebuke to the Zoroastrian idea of a dualistic God: "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things." (Isaiah 45:7) This passage, which is a major source for Jewish speculation on the source of good and evil in the world, denies the Zoroastrian idea of a God who is the source only of "good" and favorable things. The…

was led by Judas Maccabeus, who led one of the small bands of Jewish fighters to defeat the mighty army of Antiochus. The rebels finally managed to purify the temple, and are still celebrated by the Jews today in a celebration called Hanukkah. The Maccabees then set up their own government, but the Maccabean rulers called themselves kings yet they were not from the line of King David. This upset the Jews who were against the cruel style of the Maccabean style of control, and the agreements that…

When I went to the Temple Beth Shalom with my State college of Florida classmates to sit in on the Friday night service of the Shabbat. It was so amazing thing you never knew about the Jewish people or culture or anything. When I went for my religion visit I was just going to get my religion visit over with so that I can write my paper so I don’t have to do the other visit. But I was wrong it was a whole different story I learn more about the Jewish people that I never knew before. Going there…