The Five Books of Maccabees

[Christina]

The Five Books of Maccabees 1 and 2 Maccabees are historical narratives and tell the inspiring story of the Jewish people fighting for the right to worship God. Both books tell about the war that erupted in Israel in 167 B.C. when a Syrian king, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, decided to force the Jews to give up their religion and start worshipping Greek gods. He killed 40,000 Jews, enslaved 40,000 others, turned the Jerusalem Temple into a temple for the Greek god Zeus, and ordered Jews to offer sacrifices to the Greek deities. But one Jewish man, Mattathias, his five sons, and grandchildren, who were nicknamed the Maccabee (meaning "the hammerers"), overthrew the Syrians, restored the Temple, and ruled Israel themselves until the Romans and Herod took over in 37 B.C. Antiochus IV Epiphanes is a central figure in the Book of Daniel as the type of the Antichrist... and he was one of the successors of Alexander the Great after his death in 232 B.C. Antiochus died in 163 B.C., so his ruling over Israel lasted 3.5 years, the same period of time the Antichrist will reign. Before the Maccabees the resistance to the Antichrist was passive, with prayers and patience... afterwards it was active, with prayers and fighting... always with the trust in the Lord. In The Bible: 1 and 2 Maccabees are in the Catholic and Orthodox Bibles, they are the Word of God as much as Exodus, included in the canon even in two General Councils, in Florence and Trent. The Protestant Bibles usually do not have them. They are two Jewels of the Bible: 1 Maccabees is a history jewel: It is considered by all as the best source for the period of history that it treats... and the best in the Bible to relate the history of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, a main type of the Antichrist in the Book of Daniel... but, again, as all the Bible, it is not just a book of history, but a book of the history of salvation, including yours and mine. Also, the popular Hanukkah, the Feast of Lights in December, celebrating the restoration of the Temple, is only described in the Bible in the Books of Maccabees. 2 Maccabees is a theological jewel: - The teachings on the resurrection of the just on the last day (2Mac.7:9,11,14,23; 14:46). - The intercession of the saints in heaven for people living on earth (15:11-16). - The power of the living to offer prayers and sacrifices for the dead (12:39-46). - Faith in God (6, 7). - Judgment of God, rewards and punishment (7) - God made all things "from nothing" (7:28). - It gives also important information on the Ark of the Covenant: Where it is now, hidden by prophet Jeremiah, and his impressive specific prophesy about the end of times, of the Great Miracle to come! (chapter 2). - New historical information about Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the type of the Antichrist in the Book of Daniel. - And three very touching and spiritual stories: - Heliodorus attempts to seize the Temple treasures (3). - The martyrdom of Eleazar (6). - The martyrdom of the mother and her seven children (7). 3 Maccabees: A book written in the first century B.C., tells of the struggles of Egyptian Jews under the tyranny of King Ptolemy IV in 221-203 B.C., and is not about the Maccabees. It is not included in the Catholic nor Protestant Bibles, but it is included in some Orthodox Bibles. Written about 50 BC Third and Fourth Maccabees, also found in the Septuagint, were not included in St. Jerome’s Vulgate nor in the Catholic Bibles, and are usually classified among the Pseudepigrapha... Columbia Encyclopedia 4 Maccabees: It was written during the time of Jesus. It praises the Maccabees for the good they did for their faith. It is primarily a philosophical discussion of the primacy of reason, governed by religious laws, over passion. Although it is not included in any Bible, it offered inspiration to early Christians who were willing to die for their faith in Jesus. 5 Maccabees: It contains a history of the Jews from 184 B.C. to 86 B.C. In 2 Maccabees, the author mentions that his work is a summary of the larger history in five books of Jason of Cyrene (2Mac.2:23-31).http://www.sacred-texts.com/bib/apo/ma1.htmhttp://www.biblia.com/bible/maccabees.htm