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 Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2016 2:35 am
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6:00AM EST 12/21/2016 SUSAN MICHAEL/ICEJ
The story of Hanukkah is often told with an emphasis on the evil ruler, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, King of the Hellenistic Seleucid empire, who was bent on the Hellenization of the Jewish people.
Had he succeeded, it would have meant the demise of the Jewish faith and thereby, the Jewish people. God's plan to bring salvation to the world through their Messiah would have died with them.
In his attempt to force the Jews into compliance, Antiochus IV slaughtered 40,000 inhabitants of Jerusalem; murdered the high priest and prohibited sacrifices, the service of the temple and the observance of the Sabbath and feast days. The temple was dedicated to Zeus and then desecrated with the slaughter of a pig on the sacrificial altar.
The Maccabean family, from the priestly line of Aaron, led a revolt and miraculously experienced victory after victory over the mighty Greek forces until, at last, the temple could be purified and its services restored. Hanukkah is known as the Feast of Dedication because it commemorates the cleansing and rededication of the temple to the God of Israel. Its symbol is the temple menorah, which is said to have burned miraculously for eight days on just a small amount of oil.
Continue reading: link
Relevant in-guild topic:
The Tragedy of Rejecting Christ (Zechariah 11:1-17)
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Posted: Fri Dec 23, 2016 1:34 pm
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I feel like I've been walking past a door all these years and never opened it up until today. I heard about the pig sacrifice, but I didn't know (or didn't recall) it was for Zeus idea . (Where have I been?)
I know so little of the Maccabean period, but based on the results, I guess what we're suppose to take away is that it was a case of...
Isaiah 54:15 (NIV)
If anyone does attack you, it will not be my doing; whoever attacks you will surrender to you.
Deuteronomy 28:7
The LORD will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven.
Leviticus 26:8 (NIV)
8 Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.
...and not so much:
Deuteronomy 28:25 (NIV)
25 The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will come at them from one direction but flee from them in seven, and you will become a thing of horror to all the kingdoms on earth.
2 Kings 8:16-24 (NIV)
16 In the fifth year of Joram son of Ahab king of Israel, when Jehoshaphat was king of Judah, Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat began his reign as king of Judah. 17 He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years. 18 He followed the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for he married a daughter of Ahab. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. 19 Nevertheless, for the sake of his servant David, the Lord was not willing to destroy Judah. He had promised to maintain a lamp for David and his descendants forever.
20 In the time of Jehoram, Edom rebelled against Judah and set up its own king. 21 So Jehoram[a] went to Zair with all his chariots. The Edomites surrounded him and his chariot commanders, but he rose up and broke through by night; his army, however, fled back home. 22 To this day Edom has been in rebellion against Judah. Libnah revolted at the same time.
23 As for the other events of Jehoram’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 24 Jehoram rested with his ancestors and was buried with them in the City of David. And Ahaziah his son succeeded him as king.
Footnotes:
a. 2 Kings 8:21 Hebrew Joram, a variant of Jehoram; also in verses 23 and 24
Considering the Maccabeans won, and won with smaller numbers against a larger army.
Plus the priests wanted to obey and get rid of paganism.
It took me a while to recover from the confusion that this article put me in and finally realize why I was confused:
The article compared the Maccabeans to Israel today. question exclaim
Israel today openly welcomes Buddhists centers to be erected in the land of Israel: http://www.buddhism.org.il/en/
Israel today gives honor to Christmas (Odin, Mithra, Yule, Saturnalia, winter solstice, Teutonic nature worship) practices in the streets: https://www.itraveljerusalem.com/article/christmas-in-jerusalem/
Jesus wasn't born in the winter, nor do evergreen trees have anything to do with the prophesied Messiah (so where does this come from? The spiritual pagan practices).
Even considering the very symbol on the flag of Israel today (that was used as an illustration of the article you linked to, which by the way, despite the article acknowledging this:
Quote: Its symbol is the temple menorah, which is said to have burned miraculously for eight days on just a small amount of oil.
...it would've been more fitting for them to put a menorah [9 or 7 branched] than the so-called "star of David" illustration for their article).
But my point: there is strong Biblical, historical and scientific evidence speaking against the "Star of David" as a symbol for the nation of Israel: [Testing the Star of David]. (15m 14s video)
Israel today is so puffed up with paganism and this philosophy of free exercise of religion, they're just asking for God's judgment.
Exodus 23:32-33 (NIV)
32 Do not make a covenant with them or with their gods. 33 Do not let them live in your land or they will cause you to sin against me, because the worship of their gods will certainly be a snare to you.”
Deuteronomy 31:16-18 (NIV)
16 And the Lord said to Moses: “You are going to rest with your ancestors, and these people will soon prostitute themselves to the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake me and break the covenant I made with them. 17 And in that day I will become angry with them and forsake them; I will hide my face from them, and they will be destroyed. Many disasters and calamities will come on them, and in that day they will ask, ‘Have not these disasters come on us because our God is not with us?’ 18 And I will certainly hide my face in that day because of all their wickedness in turning to other gods.
2 Kings 22:17 (NIV)
17 Because they have forsaken me and burned incense to other gods and aroused my anger by all the idols their hands have made,[a] my anger will burn against this place and will not be quenched.’
Footnotes:
2 Kings 22:17 Or by everything they have done
1 Kings 11:33 (NIV)
33 I will do this because they have[a] forsaken me and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Molek the god of the Ammonites, and have not walked in obedience to me, nor done what is right in my eyes, nor kept my decrees and laws as David, Solomon’s father, did.
Footnotes:
1 Kings 11:33 Hebrew; Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac because he has
And what did God Command them? Get rid of all paganism and do not allow anyone to set up the worship / adoration / veneration of / honoring of other gods / idols / spirits here. ZERO TOLERANCE.
Deuteronomy 12:1-4 (NIV)
12 These are the decrees and laws you must be careful to follow in the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you to possess—as long as you live in the land. 2 Destroy completely all the places on the high mountains, on the hills and under every spreading tree, where the nations you are dispossessing worship their gods. 3 Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and burn their Asherah poles in the fire; cut down the idols of their gods and wipe out their names from those places.
4 You must not worship the Lord your God in their way.
Deuteronomy 13:12-18 (NIV)
12 If you hear it said about one of the towns the Lord your God is giving you to live in 13 that troublemakers have arisen among you and have led the people of their town astray, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods” (gods you have not known), 14 then you must inquire, probe and investigate it thoroughly. And if it is true and it has been proved that this detestable thing has been done among you, 15 you must certainly put to the sword all who live in that town. You must destroy it completely,[a] both its people and its livestock. 16 You are to gather all the plunder of the town into the middle of the public square and completely burn the town and all its plunder as a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God. That town is to remain a ruin forever, never to be rebuilt, 17 and none of the condemned things[b] are to be found in your hands. Then the Lord will turn from his fierce anger, will show you mercy, and will have compassion on you. He will increase your numbers, as he promised on oath to your ancestors— 18 because you obey the Lord your God by keeping all his commands that I am giving you today and doing what is right in his eyes.
Footnotes:
a. Deuteronomy 13:15 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
b. Deuteronomy 13:17 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
Do people not see how serious and severe God is about not allowing a single, deviant, idolatrous belief to take root in the nation? How far they have deviated. Even on their own flag! If you didn't click on it already: [Testing the Star of David] (15m 14s video). I'm not going to spoil anything but wow, wow, wow.
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