Religious Revolt & YouAs discussed in the opening post for this series, the miracle of Channukah was birth out of the Jewish revolt against the Assyrian-Greek occupation of Israel. Since their return from Babylonian captivity, the Jewish people had always endured overseers and foreign influence in their lands, but they also had been allowed to worship and obey all the laws of their Torah. Sure, the presence of a foreign government wasn't ideal and was contrary to the their biblical calling to be a land free from traif (non-kosher/secular) where the sovereign reign of God was made manifest. But at least the Jewish people were home!
And then came Antiochus...
In the year 175BC a young and ambitious king named Antiochus IV became the ruler of the Seleucid Empire (an empire than occupied the land of Israel). This Hellenized kingdom picked up where Alexander the Great left off and continued a quest of world domination, not through the simple toppling of foreign governments, but through the spread of universal Greek culture and religion. Their goal was to make all of the known world "one." All conquered people were to learn the Greek language, participate in Greek culture, and worship the Greek gods. In most cases, the conquered countries would still be allowed to practice their particular religion, so long as they also adopted the Greek religion. Well, Antiochus IV thought this idea wasn't good enough, and he additionally outlawed all religion except for Greek idolatry.
Thus, in 167 BC Antiochus IV banned all forms of Jewish practice. It became illegal and punishable by death for any Jew to be found reading Torah, observing the Sabbath or other Jewish holidays, or even performing the sacred act of circumcision. The very existence of the Jewish people was now threatened, since their sole identity was to be found in their worship of the one true God through His Torah. If the Torah was outlawed, then how could a Jew be a Jew? And then, of course, came the abomination that causes desolation.
Perhaps the last straw for the Jewish people was the conversion of the Jewish temple into a Greek house of worship. As legend has it, Antiochus IV ordered that a sacrifice to the Greek gods be performed in the courts of the temple in Jerusalem. The animal to be slaughtered, of course, was none other than a pig, and Antiochus' local governors had commissioned a local Jew to carry out the act. Well, this was too much for any lover of God to bear, and a Jewish priest named Matitiyahu Maccabee rushed the scene and killed the Jewish pagan. He and his five sons then fled into the Judean wilderness, amassed a small army and led a guerrilla campaign (insurgency) against the Seleucid occupation. Eventually their rebellion worked, and Jewish worship was re-instituted in the land of Israel.
Application:
Just as in the days of the Seleucid Empire, there is a movement across our world and country to eradicate the Christian faith and usher in a secular and universal religion. (This can be found in American, European and UN legislation that outlaws the use of unique religious symbols and promotes the exaltation of pantheism [a.k.a. Environmentalism].) And like the Jewish people of Old Testament, every servant of Messiah Jesus (Christians), is to have his/her identity rooted in his/her observance and obedience to the laws of the Holy Spirit. If we do not worship, evangelize, or gather in His name; how can we be Christians?
Obviously, the moral of the story is not to round up some buddies, buy camouflage, and live in the woods plotting a coup. Romans 13:1-7 & I Peter 2:13-17 command us to submit ourselves to all local authority, including that which is hostile to our faith in the One True God. Instead of planning their overthrow, we should spend our time praying for our leadership (I Tim. 2:1-4) that they, too, may be brought into salvation. Instead of sitting idly by and complaining, we need to be aggressively evangelizing the Lost. Instead of going along with the flow and even celebrating the eradication of our faith, we need to be rising up and proclaiming the Law of the Lord. Truly, our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against something greater.
All of us are in the midst of a spiritual battle (Eph 6:12), and the Spirit of God is calling us to take a stand for His Law and love for all. Just as God miraculously provided the victory and assurance for the Maccabees at Channukah, so too will He provide the oil of His Spirit to burn bright in our lives and shine in evangelistic fashion so that all may be saved!
And then came Antiochus...
In the year 175BC a young and ambitious king named Antiochus IV became the ruler of the Seleucid Empire (an empire than occupied the land of Israel). This Hellenized kingdom picked up where Alexander the Great left off and continued a quest of world domination, not through the simple toppling of foreign governments, but through the spread of universal Greek culture and religion. Their goal was to make all of the known world "one." All conquered people were to learn the Greek language, participate in Greek culture, and worship the Greek gods. In most cases, the conquered countries would still be allowed to practice their particular religion, so long as they also adopted the Greek religion. Well, Antiochus IV thought this idea wasn't good enough, and he additionally outlawed all religion except for Greek idolatry.
Thus, in 167 BC Antiochus IV banned all forms of Jewish practice. It became illegal and punishable by death for any Jew to be found reading Torah, observing the Sabbath or other Jewish holidays, or even performing the sacred act of circumcision. The very existence of the Jewish people was now threatened, since their sole identity was to be found in their worship of the one true God through His Torah. If the Torah was outlawed, then how could a Jew be a Jew? And then, of course, came the abomination that causes desolation.
Perhaps the last straw for the Jewish people was the conversion of the Jewish temple into a Greek house of worship. As legend has it, Antiochus IV ordered that a sacrifice to the Greek gods be performed in the courts of the temple in Jerusalem. The animal to be slaughtered, of course, was none other than a pig, and Antiochus' local governors had commissioned a local Jew to carry out the act. Well, this was too much for any lover of God to bear, and a Jewish priest named Matitiyahu Maccabee rushed the scene and killed the Jewish pagan. He and his five sons then fled into the Judean wilderness, amassed a small army and led a guerrilla campaign (insurgency) against the Seleucid occupation. Eventually their rebellion worked, and Jewish worship was re-instituted in the land of Israel.
Application:
Just as in the days of the Seleucid Empire, there is a movement across our world and country to eradicate the Christian faith and usher in a secular and universal religion. (This can be found in American, European and UN legislation that outlaws the use of unique religious symbols and promotes the exaltation of pantheism [a.k.a. Environmentalism].) And like the Jewish people of Old Testament, every servant of Messiah Jesus (Christians), is to have his/her identity rooted in his/her observance and obedience to the laws of the Holy Spirit. If we do not worship, evangelize, or gather in His name; how can we be Christians?
Obviously, the moral of the story is not to round up some buddies, buy camouflage, and live in the woods plotting a coup. Romans 13:1-7 & I Peter 2:13-17 command us to submit ourselves to all local authority, including that which is hostile to our faith in the One True God. Instead of planning their overthrow, we should spend our time praying for our leadership (I Tim. 2:1-4) that they, too, may be brought into salvation. Instead of sitting idly by and complaining, we need to be aggressively evangelizing the Lost. Instead of going along with the flow and even celebrating the eradication of our faith, we need to be rising up and proclaiming the Law of the Lord. Truly, our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against something greater.
All of us are in the midst of a spiritual battle (Eph 6:12), and the Spirit of God is calling us to take a stand for His Law and love for all. Just as God miraculously provided the victory and assurance for the Maccabees at Channukah, so too will He provide the oil of His Spirit to burn bright in our lives and shine in evangelistic fashion so that all may be saved!
