Books Jesus Read

Chapter 1: Spiritual Rebellion – Mattathias

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Text 1 Maccabees 1

Alexander 3 was the son of Philip the Macedonian. Arising from Kittim, 4 he defeated Darius, 5 king of the Persians and Medes, and took away his throne. Thus, he ruled first over Greece before declaring war on all the other reigning powers. He conquered many strongholds, plundered the wealth of the nations, and slaughtered kings far and wide. At last, the entire world lay at his feet. Alexander swelled with pride because of his accomplishments. Soon, however, Alexander became sick and realized he was going to die. So, he assembled his most trusted lieutenants and divided his empire among them. In all, Alexander had ruled for twelve years, and then he died. In every corner of Alexander’s empire, his followers crowned themselves. Thus, evil spread across the earth and from the midst of them sprang an evil root. He was none other than Antiochus, named “Epiphanes.” He was a hostage in Rome until he came to rule in the 137th year of the Greek kingdom. At this time there were apostates in Israel. These traitors persuaded their fellow Israelites, saying, “Why don’t we make a covenant with the surrounding nations? Didn’t 3 Alexander the Great – the son of Philip the Macedonian who lived from 356–323 BC and conquered the known world, spreading Greek language and culture. 4 Kittim – the regions far to the west of Israel, including Greece (Num 24:24; Dan 11:30). 5 Darius – the Persian king mentioned in Ezra, Nehemiah, Daniel, Haggai, and Zechariah.