Antiochus IV (175-164 BC), was the 8th ruler of the Seleucid empire. He gave himself the surname "Epiphanes" which means "the visible god" (that he and Jupiter were identical). He acted as though he really were Jupiter and the people called him "Epimanes" meaning "the madman". He was violently bitter against the Jews, and was determined to exterminate them and their religion. He devastated Jerusalem in 168 BC, defiled the Temple, offered a pig on its altar, erected an altar to Jupiter, prohibited Temple worship, forbade circumcision on pain of death, sold thousands of Jewish families into slavery, destroyed all copies of Scripture that could be found, and slaughtered everyone discovered in possession of such copies, and resorted to every conceivable torture to force Jews to renounce their religion. This led to the Maccabaean revolt, one of the most heroic feats in history. The Antiochus bust discovery is important in the study of Biblical archaeology, it reveals an image of the man who was mentioned in the Book of Daniel.
A Little History
Antiochus IV usurped the throne of his brother Seleucus IV who died. Antiochus was determined to hellenize Israel and make them a people who were worthy of bordering Egypt, he needed a loyal hellenized population there. The Jews were quickly becoming more Greek than any other time in history. A group of Jews came to Antiochus with a plan. They proposed that the high priest Onias III should be removed and his hellenized brother Jason should take his place. They should set up a Greek Constitution and coin Greek money.
The plan was followed and all the Jews were outraged. It was the first time since the Babylonian Captivity that a non-Jewish government had interfered with the priesthood (treating the sacred office as though it were nothing other than a governmental office). But the worst was yet to come. Now the hellenizers had full control of the government in Jerusalem and they began to build gymnasiums within the city and encouraged the young to spent all their time there. The young priests engaged in sports, Jerusalem was filled with Greek styles, Greek clothes, Greek names, Greek language and worst of all, Greek religion and Greek morals.
The most radical hellenizers felt that things were not moving fast enough so they convinced Antiochus to remove Jason and replace him with Menelaus who was not even a member of the priestly family. Menelaus had no sympathy for the Jewish traditions whatsoever and was only concerned about his own power. The Temple treasury did not contain enough money to pay Antiochus what he had promised so he sold some of the holy vessels of the Temple to raise the money he needed. It was now the goal that Judaism was to be destroyed. In the mind of Antiochus to be un-hellenized was stiff-necked nonsense. If Judaism stood in the way then Judaism was to be destroyed so he gave the orders.
The Syrian army marched into Jerusalem and many of the people were killed and others escaped to the hills. Only the known Hellenists were allowed to remain. Orders were given: NO Sabbath, NO Holy Days, and NO Circumcision. A Statue of Zeus/Antiochus was placed in the Temple above the altar. The most detestable animals (the pig) were brought and sacrificed on the altar. An abominable act was perpetrated on Kislev 25, 168 BC according to the Book of Maccabees that "left the Jewish people desolate." (They call this the Abomination of Desolation in Daniel) but Jesus taught that this was a preliminary occurrence of a greater fulfillment coming in the last days, during the seventieth week of Daniel.
Some of the main reasons that the Apocrypha is not in the Bible today is because it goes into the teachings of Antiochus Epiphanes and how he became a wicked ruler.
He put out the blueprint on how you can destroy our people and how the Roman Empire later took his platform and used it against us in 70AD.
The New World Order today are using the same plan to destroy us that he tried to do in the Grecian empire, they and the Romans are one in the same.
Apocrypha
Esther 16:10: For Aman, a Macedonian, the son of Amadatha, being indeed a stranger from the Persian blood, and far distant from our goodness, and as a stranger received of us,
Haman started to advance himself through the ranks of the other nations until he was
Esther 16:11: Had so far forth obtained the favour that we shew toward every nation, as that he was called our father, and was continually honoured of all the next person unto the king.
12: But he, not bearing his great dignity,went about to deprive us of our kingdom and life:
He was trying to get rid of our kingdom and also the Persian kingdom and hand it over to the Macedonians.
Esther 16:13: Having by manifold and cunning deceits sought of us the destruction, as well of Mardocheus, who saved our life, and continually procured our good, as also of blameless Esther, partaker of our kingdom, with their whole nation.
14: For by these means he thought, finding us destitute of friends to have translated the kingdom of the Persians to the Macedonians.
This is about 400 years before Christ came and this Edomite was living in Macedonia and he was looking to take down Persia in the name of Macedonia.
1Ma 1:1 And it happened, after that Alexander sonne of Philip, the Macedonian, who came out of the land of Chettum, had smitten Darius king of the Persians and Medes, that hee reigned in his stead, the first ouer Greece,
Here we are seeing this land of Macedonia again and this is where Alexander the Greek sprang up.
He was the beginning of the Greek kingdom because he conquored so much at a young early age.
1Ma 1:1 And it happened, after that Alexander sonne of Philip, the Macedonian, who came out of the land of Chettum, had smitten Darius king of the Persians and Medes, that hee reigned in his stead, the first ouer Greece,
Alexander went back into Persia and he killed Darius the king of Persia, he did what Haman and Zepho could not.
1Ma 1:2 And made many wars, and wan many strong holds, and slew the kings of the earth,
He took over the whole known world at this time, every major country Alexander conquored in a little over 12 years.
1Ma 1:3 And went through to the ends of the earth, and tooke spoiles of many nations, insomuch, that the earth was quiet before him, whereupon he was exalted, and his heart was lifted vp.
1Ma 1:4 And he gathered a mighty strong hoste, and ruled ouer countries, and nations and kings, who became tributaries vnto him.
The other nations paid taxes unto him.
1Ma 1:5 And after these things he fell sicke, and perceiued that he should die.
1Ma 1:6 Wherefore he called his seruants, such as were honourable, and had bin brought vp with him from his youth, and parted kis kingdome among them, while he was yet aliue:
Before he died he called his generals and he parted the kingdom amongst them.
1Ma 1:7 So Alexander reigned twelue yeeres, and (then) died.
1Ma 1:8 And his seruants bare rule euery one in his place.
1Ma 1:9 And after his death they all put crownes so did their sonnes after them, many yeeres, and euils were multiplied in the earth.
1Ma 1:10 And there came out of them a wicked roote, Antiochus Epiphanes, sonne of Antiochus the king, who had beene an hostage at Rome, and he reigned in the hundreth and thirty and seuenth yeere of the kingdome of the Greekes.
Of those that he passed the Kingdom to, as they passed on they did the same and out of those generals Children came Antiochus
1Ma 1:20 And after that Antiochus had smitten Egypt, he returned againe in the hundreth fortie and third yeere, and went vp against Israel and Ierusalem with a great multitude,
1Ma 1:21 And entred proudly into the sanctuarie, and tooke away the golden altar, and the candlesticke of light, and all the vessels thereof,
1Ma 1:22 And the table of the shewbread, and the powring vessels, and the vials, and the censers of gold, & the vaile, and the crownes, & the golden ornaments that were before the temple, all which he pulled off.
You can see now that the Most High was no longer with us at this point because no one would have got this far before.
But because Israel had already fell off, he did not intervene.
1Ma 1:23 Hee tooke also the siluer and the gold, and the pretious vessels: also he tooke the hidden treasures which hee found:
1Ma 1:24 And when hee had taken all away, he went into his owne land, hauing made a great massacre, and spoken very proudly.
1Ma 1:25 Therfore there was great mourning in Israel, in euery place where they were;
1Ma 1:26 So that the Princes and Elders mourned, the virgines and yong men were made feeble, and the beautie of women was changed.
1Ma 1:27 Euery bridegrome tooke vp lamentation, and she that sate in the marriage chamber, was in heauinesse.
1Ma 1:28 The land also was moued for the inhabitants thereof, and all the house of Iacob was couered with confusion.
Israel suffered because she lost her children, the earth is alive and since Israel lost her children it has been trodden down and defiled.
1Ma 1:29 And after two yeeres fully expired, the king sent his chiefe collectour of tribute vnto the cities of Iuda, who came vnto Ierusalem with a great multitude,
After he did these evil acts he returned two years later to tax the people.
1Ma 1:30 And spake peaceable wordes vnto them, but deceit: for when they had giuen him credence, he fell suddenly vpon the citie, and smote it very sore, & destroyed much people of Israel.
In the manner of how Esau does things, they come speaking peaceable words and they they waged war.
1Th 5:3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
When ever they offer peace and safety we should always prepare for war, because they never have our peace and safety in mind.
1Ma 1:41 Moreouer king Antiochus wrote to his whole kingdome, that all should be one people,
1Ma 1:42 And euery one should leaue his lawes: so all the heathen agreed, according to the commandement of the king.
Now he came in and ransacked the people he is offering a peaceable solution that they all become one people to leave the law of the Most High and agree unto him.
1Ma 1:43 Yea many also of the Israelites consented to his religion, and sacrificed vnto idols, and prophaned the Sabbath.
Israel started to consent to his laws and by accepting this they were given licenses to do as they would.
1Ma 1:44 For the king had sent letters by messengers vnto Ierusalem, and the cities of Iuda, that they should follow the strange lawes of the land,
The only way they could get us to fall was to unattach us from the Most High.
2Ch 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
All we have to do is humble ourselves and make a prayer of supplication collectively back to the Most High then will he begin to forgive and hear us once again.
1Ma 1:45 And forbid burnt offerings, and sacrifice, and drinke offerings in the temple; and that they should prophane the Sabbaths, and festiuall dayes:
1Ma 1:46 And pollute the Sanctuarie and holy people:
1Ma 1:47 Set vp altars, and groues, and chappels of idols, and sacrifice swines flesh, and vncleane beasts:
He despised the Most High so bad that he went and sacrificed a pig on the holy tabernacle to disrespect the Most High.
1Ma 1:48 That they should also leaue their children vncircumcised, and make their soules abominable with all maner of vncleannesse, and prophanation:
1Ma 1:49 To the end they might forget the Law, and change all the ordinances.
1Ma 1:50 And whosoeuer would not doe according to the commandement of the king he should die.
The end goal was for them to forget the law and for them to change all the ordinances, this is exactly what we see today.
No one remembers.
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