THE TEMPLE CONSECRATED TO JUPITER. 91 JCHAP. 8. nalties. To ensure success, he placed inspectors in every province, and directed them to treat the disobedient (and these he knew would be Jews only,) with the greatest severity. An old and cruel minister, one Atheneas, was sent to Jerusalem with a commission to destroy any one who offered sacrifices to the God of Israel, or observed the Sabbath, or practised circumcision. He consecrated the Temple of Jehovah to Jupiter Olympus, and set up his statue upon the altar of burnt-offering. He also set up altars, groves, and statues in all parts of his dominion, and required an absolute uniformity of worship, or the forfeiture of life. It was one of the boldest attempts to extirpate the religion of a nation, ever made. But God was in the midst of his Church, and the gates of hell could not prevail against her. The land might be desolate; the Temple might be shut up or polluted; the daily sacrifice might cease, but there were many temples of the Holy Ghost in which the fire of devotion burned with unwonted brightness. It was, however, an awful season for the Jews. They were hid in the caves of the rocks, where they worshipped God, and subsisted on roots and herbs. Hypocrites threw off their disguises and proclaimed themselves heathen; and the Samaritans, who had said to the Jews in their prosperity, we will go with you, for we are bone of your bone, now ran to Antiochus, and declared themselves not to be Jews, and requested that their temple. might be dedicated to the Grecian Jupiter. When the saints were brought to martyrdom, their intrepid firmness filled the tyrant with rage and madness. Among others who were put to a violent death, were the venerable Eleazer, and an aged woman, with her seven sons.* Their triumphant deaths strengthened their brethren, and the tyrant found it was not in his power to destroy the worship of Jehovah. To violence, Antiochus added the most seducing arts to bring the Jews to a compliance with his orders. Among his chief officers was one Apelles, whom he sent to the city of Modin, there to establish the heathen worship. Apelles assembled the people, and addressing Mattathias, a venerable priest, of the Asmonean family, endeavoured by compliment and promises, to induce him to lead the way in apostatising from God and sacrificing to the idol. But Mattathias feared God; and, with a loud voice, declared, in hearing of all the people, that "no consideration whatever, should induce him or any of his family, ever to forsake the law of their God; but that they would * See plate I. still walk in the covenant, which he had made with their forefathers, and observe all its ordinances, and that no commands of the king should make any of them depart from it." Of such a man the world was not worthy. He stood for God in defiance of the greatest dangers. Looking round, he beheld an apostate already bowing before the idol which Apelles had set up. Immediately, with the zeal and spirit of Phinehas, and in obedience to the law of Moses, he ran upon him and slew him. By the assistance of his sons, he slew also Apelles, and those who attended him, destroyed the idol, and then fled to the mountains. It was the signal for revolt. It was the commencement of a defensive war, which terminated in the deliverance of Judah. Large numbers of Jews flocked immediately to his standard, and made a bold and vigorous defence of their civil and religious privileges. Finding that the royal army took great advantage of the Sabbath, Mattathias and his party agreed to defend themselves on that holy day. Their adversaries therefore had no opportunity to gain advantages over them as before; but were struck with terror at their boldness and fortitude, and every where yielded before them. The graven images were destroyed; the Jewish synagogues were opened; the law and the prophets were read; the practice of circumcision was revived; and, in the short space of a year, there was a general restoration of religious order. Mattathias was permitted to enjoy but a little season his holy triumphs. The close of the year 166, B. C. saw him resting from his labours. With his dying breath he exhorted his sons to constancy and courage in defence of their liberties and the religion of their fathers. His son Judas, was appointed his successor. He raised a small but resolute army, and erected his standard, on which was inscribed a motto from Exodus xv.— "Who is like unto thee among the gods, O Jehovah." This was written by an abbreviation, formed by putting the initial letters of the Hebrew words together, which made the word MACCABEES. Hence all who fought under this standard were called Maccabees or Maccabeans. Judas was an illustrious warrior. He soon made the Syrians, the Samaritans and apostate Jews tremble before him. * Antiochus forbade the reading of the law in the synagogues, and the Jews substituted the prophets. From this time both the law and the prophets were read every Sabbath day. CHAP. 8. THE MACCABEES. 93 Powerful armies were sent against him, but were obliged to retire in ignominy. In his last battle he gained a signal victory with about 3000 men, over Lysias, the Syrian governor, with an army of 65,000. The latter, abandoning all attempts to subdue the victorious Maccabees, they marched to Jerusalem, destroyed the idols which Antiochus had set up; pulled down the altar which the heathens had erected; purified the Temple, made a new altar, candlestick and table of pure gold; hung a new veil before the Holy of holies, and caused the worship of God, which had been interrupted for three years and a half, to be resumed in its primitive splendour. In commemoration of this event, an annual festival was appointed, called the feast of dedication, which was continued until the days of our Saviour, and honored by his presence. The Jews, however, were unable to take the tower, which overlooked the Temple. This, and the continual incursions of the surrounding nations, who were exasperated at the re-establishment of the Jewish nation and religion, marred exceedingly the happiness of the people, kept them humble, and tried their confidence in God, amid the most astonishing victories. While the Maccabees had been regaining their liberties, Antiochus was engaged in wars in the east; but no sooner had intelligence reached him of their boldness and success, than he was filled with violent rage, and he resolved upon the entire extirpation of the whole house of Israel. But no sooner had he made his vow and sat out upon his march towards the devoted nation, than he was seized with an incurable and horrid disease, which soon put an end to his life, 164, B. C. With his dying breath, he acknowledged that his sufferings were justly inflicted by the God of Israel, for his bitter persecutions of that people. This vile prince, and great oppressor of the church, was more particularly pointed out by Daniel, in his eleventh chapter, from the 20th verse, than any other ruler whom he noticed. Porphyry, one of the most bitter enemies to Christianity, acknowledged that no prophecies were ever delivered more clearly, or fulfilled more exactly, but said they were written after the events foretold had taken place, and were no other than historical narratives. But Daniel's prophecies were written in Chaldee, and had actually been translated into Greek before any of these events transpired. About this time, the Grecian empire, denoted by the belly and thighs of brass of Nebuchadnezzar's image, was overthrown, and the Roman, marked out by the legs of iron, and the feet part of iron and part of clay, established. The Romans founded their city, 753, B. C. ; yet they were but little known in the east until about 274, B. C. when, hearing of their victories over the nations around them, Ptolemy Philadelphus, king of Egypt, sent ambassadors to make an alliance with them. This led them to interfere in the contentions of the eastern monarchs, until, finally, they brought them all under their dominion, and established the most extensive and powerful empire the world had seen. But the feet were part of iron and part of clay. As the Romans extended their dominion, they embraced in their empire vast hordes of barbarous nations, which so weakened it, that it was ultimately divided into ten lesser kingdoms, denoted by the ten toes of the image. The efforts of Judas, after the death of Antiochus, to defend himself against the heathen nations around Jerusalem, who had confederated to destroy all who worshipped Jehovah, were uniformly successful. This exceedingly enraged Lysias, the guardian of the young monarch, Antiochus Eupator, who immediately brought against Jerusalem an army of 80,000 men, with all the horse of the kingdom, and 80 elephants, determining to make Jerusalem an habitation for the Gentiles, set the high priesthood for sale, and make gain of the Temple. But Judas and his army having as usual implored aid from heaven, fell upon him, slew eleven thousand foot and sixteen hundred horsemen, and put all the rest to flight. Peace ensued. Through the influence of the Romans, the Jews were no longer obliged to conform to the religion of the Greeks, but were permitted every where to live according to their own laws. This was the first time the church of God ever felt the power of Rome, B. C. 163. But this peace was of short duration. The war was first renewed by the men of Joppa. Judas was again successful, and laid siege to the tower of Acra, which overlooked the Temple. This brought from Antioch the young king, with an hundred thousand foot, twenty thousand horse, thirty-two elephants and three hundred chariots of war. The watch-word of Judas was "VICTORY IS OF GOD." Having given this, he attacked the enemy and made a great slaughter, but was unable to resist such a mighty force, and retreated into Jerusalem. The monarch pursued and laid siege to the sanctuary. The Jews defended themselves with bravery, and were reduced to the lowest extremities, when the royal army was called away to quell a rebellion in Syria. A truce was granted, and the king was ad mitted within the walls. These he promised to leave untouch. ed; but beholding their strength, he disregarded his oath and levelled them with the dust. CHAP. 8. JONATHAN MACCABEUS. 95 The apostate High Priest Menelaus, now hoped for a restoration to his office, but his character was well understood by the Syrian government, and they condemned him to a horrid death, and appointed Alcimus, a man of equal baseness, to the office. The people however, refused to admit him to the altar. It had been predicted by the prophet Isaiah, that there should "be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt," and Onias, the proper heir to the priesthood, indignant at this appointment, went thither, and on the ground of this prophecy, petitioned Ptolemy to grant him liberty to erect a temple in his dominions. The Egyptian king assigned him a place in Heliopilis, the city of the sun. A temple was erected, after the model of the temple of Jerusalem, and divine worship was instituted. This temple stood 224 years, when it was destroyed by Vespasian. Alcimus, rejected of the people, sought protection of Demetrius, the monarch of Syria. Powerful armies were sent to his support. For protection, Judas sought an alliance with the Romans. A league of mutual defence was made. But before the embassy had returned, the royal armies were but too successful; the small army of Judas was surrounded, and he fell, covered with wounds, a martyr to his country, 160 B. C. The death of this illustrious warrior was a severe stroke to the Jewish nation. They were at once scattered and devoured as sheep before ravenous wolves. Their calamities had never been greater than they now were, since the captivity. Still, however, hoping in God, the Jews flocked around Jonathan, the brother of Judas, and made him their leader. Jonathan appears not to have possessed the military prowess of his brother; but he was a man of courage and prudence. He continued at the head of the nation seventeen years, when he and his children, and about a thousand of his guards were treacherously assassinated by Tryphon, a Syrian usurper, in the city of Ptolemais, 144 B. C. But two years was he troubled by the Syrians, with whom his brother had had such terrible conflicts. For finding so able a commander at the head of the Jewish forces, and being disturbed by their own internal divisions, they made peace, and solemnly engaged never to renew the war. Jonathan improved the season of peace for the restoration of civil and ecclesiastical order. He repaired the wall of Jerusalem, and formed alliances with the Romans. The wicked Alcimus, having the presumption to break down the wall which had been built round the sanctuary, by order of the prophets |