Many Christians ignore Antiochus IV and the Maccabean Revolt.. or the first Abomination of Desolation.
www.biblicalarchaeology.org
Hanukah is the story of the Jewish revolt against Antiochus
Many names come to mind when someone mentions the great “villains” of the Bible. Some are foreign powers, like the Pharaoh of the Exodus or King Nebuchadnezzar, and some are even native Israelites, such as King Saul and King Ahab. The great villains in the era of the New Testament and the Early Church often took the form of great persecutors, including King Herod the Great and the Roman emperors Nero and Domitian. These names have gone on to become historically infamous, with many immortalized on stage and screen. There is, however, one name that has escaped the attention of biblical pop culture even though his actions, arguably, are worse than many of his villainous peers: Antiochus IV Epiphanes.
In the time between the return of Jewish exiles and the rise of the Roman emperors, the land of Judea was caught between two ruling powers: the Seleucid Kingdom of Syria in the north and Ptolemaic Egypt in the south. These kingdoms, both successors of Alexander the Great’s broken empire, warred with each other for more than a century while the Jewish nation sat at the crossroads. (An account of these relations, seen through the lens of prophetic visions, can be found in Daniel 11.)
Throughout most of this period, Judea remained in the periphery and was left alone. However, when Antiochus IV came to power c. 170 B.C.E., the Jewish people did not readily fit into the vision he had for his new empire. Embracing a form of imperial colonialism, Antiochus sought to bring about a sense of cultural uniformity in the hope of creating more socioeconomic stability. This included embracing the Hellenistic way of life and the worship of the Greek pantheon, especially Zeus. By taking the epitaph Epiphanes (“God Manifest”), Antiochus even claimed to be Zeus incarnate. Many of the pagan nations embraced and welcomed these policies, but in the land of Judea they caused a cultural civil war, notably among members of the high priestly families. In the midst of this turmoil, according to the books of Maccabees and the Jewish historian Josephus, Antiochus plundered the Jerusalem Temple and carried off the sacred vessels—to help finance his campaigns.
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Antiochus Epiphanes—The Bible’s Most Notoriously Forgotten Villain
Many names come to mind when someone mentions the great “villains” of the Bible. One name that has escaped the attention of biblical pop culture even though his actions, arguably, are worse than many of his villainous peers: Antiochus IV Epiphanes.
www.biblicalarchaeology.org
Hanukah is the story of the Jewish revolt against Antiochus
Many names come to mind when someone mentions the great “villains” of the Bible. Some are foreign powers, like the Pharaoh of the Exodus or King Nebuchadnezzar, and some are even native Israelites, such as King Saul and King Ahab. The great villains in the era of the New Testament and the Early Church often took the form of great persecutors, including King Herod the Great and the Roman emperors Nero and Domitian. These names have gone on to become historically infamous, with many immortalized on stage and screen. There is, however, one name that has escaped the attention of biblical pop culture even though his actions, arguably, are worse than many of his villainous peers: Antiochus IV Epiphanes.
In the time between the return of Jewish exiles and the rise of the Roman emperors, the land of Judea was caught between two ruling powers: the Seleucid Kingdom of Syria in the north and Ptolemaic Egypt in the south. These kingdoms, both successors of Alexander the Great’s broken empire, warred with each other for more than a century while the Jewish nation sat at the crossroads. (An account of these relations, seen through the lens of prophetic visions, can be found in Daniel 11.)
Throughout most of this period, Judea remained in the periphery and was left alone. However, when Antiochus IV came to power c. 170 B.C.E., the Jewish people did not readily fit into the vision he had for his new empire. Embracing a form of imperial colonialism, Antiochus sought to bring about a sense of cultural uniformity in the hope of creating more socioeconomic stability. This included embracing the Hellenistic way of life and the worship of the Greek pantheon, especially Zeus. By taking the epitaph Epiphanes (“God Manifest”), Antiochus even claimed to be Zeus incarnate. Many of the pagan nations embraced and welcomed these policies, but in the land of Judea they caused a cultural civil war, notably among members of the high priestly families. In the midst of this turmoil, according to the books of Maccabees and the Jewish historian Josephus, Antiochus plundered the Jerusalem Temple and carried off the sacred vessels—to help finance his campaigns.
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