It is amazing so many christians do not know about the person of Judas Macabees and his importance in Jewish history.Some group of christians for reasons best known for them removed the books of macabees from the bible.

So many importance events like the desecration of the temple by the greek emperor antiochus epiphanes as prophesied by Daniel,the institution of the feast of the dedication(mentined in john10:22) and many other great events were decribed in this great book.

It is instructive to note that the accounts of these books are backed by secular historians like the brilliant Jewish historian Josephus.The macabees family actually ruled Jrusalem till the takeover of jerusalem by the roman General pompey in 63BC

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judas_Maccabeus

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antiochus_IV_Epiphanes

Short description yet Incredible ! I'm getting a Bible with the Apocrypha.

I am without doubt that without the apocrypha it is next to impossible to get the context of the gospels and those that read about Jesus without knowledge of the apocrypha are getting a different picture altogether.

Of course this would suit certain demagogues with an agenda just fine. But it's pathetic that many christians don't know who and what the various jewish sects are and are about. Why did the sadducees adopt so many Greek practices and yet retain control of the Temple and the priesthood? And many issues that are addressed in the Gospels and the Acts of the apostles and early christian writings.

Pastor AIO:

I am without doubt that without the apocrypha it is next to impossible to get the context of the gospels and those that read about Jesus without knowledge of the apocrypha are getting a different picture altogether.

That is a very strong allegation you have made above. Can you please explain the reasons why you are so convinced and also what the proper unerstanding of the gospel of Jesus should be in your understanding.

I fully agree with pastor.

That is a very strong allegation you have made above. Can you please explain the reasons why you are so convinced and also what the proper unerstanding of the gospel of Jesus should be in your understanding.

So many great events occurred during the times of the macabees,the jewish sects like pharisees,saduces arose during that period.


Also the person desecreation of the temple by antiochus Epiphannes as prophesied by Daniel,the heroic acts of the macabees family are too great an event to be left out of the bible.

it is a pity that over 90% of protestants do not who Judas Macabees was,for the avoidance of doubt Judas Macabee was one of the most influential persons in jewish history

KunleOshob:

That is a very strong allegation you have made above. Can you please explain the reasons why you are so convinced and also what the proper unerstanding of the gospel of Jesus should be in your understanding.

I didn't say anything about a proper understanding of the gospel of Jesus. I said the context of the gospels (ie matthew, mark, luke, and john) will be next to impossible to understand.

There were many prophecies made, especially in Daniel, that the Jews believed came true during that period. Like the setting up of an idol in the Jewish temple. 'The Abomination of Desecration".

The abomination of desolation (or desolating sacrilege) is a term found in the Hebrew Bible, in the book of Daniel. It also occurs in the book of 1 Maccabees and in the New Testament gospels.
The Hebrew term (transliterated) is šiqqǔṣ šômēm; the Greek equivalent is: τὸ βδέλυγμα τῆς ἐρημώσεως.



The phrase "abomination of desolation" is found in three texts in the book of Daniel, all within the literary context of apocalyptic visions.
Daniel 9:27 (ASV) "And he shall make a firm covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease; and upon the wing of abominations [shall come] one that maketh desolate; and even unto the full end, and that determined, shall [wrath] be poured out upon the desolate."
Daniel 11:31 (ASV) "And forces shall stand on his part, and they shall profane the sanctuary, even the fortress, and shall take away the continual [burnt-offering], and they shall set up the abomination that maketh desolate."
Daniel 12:11 (ASV) "And from the time that the continual [burnt-offering] shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand and two hundred and ninety days."


In rabbinical literature

The rabbis as a whole consider that the expression refers to the desecration of the Temple by the erection of a Zeus statue in its sacred precincts by Antiochus IV Epiphanes.[3][4] Some rabbis, however, see in it an allusion to Manasseh, who, as related in II Chron. xxxiii. 7, set up "a carved image , in the house of God"[5]. The Haggadah narrates that two statues were erected, one of which fell over upon the other and broke off its hand. Upon the severed hand the following inscription was found engraved: "I sought to destroy God's house, but Thou didst lend Thy hand to its protection"[6].

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abomination_of_Desolation

When you watch or hear accounts of the gospels you often get the impression that Jesus would be sitting in a boat peacefully or on top of a hill and people would flock to him, get a meal of fish and bread, and skip happily home back to their fishing boats or their carpenter stalls full of the joy and delight of hearing the words of the messiah. In actually fact the closest thing to palestine then that we have to day would be something like Iraq or Afghanistan. They were under occupation. The hills were full of guerrillas and bandits waiting to swoop down on any exposed romans or lonely travellers. The first of these was Mattathias Maccabees and his sons Judah and Jonathan Maccabeus. To really get the vibe of what it was like at that time it is worth reading the apocrypha.

i still wonder why the jews choose to excclude the book of macabees from their canon