Session 206: 1Maccabees “Don’t Join The Gymnasium!” | “A Key To Understanding ‘Daniel’ and ‘Revelation’”

Many Jews were gently persuaded (at first!) to drop their Jewish practices in favor of Greek ones, that seemed innocent enough at the time. (Sports, youth groups,etc.) They let the outside culture influence THEM, instead of the other way around.

Antiochus IV Epiphanies’ persecution of the Jews from 168-164BC was the cause for the writing of ‘Daniel’ during that same time frame, to comfort the Jews during that persecution. We also see veiled reference to Antiochus IV in Revelation (Rev. 11:2).

1,2 Maccabees are not in most Protestant bibles. (We will answer why they were taken out of the bible by Protestants when we finish 2Maccabees.)

There would be no references to Hanukkah in the OT without 1 and 2 Maccabees.