Showing posts with label Hammer of God. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hammer of God. Show all posts

Saturday, January 15, 2011

The Hammer of God, Part IV. The Righteous Maccabee Legacy called the Sicarii

“Is not My word like fire?” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer which shatters a rock?”

- Jeremiah 23:29

The Maccabee stands for Hammer in Hebrew

Part IV. The Righteous Maccabee Legacy called the Sicarii

The Oldest Secret Tradition in the World
The War of the Maccabees that was fought against the sexually perverted Greek occupiers of Israel resulted in the revival of a tradition that had lain dormant within Judaism for literally thousands of years. For the first time since the Hebrew slave rebellion led by Moses against Pharaoh and the Egyptians, an ultra-secret society was formed with the sole purpose of protecting both Judaism and the Jewish people from any external threats. Legend has it that their symbol was the all-seeing eye below the pyramid, much like the back-side of the Great Seal of the United States turned upside down. Others believe it was simply the Star of David, also known as the Seal of Solomon.

Solomon was in a different category, because he ruled over the denizens of the upper world as well as of the lower.

- Babylonian Talmud, Mo’ed IV, Megillah 11b

This secret society, whose members included both the Sadducees and the Pharisees, later became known as the Sicarii, the only group that had actual contact with the Jewish dead. They saw themselves as enforcers of the Law and were instrumental in forming a Jewish educational network that taught literally all Jews the fundamentals of their religion along with basic reading and writing skills, something that had never been done before. Indeed, the Jews were the first people in history to have almost an entirely literate population. The result of this universal religious schooling was a substantial increase in the number of Zealots, pious Jews who knew the Torah, as well as a huge surplus of devout and well-educated Jews who settled throughout the Greco-Roman Empire and excelled in business and commerce. During the rise of Pagan Rome, the overall population of Jews increased exponentially due to their preference for large families and their religious ban on abortions, infanticide, or birth control, something which the Pagans practiced quite frequently.

It could be claimed that the secret tradition of Jewish independence from Gentile rule or enslavement and the underground brotherhood that kept this unwritten tradition alive originated with Abraham and was passed down by word of mouth, from father to son, until it culminated in the Sicarii brotherhood many centuries later. The exact lineage can be seen in the following manner:

Abraham –> The Twelve Sons of Israel –> The Priests of Midian –> The Maccabees

The Sicarii, the Rebels of the Suprenatural
The Sicarii were basically hard-core descendants of the Maccabean tradition, some by blood, others by initiation. Rites of passage included learning how to stare directly at the sun without going blind, eating feces and drinking urine to open the mind’s eye, drinking salt-water to induce both diarrhea and vomiting thus clearing the bowels of any unwanted elements.

Every one is (morally) blind until his eyes are opened for him from above.

- Genesis Rabba 53

Further studies included the self-mastering of both dreams and visions- in other words, the conscious control of both the subconscious and unconscious world. This was followed by the teaching of more advanced skills such as remote viewing, detecting ghosts and other spirits, invisibility, telepathy between fellow members and their spouses, and even lycanthropy itself. Jesus and His apostles were also adept at these supernatural, miraculous talents that included healing and exorcisms of evil spirits. The following chart describes some of these supernatural gifts, what the later Church would refer to as gifts of the Holy Ghost, or Charisms:

Operation Biblical Passage
Rock Song
Staring at the Sun Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. (Matthew 13:43)
You’re not the only one staring at the sun afraid of what you’d find if you stepped back inside. – Staring at the Sun, by U2
Ingesting Feces and Urine To the men that sit upon the wall, that they may eat their own dung, and drink their own piss with you. (Isaiah 36:12), And another one gone, and another one gone…Hey, I’m going get you too…Another one bites the dust.
- Another One Bite the Dust, by Queen
Drinking Salt Water
You are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savor…it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. (Matthew 5:13)
I’m stepping into the twilight zone…Place is a madhouse feels like being cloned…So you’ll come to know when the bullet hits the bone. – Till the Bullet hits the Bone, by Earrings Golden
Detecting Ghosts All manner of sin and blasphemy will be forgiven…but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost will not be forgiven. (Matthew 12:31) All we are is dust in the wind… Nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky. It slips away and all your money won’t another minute buy. – Dust in the Wind, by Kansas
Remote Viewing
And the devil, taking Him up unto a high mountain, showed…Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. (Luke 4:5) Sundown you better take care If I find you been creeping around my back stairs. She’s…looking like a queen in a sailor’s dream. – Sundown, by Gordon Lightfoot
Invisibility
They took…up stones to cast at Him: but Jesus hid Himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by. (John 8:59)
He got early warning. He got muddy water…He say ‘One and one and one is three,’ got to be good-looking because he’s so hard to see. Come together. – Come Together, by The Beatles
Telepathy The LORD said…Why did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I…bear a child, when I am old? Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. He said, ‘Nay you did laugh.’ (Genesis18:13-15)
Tell me what you find when you read my mind…Put your back on me, put your back on me. The stars are blazing like rebel diamonds cut out of the sun when you read my mind. – Read my Mind, by The Killers
Lyncanthropy Who knows that the spirit of man goes upward, and that the spirit of the beast goes downward to the earth? (Ecclesiastes 3:21)
I hope we’re not too messianic or a trifle too satanic…I am just a monkey man…I’m glad you are a…monkey woman. I’m a monkey, I’m a monkey. – Monkey Man, by The Rolling Stones

In addition to this, several of the most exceptional members of the Sicarii, some living some dead, could also use mind reading, thought control, clairvoyance, levitation, teleportation, and were capable of spiritually possessing other people. They weren’t magicians or sorcerers in any manner and Simon Magus was certainly not one of them. For the most part, they viewed their ‘magic’ abilities as deriving from the LORD God and were wary of the Biblical prohibitions against witchcraft and sorcery. They practiced their arts with extreme caution and humility, always fearing they might offend God by accident. An explanatory chart of their more advanced abilities is as follows:

Operation Pertinent Biblical Passage
Mind Reading
Thus says the LORD God of Israel…Why have you despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be thy wife. (II Samuel 12:7-9)
Thought Control
The LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go. (Exodus 10:20)
Clairvoyance
When you…see the abomination of desolation…standing where it should not, (let him that reads this understand) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains. (Mark 13:14)
Levitation
And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled…and they cried out for fear. (Matthew 14:25-26)
Teleportation
If you have faith, and doubt not…you shall say unto this mountain, be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. (Matthew 21:21)
Spiritual Possession
Then Satan entered into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve. (Luke 22:3)

With gratitude, the Sicarii looked upon their own personal talents as spiritual gifts bestowed upon them directly by the LORD God. This was quite different from the Pagans’ perception that miraculous abilities came from themselves personally rather than from an external, divine source such as the Hebrew God. For the most part, the Sicarii used their ‘magical’ skills in a precise manner, much like a doctor uses a scalpel for surgery.

The Righteous Knives of the Sicarii
In time, and because of their rage over the Jews who betrayed them and allied themselves with Rome and their sodomite gods, the Sicarii sometimes resorted to political violence and assassination. Wikipedia writes the following:

The Sicarii resorted to terror to obtain their objective. Under their cloaks they concealed sicae, or small daggers, from which they received their name. At popular assemblies, particularly during the pilgrimage to the Temple Mount, they stabbed their enemies (Romans or Roman sympathizers, Herodians, and wealthy Jews comfortable with Roman rule), lamenting ostentatiously after the deed to blend into the crowd to escape detection. Literally, Sicarii meant “dagger-men”.

In truth, the Sicarii were far more than a terrorist sect seeking political independence from Rome. They were folk-heroes, much like Robin Hood, and would have heartily agreed with the sentiment to ‘steal from the rich to give to the poor.’ When they could, the Sicarii would purchase back poor Jews who had been sold into slavery, help young Jewish women leave the life of prostitution, and protect Jewish property from being vandalized or stolen. Many times, their members would work as bodyguards for rich Jews guarding plantations, mansions, and traveling caravans. Not all of them were strictly law-abiding, however. The ancient tradition of defecating and leaving a fresh pile of feces in the homes of the rich after burglarizing them and stealing their possessions was originally a Sicarii tradition that has survived up to the present day.

Not all the Sicarii were thieves and the ones that were would tend to burglarize non-Jewish homes such as tax-collectors, slave-traders or Pagan government officials. Theft was still considered a wicked, greedy sin by the upper echelons of the Sicarii hierarchy. If they ever did steal from their fellow Jews, it was from those rich Jews who no longer practiced Judaism and, instead, affiliated with their Roman oppressors even going so far as to worship the Pagan gods.

Little known to most modern historians, it was the Sicarii who kept the Jewish districts safe and clean throughout the entire Roman Empire. Unlike their Pagan neighbors, who would leave their own elderly and unwanted infants outside the city’s gates to be killed and eaten by wild, scavenger dogs, the Sicarii helped to care for all Jews, including the poor, orphans and widows. They did not allow raw sewage, or garbage, to build up in Jewish neighborhoods.

Outside the camp you shall have a place set aside to be used as a toilet. You shall also keep a shovel in your equipment and with it, when you go outside to ease nature, you shall first dig a hole and afterward cover up your excrement. For the LORD thy God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you…therefore shall your camp be holy: that he sees no unclean thing…and turn away from you.

- Deuteronomy 23:13-15

Contrary to those who dislike them, the Sicarii also showed pity upon as many deserving Gentiles as they could and would often sympathize with those outsiders who made an effort to worship the God of Israel and abide by Jewish law. They were not near as ‘racist,’ tribalistic, or ethnocentric as some critics might contend. Indeed, many were born and raised far away from their homeland. More than a few Sicarii were from humble origins and had mixed blood. As the Babylonian Talmud states:

We support the poor of the heathen along with the poor of Israel, and visit the sick of the heathen along with the sick of Israel, and bury the poor of the heathen along with the dead of Israel in the interests of peace.

- Babylonian Talmud, Nashim IV, Gittin 61a

Throughout the vast Jewish diaspora that existed within the Empire, the Sicarii provided an impenetrable defense against Pagan criminal predators of all varieties. They would walk the streets of Jewish neighborhoods throughout the night keeping the Jewish masses safe in their homes until the break of day. Because of the sexually perverted practices of many Pagan Greco-Romans, which included pedophilia, incest and homosexuality, the Sicarii were always careful to ensure the chastity of all young Jewish children. Although it probably seldom ever occurred, a standard practice of the Sicarii was to hunt down and castrate any Pagan who was guilty of raping a Jewish child, or adult, for that matter. They allowed the rapist to live only to show the other Gentiles what would happen to them if they dared touch any Jew in a sexually aggressive manner. As the Bible states:

Dinah, the daughter of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land…Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and raped her…And Shechem spoke unto his father Hamor, saying, Get me this damsel for my wife…And Jacob heard that he had raped Dinah his daughter…And the sons of Jacob came out of the field when they heard it: and the men were grieved, and they were very angry, because he had wrought folly in Israel in raping Jacob’s daughter; a thing which should never be done….And Hamor communed with them, saying, The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter: I pray you give her him to wife…And they said unto them, We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised…Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers…came upon the city boldly, and slew all the males…And they slew Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house, and went out…The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and spoiled the city, because they had raped their sister.

- Genesis 34:1-27

Any Pagans, including Roman centurions, who repeatedly mistreated, harassed, or violently threatened the Empire’s Jewish citizens to any great extent would often find themselves dead with their throats cut in some back alley after they refused to leave the Jews alone. Long before the Mafia, there was the Sicarri who did not indulge in gambling, extortion, or prostitution. Indeed, they were instrumental in helping fellow Jews steer clear of these wicked practices. However, they would, in fact, smoke hashish quite frequently and drink large amounts of beer and wine when they were available. There is substantial historical evidence that the ancient Jews grew and smoked marijuana, even using it as medicine. To the upper-class Greco-Romans, the Sicarii were considered a criminal nuisance that posed a potential threat to their establishment. To the pious Rabbis, they were a dirty, sinful bunch of odd-fellows that helped protect vulnerable Jews from the dangerous Gentile hordes- a necessary evil that provided safety for the Jewish lower classes. For many ordinary Jews, however, they were revered as heroes, protectors, and guardians of the Law. In modern times, Jewish Bolsheviks and socialist revolutionaries often thought of themselves in the same manner, seeing themselves as 20th century Maccabees. Beautiful Jewish maidens from rich and/or devout families would swoon at the sight of these handsome, wild outlaws only to be scolded by their parents that they were not meant to ever marry a mere Sicarri, who were mostly lower class Jewish commoners. The answer was no, absolutely not, before their daughters could even ask the question.

More than a few Sicarii never married and would satisfy their lusts with suitable partners behind closed doors. These included Pagan widows, demonic Gentile prostitutes, and lonely noble Greco-Roman ladies whose husbands preferred other males. Any offspring they produced were given to suitable Jewish families or were allowed to be brought up in wealthy Pagan households just as Moses had been thousands of years before. Sometimes, their Sicarii fathers would actually return to reclaim them when they had grown older and would then teach them the ancient Jewish traditions of the forefathers, especially male circumcision. Being somewhat ecumenical, the Sicarii would sometimes even recruit sincere Gentiles to join them. During the eighth day of initiation, the standard practice was to give the newcomer a sharp dagger and have them slice off their own foreskins and throw it into the fire rather than having an actual Rabbi perform the procedure. This ritual made them a fellow Hebrew and spiritual son of Abraham.

The Sicarii brotherhood was the primary factor behind the Jewish revolt against Rome which ended in disaster and the destruction of both Jerusalem and the Second Temple. Legend has it that giant sodomites came down from Mount Olympus and tore the Jewish Temple to pieces. When direct violence against the enemy gods proved to be a failure, some of them took to the new movement of Christianity. Much like second or third-generation mafia mobsters, they decided to go legitimate and the Christian religion ended up thriving due to their subtle influence and the generous protection they provided. Having seen more than a few ghosts in their time, many of the Sicarii probably had no problem with the belief that Jesus rose from the dead.

Some modern scholars, almost all Protestant, have attempted to link the Apostle Judas Iscariot to the Sicarii due to the similarity in spelling. One historian writes: ‘A second theory is that “Iscariot” identifies Judas as a member of the Sicarii. These were a cadre of assassins among Jewish rebels intent on driving the Romans out of Judea.’ The fact of the matter is that Judas Maccabeus and his legacy known as the Sicarii had absolutely nothing to do with Judas Iscariot and the betrayal of Jesus Christ. Anything else is Protestant ignorance, hostility and deliberate defamation of the heroic Maccabee brothers, especially of St. Judas Maccabeus.

The Dark Sicarii Roots of Christianity
In time, the Sicarii and the Maccabees faded into obscurity and became simply one of the many traditions of the Roman Catholic Church which became less and less Jewish over time. Because of their influence, however, the early Church fathers and other Christians also learned the secret arts of the Holy Ghost, both black ‘magic’ and white ‘magic’, and began displaying the same exceptional abilities that the Sicarii had previously kept completely hidden from public view. In stark contrast to the Sicarii tendency to cover up the supernatural, the Christians openly flaunted their miraculous talents, causing many of the overly superstitious Pagan Gentiles to convert to this new religion. In some respects, the Sicarii brotherhood was the original, enchanted cornerstone of the early Church. Official Christian investigators later developed procedures to record and document genuine miracles of God, long after the legendary Menorah candle that stayed lit for eight days. As it now stands today, Judaism still insists that the last miracle of God occurred during Hanukkah around 2,150 years ago. The Roman Catholic Church believes that supernatural miracles are still occurring even today and will continue to occur until the second coming of Jesus Christ.

May the LORD God bless you in the name of St. Judas Maccabaeus, the Hammer of God.

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The Hammer of God, Part V. In Search of the Maccabee Tombs

“Is not My word like fire?” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer which shatters a rock?”

- Jeremiah 23:29

‘Maccabee’ is the word for Hammer in Hebrew

Maccabee Tomb

Most Probable Site of the Maccabee Tombs

Part V. In Search of the Maccabee Tombs

Jerusalem of the Second Temple period was surrounded by cemeteries and grave fields. Due to the sanctity of the city and the ritual impurity of the dead, burial was permitted only at reasonable distance from the city walls.

-Babylonian Talmud: Tractate Baba Bathra 2, 9

In general, the exact location of the original Maccabee tombs continues to remain a matter of academic and scholarly dispute, even though some researchers are quite that they have already been found. A growing number of experts are becoming more confident that they are located just outside of the hometown of the Maccabees, originally called Modein, Judea. Even so, several sites that can be classified as later Hasmonean tombs, including Jason’s Tomb, have been clearly identified and can be seen as follows:

Hasmonean Tomb of Zachariah by hasmonean

Zachariah’s Tomb, a Hasmonean Gravesite

The Maccabee Tomb of Jason by hasmonean

Jason’s Tomb, Rehavia, Jerusalem

Historically, the Maccabees are considered to be the founders of the Hasmonean royal dynasty which ruled Judea and Israel until the days of Herod, an Edomite, who managed to murder all the remaining Hasmoneans directly related to the original five sons of Mattathias the Hasmonean, namely John Gaddis, Simon Thassi, Judas Maccabaeus, Eleazar Avaran, and Jonathan Apphus. This was done to ensure his continued rule and to finally quash the Jewish independence established by the Maccabees more than 150 years before the time of Herod. Here is the original timeline of the beginning of the Hasmonean royal dynasty:

Leader(s) of the Maccabees Timeline
167 BC: Mattathias, the Hasmonean
166 – 161 BC: Judas Maccabaeus, the Hammer of the LORD
161 – 143 BC: Jonathan Apphus, the Wary
143 – 135 BC: Simon Thassi, the Zealous Guide

Although the Maccabees, and later their descendants, the Hasmoneans, managed to keep Israel free from foreign oppression for almost 100+ years, this abruptly ended with King Herod who was not a Hasmonean at all, nor a Jew. Wikipedia states the following:

The Hasmonean dynasty, which leaped onto the stage of history with such dramatic heroism, disappeared from that same stage with cruel suddenness. The despot Herod, whose régime was forced upon the unwilling Jewish populace by his Romans overlords, was fully aware that the aura of Hasmonean charisma would constitute a continual threat to his power, and hence he undertook to ruthlessly murder all the remaining descendants of that family, including his beloved wife Mariamne, granddaughter of the Hasmonean ruler Hyrcanus II. Herod executed her on trumped-up charges of disloyalty, as he did afterwards to the two sons she had borne him, Alexander and Aristobulus.

- Wikipedia

Thus, while many of the later Hasmonean tombs have been correctly identified, the Maccabee Tombs themselves have yet to completely verified and agreed upon by the various experts in history and archaeology. In general, it is believed that the Tombs of the Maccabees are located west of Jerusalem in the Ben-Shemen Forest region right nearby the modern Israeli city of Modi’in, Israel. Historically, this is very close to where the original Maccabee rebellion first began against the Greek occupation in 167 B.C. One source describes the site in the following manner:

Ancient cave-tombs riddle the area, but the Maccabee-country location of this cluster of limestone tombs, which appears to be that of one family, and their old Arabic name – “tombs of the Jews”- persuade many that the Maccabees were buried here. Hanukkah ceremonies honoring the ancient warriors have been held here for the past century.

- Go Israel.com

Here are just a few pictures of the vicinity where the original Maccabees are believed to have been buried. Further research and scientific digs will most probably reveal additional information sometime in the future. For the most part, the vast majority of professionals agree that this is the most probable location of the remains of Mattathias the Hasmonean, along with his five sons, the Maccabee Brothers:

The Tombs of the Maccabees

Tomb of the Maccabees

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Site of the Maccabee Tombs

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Maccabee Tombs
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Location of Maccabee Tombs

Maccabee Tomb Graphic

The Maccabee Tombs

searchresult_watermark.phptombmaccabee by hasmonean

General Location of the Maccabee Tombs

May the LORD God bless you in the name of St. Judas Maccabaeus.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

The Hammer of God, Part V. The Actual Words of Judas Maccabaeus

“Is not My word like fire?” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer which shatters a rock?

- Jeremiah 23:29


The Maccabee stands for Hammer in Hebrew


Part V. The Actual Words of Judas Maccabaeus

For they trust in arms and acts of daring, but we trust in the Almighty God, who is still able with a single gesture, to strike down those who are coming against us and even the entire world.

- Judas Maccabaeus (II Maccabees 8:18)

It is an easy matter for many to be defeated by the hands of a few and there is no difference in the sight of the God of heaven to deliver with a great multitude, or with a small number. For the success of war is not in the size of the army, but in the strength that comes down from Heaven. They come against us with an insolent large army, with pride to destroy us, and our wives, and our children, and to take our possessions. However, we will fight for our lives and our laws. The LORD Himself will overthrow them right in front of our faces. So as for you fellow soldiers, fear them not.

- Judas Maccabaeus (I Maccabaeus 3:18-23)

Prepare yourselves, be valiant men, and be ready against the morning, that you may fight with these nations that are assembled against us to destroy us and our sanctuary. For it is better for us to die in battle, than to see the evils of our nation, and of the holy places. For it shall be the will of God in Heaven that this can be done.

- Judas Maccabaeus (I Maccabaeus 3:58-60)

Fear ye not their multitude, neither be afraid of their assault. Remember in what manner our fathers were saved in the Red Sea, when Pharaoh pursued them with a great army. Now let us cry unto heaven, so that the LORD will have mercy on us and will remember the covenant of our fathers, and thus will destroy this army standing before us this day. Let all the nations know that there is one that redeems and delivers Israel.

- Judas Maccabaeus (I Maccabees 4:1-11)



Be not greedy of the plunder, for there is still war before us. And Gorgias and his army are near us in the mountain, instead stand now against our enemies, overthrow them, so that you can take the plunder afterwards with safety.

- Judas Maccabaeus (I Maccabees 4:17-18)

Blessed art thou, O Saviour of Israel, who destroyed the violence of the mighty by the hand of your servant David and did deliver up the camp of the strangers into the hands of Jonathan, the son of Saul and of his armourbearer. Let this army be defeated by the hands of your people Israel and let them be confounded in their host and their horsemen. Strike them with fear, and cause the boldness of their strength to languish, let them tremble at their own destruction. Cast them down with the sword of them who love you and let all that know your name praise thee with hymns.

Judas Maccabaeus (I Maccabees 4:30-33)

Behold our enemies are scattered and defeated, let us now go to cleanse the holy places and to heal them.

- Judas Maccabaeus (I Maccabees 4:36)

Allow no man to stay behind, but let all come forth and do battle.

- Judas Maccabaeus (I Maccabees 5:2)

Behold, our enemies are crushed; let us go up to cleanse the sanctuary and dedicate it.

- Judas Maccabaeus (I Maccabaeus 4:36)


Fight today for your brothers!

- Judas Maccabaeus (I Maccabaeus 5:32)

All the Gentiles around us have gathered to him; it is a very large force.They also have hired Arabs to help them, and they are encamped across the stream, ready to come and fight against you." And Judas went to meet them.

- Judas Maccabaeus (I Maccabees 5:38-39)

Permit no man to encamp, but make them all engage in battle.

- Judas Maccabaeus (I Maccabees 5:42)

When the messengers from the king spoke blasphemy, thy angel went forth and struck down one hundred and eighty-five thousand of the Assyrians. So also crush this army before us today. Let them know and learn that Nicanor has spoken wickedly against the sanctuary, and judge him according to this wickedness.

- Judas Maccabaeus (I Maccabees 7:41-42)

Let us pass through your land to get to our land. No one will do you harm; we will simply pass by on foot.

- Judas Maccabaeus (I Maccabees 5:48)



O LORD, when they that were sent by king Sennacherib blasphemed You, an angel went out, and slew a hundred and eighty-five thousand of them. Even so destroy this army that stands before today, and let the rest know that he has spoken ill against Your sanctuary and judge him according to his wickedness.

- Judas Macabaeus (I Maccabees 7:41-42)

Let us arise, and go against our enemies, for we may still be able to fight against them and win.

- Judas Maccabaeus (I Maccabees 9:7)

God forbid we should ever back down and flee away from the enemy, for if our time has truly come, let us die manfully for our brothers so we don't leave stains upon our glory.

- Judas Maccabaeus (I Maccabees 9:10)



May the LORD God bless you in the name of the Maccabees.