[Sidenote: Dan. 7:11, 12] I looked at that time because of the sound of the great words which the horn spoke—I looked even until the beast was slain, and its body destroyed, and given to be fuel for the fire. Also the rule of the rest of the beasts was taken away; but their lives were prolonged for a fixed time and season.
[Sidenote: Dan. 7:13, 14] I saw in the night visions, and behold, there came with the clouds of heaven one like to a son of man, and he came even to the Aged One, and was brought near before him. And there was given him dominion and glory, and sovereignty that all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and his sovereignty one which shall not be destroyed.
[Sidenote: Dan. 7:15-18] As for me, Daniel, my spirit was grieved by reason of this, and the visions of my head troubled me. I came near to one of those who stood by, and asked him the truth concerning all this. So he told me and made me know the interpretation of the things. These four great beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth. But the saints of the Most High shall receive the sovereignty, and possess the sovereignty forever, even for ever and ever.
[Sidenote: Dan. 7:19-22] Then I desired to know the truth concerning the fourth beast, which was different from all of them, exceeding terrible, whose teeth were of iron, and its nails of brass; which devoured, broke in pieces, and stamped the rest with its fourth feet; and concerning the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn which came up, and before which three horns fell—it that had eyes, and a mouth that spoke great things, and it appeared to be greater than the rest. I looked, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them, until the Aged One came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High, and the fixed time came that the saints possessed the sovereignty.
[Sidenote: Dan. 7:23-27] Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be different from all the kingdoms; and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. And as for the ten horns, out of this kingdom shall ten kings arise; and another shall arise after them; and he shall be different from the former, and he shall put down three kings. And he shall speak words against the Most High, and shall continually harass the saints of the Most High; and he shall think to change the fixed times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and half a time. But the judgment shall be set, and they shall take away his kingdom, to consume and to destroy finally. And the sovereignty, and the dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall surely be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; his sovereignty is an everlasting sovereignty, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.
[Sidenote: Dan. 12:1-3] And at that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands for the children of my people; and there shall be a time of affliction such as there never was since there was a nation, even to that time; and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one who shall be found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they who are wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they who turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever.
I. The Uprising Led by Mattathias. The persecutions of Antiochus
Epiphanes had at last reached the point where patient submission and even martyrdom ceased to be a virtue. His agents had successfully carried the merciless, hellenizing campaign throughout practically all the territory of Judea. It was not until they reached its extreme northwestern border that they met the first open opposition. The little town of Modein lay out on the edge of the great plain where the central hills of Palestine break down into low foot-hills. These are intersected by rushing brooks and clear, crystal streams that descend from the heights above. The town lay on a rounded hill about one-third of a mile in diameter that rises abruptly in a series of steep terraces. The Wady Malakeh encircled it on the south and west. On the northeastern side, where lies the modern town, was a broad shoulder of land slightly lower and larger than the acropolis. In ancient times it was probably the site of the lower city. Deep, encircling valleys on the north and east completed the natural defences of this border village that became the altar of Jewish freedom. To-day the scattered ruins of the acropolis are covered in spring-time with a luxuriant growth of grain and olive trees, making it one of the most picturesque mounds in Palestine.
It is surprising that the revolt against the cruel tyranny of Antiochus was led by an aged priest. Like many priests, his home was outside Jerusalem. Evidently he was one of the chief men of Modein. He was descended from the family of Hasmon, hence his descendants, who ultimately became the independent rulers of their race, are sometimes called the Hasmonians. In Mattathias the long-suppressed, hot indignation of the Jewish race at last found expression. In slaying the apostate Jew and Syrian official, Mattathias evoked that warlike spirit which had in earlier days given Israel a home and a place among the nations. His impulsive act inaugurated a new chapter in Israel's life and thought. In its far-reaching consequences it was comparable only to Moses' impulsive slaying of the Egyptian taskmaster.
II. Party of the Hasideans or Pious. It was fortunate that Mattathias had five able, mature sons to support him. Simon, the eldest, was already famous in council. Judas, who bore the surname Maccabeus (whence the word Maccabees), soon proved himself a great military leader. Jonathan combined the qualities of Simon and Judas with a certain craftiness that makes him the least attractive of the three. Eleazar later proved on the battle-field that he had the qualities that make heroes and martyrs. Among the Judean hills, and especially in the barren, almost inaccessible fastnesses that descend in a series of terraces from the central plateau to the Dead Sea, Mattathias and his followers found refuge. Hither many patriotic Jews had already fled. The Syrian mercenaries, however, led by the relentless, apostate Jews, pursued them, and, knowing their scruples, attacked them on the sabbath day and pitilessly slaughtered them. Learning from this awful example, Mattathias and his sons wisely decided that it was more important to fight for their lives than to die for a mere institution. They soon attracted to their standard all who were still faithful to the law. Chief among these were those known as the Hasideans or Pious. They were the spiritual successors of the pious or afflicted, whose woes are voiced in the earlier psalms of the Psalter (Section XLVII:v). They were also the forerunners of the party of the Pharisees, which was one of the products of the Maccabean struggle. In them faith and patriotism were so blended that, like Cromwell's Ironsides, they were daunted by no odds. At first they depended upon the guerilla type of warfare, to which the hills of Judea were especially adapted. By enforcing the law of circumcision, by punishing the apostates, and by attacking straggling Syrian bands, they encouraged the faltering Jews, and intimidated the agents of Antiochus. Mattathias soon died, leaving the leadership to his third son, Judas. The poem recording his dying injunctions voices the inspiration that came at this time to Israel's patriots from their nation's past, and that supreme devotion to the law and dauntless courage that animated the leaders in this great movement.