📜 **ANTIOCHUS IV EPIPHANES — THE TYRANT WHO TRIED TO ERASE TORAH**
*Seleucid King (175–164 BC) | Hellenistic Oppressor of the Hebrew Way*
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🔥 **THE CRIMES AGAINST YHWH’S PEOPLE**
Antiochus IV, ruling from the Seleucid Empire, didn’t just attack a people —
he **attacked the covenant** between Yhwh and Israel.
He used **Greek religion, forced assimilation, and terror** to erase obedience to Yhwh.
Here’s what he outlawed:
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🔻 **1. Circumcision Banned**
> ✖️ Marking the covenant in flesh became a **capital offense**.
> Mothers who circumcised their sons were **killed**, and their infants **hung around their necks**.
🔻 **2. Sabbath and Feast Days Outlawed**
> ✖️ Weekly rest was now a **crime**.
> No more Shabbat. No more Pesach. No more Yom Kippur.
> Obedience to Yhwh’s calendar was **punishable by death**.
🔻 **3. Torah Study Forbidden**
> ✖️ Scrolls were burned.
> Teachers of Torah were hunted and executed.
> Hebrew identity was now **illegal**.
🔻 **4. Kosher Laws Violated**
> ✖️ Pigs were forced into the mouths of the righteous.
> Refusing to eat pork meant torture and execution.
> Ritual purity was **mocked and banned**.
🔻 **5. Temple Desecrated**
> ✖️ Daily offerings were stopped.
> A statue of **Zeus** was set up in Yhwh’s Temple.
> Swine were sacrificed on the altar.
> This was the **abomination of desolation**.
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📖 *Source Confirmation*:
All events above are confirmed by:
* **1 Maccabees 1:41–64** (for exposure, not doctrine)
* **Historical writings of Josephus**
* **Dead Sea Scrolls (War Scroll, Damascus Document) mention oppression**
* **Paleo-Hebrew faithful preserved the law in secret**
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⚔️ **THE RESULT: THE MACCABEAN REVOLT (167–160 BC)**
Yhwh’s people rose up.
The sons of Mattathias — known as the Maccabees — led a righteous revolt.
They **cleansed the Temple**, restored obedience, and drove out the Greeks.
For a short time, **Torah reigned again** in the land.
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💥 **THE LESSON FOR TODAY**
> When **Greek power** and **philosophy** try to rewrite Yhwh’s truth,
> the only righteous response is **rebellion through obedience**.
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