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by Robert III Bagley (Author)
Why The Books of I & II Maccabees Is Important: Interestingly, most people may not know where to find the account of the magnificent Hanukkah story. Hanukkah or "Chanukah" is an annual Jewish celebration in the late fall/early winter that dates back to circa 164 BC (or the intertestamental period - between the Old and New Testaments) and was also referred to as "Festival of Lights" or "Feast of the Dedication" or "Feast of the Maccabees." So where can one find it? It is found in the Apocrypha (meaning "hidden things") in I & II Maccabees (1 Macc 4:36-59; 2 Macc 10:1-8). This book is an excerpt from the Apocrypha and it this story to you so you may have it in either e-book, printed book, audio-book or all of the above.Highlights of the Original Event: - The Seleucid king Antiochus Ephiphanes profaned the Jewish temple by sacrificing a pig to the god Zeus.- This caused the Jews to have to leave their worship of the one true God and His required sacrifices and they were supposedly to take on Antiochus' occult rituals. - A group of Jewish confederates (Maccabees) emerged, lashed-out, and defeated the Seleucids! God gave them the victory - labeled "a miracle." This was eerily similar to the 6 Day war in 1967 where that victory was declared a miracle as tiny Israel was out-manned and out-resourced)!- When the Maccabees returned to Jerusalem to take it back over, they entered the Temple to rid it of the idols that the Syrians had set up.- They built a new alter, but the golden menorah had been stolen by the Syrians, so the Maccabean fighters made one of a lesser metal. - When they went to light it, they found only enough lamp oil for one day, but it stayed light for eight days...another miracle!Find all of this story and the details surrounding them in "The Books of I & II Macabees - Where The Story of Hanukkah Is Found"
