Victory of Judas and his brothers

Judas Maccabeus started to lead the uprising against the king who was occupying and destroying Judea and all its traditions. The king sought help and assembled Niconor, Gorigias and 20,000 international army to destroy the land and sell the captured Jews as slaves. Some from Judea fled when they heard the invasion plans, but Judas rallied the people and appealed to God to help them fight against their enemy who sought to destroy their nation and commit outrageous acts in their holy places. He also reminded them from history how God saved Israel from the Assyrians and destroyed the 120,000 men army overnight.

Judas also assigned command to his brothers  Simon and Joseph and Jonathan, and Eleazar the priest for prayer. Finally they were victorious and also able to capture huge amount of booty. These spoils were shared and delivered to those who suffered, as compensation. The enemies that were destroyed numbered in the tens of thousands and they gave glory to God.




2 Maccabees 8 (NRSVCE)
The Revolt of Judas Maccabeus
8 Meanwhile Judas, who was also called Maccabeus, and his companions secretly entered the villages and summoned their kindred and enlisted those who had continued in the Jewish faith, and so they gathered about six thousand. 2 They implored the Lord to look upon the people who were oppressed by all; and to have pity on the temple that had been profaned by the godless; 3 to have mercy on the city that was being destroyed and about to be leveled to the ground; to hearken to the blood that cried out to him; 4 to remember also the lawless destruction of the innocent babies and the blasphemies committed against his name; and to show his hatred of evil.

5 As soon as Maccabeus got his army organized, the Gentiles could not withstand him, for the wrath of the Lord had turned to mercy. 6 Coming without warning, he would set fire to towns and villages. He captured strategic positions and put to flight not a few of the enemy. 7 He found the nights most advantageous for such attacks. And talk of his valor spread everywhere.

8 When Philip saw that the man was gaining ground little by little, and that he was pushing ahead with more frequent successes, he wrote to Ptolemy, the governor of Coelesyria and Phoenicia, to come to the aid of the king’s government. 9 Then Ptolemy[a] promptly appointed Nicanor son of Patroclus, one of the king’s chief[b] Friends, and sent him, in command of no fewer than twenty thousand Gentiles of all nations, to wipe out the whole race of Judea. He associated with him Gorgias, a general and a man of experience in military service. 10 Nicanor determined to make up for the king the tribute due to the Romans, two thousand talents, by selling the captured Jews into slavery. 11 So he immediately sent to the towns on the seacoast, inviting them to buy Jewish slaves and promising to hand over ninety slaves for a talent, not expecting the judgment from the Almighty that was about to overtake him.

Preparation for Battle
12 Word came to Judas concerning Nicanor’s invasion; and when he told his companions of the arrival of the army, 13 those who were cowardly and distrustful of God’s justice ran off and got away. 14 Others sold all their remaining property, and at the same time implored the Lord to rescue those who had been sold by the ungodly Nicanor before he ever met them, 15 if not for their own sake, then for the sake of the covenants made with their ancestors, and because he had called them by his holy and glorious name. 16 But Maccabeus gathered his forces together, to the number six thousand, and exhorted them not to be frightened by the enemy and not to fear the great multitude of Gentiles who were wickedly coming against them, but to fight nobly, 17 keeping before their eyes the lawless outrage that the Gentiles[c] had committed against the holy place, and the torture of the derided city, and besides, the overthrow of their ancestral way of life. 18 “For they trust to arms and acts of daring,” he said, “but we trust in the Almighty God, who is able with a single nod to strike down those who are coming against us, and even, if necessary, the whole world.”

19 Moreover, he told them of the occasions when help came to their ancestors; how, in the time of Sennacherib, when one hundred eighty-five thousand perished, 20 and the time of the battle against the Galatians that took place in Babylonia, when eight thousand Jews[d] fought along with four thousand Macedonians; yet when the Macedonians were hard pressed, the eight thousand, by the help that came to them from heaven, destroyed one hundred twenty thousand Galatians[e] and took a great amount of booty.

Judas Defeats Nicanor
21 With these words he filled them with courage and made them ready to die for their laws and their country; then he divided his army into four parts. 22 He appointed his brothers also, Simon and Joseph and Jonathan, each to command a division, putting fifteen hundred men under each. 23 Besides, he appointed Eleazar to read aloud[f] from the holy book, and gave the watchword, “The help of God”; then, leading the first division himself, he joined battle with Nicanor.

24 With the Almighty as their ally, they killed more than nine thousand of the enemy, and wounded and disabled most of Nicanor’s army, and forced them all to flee. 25 They captured the money of those who had come to buy them as slaves. After pursuing them for some distance, they were obliged to return because the hour was late. 26 It was the day before the sabbath, and for that reason they did not continue their pursuit. 27 When they had collected the arms of the enemy and stripped them of their spoils, they kept the sabbath, giving great praise and thanks to the Lord, who had preserved them for that day and allotted it to them as the beginning of mercy. 28 After the sabbath they gave some of the spoils to those who had been tortured and to the widows and orphans, and distributed the rest among themselves and their children. 29 When they had done this, they made common supplication and implored the merciful Lord to be wholly reconciled with his servants.[g]

Judas Defeats Timothy and Bacchides
30 In encounters with the forces of Timothy and Bacchides they killed more than twenty thousand of them and got possession of some exceedingly high strongholds, and they divided a very large amount of plunder, giving to those who had been tortured and to the orphans and widows, and also to the aged, shares equal to their own. 31 They collected the arms of the enemy,[h] and carefully stored all of them in strategic places; the rest of the spoils they carried to Jerusalem. 32 They killed the commander of Timothy’s forces, a most wicked man, and one who had greatly troubled the Jews. 33 While they were celebrating the victory in the city of their ancestors, they burned those who had set fire to the sacred gates, Callisthenes and some others, who had fled into one little house; so these received the proper reward for their impiety.[i]

34 The thrice-accursed Nicanor, who had brought the thousand merchants to buy the Jews, 35 having been humbled with the help of the Lord by opponents whom he regarded as of the least account, took off his splendid uniform and made his way alone like a runaway slave across the country until he reached Antioch, having succeeded chiefly in the destruction of his own army! 36 So he who had undertaken to secure tribute for the Romans by the capture of the people of Jerusalem proclaimed that the Jews had a Defender, and that therefore the Jews were invulnerable, because they followed the laws ordained by him.

The Assyrians Flee in Panic

The Assyrians learnt that their great general Holofernes had been destroyed and broke into disarray. The Israelites noticy the other tribes and were able to engage and also destroy part of the Assyrian army. In their celebration, the Israelites recognized Judith and the role she had played in saving them. Women came out to dance for Judith and the men followed as well.

Judith 15 Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)

When the men in the tents heard it, they were amazed at what had happened. 2 Fear and trembling came over them, so that they did not wait for one another, but with one impulse all rushed out and fled by every path across the plain and through the hill country. 3 Those who had camped in the hills around Bethu′lia also took to flight. Then the men of Israel, every one that was a soldier, rushed out upon them. 4 And Uzzi′ah sent men to Betomastha′im and Be′bai and Choba and Kola, and to all the frontiers of Israel, to tell what had taken place and to urge all to rush out upon their enemies to destroy them. 5 And when the Israelites heard it, with one accord they fell upon the enemy,[a] and cut them down as far as Choba. Those in Jerusalem and all the hill country also came, for they were told what had happened in the camp of the enemy; and those in Gil′ead and in Galilee outflanked them with great slaughter, even beyond Damas′cus and its borders. 6 The rest of the people of Bethu′lia fell upon the Assyrian camp and plundered it, and were greatly enriched. 7 And the Israelites, when they returned from the slaughter, took possession of what remained, and the villages and towns in the hill country and in the plain got a great amount of booty, for there was a vast quantity of it.

The Israelites Celebrate Their Victory
8 Then Jo′akim the high priest, and the senate of the people of Israel who lived at Jerusalem, came to witness the good things which the Lord had done for Israel, and to see Judith and to greet her. 9 And when they met her they all blessed her with one accord and said to her, “You are the exaltation of Jerusalem,[b] you are the great glory of Israel, you are the great pride of our nation! 10 You have done all this singlehanded; you have done great good to Israel, and God is well pleased with it. May the Almighty Lord bless you for ever!” And all the people said, “So be it!”

11 So all the people plundered the camp for thirty days. They gave Judith the tent of Holofer′nes and all his silver dishes and his beds and his bowls and all his furniture; and she took them and loaded her mule and hitched up her carts and piled the things on them.

12 Then all the women of Israel gathered to see her, and blessed her, and some of them performed a dance for her; and she took branches in her hands and gave them to the women who were with her; 13 and they crowned themselves with olive wreaths, she and those who were with her; and she went before all the people in the dance, leading all the women, while all the men of Israel followed, bearing their arms and wearing garlands and with songs on their lips.

For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all

James 2:10
For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.

The Law is complete and perfect. Mankind is fallen, and is not perfect. No one can be completely sinless except for one Yshua Massiach. Even the very good people will fail to obey God completely throughout their lives. The perfect law means that breaking any part of it is enough for God's righteous condemnation. So how is anyone going to live up to this. Admission of our inability to get right with God on our own is the first step. The next step is of course to except Yshua as our Lord, because He has paid the penalty for our sins when He went to the cross and gained victory over death.

Seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is complete

This vision seems to be the last in the series where seven angels are preparing seven bowls of plagues. The plagues are the judgment from God. A few interesting and mysterious things of note are the sea of glass and those who rejected the beast are now victorious, singing the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb.

The vision that followed seemed to be the process where the plagues of God were given out. So in the temple in Heaven it is one of the four creatures who filled the seven bowls with God's wrath which are the plagues. During this significant ceremony, access to the temple is forbidden. It is curious that these details in Heaven are revealed in the vision to John. However, we can be assured that God has revealed this detail for a good reason, and it will be understood by the intended people in the intended time.





Revelation 15
Prelude to the Bowl Judgments

1 Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous: seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is complete.

2 And I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark[a] and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God. 3 They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying:

“Great and marvelous are Your works,
Lord God Almighty!
Just and true are Your ways,
O King of the saints![b]
4 Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name?
For You alone are holy.
For all nations shall come and worship before You,
For Your judgments have been manifested.”
5 After these things I looked, and behold,[c] the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened. 6 And out of the temple came the seven angels having the seven plagues, clothed in pure bright linen, and having their chests girded with golden bands. 7 Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever. 8 The temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power, and no one was able to enter the temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.

Keep yourselves from idols

A few things that identifies those who belong to God are believing in Jesus, keeping His commandments, and able to overcome the worldly matters. Jesus is said to come by water and blood. The three that testifies are the Father, Word(Jesus) and the Holy Spirit in the heavenly realm. And in the earthly realm, the three that testifies are Spirit, water and the blood. The testimony itself is about Jesus Christ who gives life by salvation. The Holy Trinity testifies each other and if don't believe in one of them, then we don't believe at all.

The testimony of the Trinity God about Jesus gives us confidence of salvation. We are reminded to pray for each other, especially if we see a brother who is sinning. All sin are unrighteousness, although now they do not lead to death. It states boldly that whoever belongs to God does not sin - this is a statement to hold on to for believers. And finally a stark warning to keep away from idols.





1 John 5

1 Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. 4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our[a] faith. 5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

The Certainty of God’s Witness

6 This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. 7 For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. 8 And there are three that bear witness on earth:[b] the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.

9 If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which[c] He has testified of His Son. 10 He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. 11 And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life,[d] and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.

Confidence and Compassion in Prayer

14 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

16 If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that. 17 All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death.

Knowing the True—Rejecting the False

18 We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself,[e] and the wicked one does not touch him.

19 We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.

20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.

21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.

For He Has Done Marvelous Things

A victorious call to sing to the Lord because of His salvation, mercy, faithfulness. The psalmist is in great joy and encourages people to make music with all kinds of instruments to worship God. Previously the mighty and awesome nature of God was made known. Here God's provision for His people is revealed. The people are eagerly awaiting the righteousness of God and His coming judgement.



Psalm 98
A Psalm.

 1 Oh, sing to the LORD a new song!
         For He has done marvelous things;
         His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory.
 2 The LORD has made known His salvation;
         His righteousness He has revealed in the sight of the nations.
 3 He has remembered His mercy and His faithfulness to the house of Israel;
         All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
        
 4 Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth;
         Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises.
 5 Sing to the LORD with the harp,
         With the harp and the sound of a psalm,
 6 With trumpets and the sound of a horn;
         Shout joyfully before the LORD, the King.
        
 7 Let the sea roar, and all its fullness,
         The world and those who dwell in it;
 8 Let the rivers clap their hands;
         Let the hills be joyful together
          9 before the LORD,
         For He is coming to judge the earth.
         With righteousness He shall judge the world,
         And the peoples with equity.