[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.