ON THE VANGUARD

ENOUGH!
“With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him.”
Daniel 11:32

Over the past four days I have shared with you the miracle of the candles and the dedication of those who chose not to give into the king of Syria. Today I want to reiterate a point made in my first writing. Chanukah is not just for the Jewish people, but for all Christians. For the Christian, this season has true importance. Before the Maccabees, before the king of Syria, and before even Alexander the Great, Daniel prophesied the historic events of Chanukah.
The king of Syria, Antiochus Epiphanes, is recorded to have summoned the powers and courage needed to attack the king of Egypt for a second time. Victory was found the first encounter, and so victory was assumed in a second attempt as well. In this attack, however, he was defeated. His frustrations festered and he looked for a way to vent himself. The venting was acted out upon the Jewish people. It was at this time that the Syrian army began burning down the houses of the Jews, breaking down the city walls, killing many and placing others into slavery, and destroying anyone who would not forsake the Jewish customs and convert to the Greek way of life. Perhaps the best understanding we can have of this situation is found during the reign of Hitler. Both the king of Syria and Hitler shared one common goal, the denationalization of the Jewish people. Daniel recorded these events long before they ever happened.

“At the appointed time he will invade the South again, but this time the outcome will be different from what it was before. Ships of the western coastlands will oppose him, and he will lose heart. Then he will turn back and vent his fury against the holy covenant. He will return and show favor to those who forsake the holy covenant. His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation. With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him.”
Daniel 11:29-32

Daniel warned of a king who would invade the South again, which is Egypt. This second time, however, he found the defeat that was recorded in the Scriptures. As prophesied, the king of Syria came to the Jewish people, those of the holy covenant, to vent his fury. For those who accepted the Greek lifestyles and left behind their Jewish customs, favor was found. For those who resisted, however, death was found.
But what about the abomination that causes desolation? As a Bible student in college, I can honestly say that I had been asked many times what this was. It is only by God’s wisdom and His leading me in this study of Chanukah that I can finally answer this question years later. Going back to our study from yesterday, the king had order a pig be sacrificed in the Temple, its blood be smeared on the walls, and its broth poured on the holy Torah scrolls and stone altar. This act led to a decree that only pigs be sacrificed in the Temple. This act is the abomination that causes desolation. The sacrifice of an unclean animal upon the altar of God was the single act that made the Temple itself unclean.
As the Syrians went throughout the Jewish cities setting up their idols and altars to false gods, they landed upon the town of Modin. It was in Modin that they found Mattatias, the head of a family of priests. As the decree had gone out to sacrifice only pigs on the altar, Mattatias was ordered by the Syrians to follow suit. However, Mattatias, like the rabbi who would not pretend to eat pork, would not forsake his faith. The line had been drawn, and just as Daniel had written, the people who knew their God began to firmly resist the king of Syria. Mattatias and his sons, known as the Maccabees, rose up and declared, “ENOUGH!” The time had come to take back for God what the enemy had stolen.
Isn’t it time for you and I also to take back what the enemy has stolen? How much longer will we sit by and let the enemy drag our souls and our beliefs to hell? How much longer will we tolerate the pressures of change and give in so that we can stay alive one more day? This is the season of miracles, but maybe the biggest miracle to happen for you in this season is in the word ‘enough’. It is time to arise and hear the words spoken by God to Joshua. “’Be strong and courageous, for you will bring the Israelites into the land I promised them on oath, and I myself will be with you’” (Gen 31:23). Christians arise, it is time the enemy hear our battle cry. ENOUGH!