The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) Day 282: Antiochus Desecrates the Temple (2022)
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Oct 9, 2022 AI Snips
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Antiochus's Dual Totalitarian Strategy
- Antiochus Epiphanes enforced both soft and hard totalitarianism on the Jews.
- Soft totalitarianism pressured Jews to conform culturally; hard totalitarianism involved violent religious persecution.
Gymnasium Symbolizes Apostasy
- Building a gymnasium in Jerusalem symbolized cultural assimilation by forcing naked exercise, exposing circumcision status.
- Some Jews even removed circumcision marks to blend in, showing apostasy under cultural pressure.
Temple Desecration Is Profound Blasphemy
- Antiochus desecrated the Temple by erecting pagan idols on the altar, committing sacrilege against God's sanctuary.
- This act symbolized profound religious blasphemy and intensified persecution of Jewish faithful.