The story of our Christianity; an account of the struggles, persecutions, wars, and victories of Christians of all times . m, norstopped the places where they laid hid, but said, Let us all die in our innocency !So they were slain, men, women and children, to the number of a thousand, withtheir cattle. It became evident that to be non-combatants on one day in the weekwas to be fearfully handicapped in conflict with a foe who knew no such scruple:so Mattathias sensibly concluded, like a greater than he two hundred years later,that the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. There
The story of our Christianity; an account of the struggles, persecutions, wars, and victories of Christians of all times . m, norstopped the places where they laid hid, but said, Let us all die in our innocency !So they were slain, men, women and children, to the number of a thousand, withtheir cattle. It became evident that to be non-combatants on one day in the weekwas to be fearfully handicapped in conflict with a foe who knew no such scruple:so Mattathias sensibly concluded, like a greater than he two hundred years later,that the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Thereforehe and his followers came to this agreement: Whosoever shall come to makebattle with us on the Sabbath day, we will fight against him; neither will we dieall, as our brethren that were murdered in the secret places. This resolution, being spread abroad among the refugees, changed the com-plexion and prospects of the nascent war. Recruits came rapidly to Mattathias,and his activity increased with his force. His forays were frequent, and notmerely annoying but destructive to the Syrians. Wherever he went, he demol-. MATTATHIAS EXHORTING HIS FOLLOWERS TO DEFEND THEIR FAITH. (35) 36 THE STORY OF OUR CHRISTIANITY. ished the idolatrous altars, and re-established the worship and customs handeddown from the time of Moses. When his strength gave way, after some monthsof this rough life, he exhorted his sons to be valiant and zealous for the law, andappointed the third of them, Judas, to be captain of the band, with the second,Simon, as his counsellor. So he died in honor, and his sons buried him in thesepulchre of his fathers at Modin, and all Israel made great lamentation for him.
Size: 1418px × 1761px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectchurchhistory, bookye
