Show The GRAPHIC BIBLE By LEWIS BROWNE BROWNS Q McClure Newspaper pcr Syndicate te Service rike h. h t Q new J O OY Y V i t Judea Rebels A PIOUS old priest named Mat- Mat 1 began besan the rebellion by byj j running his sword through one of the Syrian officers Fleeing Into the wilderness with his five flye sons he there gathered around him a n band of ot desperate zealots Then up and down the countryside he went with them tipping over the hated altars set setup setup setup up by the foreigners and putting to death the renegade Jews who lad had sacrificed on them It was magnificent but It seemed Insane The tattered rebels were were untrained unequipped unsupported a tiny band of priests and peons fighting with little more than their bare fists The he great hosts of S Syria armed disciplined and led by the greatest generals of the day outnumbered outnumbered outnumbered out out- numbered them ten to one It seemed sheer suicide But It was not Old died soon after the beginning of the rebellion but he was succeeded by byone byone byone one of his sons Judas v who vho ho prove altogether a genius In warfare His first victory over oyer the Syrians was won in the hills through which ran the road from Samaria to Jerusa Jerus Jerusa- Jerusa lem Judas surprised the Syrians there and drove droye them helter helt r ter down Into the valley Then arming himself and his men with the weapons of the slain Judas prepared for the next nest encounter It occurred In the steep pass leadIng leading leading lead- lead Ing through the Beth to Je Je- Je- Je Another general had been sent with a new army from S Syria and Judas with the courage of desperation despi des des- pi ration did not wait walt to be at at- tacked Learning that the enemy was marching toward Jerusalem Judas stationed his men where the road was steepest and narrowest and then proceeded to decimate the Syrians Four great armies In all nIl were sent by the Syrians against Judas one one already accompanied by dealers dealers dealers deal deal- ers to buy the defeated Jews as slaves slaves and and all aU four he utter utterly y rout rout- ed Judas Judas the Hammerer he was called by his elated followers and deservedly Stationing his little army In n narrow narrow narrow nar nar- row passes or rushing them by night marches to make sudden attacks attacks at nt- tacks at dawn he harried and hacked and hammered the S Syrians until at last they fled from before him There came a lull luU In the fight fight- ing On December 25 In the year B. B C. C the Jews amid great rejoicings rejoicings rejoicings re re- re- re cleansed the Temple of Its swinish filth and rededicated It to God And then they went on with the struggle Judas had not alone the Syrians to contend with but also the and Ammonites and other Sher her border races But he was not unequal to the task and In fa a se SC series series ries rles of campaigns he be beat of off these enemies and rescued the Jews whom they had been oppressing In southern and eastern Palestine Then the war with Syria commenced commenced commenced com com- again nes Des was dead now but his successor success success- or would not give up the attempt to crush the Jewish revolt He sent army after army Into Palestine and succeeded In killing off ort Judas and three of his four brothers But nevertheless he could not stamp out the revolt After repeated reverses and the loss of thousands of ot lives ll the Syrian king gave up the attempt attempt attempt at at- tempt as hopeless and withdrew from Palestine forever In the year B. B C. C the Syrians were driven utterly from the tho land and Judea at last became free John Goes Too Far FarB B BUT QT the triumph of ot the Jews had been too complete The war which they had waged at first only for religious freedom ended In also winning for them political ace And that added gain proved their undoing Simon the last of the five sons of was succeeded on the throne by his son the High Priest John and with him the tragedy began Drunk with his new found power this man undertook undertook undertook un un- un- un cruel and costly wars his neighbors In against pursuance pursuance pursuance ance of his dream of carving out outa a great empire for tor himself he Invaded Invaded invaded In In- Samaria on the north and Idumea on the south Not content merely with making those lands subject to his rule he even compelled their Inhabitants to accept his bis religion But soon a n group of protestants vegan egan to make themselves heard In the land of ot Judea They were called the Pharisees the Interpreters Interpreters Inter pi eters probably because they were pious men who spent much of their time stu studying Ing and Interpreting interpreting interpreting inter Inter- the Holy Scriptures Pharisees Pharisees Phar Phar- may not mean Separatists as the scholars long thought I Those who belonged to the party I In power In the land landwere were called the Sadducees because the they all aU sIded sided sided sid sId- sid sid- ed with the supposed descendants of the ancient High Priest Zadok John died just when the Ute conflict bet between cen the Pharisees anti and the Sadducees i was reaching nn a n crisis He was succeeded by hIsson his hisson hisson son who continued the wars of conquest and added Galilee Gali Gall Galileo lee leo to the kingdom After Arter Aristo- Aristo bulus his brother Alexander Jan- Jan neus fleas succeeded to the throne and with him the dynasty sunk to the very ery depths Alexanders Alexander's chief Interests interests interests In in- were war and pleasure He bro brought unbounded distress to his subjects and so taxed their patience patience patience pa pa- tience that at last the they rebelled and drove him Into exile But In Ina Ina ina a little while they repented and called him back whereupon he Instead Instead In In- stead stend of showing gratitude cruel cruel- crucified fied fled SOO Pharisees after slaying their wIves and children before their very eyes Yet despite his preoccupation with murder and revelry the king found time to wage costly wars of conquest on the borders of his land He extended the realm Into Upper Galilee down Into the South Country and over to the east Into the territory o of the Arabs These were relatively large gains and they made the Judean Judea realm once more a sizable bit of or territory Only three generations earlier Judea had been little more than a city But now It was almost a real country again Alexander was succeeded by his widow Alexandra and It was the folly toIly of this woman that brought the dynasty of the to toan toan toan an end When she was an old woman oman of or three seventy-three one of her sons sons H U started a civil war the rightful heir to the throne lost all s save e his life Ute In the first encounter with Aris but instead of retiring and leaving the throne to the usurper the defeated brother tried to continue continue continue con con- the contest In doing this was following following fol fol- fol lowing the advice of a n certain Idu- Idu mean prince named Ant pater An- An came of that half halt breed stock In the South Country which John had forcibly converted converted converted con con- to Judaism two generations earlier He was a man o of great shrewdness and no scruples and he thoroughly dominated He persuaded d the weakling to caBIn call caB callIn callIn In the help of the a I desert race that had moved up TIp to toI the East Jordan country and with I of these Arabs at his command command com com- mand Joined battle with the usurper defeated him and forced him to take refuge In Jerusalem And now a new power enters Into the tragic history of the Jews Thus far we have learnt of at least six great empires that dominated the little land of ot Palestine and brought war to Its Inhabitants Egypt Ara- Ara mea men Ass Assyria rIa Babylonia Persia and Greece Now comes the seventh seventh seventh sev sev- and most terrible of ot all all aU- Rome nome By an extraordinary series of ot successes and accidents the tiny Uny city of Rome nome had grown until at this time It ruled over oyer almost all aU of ot the Mediterranean lands It had absorbed Italy then northern At- At then Greece and now was attempting attempting af- af at at- tempting the conquest of Asia Minor In 65 Go B. B C. C the Roman noman general Pompey defeated the kings who had Inherited a large portion of the former former former for for- mer Empire of ot Syria Syria- It was natural natural natural nat nat- ural then for him to turn to the bridge which connects Asia with Africa Nor was It difficult for tor Pompey to satisfy his desire The Jews divided now Into three parties played directly Into the Romans Roman's hands was i In Jerusalem beleaguered there by and his Arab army Meanwhile the Pharisees In the laud sick of the unending evils which the kings had brought them were b begging for a chance cliance to get rid of royalty entirely All three of these parties and the Pharisees sent deputations deputations deputations dep dep- to Damascus where Pom Porn Pompey Pompey pey was encamped asking him to Intervene |