Writings from Maccabean and Roman Times The last 300 years before Christ are little known to Bible readers nowadays. Yet during that time God was doing wonderful works in preparation for the coming of His Son. It was an age of terrible persecutions—some of the worst ever endured by God’s people. The government imposed laws that were contrary to God’s commands. Many professed believers were only too willing to live like the rest of the world. Yet this was also a time of shining lights in the darkness. Some people stood firm in spite of the persecutions, and laid down their lives gladly without any visible reward. They did not live to see it, but their deeds were helping to pave the way for the Messiah. Step by step, the Lord’s great plan was unfolding. In this book you will read that story—told not at second hand, but by some of the very people who remained faithful in the crisis. The volume contains fresh modern English renderings of these enthralling documents, with a full commentary from the Scriptures. Maps, charts, and timelines guide the reader through each phase of the struggle. In addition, 1 Maccabees is newly edited in Greek (with parallel English translation), and the Psalms of Solomon in parallel Greek and Syriac (with English translations of both). A final chapter shows how the prophecies of Daniel and other Old Testament prophets were being fulfilled during this time.
