"Machabees II" is a book found within the "Douay-Rheims Bible," which is one of the Catholic Bibles. It's author is not known. Where the first book did not have a whole lot of spiritual context, this book makes up for it 100%.
This isn't really an aftermath book but more of a extra content book. It shows the spiritual and even personal side of the events of the first book. It shows very much why the Jews would win battles and wars, which was because they would humble themselves before God.
Keep in mind though that things don't always turn out well. There are very graphic scenes of martyrdom in this book. Very gory too. Rated R.
"Machabees II" also has some very odd supernatural moments in it. It has things like soldiers flying around in the sky, and flames that burn without going out. A lot of this is not really all that well explained. I mean... the author mentions these things, but then he sort of just moves on without any other explanation. The weirdest part for me was when the prophet Jeremiah shows up and gives the story's hero Judas (not to be confused with with Judas from the Gospels) a golden sword from God Himself. I mean... if it's true, then it's true. But this whole scene just feels off. I got a feeling in my gut about it that gets my skepticism going.
There was an awesome battle with elephants in this one, which I believe was mentioned in the first book. It's better explained here. I like it, and it would be great to see in a movie. Reminded me a bit of 300.
Another thing that kind of put me off about this book, and likely the Catholic Bible in general, is how they push the idea of praying for the dead. I've never seen any point to praying for the dead. So what if the Jews did it? It's just weird. They're dead! They're in God's hands now. It's not your concern. One of the annotations happen here that tried to promote it as a part of the religion because the Jews did it, and I'm not buying it.
"Machabees II" is a pretty good book, but it feels a little off at times. At other times, it sounds perfectly natural. The writer, whoever it is, puts a lot of passion into it, and he even seems to worry that it was not passionate enough at the end of it. Interesting. I recommend it a bit more than the first book.
This blog was written on May 18, 2022.
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Interesting that you preferred the book that told you WHY more than the one that told you WHAT. You are more interested in MEANING than particulars. You see the forest for all the trees.
ReplyDeleteWell, I didn't read the Bible as much for history and war as to why these things happen. I went into this wondering about the spiritual truth of the universe.
DeleteI do like that they don't pull any punches and keep it rated R. I don't celebrate the gore but I do like that they do not sugar coat it. Elephant battle has a certain flair, they are living tanks after all.
ReplyDeleteIt does have that bigger-than-life movie feel to it. You could certainly make an entertaining movie off of it.
DeleteWhether or not it is accurate, it sounds like an interesting story. The context makes all the difference, giving meaning to the madness. Considering what has been prophesied, it cannot be so easily discounted.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it was well worth the read.
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