but the people that do know their God
shall be strong,
and do exploits.
Daniel 11:32
In 167 B.C. a priest named Matthias and his sons
(John, Simon, Judas, Eleazer,
and Jonathan) revolted against forced
imposition of the Greek and religion on the Jews. and became known as the maccabeans which means hammer in the Jewish language. They Maccabeans formed the Hasmonean dynasty and became kings and priests
despite the fact
that they were not of the proper line to hold these offices. As a result of the success of this revolt,
the Jews were able to
live under their laws as their civil laws. This lasted until 66 A.D. when the Romans invaded Palestine and expelled the Jews from that area. The group who participated in the revolt became the Pharisees
afterwards.
In 63 B.C., Pompey invaded Judea to settle a dispute between Hyrcanus and Aristobulus were were rival heirs to the throne of Judea. 12,000 Jews were killed
in the process, the Holy
of Holies was desecrated and the Jews
had to pay taxes to the Romans. The Romans continued to rule Israel. In 70 A.D. Titus, son of Roman Emperor Vespasian, plundered and destroyed first the Holy Temple of Jerusalem, and then the Holy
City, slaughtering
hundreds of thousands of Jews
Matthias draws the line
Judah Maccabee
Pompey
Vespasian
Titus
Temple destroyed 70 A.D.