Readings:
1 Maccabees 10-11
Revelation 4

1 Maccabees 10-11

Alexander, the son of Antiochus V, whom Demetrius had deposed, lands in Ptolemais to try and retake his father’s throne. This is around present day Haifa in Israel. So Demetrius starts to make overtures to the Jews and Jonathan the high priest, in an effort to smooth over the rough edges that he and his predecessors had made with their heavy handed rule.

But Alexander sees this and he also reaches out to Jonathan, and he sends him purple robes and a crown, so he’s recognizing Jonathan’s sovereignty over Jerusalem. This leads Demetrius to offer all kinds of concessions to the Jews, but after all he did to them over the years of his reign in Antioch it’s a little too little, too late. They side with Alexander because the basically didn’t believe Demetrius would follow through on all the things he offered. When an offer sounds too good to be true it usually is.

The son of Demetrius lands on the coast and is going to try and win the kingdom from Alexander, but for some reason he decides to first do battle with Jonathan. Maybe because Jonathan siding with Alexander tipped the scales against Demetrius and caused this young prince to be without a kingdom. But it wasn’t a smart move. Jonathan wasn’t just a religious figure, he was a seasoned warrior and commander. Demetrius was routed and Alexander’s throne was secured by his best ally and friend, Jonathan Maccabee.

Chapter 11 starts with Ptolemy the king of Egypt using some underhanded tactics to invade the kingdom of Alexander. They had previously made a marriage alliance but Ptolemy pretends to be coming on good terms, and meanwhile he garrisons each town he passes through and sends word to the recently defeated Demetrius that he’s there to depose Alexander and seat Demetrius on the throne.

What follows is a back and forth seesaw of power, but all the while the Jews have proven themselves valuable allies so that no matter who was in power they were courted by each side for support.

Revelation 4

The book shifted from a letter to the churches and becomes a glimpse of heavenly worship and view of what is to soon take place from John’s perspective. He’s caught up to heaven like Isaiah was and sees very similar things, even the angels are singing the same song.

He describes the throne of God with so many different adjectives that I have a hard time imagining what it looks like, and that’s kind of the point. It’s indescribable in human terms.

The 24 elders are a reflection of the 24 priestly divisions that rotated duty at the temple in Jerusalem. It’s also seen by many as symbolizing the fulfillment of the of the old and new covenants, with the elders representing the 12 tribes and the 12 apostles. The 7 torches burning in front of the throne represent the 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit.

The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. They belong in their fullness to Christ, Son of David. They complete and perfect the virtues of those who receive them. They make the faithful docile in readily obeying divine inspirations.

CCC 1831

The four living creatures contain elements of both the cherubim seen by Ezekiel and the seraphim seen by Isaiah in the Old Testament. Traditionally the belief is that they represent the four evangelists, and their gospels. Some also see them as an image of the church as a whole.

Matthew is the man whose Gospel begins with the human genealogy of Jesus; Mark is the roaring lion whose Gospel begins with the voice crying out in the wilderness; Luke is the sacrificial ox whose Gospel begins in the Temple; and John is the soaring eagle whose Gospel begins with the highest mystery of Jesus’ divinity.

Saint Jerome

The living creatures also refer to the whole Church. Her courage is seen in the lion, her sacrificial service in the ox, her humility in the man, and her sublimity in the flying eagle.

Saint Bede

These beings continually praise God with the same hymn of praise that we sing every mass during the liturgy of the Eucharist.

Tomorrow’s Readings:
1 Maccabees 12-14
Revelation 5