The Courage of Your CONVICTIONS

Antiochus marched against Jerusalem and ended up desecrating the temple and putting the Jews through a hellish existence during his occupation of the land. Two years after that, he moved against Judea. He sent his military to deceive the Jews and lead them to think there would be a peace and they would be well-treated; hence, little resistance. Then, when off-guard, the Jews were slaughtered by his invading army. Do you really think there weren't many who suspected that they were being lied to, but probably thought if they cooperated [or offered little resistance] they would be left unharmed? I'm sure there were. The reputation of Antiochus was surely well documented by then. (People often throw principle out the door in the face of fear). Antiochus then issued a decree that all the nations in his empire were to adopt his pagan religion and do things that the Israelites surely knew were contrary to the laws of God. People (many of them Israelites) sold out and turned their backs on God. Principles, when threatened by personal discomfort, are often easily dismissed by people. The temple was defiled, circumcision forbidden and the rest of the law of Moses forgotten. But not by all. there were those who remained true to the law and were brutally murdered for their convictions. Sometimes, it only takes one empowered by the Holy Spirit to ignite the spark of truth and convict people of their wrongdoing. Such a man was Mattathias. Here's his story:

During that time, a priest of the Jehoiarib family named Mattathias, who was the son of John and the grandson of Simeon, moved from Jerusalem and settled in Modein. Mattathias had five sons: John (also called Gaddi), Simon (also called Thassi), Judas (also called Maccabeus), Eleazar (also called Avaran), and Jonathan (also called Apphus).
When Mattathias saw all the sins that were being committed in Judea and Jerusalem, he said:
“Why was I born to see these terrible things,
the ruin of my people and of the holy city?
Must I sit here helpless
while the city is surrendered to enemies
and the Temple falls into the hands of foreigners?
The Temple is like someone without honor.
Its splendid furnishings
have been carried away as loot.
Our children have been killed in the streets,
and our young men by the sword of the enemy.
Every nation in the world has occupied the city
and robbed her of her possessions.
All her ornaments have been stripped away;
she is now a slave, no longer free.
Look at our Temple, profaned by the Gentiles,
emptied of all its splendor.
Why should we go on living?”
In their grief, Mattathias and his sons tore their clothes, put on sackcloth, and continued in deep mourning.
Then the king's officials, who were forcing the people to turn from God, came to the town of Modein to force the people there to offer pagan sacrifices. Many of the Israelites came to meet them, including Mattathias and his sons. The king's officials said to Mattathias, “You are a respected leader in this town, and you have the support of your sons and relatives. Why not be the first one here to do what the king has commanded? All the Gentiles, the people of Judea, and all the people left in Jerusalem have already done so. If you do, you and your sons will be honored with the title of ‘Friends of the King,’ and you will be rewarded with silver and gold and many gifts.”
Mattathias answered in a loud voice, “I don't care if every Gentile in this empire has obeyed the king and yielded to the command to abandon the religion of his ancestors. My children, my relatives, and I will continue to keep the covenant that God made with our ancestors. With God's help we will never abandon his Law or disobey his commands. We will not obey the king's decree, and we will not change our way of worship in the least.”
Just as he finished speaking, one of the men from Modein decided to obey the king's decree and stepped out in front of everyone to offer a pagan sacrifice on the altar that stood there. When Mattathias saw him, he became angry enough to do what had to be done. Shaking with rage, he ran forward and killed the man right there on the altar. He also killed the royal official who was forcing the people to sacrifice, and then he tore down the altar. In this way Mattathias showed his deep devotion for the Law, just as Phinehas had done when he killed Zimri son of Salu. - 1 Maccabees 2:1-26 (GNTD)

As I wrote earlier, sometimes it takes just one to ignite the spark. When inspired and empowered by God to make some changes, we often become unstoppable:

Then Mattathias went through the town shouting, “Everyone who is faithful to God's covenant and obeys his Law, follow me!” With this, he and his sons fled to the mountains, leaving behind all they owned.
At that time also many of the Israelites who were seeking to be right with God through obedience to the Law went out to live in the wilderness, taking their children, their wives, and their livestock with them, because of the terrible oppression they were suffering. -1 Maccabees 2:27-30 (GNTD)