<p>Demetrius finally gets scooped up like a sad little political Pokémon, and the text <em>immediately</em> slams the fast-forward button into “and then everything was chill forever” mode… allegedly. <strong>1 Maccabees 14</strong> is basically propaganda karaoke: Simon gets credited with “peace,” while the chapter quietly admits he <em>took</em> cities, removed “uncleannesses,” and ran off anyone inconvenient, because nothing says stability like “no one resisted him.”</p><br><p>Then we get the biblical equivalent of corporate email chains: Rome and Sparta hear Jonathan is dead, claim they’re <em>super</em> sad about it, and send Simon a “we’re still friends” letter so boring it might legally qualify as anesthesia. Simon responds by shipping a gigantic gold shield (because diplomacy apparently means “bribe, but classy”).</p><br><p>The rest is self-congratulating brass-tablet fanfic about how Simon is Totally The Guy, high priest “forever,” draped in purple and gold, and nobody is allowed to hold meetings or contradict him (or else… punishment). The hosts call it: this chapter is mostly people congratulating themselves and filing paperwork like it’s holy scripture.</p><br><p>👉 <strong>Listen now at </strong><a href="sacrilegiousdiscourse.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" class="keychainify-checked"><strong>sacrilegiousdiscourse.com</strong></a></p><p>👉 <strong>Join our godless rebellion on Discord: </strong><a href="discord.gg/VBnyTYV6nC" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" class="keychainify-checked"><strong>discord.gg/VBnyTYV6nC</strong></a></p><p>👉 <strong>Support the snark on Patreon: </strong><a href="patreon.com/sacrilegiousdiscourse" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" class="keychainify-checked"><strong>patreon.com/sacrilegiousdiscourse</strong></a></p><br><p>📌 <strong>Topics Covered:</strong></p><ul><li><strong>1 Maccabees 14</strong> tries to sell “peace” while Simon <em>collects cities like trophies</em></li><li>Demetrius gets captured off-screen—blink and you miss it</li><li>“Old men in the streets” + “vine and fig tree” = biblical “everything’s fine” symbolism</li><li>Rome &amp; Sparta send the world’s least helpful “we got your letter” letter</li><li>Simon sends a <strong>massive gold shield</strong> to Rome… subtle diplomacy is dead</li><li>Brass tablets, public records, treasury copies—because bureaucracy is apparently sacred</li><li>Simon gets installed as leader “forever”… but only until a “faithful prophet” shows up (sure, Jan)</li></ul><p><br></p><p>💬 <strong>Best Quote from the Episode:</strong></p><p>“<strong>Literally. This was just people jerking each other off.</strong>”</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>