The Festival of Lights!
Celebrate Miracles and Victory of the Word of God!           

"I will bend Judah as I bend my bow and fill it with Ephraim. I will rouse your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece, and make you like a warrior's sword." (Zec 9:13)

Chanukah, the Festival of Lights, begins on the 25th of Kislev on the Biblical calendar and lasts for eight days. It usually falls in December or late November. In 2008 it begins in the evening of December 21. Chanukah is a Hebrew word that means "dedication." This Feast is celebrated in memory of the rededication of the Temple unto God, after the miraculous victory of the small Maccabee army over the mighty forces of the Greek ruler Antiochus Epiphanes, who is one of the clearest pictures in the Bible of the antichrist, see Matthew 24:15.

Antiochus forbid circumcision, Sabbath observance, Torah studies etc, with punishment of death, in order to destroy the Jewish people before the Messiah was born. Greek culture was introduced in Jerusalem and the Temple was desecrated as Antiochus slaughtered a pig on the altar of God, and brought the blood of the pig into the Holy of Holies.

One priestly father and his five sons decided to go against the ungodly decrees, and obey God's Word rather than man. It started an insurrection that eventually completely overthrew Antiochus and all of his forces. Without this victory, the Messiah could not have been born.

Galatians 4:4 states, "But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law." The rededication of the Temple under the Maccabees was necessary in order for Yeshua to be presented to the Eternal in the Temple "as it is written in the Law of the Lord." (Lk 2:23) This had been prophesied by Haggai when he declared, "'The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,' says the LORD Almighty." (Hag 2:9) When the old righteous man Simeon saw the little baby being brought into the Temple he said, "…my eyes have seen your salvation, …a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel." (LK 2:30,32)

If the Syrian king Antiochus Epiphanes had succeeded to wipe out the Jewish people's obedience to the Torah, as he tried to do by desecrating the temple, and forbidding the Jews to keep the Sabbath and circumcising their children, Joseph and Mary would have been pagans and Haggai's prophecy about the greater glory of the second temple would never have been fulfilled!

Chanukah is a feast of great prophetic significance also for us today as the end time battle is described by Zechariah as a battle between the sons of Zion and the sons of Greece. Yeshua will also return "as it is written in the Law of the Lord!" If the antichrist, "the lawless one," and his forces succeed to wipe out the Jewish people and faith in the Word of God, the Messiah cannot return! So Chanukah is a story of miracles and the victory of the Word of God over all anti-Messiah forces that we ought to celebrate today.

Yeshua and Chanukah

In John's gospel we see that Yeshua observed Chanukah at the Temple in Jerusalem.
During Chanukah the Jewish people say, "A great miracle happened there." It is therefore no coincidence that during this Feast, Yeshua specifically referred to the miraculous works that he did, as a sign that he was the Messiah of Israel.

"Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Yeshua was in the temple area walking in Solomon's Colonnade. The Jews gathered around him, saying, 'How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.' Yeshua answered, 'I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me.'" (Jn 10:22-25 NIV revised)

Just like Succot, when the first Temple was dedicated under Solomon, Chanukah lasts eight days and always begins on the 25th day in the ninth month on the Biblical calendar. (Since it had not been possible to celebrate Succot that year, Chanukah was actually a late Succot celebration, see also Num 9:9-11.)

Chanukah usually falls in December every year and since Christmas is celebrated on December 25 there are chronological similarities between the two celebrations. Spiritually, however, they represent two completely different worlds. One comes from the Bible and the other has its origin in paganism and idolatry.

Around the time of Yeshua’s birth, there were huge festivities all over the Roman Empire every year, on December 25. According to historians, the festival was celebrated in honor of the birth of the "Lord and Savior" of the world, the "Prince of Peace", a man who was also worshiped as divine: the Emperor, Caesar Augustus. It was a festival of abundance, with indulgence in eating, drinking, and gift giving.

The poor were recipients of the philanthropy and generous giving of the rich, so that they could enjoy festive food at least once a year, when all feasted on sumptuous fare. The festival virtually pervaded all public space, with public entertainments in song, dance, theatre, and athletic games. The local political and religious leaders presided over various rituals and ceremonies. It was a prolonged festival in which the sales of goods and services flourished as at no other time of the year, and brought a sense of unity to the civic community, while honoring the Savior: the Great Emperor!

When Yeshua was born, the Roman Empire was at its peak of glory. Except for the small region of Judea, war or trouble was not anywhere in sight, and many of the Roman legions had therefore been dismantled. Peace had arrived. Caesar Augustus had issued a decree the same year that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world, which meant that he had assumed absolute control over every citizen in his empire. The same year, Augustus also held a vote among all Roman officials concerning bestowing upon him the title "Pater Patriae" "Father of the Country", in connection with his 25th anniversary the following year, which was also the 750th anniversary of Rome. Herod had built a Temple in Caesarea Philippi to worship Caesar Augustus as god.

Caesar Augustus himself was most likely not born on December 25. But since he was worshiped as divine, his birth, just like all the other Caesars' birth, was celebrated on December 25, the day corresponding to the birth of the sun god Solus Invictus.

When the Word Became Flesh

The Bible does not say directly when Yeshua was born, but we can safely say that it was not on December 25. The tradition to celebrate his birth on that day was not incorporated into the church until hundreds of years later. Whereas Yeshua's birth was a normal, human birth, his conception was, however, a supernatural event, proving that he truly is the Son of God. When the angel Gabriel visited Miriam in Nazareth he told her,

"'Do not be afraid, Miriam, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Yeshua. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.'

"'How will this be,' Mary asked the angel, 'since I am a virgin?' The angel answered, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.'" (Lk 1:30-35) Bear in mind the background of the festivities to honor Caesar Augustus as god, when Gabriel spoke these words to this simple, god-fearing girl in Nazareth!

With the help of Scripture, the science of astronomy and modern computers it is fairly safe to say that Yeshua was born on the Feast of Trumpets, September 11, in 3 BCE. (Please see the article "When Was Messiah Born?”) Since his second coming will take place on the Feast of Trumpets, it is logical that the Messiah's first advent would take place on the same day. The Feast of Trumpets is also the day when, according to Jewish tradition, the first Adam, "who was a pattern of the one to come" (Rom 5:14), was created and came into being.

Here is an interesting fact: if Miriam gave birth to Yeshua on the Feast of Trumpets, Yeshua was conceived 38 weeks earlier during the Feast of Chanukah, the Festival of Lights. This is when the great miracle took place, as the Holy Spirit came upon Miriam and "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling [tabernacled] among us." (Jn 1:14) The ultimate Temple, Yeshua's physical body, was dedicated for the glory of the Eternal. "Yeshua answered them, 'Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.' The Jews replied, 'It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?' But the temple he had spoken of was his body." (Jn 2:19-21)

Yeshua was born as a man and died as a man, but His conception and His resurrection are the proofs that He is the Messiah, the Son of God. (Lk 1:35 and Rom 1:4)

Chanukah, beginning on the 25th in the ninth month on God's calendar, is then the Feast when we Biblically can celebrate the miracle of all miracles, as the Word became flesh and heaven invaded earth. "In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it." (Jn 1:4-5) This life did not begin with his birth, but with his conception.

This year is an excellent opportunity to begin to observe Biblical traditions during this season. Buy a Chanukiah candlestick. Study about Chanukah and tell your family about this Biblical Feast! Chanukah is a Feast in memory of the victory of the Word of God over the forces of apostasy, secularism and paganism. One of the beautiful Chanukah passages in the Bible is Zechariah 9:11-17,

"As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit. Return to your fortress, O prisoners of hope; even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you. I will bend Judah as I bend my bow and fill it with Ephraim. I will rouse your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece, and make you like a warrior's sword.

"Then the LORD will appear over them; his arrow will flash like lightning. The Sovereign LORD will sound the trumpet; he will march in the storms of the south, and the LORD Almighty will shield them. They will destroy and overcome with slingstones. They will drink and roar as with wine; they will be full like a bowl used for sprinkling the corners of the altar. The LORD their God will save them on that day as the flock of his people. They will sparkle in his land like jewels in a crown. How attractive and beautiful they will be! Grain will make the young men thrive, and new wine the young women."

Chanukah is the Festival of Lights and Miracles, and the celebration of the victory of the Word of God over all pagan and anti-messianic forces. Let's light the candles and celebrate the coming of the Messiah in a Biblical way and not according to pagan traditions! "By smooth words he [the anti-messiah] will turn to godlessness those who act wickedly toward the covenant, but the people who know their God will display strength and take action." (Dan 11:32-33)

We need to pray for a rededicated temple that the Messiah can return to.

"Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit." (Eph 2:19-22)

Today we are waiting for the return of the Messiah and we are fighting the same battle as in the original Chanukah story. Let's celebrate Chanukah!

"Prepare the way for the LORD"