Here is the potted version of Hanukah, the celebration of God’s deliverance of the Jewish people when Satan tried to destroy them as he has sought to do continuously throughout history. Each time he fails because God is faithful to His covenant promises and infinitely greater than a million “satan’s” combined!
The pieces began to fall into place following the death of Alexander the Great who died aged 32 in 323BC in mysterious circumstances. His kingdom was divided into two. One of these was apportioned to the Selucids who invaded Israel around 170BC, led by a despot named Antiochus Epiphenes IV who is referred to as the “little horn” in Daniel 8:9. The name Epiphanes means the “Illustrious One,” although his contemporaries nicknamed him Epimanes, meaning “madman” who made an edict making it compulsory for the Jewish people to abandon their faith (take the Green Passport) and embrace the Greek, Hellenistic culture. Anybody who continued to maintain their Jewish identity was immediately killed.
Antiochus Epiphenes is a classic prototype of the AntiChrist and the period of his reign and persecution of the Jewish people have a direct parallel to these days we are living in. Both periods witness the wrath of God extended to His chosen people. The first of these periods commenced with the Babylonian captivity and concluded with the atrocities of Antiochus, followed by Divine deliverance. The second of these periods is still to come and will commence with the beginning of the 70th week of Daniel 9:24-27 and conclude with the evil manifestation of Antichrist, followed again by Divine deliverance.
Antiochus Epiphenes thought he was God Incarnate. For example, during his reign he imprinted on his coins, Theos Antiochus Epiphanes, “Antiochus, God manifest.” He erected a statue of Zeus, substituted with his own face, on top of the altar in the Temple. Ten days later, on Kislev 25, (the supposed birthday of Zeus) he offered a pig on the same altar and sprinkled its blood in the Holy of Holies, and over the Torah scrolls before he cut them to pieces and burnt them. The Temple was converted to a shrine dedicated to Zeus! The equivalent date is December 25th – Christmas Day, so Jewish people do not associate Christmas Day with happy memories, with roots embedded in paganism and sun-god worship as introduced by the Roman Emperor Constantine in the 4th century AD.
Things steadily got worse under the control of Antiochus. Here is an example of the evil he wreaked from a detailed description of the violent atrocities and murder of thousands of Jews while marching through Judea 1Macc1:20-28 and 2Macc 5:11-17)
“He (Antiochus) killed over 80,000 men, women, and children and sold 40,000 into slavery (2 Macc.5-14). The holy place was robbed of its treasures and the temple was dedicated to Jupiter Olympus. The temple was defiled by offering a sow upon the altar and scattering its juice over all the sanctuary and vessels. He substituted the Jewish feasts with the drunken revelry of Bacchanalia, forcing the Jews to worship Bacchus, the god of pleasure and wine. The licentious festival of Saturnalia, the worship of Saturn, was also enforced upon the inhabitants. He forbade the reading of the Holy Scriptures and the tradition of circumcision. Throwing them headlong with their infants off of the highest wall in Jerusalem, Antiochus killed two mothers who had circumcised their children in defiance of the law. He also cut out the tongues of a mother’s seven sons and after that had each of them roasted alive on a flat iron (2 Macc. vii. 3-5). Then the mother herself was murdered.
The above descriptions are shocking but the carnage committed by Antiochus is only a foretaste of what lies ahead for those who remain on planet earth during the Great Tribulation. The persecution of God’s Tribulation saints under the “beast” will be a tea party compared to what will occur, as is vividly described in the Book of Revelation during Daniel’s 70th Week. The Apostle John “saw the souls of them (the Tribulation Saints) that were beheaded for the witness of Yeshua, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands: and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years” (Rev. 20:4).
There are many other parallels between Antiochus Ephiphenes and the Anti-Christ which we don’t have time to get into now, but the comparisons are numerous. What we can say is that with everything we are currently facing in these end times, let us remain steadfast immoveable, watching and praying, occupying our time in service of the Lord that we will be found busy about the Father’s business as we see the signs of His return only a breath away when He will take us to be with Him before unleashing the full measure of His wrath upon those left behind.
The story of Hanukah illustrates the clash between two great civilisations. The key difference between the two groups? The Greeks rejected the concept of a monotheistic faith governed by a single, loving God. Instead, they presented the world with the concept of tragedy: to strive, to struggle and at times achieve greatness but within it all, life has no ultimate purpose. The Greek philosophers taught that the universe neither knows nor cares who we are. This is in stark contrast with the Bible which presents the world with the a sure and unswerving hope. We are here because God created us in love, and through His love we can discover the meaning and purpose of life as expressed in fullness through Yeshua.
Hanukah demonstrates that God is always in full control no matter how things may look outwardly. Even though great empires throughout history have come and gone, the Jewish people have survived and prospered against all odds because God is faithful to His promises. And for us as believing Jews and Gentiles it is no different, for Yeshua is the same yesterday, today and forever.
In Jewish tradition we are all familiar with the miracle associated with Hanukah regarding the seven-branched candlestick in the Temple that was kept burning continuously by the priesthood. Only the purest olive oil was used that only the first drop of oil from each olive could be used and it took 7 days to make a single batch. Just one small jar of oil containing the seal of the High Priest remained after Antiochus Epiphenes desecrated the Temple, sufficient for just one day. But, in Jewish tradition, God caused it to last for 8 days allowing for a new batch to be made!
There’s an interesting question posed in the Talmud about Hanukah. For 8 days we light lights, and pray the blessing over miracles: she-asah nissim la-avotenu. But what was the miracle of the first night? The light that should have lasted one day lasted eight. But that means there was something miraculous about days 2 to 8; but nothing miraculous about the first day.
Perhaps the miracle was that the Maccabees found one cruse of oil with its seal intact, undefiled. How could anything have survived the desecration of the Temple? Yet the Maccabees searched and found that one jar. Why did they search? Because they had faith that from the worst tragedy something would survive. The miracle of the first night was that of faith itself, the faith that something would remain with which to begin again. God is a God of new beginnings as symbolised by the number 8. Yeshua promises to those who love Him and walk in His ways that He will transform our lives continuously as we ever discover the meaning and depth of His infinite love. But, sometimes we need to search until we discover that one jar of oil even when the situation may appear hopeless.
I want to share a powerful story shared by the late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks. Back in 1991, he lit Chanukah candles with Mikhail Gorbachev, who had, until earlier that year, been President of the Soviet Union. For 70 years, the practice of Judaism had been effectively banned in communist Russia. It was one of the two great assaults on the Jewish people and their faith in the 20th century. The Germans sought to kill Jews; the Russians tried to kill Judaism. Under Stalin the assault became brutal. In 1967, after Israel’s victory in the Six Day War, many Soviet Jews sought to leave Russia and go to Israel. Not only was permission refused, but often the Jews lost their jobs and were imprisoned. Around the world, Jews campaigned for the prisoners, who were known as refuseniks, to be released and permitted to leave the country.
Eventually Mikhail Gorbachev realised that the whole Soviet system was unworkable. Communism had brought repression, a police state, and a new hierarchy of power, instead of freedom and equality. In the end it collapsed, and Jews regained the freedom to practise Judaism and to go to Israel.
That day in 1991, after they had lit candles together, Mr Gorbachev asked him through his interpreter what we had just done? Rabbi Sacks replied that over 2000 years ago in Israel, after the public practice of Judaism had been banned, Jews fought for and won their freedom, and these lights represented the symbol of that victory. And then he added: “70 years ago, the Jewish people suffered the same loss of freedom in Russia, but now you have seen them regain it because God not man, is in control of our destinies.”
God is faithful whose promises are Yes and Amen in Messiah Yeshua. He never fails and always has the last word. With this in mind, how critical for us to trust in the Lord with all our hearts and lean not on our own understanding. When we place our full trust in Him He will make straight out paths! For what we know we know from what He has revealed through His Word, and that is sufficient even though there is much going on all around us throughout the world that we are unaware of.
Hanukah demonstrates that our light can only truly shine when we allow the purest oil to burn within us. When the Maccabees restored the Temple, they chose to rekindle God’s light, and for this, they needed pure oil instead of that which was defiled. Let’s never substitute the oil of God’s Ruach for any substitute or counterfeit however alluring it may appear for in it therein lies the stench of death.
When we operate on the level of ‘pure oil’ we will experience transformation beyond our imaginations if we dare to allow Him access in our lives to shine His light. And Yeshua’s light is sufficient even when the oil appears to be just enough for one night.
Let’s never substitute His light for any cheap imitation. As we display the Hanukiah candlestick in our homes in the most visible place for all to see, we not only celebrate the miracle of redemption but are reminded that we are not our own but were bought at a price that only Divine love could afford.
HANUKAH CANDLES – The 8 candles remind us of the following things:
1st Candle, Aleph: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD [is] one!”—Deut 6:4
We thank God for His love and faithfulness towards His covenant people and for all those, both Jew and Gentile, who have been redeemed by the shed blood of Yeshua!
2nd Candle, Bet: Son “Can two walk together unless they are agreed?”—Amos 3:3
May the love of the Father heal the hearts of Israel this Hanukah and bring them into the knowledge of Yeshua, the Son of God who said, “I and My Father are One.”
3rd Candle, Gimel: Ruach
“Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”—Eccles 4:12
May the Ruach breathe afresh upon us in these days, with power and authority to overcome all darkness through Yeshua, the “Light of the World.”
4th Candle, Dalet: God Created
“So the evening and the morning were the fourth day. Then God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.”—Gen 1:19-20
God created the Heavens and the Earth and all that there is therein. By His amazing grace, we are part of His New Creation through Yeshua.
5th Candle, Heh: Redemption and Grace
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”—John 3:16
God’s grace and redemption are available to the whosoever. Although it comes as a free gift, it demands our total surrender. Let’s choose to walk along His path of holiness and righteousness without reservation or conditions.
6th Candle, Vav: Man“…having abolished in His flesh the enmity, [that is,] the law of commandments [contained] in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man [from] the two, [thus] making peace…”—Eph 2:15
May each one of us as Jew and Gentile believers, experience the blessings of One New Man as we stand together in His love and unity.
7th Candle, Zayen: Spiritual Perfection
“And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it…”—Gen 2:2-3
May God’s spiritual perfection, alignment, revelation, and provision be released in each one of our lives!
8th Candle, Chet: Superabundance into a New Beginning
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”—Phil 4:13
May the sure hope of the living God flow through our hearts as we offer up our lives as living sacrifices to Him. He is a God of new beginnings and second chances who through Yeshua makes us more than conquerors and walk in victory as we see that day approaching where that good walk that He has begun in us will reach full completion.
