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What is the meaning of the
candelabra, the gold coins and the inscription above? The
candles and the coins are symbolic of the Feast of Dedication,
mentioned in John 10. The inscription is the true name of
our Heavenly Father in the original script known as Paleo-Hebrew.
With the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, we found this
wonderful name in the places that our contemporary English
Bibles has "LORD" (all caps). Our Heavenly Father's name,
depicted in the four letters above, is pronounced "Yahweh" or "Yahuweh,"
and is used over seven thousand times in the Bible.
Hanukkah or
Chanukah (Hebrew, "dedication") is an annual festival celebrated on
eight successive days by lighting candles or lamps. (The Hanukkah
Menorah above was given to us by the Chabad Lubavitch, Tallahassee.)
It begins on the 25th day of Kislev, the third month of the Jewish
calendar (November or December). (In 2005, Hanukkah began on December
25th.) Also known as The Festival of Lights,
The Feast of Dedication, and The Feast of the Maccabees,
Hanukkah commemorates the rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem by
Yahuda (Judah) Maccabee in 165 BC after the Temple had been profaned by
Antiochus IV Epiphanes ("god manifest"), king of Syria and overlord of
Palestine.
Antiochus ordered
the people of Israel to reject Yahweh, their religion, customs and
beliefs, and forced them to worship the Greek gods. There were some who
did as they were told, but many refused.
1
Maccabees 1:10-25, 43-50 (NJB)
10. From
these there grew a wicked offshoot, Antiochus Epiphanes son of
King Antiochus; once a hostage in Rome, he became king in the
107th year of the kingdom of the Greeks. 11. It was then that
there emerged from Israel a set of renegades who led many people
astray. "Come," they said, "let us ally ourselves with the
gentiles surrounding us, for since we separated ourselves from
them many misfortunes have overtaken us." 12. This proposal
proved acceptable, 13. and a number of the people eagerly
approached the king, who authorised them to practise the
gentiles' observances. 14. So they built a gymnasium in
Jerusalem, such as the gentiles have, 15. disguised their
circumcision, and abandoned the holy covenant, submitting to
gentile rule as willing slaves of impiety.
16. Once Antiochus had seen his authority established, he
determined to make himself king of Egypt and the ruler of both
kingdoms. 17. He invaded Egypt in massive strength, with
chariots and elephants (and cavalry) and a large fleet. 18. He
engaged Ptolemy king of Egypt in battle, and Ptolemy turned back
and fled before his advance, leaving many casualties. 19. The
fortified cities of Egypt were captured, and Antiochus plundered
the country. 20. After his conquest of Egypt, in the year 143,
Antiochus turned about and advanced on Israel and Jerusalem in
massive strength. 21. Insolently breaking into the sanctuary, he
removed the golden altar and the lamp-stand for the light with
all its fittings, 22. together with the table for the loaves of
permanent offering, the libation vessels, the cups, the golden
censers, the veil, the crowns, and the golden decoration on the
front of the Temple, which he stripped of everything. 23. He
made off with the silver and gold and precious vessels; he
discovered the secret treasures and seized them 24. and,
removing all these, he went back to his own country, having shed
much blood and uttered words of extreme arrogance. 25. There was
deep mourning for Israel throughout the country:
43. and
many Israelites chose to accept his religion, sacrificing to
idols and profaning the Sabbath. 44. The king also sent edicts
by messenger to Jerusalem and the towns of Judah, directing them
to adopt customs foreign to the country, 45. banning burnt
offerings, sacrifices and libations from the sanctuary,
profaning Sabbaths and feasts, 46. defiling the sanctuary and
everything holy, 47. building altars, shrines and temples for
idols, sacrificing pigs and unclean beasts, 48. leaving their
sons uncircumcised, and prostituting themselves to all kinds of
impurity and abomination, 49. so that they should forget the Law
and revoke all observance of it. 50. Anyone not obeying the
king's command was to be put to death.
In 168 BC, on a
date corresponding approximately to December 25 in the Gregorian
calendar, the Temple was dedicated to the worship of Zeus Olympius by
order of Antiochus. An altar to Zeus was set upon the Temple's high
altar.
1
Maccabees 1:54-61
54. On the
fifteenth day of Chislev in the year 145 the king built the
appalling abomination on top of the altar of burnt offering; and
altars were built in the surrounding towns of Judah 55. and
incense offered at the doors of houses and in the streets. 56.
Any books of the Law that came to light were torn up and burned.
57. Whenever anyone was discovered possessing a copy of the
covenant or practicing the Law, the king's decree sentenced him
to death. 58. Month after month they took harsh action against
any offenders they discovered in the towns of Israel. 59. On the
twenty-fifth day of each month, sacrifice was offered on the
altar erected on top of the altar of burnt offering. 60. Women
who had had their children circumcised were put to death
according to the edict 61. with their babies hung round their
necks, and the members of their household and those who had
performed the circumcision were executed with them.
We understand this
as the fulfillment of the biblical prophecy found in Daniel
11:21-23,28,31-32:
21. 'In
his place will rise a wretch: royal honors will not be given to
him, but rather he will insinuate himself into them at his
pleasure and will gain possession of the kingdom by intrigue.
22. Armies will be utterly routed and crushed by him, the Prince
of the covenant too. 23. Through his alliances he will act
treacherously and, despite the smallness of his following, grow
ever stronger. 28. Then the wretch will return greatly enriched
to his own country, his heart set against the holy covenant; he
will take action and then return to his own country. 32. Those
who break the covenant he will seduce by his blandishments, but
the people who know their God will stand firm and take action.
One who refused
was a man named Yahuda. He and his four brothers formed an army and
chose "Maccabee" ("hammer") as their family name.
1 Mac
2:1-6,14-16,19-30,42,43.
1. About
then, Mattathias son of John, son of Simeon, a priest of the
line of Joarib, left Jerusalem and settled in Modein. 2. He had
five sons, John known as Gaddi, 3. Simon called Thassi, 4. Judas
called Maccabaeus, 5. Eleazar, called Avaran, and Jonathan
called Apphus. 6. When he saw the blasphemies being committed in
Judah and Jerusalem. 14. Mattathias and his sons tore
their garments, put on sackcloth, and observed deep mourning.
15. The king's commissioners who were enforcing the apostasy
came to the town of Modein for the sacrifices. 16. Many
Israelites gathered round them, but Mattathias and his sons drew
apart. 19. Raising his voice, Mattathias retorted, "Even if
every nation living in the king's dominions obeys him, each
forsaking its ancestral religion to conform to his decrees, 20.
I, my sons and my brothers will still follow the covenant of our
ancestors. 21. May Heaven preserve us from forsaking the Law and
its observances. 22. As for the king's orders, we will not
follow them: we shall not swerve from our own religion either to
right or to left." 23. As he finished speaking, a Jew came
forward in the sight of all to offer sacrifice on the altar in
Modein as the royal edict required.
24. When
Mattathias saw this, he was fired with zeal; stirred to the
depth of his being, he gave vent to his legitimate anger, threw
himself on the man and slaughtered him on the altar. 25. At the
same time he killed the king's commissioner who was there to
enforce the sacrifice, and tore down the altar. 26. In his zeal
for the Law he acted as Phinehas had against Zimri son of Salu.
27. Then Mattathias went through the town, shouting at the top
of his voice, "Let everyone who has any zeal for the Law and
takes his stand on the covenant come out and follow me." 28.
Then he fled with his sons into the hills, leaving all their
possessions behind in the town.
The ordeal of the Sabbath in the desert
29. Many people who were concerned for virtue and justice went
down to the desert and stayed there, 30. taking with them their
sons, their wives and their cattle, so oppressive had their
sufferings become.
42. Soon
they were joined by the Hasidaean party, stout fighting men of
Israel, each one a volunteer on the side of the Law. 43. All the
refugees from the persecution rallied to them, giving them added
support.
After three years
of fighting, the Maccabees were finally successful in driving the
Hellenists out of Israel and reclaimed the Temple in Jerusalem. The
Maccabees wanted to clean the building and to remove the hated Greek
symbols and statues.
1
Maccabees 3:1-2; 4:12-22,36-40
1. His
son, Judas, known as Maccabaeus, then took his place. 2. All his
brothers, and all who had attached themselves to his father,
supported him, and they fought for Israel with a will.
12. The
foreigners looked up and, seeing the Jews advancing against
them, 13. came out of the camp to join battle. Judas' men
sounded the trumpet 14. and engaged them. The gentiles were
defeated and fled towards the plain 15. and all the stragglers
fell by the sword. The pursuit continued as far as Gezer and the
plains of Idumaea, Azotus and Jamnia, and the enemy lost about
three thousand men.
16. Breaking off the pursuit, Judas returned with his men 17.
and said to the people, "Never mind the booty, for we have
another battle ahead of us. 18. Gorgias and his troops are still
near us in the mountains. First stand up to our enemies and
fight them, and then you can safely collect the booty." 19. The
words were hardly out of Judas' mouth, when a detachment came
into view, peering down from the mountain. 20. Observing that
their own troops had been routed and that the camp had been
fired, since the smoke, which they could see, attested the fact,
21. they were panic-stricken at the sight; and when,
furthermore, they saw Judas' troops drawn up for battle on the
plain, 22. they all fled into Philistine territory.
36. Judas
and his brothers then said, "Now that our enemies have been
defeated, let us go up to purify the sanctuary and dedicate it."
37. So they marshalled the whole army, and went up to Mount
Zion. 38. There they found the sanctuary deserted, the altar
desecrated, the gates burnt down, and vegetation growing in the
courts as it might in a wood or on some mountain, while the
storerooms were in ruins. 39. They tore their garments and
mourned bitterly, putting dust on their heads. 40. They
prostrated themselves on the ground, and when the trumpets gave
the signal they cried aloud to Heaven.
On the 25th day of
the month of Chislev (Kislev), the Temple was rededicated to Yahweh with
festivities that lasted eight days.
1 Mac
4:41-56
41. Judas
then ordered his men to keep the Citadel garrison engaged until
he had purified the sanctuary. 42. Next, he selected priests who
were blameless and zealous for the Law 43. to purify the
sanctuary and remove the stones of the "Pollution" to some
unclean place.
44. They discussed what should be done about the altar of burnt
offering which had been profaned, 45. and very properly decided
to pull it down, rather than later be embarrassed about it since
it had been defiled by the gentiles. They therefore demolished
it 46. and deposited the stones in a suitable place on the hill
of the Dwelling to await the appearance of a prophet who should
give a ruling about them. 47. They took unhewn stones, as the
Law prescribed, and built a new altar on the lines of the old
one. 48. They restored the Holy Place and the interior of the
Dwelling, and purified the courts. 49. They made new sacred
vessels, and brought the lamp-stand, the altar of incense, and
the table into the Temple. 50. They burned incense on the altar
and lit the lamps on the lamp-stand, and these shone inside the
Temple. 51. They placed the loaves on the table and hung the
curtains and completed all the tasks they had undertaken.
52. On the twenty-fifth of the ninth month, Chislev, in the year
148 they rose at dawn 53. and offered a lawful sacrifice on the
new altar of burnt offering which they had made. 54. The altar
was dedicated, to the sound of hymns, zithers, lyres and
cymbals, at the same time of year and on the same day on which
the gentiles had originally profaned it. 55. The whole people
fell prostrate in adoration and then praised Heaven who had
granted them success. 56. For eight days they celebrated the
dedication of the altar, joyfully offering burnt offerings,
communion and thanksgiving sacrifices.
According to
tradition, only one cruse of pure olive oil ("mercy drops"), sealed by
the high priest and necessary for the dedicatory ritual, could be found.
Dedication-quality oil was rare and only made once per year. But this
tiny amount burned miraculously for eight days, until more might be
secured.
The following is
the English translation of the account found in The Babylonian Talmud,
Tractate Shabbat 21b:
"What is the reason for Chanukah? For
our Rabbis taught: On the 25th of Kislev begin the days of Chanukah,
which are eight, during which lamentation for the dead and fasting are
forbidden. For when the Greeks entered the Temple, they defiled all the
oils in it, and when the Hasmonean dynasty prevailed against and
defeated them, they [the Hasmoneans] searched and found only one cruse
of oil which possessed the seal of the High Priest, but which contained
sufficient oil for only one day's lighting; yet a miracle occurred there
and they lit [the lamp] for eight days. The following year these days
were appointed a Festival with the recitation of Hallel and
thanksgiving."
A principle
feature of the present-day celebration, commemorating this miracle, is
the lighting of candles, one the first night, two the second, and so on
until a special nine-branched candelabrum is completely filled.
The ninth candle is the shammah
that lights the other candles.
Shammah means servant. It is the candle from which all other candles
receive their flame. Though it is the ninth candle, it is actually the
first candle to be lit, reminding us that in the Kingdom of Yahweh, the
first shall be last and the last first, the servant of all will be King,
the stone which the builders has rejected will become the cornerstone.
The number nine is also representative of death. Our ninth candle
descended to earth as a light for the whole world. Though the darkness
tried to snub out his life, it was by means of death and resurrection
that his light shines brighter still, bringing hope to a dark and dying
generation.
The
Shammah reminds us that he was here at the very first, he will
also be here in the last days - that the Light of the World will soon
make his appearance public, make a mockery of the kings who rejected
light, and take upon himself the reins of government forever. Let me ask
you a personal question. Everything is now lined up exactly as the
prophets of old once forecast: So are you ready for his return? Have you
made your garments white in the light of the Lamb of Yahweh? Has the
first candle become your candle of eternal life and light?
We hope you have.
Hanukkah is
mentioned in an important juncture in the life of the Lamb:
Yochanan
10:22. It was the time of the feast of Dedication in Jerusalem.
It was winter, 23. and Yahshua was in the Temple walking up and
down in the Portico of Solomon. 24. The Jews gathered round him
and said, "How much longer are you going to keep us in suspense?
If you are the Anointed One, tell us openly." 25. Yahshua
replied: I have told you, but you do not believe. The
works I do in my Father's name are my witness; 26. but you do
not believe, because you are no sheep of mine. 27. The
sheep that belong to me listen to my voice; I know them and they
follow me. 28. I give them eternal life; they will never
be lost and no one will ever steal them from my hand. 29.
The Father, for what he has given me, is greater than anyone,
and no one can steal anything from the Father's hand. 30.
The Father and I are one (an
echad).
What is Yahshua saying about his
messiahship in the context of Hanukkah?
Consider the words
of Marty Goetz closely for a Messianic understanding of how we might
observe Hanukkah.
Make my life your temple, Lord, at this season’s start
To pull down every idol I have raised up in my heart
On this Hanukkah, On this feast of dedication
I dedicate myself to you
Take my defiled altar, Come and cleanse and come repair
So every time I falter I can run to meet you there
On this Hanukkah, On this feast of dedication
I dedicate myself to you
And with
every candle on the menorah
That illuminates the night
Comes a prayer you’ll kindle in me, Yahshua
A desire for your fire, for your light
O make of my mortal body
A house worthy of your name
Rid me of what’s ungodly
And every hidden thing of shame
On this Hanukkah, On this feast of dedication
I dedicate myself to you
And with
every candle on the menorah
That illuminates the night
Comes my prayer you’d kindle in me, Messiah
A desire for your fire, for your light
Take my supply of oil, Not enough to burn long, I fear
But oh how I pray I may one day say A great miracle happened here
On this Hanukkah, On this feast of dedication
I dedicate myself to you
My Yahshua – I dedicate myself ... to you.
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