Matthew chapter 5
Today we are walking in: Hanukkah Is The Opposite Of Christ-Mass
And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light H215 upon the earth: and it was so.
light
Today we look to the word H215 owr--to be or become light, shine; to become light (day); to shine (of the sun)
to become bright; to be illuminated; to become lighted up; to give light, shine (of sun, moon, and stars); light up, cause to shine, shine; to kindle, light
The Torah testifies...............
And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; H215 to go by day and night:
Speak unto Aaron, and say unto him, When thou lightest the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light H215 over against the candlestick.
The prophets proclaim..................
And now for a little space grace hath been shewed from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten H215 our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage.
Moreover thou leddest them in the day by a cloudy pillar; and in the night by a pillar of fire, to give them light H215 in the way wherein they should go.
The writings bear witness...........................
He spread a cloud for a covering; and fire to give light H215 in the night.
Scripture Reveals “Eight” Dedications
Some people rationalize that Hanukkah is not mentioned in scripture. But did you know that the word “Hanukkah” (dedication) is mentioned a total of eight times in the Torah, Tanakh and the Briyth Chadashah (Renewed Covenant Scriptures) in reference to the re-dedication or The Most High’s Temple? Beloved, this is no small coincidence! It becomes increasingly more evident that the number “8” keeps on popping up everywhere in connection with the dedication of our Heavenly Father’s Temple!
If our Messiah, Yahusha is the “Living Torah” that became flesh and he said that “one jot or title shall in no wise pass from the Torah until heaven and earth passes away,” (Matthew 5:17-19), this means that people who speak evil about Hanukkah by calling it pagan are actually speaking evil against the Torah, our Messiah, and the altar in the Temple!
If you want to make a distinction between the Talmudic man-made traditions that have been “added” to Hanukkah that is one thing, but to call Hanukkah evil is to express the epitome of ignorance and worse yet, it is to speak blasphemy against the altar in the Holy of Holies. There are a total of ten references for the word “dedication” in scripture.
Two of these references describe the dedication of King Nebuchadnezzar’s abominable golden statue in Daniel 3:2-3. But if you take away these two references from Daniel 3:2-3, you end up with 8 references for the word “dedication” that are pertaining to the altar of The Most High:
Bemidbar (Numbers) 7:84 This was the dedication (Hanukkah) of the altar, in the day when it was anointed, by the princes of Yisra’el: twelve chargers of silver, twelve silver bowls, twelve spoons of gold:
Bemidbar (Numbers) 7:88 And all the oxen for the sacrifice of the peace offerings were twenty and four bullocks, the rams sixty, the he goats sixty, the lambs of the first year sixty. This was the dedication (Hanukkah) of the altar, after that it was anointed.
2nd Dibre ha’Yamiym (Chronicles) 7:9 And in the eighth day they made a solemn assembly: for they kept the dedication (Hanukkah) of the altar seven days, and the feast seven days.
Ezra 6:16 And the children of Yisra’el, the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the dedication (Hanukkah) of this house of Elohiym with joy.
Ezra 6:17 And offered at the dedication (Hanukkah) of this house of Elohiym an hundred bullocks, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs; and for a sin offering for all Yisra’el, twelve he goats, according to the number of the tribes of Yisra’el.
Nechemyah (Nehemiah) 12:27 And at the dedication (Hanukkah) of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites out of all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem, to keep the dedication with gladness, both with thanksgivings, and with singing, with cymbals, psalteries, and with harps.
Daniyel (Daniel) 3:2 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication (Hanukkah) of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
Daniyel (Daniel) 3:3 Then the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together unto the dedication (Hanukkah) of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
Yahuwchanon (John) 10:22 And it was at Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) the feast of the dedication, and it was winter.
The Attitudes of Ephrayim & Judah
There is a common argument that I hear among those within the Hebraic Root’s community against celebrating extra Hebrew feast day. They often cite this verse:
Debariym (Deuteronomy) 12:32 What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: you shall not add thereto, nor diminish from it.
The rationale here is that those of us who observe Hanukkah and Puwriym are “adding” to the commandments.
But my response to these people is the same as what the Apostle Sha’uwl (Paul) spoke about in Romans 14 when he wrote the following:
Romiym (Romans) 14:
4 Who are you that judges another man’s servant? to his own master he stands or falls. Yea, he shall be holden up: for Elohiym is able to make him stand. 5 One man esteems one day above another: another esteems every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
6 He that regards the day, regards it unto The Most High; and he that regards not the day, to The Most High he does not regard it. He that eats, eats to The Most High, for he gives Elohiym thanks; and he that eats not, to The Most High he eats not, and gives Elohiym thanks.
Many Christians have taken these verses to mean that Paul was making the Feasts of The Most High and the Sabbath days optional, but that is not what Paul was suggesting in these verses. Paul’s letter to the Romans was specifically addressing kosher meat diets versus vegetarian diets, and also days when these foods would have been abstained from---in other words, fasting days. Paul admonished the body of believers not to judge one another regarding these issues that are not Torah commandments.
The House of Judah honored certain fasting days to commemorate times of their deliverance while in captivity (see Zechariah 7:5-6). But the other tribes were judging the Hebrews for honoring these fasting days. Paul wrote to those who were judging one another over these fasting days not to do so for these were not commanded in the Torah, yet they were still biblical days since they are mentioned in Zechariah 7:5-6.
And so I submit to you that Hanukkah and Puwriym fall into the same category as these “fasting days” that Paul admonished that we should not judge one another for. Both Hanukkah & Puwriym (like these fasting days in Zechariah) are biblical, even if they are not specifically commanded in the Torah.
As I also mentioned earlier, both Hanukkah and Puwriym were decreed by those who were chosen and selected by Yah to save the House of Yahuwdah (Judah). Ya’aqob (Jacob) spoke this prophecy over his son Yahuwdah (Judah):
Bereshiyth (Genesis) 49:10 “The sceptre shall not depart from Yahuwdah (Judah), nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.”
This means that Yah honors the decrees issued by Esther & Judah Maccabees to celebrate these important times of The Most High’s deliverance for his people. I am not commanding anyone to celebrate Hanukkah or Puwriym. Celebrating these biblical Hebrew feast day like Hanukkah & Puwriym is no different than a married couple celebrating their annual wedding anniversary with their spouse.
No place in scripture are we commanded to celebrate a wedding anniversary. But is it against the scriptures to do so? No! Likewise, if The Most High healed you of a disease on a special day like for instance, let’s say that on February 7th 1985, you were healed of cancer supernaturally, and you want celebrate every year on that date and remember that The Most High did something special for you, is that a sin? Of course not! We are commanded many times in scripture to remember the wonderful miraculous things that our Heavenly Father has done for us.
These special times in Hebrew history were important to our beloved Messiah, and so they should also be important to us. I have heard some argue the fact that although our Messiah was at the Temple on the Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah), as recorded in John 10:22, they argue that he was not there to celebrate the feast. But my response to that kind logic is this: “there is nothing in scripture that is there accidentally or because of happenstance.” This event would not have been recorded for us if it was not important, and our Messiah would never have given the “appearance of evil” if there was something pagan about celebrating Hanukkah.
The reason why this argument is not a valid one, is because we read in the 7th chapter of John, that Yahusha remained in Galilee (90 miles away from Jerusalem) while his disciples went to the Feast of Tabernacles. He did not go to the Feast of Tabernacles right away because he knew that the religious leaders were trying to kill him. And so when he finally made his way to the Feast of Tabernacles, he went “incognito” (in secret). Three chapters later when he came to the Feast of Dedication, why would he risk his life to be there once again if it was not important?
He traveled 90 miles from Galilee in the cold, rainy, winter season to be there and yet he had nothing negative to say about Hanukkah! If he was opposed to Hanukkah, he would have spoken up just like he did in John 2:14-15 about the money-changers tables. He obviously believed that Hanukkah was important or he would not have made his presence known in the Temple on the “Feast of Dedication” in John 10:22.
In Romans 2:28 we are told that if our heart is circumcised and we obey his Torah, then we are Yahuwdiym (Hebrews). If we are engaged to be married to the “Lion of the Tribe of Yahuwdah” (Revelation 5:5), then we should recognize that the bride must marry into the tribe of her bridegroom just as Ruth (a Moabite) joined the Tribe of Yahuwdah (Judah) before marrying Boaz, who was a Yahuwdiym (Jew).
If the book of Esther is “scripture” and the book of Maccabees was originally part of the Cannon of Scripture in the 1611 King James Bible, then we can accurately say that these books of the Bible were inspired by our Heavenly Father:
2nd Timotiyos (Timothy) 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of Elohiym, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.
Now that being the case, then Esther’s decree that we should remember the days of “Puwriym” and the decree of Judah Maccabee that we should remember “Hanukkah” are decrees from Elohiym himself! Esther & Judah Maccabees were no less inspired by the Holy Spirit than Moses was when he was given the
commandments for Yisra’el to keep the Sabbath and the seven annual feasts.
To those who do not want to observe Hanukkah or Puwriym---fine! But don’t judge those who want to remember what The Most High has done for us in delivering our people from the hands of the enemy.
The Apostle Sha’uwl (Paul) expressed in Romans 3:2 that “to the Yahuwdiy (Hebrews) were entrusted the oracles” (the mysteries of the Torah). Both Esther (who was from the Tribe of Benjamin) and Judah Maccabee had assimilated into the House of Judah by their obedience to Torah, and to them were entrusted these same oracles.
In recent years, as the Hebraic Root’s Movement has grown, I see an attitude of Pharisaism within the House of Ephrayim just as much as there is in the House of Yahuwdah (Judah). In their efforts to depart from the Pharisaism of the Yahuwdiym (Hebrews), they are just as legalistic and Pharisaic as Judah is in their own right.
It goes right along with what Sha’uwl said in Romans 2:1 “He that judges does the same things.” Thinking that they are more righteous than Judah, they become just as Pharisaic in their attitude because they judge wrongfully, and in doing so, they become no different in their attitudes.
Pharisaism comes in different packages. Ephraimite Pharisaism is just as hypocritical and legalistic as the Pharisaism of Judaism. Those from the House of Ephrayim have an attitude that is so rigid about the “letter” of the Torah (which kills), that they become blinded to the “spirit” of Torah (which gives life). The original intent and purpose of Torah is to bring us into a deeper revelation of who Messiah is (Galatians 3:24-25).
Is Hanukkah bringing us closer to Messiah and his Torah? Are there lessons to be learned by reading the book of Maccabees and remembering those who suffered and died for their love of Torah?
It would be consistent with what the Psalmist wrote here:
Tehilliym (Psalm) 72:14 He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in his sight.
Tehilliym (Psalm) 116:15 Precious in the sight of The Most High is the death of his set-apart ones [saints].
Our Messiah remembered the death of his set-apart ones when he visited the Temple for Hanukkah and he considered it no trivial matter. Not only was he there to remember the saints who died for their love of The Most High and his Torah, but he was there most importantly because he was zealous for his Father’s House. Only a few chapters earlier, in John 2, we saw the righteous indignation that he displayed over the way that his Father’s house was being defiled by the money-changers.
He was essentially doing the same thing as Judah Maccabees did 164 years earlier when he cleansed the Temple of all who would defile his Father’s house. Eight chapters later, he was once again displaying that he was indeed “zealous” about the re-dedication of his Father’s house. Beloved, this was no coincidence that he cleansed the Temple of the money-changers and then “8” chapters later, he was there to celebrate the Feast of Dedication!
Tehilliym (Psalm) 69:9 For the zeal of your house has eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached you are fallen upon me.
Yahuwchanon (John) 2:17 And his disciples remembered that it was written, the zeal of your house has eaten me up.
The five wise virgins in Matthew 25 are the ones who “follow the lamb wherever he goes” (Revelation 14:4) and this means that they imitate him and his way of worshiping the Father in spirit and in truth. Did our Messiah celebrate Hanukkah?Absolutely!
Let us therefore rightly divide the “word of truth” from the entire counsel of scripture (to include the book of Esther & Maccabees). And may we follow the example of our High Priest, Messiah Yahusha who is the author and finisher of our faith:
Ibriym (Hebrews) 12:2 Looking unto Yahusha the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the Taw (cross), despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of Elohiym.
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