Newsletter: 2007-16 A Season to Believe… part 1

Chanukah Greetings from HomeWorship 101™

“Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem,
and it was winter.
And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon’s porch.” – John 10:22

Chanukah is the Hebrew word meaning dedication, and is celebrated for eight days in the ninth Biblical month beginning on the twenty-fifth day (December 5^th beginning the eve of the 4^th). It is not a Biblically mandated Holy Day, but it carries a timeless message of religious freedom, dedication, and re-dedication to the ancient ways of YHWH, because HE keeps HIS Covenant promises with us. The above quote states that Yahshua showed His respects at the Temple when Chanukah began, but it doesn’t say anything about Him lighting candles for eight days.

A point not often mentioned is that Chanukah is the Jewish “Religious Freedom Day.” I have been talking a lot about religious freedom these past few newsletters. Just like the Christian Reformation Day, were a small band of protesting Christians were victorious against the superpower Roman Catholics; and the US Thanksgiving Day, commemorating the small group of protestant pilgrims who fled religious persecution in Europe, and against all odds crossed the great sea to America, are all basically battles over religious freedom. For those who can see, the message is that YHWH provides Divine protection to those who struggle against overwhelming odds to keep HIS Light alive.

"It is impossible to mentally
or socially enslave a Bible reading people."

The real message, the one that Satan so cleverly hides, is that throughout the centuries all the horrible bloodshed and sacrifice is for simple religious freedom. Or as one reader wrote back to me, it’s not Religious Freedom Day, it’s Freedom From Religion Day! Never forget, Satan hates humanity having the personal right to study YHWH’s Torah/Scriptures and worship how ones faith guides them because then he can’t control, or socially enslave you. Truly, the first miracle of Chanukah was the victory of the vastly outnumbered Maccabee warriors (the protesting Jews), over the world superpower Syrian Greeks, and their philosophical and spiritual counterparts, the Hellenists. In fact, in the distinctive Jewish Chanukah prayer “Al HaNisim,” the miraculous oil isn’t even mentioned!

A Précis History

In ancient times, the Jews were hated because they steadfastly believed in one and only GOD-CREATOR. The surrounding Greek and other gentile nations were pluralistic and believed in many gods. If one god wasn’t working for them, no problem, they would tear down it’s statue and give a lesser god and upgrade. Later in time, when the Romans came to town, they didn’t really didn’t care too much about which gods were worshipped, as long as you didn’t say I believe in the one and only GOD.

Funny thing about studying history, the more things change, the more they stay the same. The holiday of Hanukah goes back to the year 165 B.C.E. and it was one of the great Jewish victories of all time, independence from Greco-Syrian oppression. It was a cruel, harsh, and savage time for the Jews. Culturally, it was the "progressive" (sic), Hellenistic time of Greek and Syrian so-called "deities in the flesh," enforcing their modern solution to the Jewish problem. Either assimilate, or be annihilated! If Judaism was practiced, or if the Sabbath was observed, or dietary laws kept, or circumcision performed, or Scrolls of the Law/Torah were found, the whole family was put to death. It was a horrible time for the Judeans, their houses were burned down, and tens of thousands were sold into slavery. The full story can be found in 1 and 2 Maccabees in the Apocrypha of the Bible.

The small number of Maccabees had no real chance of winning the war against Greece superpower of the day. Nevertheless their faith sustained them and they fought the war for 25 years. It was the classic David against Goliath, not only was Israel dwarfed by the Greek Empire, but most of the Jewish population was more like Hellenised Greeks then Jews, only a small remnant of Jewish faithful joined in the revolt under the command of Judah Maccabee and his “radical” militia. These were Jews of zealous faith who risked their lives for their beliefs.

The Greek ruler of the Israelite lands was Antiochus IV. As the new ruler of Israel he commanded everyone to convert to Hellenism, (Greek Metrology) and the Greek values that he held. Many Jews converted because they found it to be a very civilized way of life. But, there were those Jews who held close to the Torah and YHWH’s way of worship and refused to embrace Hellenism. When the rebellion began one of the first things Antiochus did was to desecrate Jerusalem’s Holy Temple. He ordered the utensils, such as the Menorah, Alter and Table, to be defiled and torn down. Then to be certain that he had accomplished his job, he ordered a pig to be sacrificed on the Holy Altar. After doing all of that, he then ordered that the Greek god Zeus be worshiped in the Temple.

In time, with a sword in one hand and a shovel in the other the Jews finally won back their city and rebuilt their beloved Jerusalem Temple, but they had a big problem. The oil for the golden 7-branched lamp stand of the Temple, (called the Menorah in Hebrew), required special preparations, and it took several days to complete the process, and they only had enough consecrated lamp oil for a day. Never-the-less, the Temple light, supplied with only one days worth of oil, burned in the Temple for about eight days until the new oil was ready. This was the second miracle of Hanukkah, and amongst the chaos of their life, it was a Heavenly sign that gave them hope. The Jewish holiday of Hanukkah generally celebrates this miraculous event. And the meaning behind the bold miracle is that in spite of Satan being the god of this evil world (2Cor.4:4), our CREATOR's Glorious Light will shine for the faithful.

"I have only a small flickering light to guide me the darkness of a thick forest.
Up comes a theologian and blows it out." -Denis Diderot

Today we find YHWH’s Light in the Bible, unfortunately, the dark side is always trying to extinguish YHWH’s Light, destroy it, or minimize it. Hanukkah also commemorates a hard-won victory for religious liberty and freedom gained by the faithful against overwhelming odds, and the fight still continues to this day. No matter who or where you are, you have an individual right to seek YHWH’s Light and Wisdom for your own personal enlightenment. And one can worship however their conscience guides them. America’s founding pilgrims knew their Bible, and this is such a great spiritual lesson that the ideals of religious freedom became one of the articles in America’s founding Constitution.

Once in a while someone will ask why I do not list the year ending holidays of Hanukkah or Christmas on my website. The focus of my book and website is – nonreligious - Biblical teaching only. Technically speaking, Hanukkah and Christmas are 'traditional' or 'national' religious holidays based on Biblical stories. Discounting the characterless mass-marketing, I don't have a problem with righteous themed holidays as long as they do not replace a Biblically - YHWH - ordained Holy Day of Lev.ch.23.

In my Internet travels I know some Messianic Jews who observe Hanukah only, and some who observe both Hanukah and Christmas. I also know some Christians who observe Tabernacles, Hanukah, and Christmas. I will leave the reformation issues to the professionals – I don’t have that much energy (Act.3:19-21). For the time being, I know that both holidays are based on sharing and giving to family, friends, and the needy. And both holidays are immensely enhanced by random gifts of kindness, because in the end it is not your religion that will save you, it is your good heart (Mat.7:22-23; Heb.4:12).

Hanukkah Hoopla / The Jewish Christmas

“Patterning your life around other peoples opinions
is nothing more than slavery.”
-Lawana Blackwell

The dark side evolves with society in its ways of extinguishing YHWH’s Light. Today, if they can’t do by killing the faithful they will do by something called over-commercialization. In our consumer-driven society, the idea the gift giving has become more important then the Biblical meaning of the holiday. For years, many Christians have complained that the Christmas hoopla of gift giving has smothered out the meaning of the holiday. The Jews have the same problem, gift giving has become so prominent in the Hanukkah festivities that some call it the Jewish Christmas. Be cautious not fall victim to the characterless mass-marketing. It’s not about having the best present - remember, “pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” Pro.16:18. While you are shopping for holiday gifts, one important lesson can be gleaned from Yahshua. The tephillinhe he wore came in many styles and quality, and by this example He taught us moderation, if you need to buy something, buy quality at a fair price, but do not go overboard and buy ostentatious products to be a show-off (Mat.23.5).

Enjoy the journey of learning…, and shine on (Mat.5:16).

Please remember to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and for all those who stand with Israel (Ps.122).

Take care. Peace and blessings, Errol.
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Errol Mueller, chronicler extraordinaire
e-mail: errol@homeworship101.com
website: www.homeworship101.com
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WSC Newsletter 2007-16a, posted 12/04/07.

Copyright © 2007 Errol Mueller. All rights reserved. Short quotations, page copying, or redistribution for personal or non-commercial group study is permitted and encouraged, provided they are copied in total with no alterations or deletions. Author’s name, website address, and copyright notice must be included. If any other use is desired, written permission is required.
For information, email or call toll free (877) 375-7878. White Stone Communications (Rev.2:17), Dothan, AL.
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Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version of the Holy Bible.

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A Season to Believe... part 1