Newsletter: 2009-15a A Season to Believe… part I

Hanukkah Greetings from HomeWorship 101™

There is a small group of people in the world who have been misunderstood, and persecuted throughout history. They were thought to be inferior, rebellious, unstable, and unintelligent. Some people saw them as sinister, evil, and dark. Some labeled them servants of the Devil, bringing ill-fortune and evil spirits. They were always encouraged to convert, and sometimes in history they faced forced conversions or death. It is a curiosity that over the centuries, in spite of the bias against them, they still seemed determined to stay that way.

Even today in some circles it is still debated if they are a curse, blessing, or anomaly, but generally here in America they have lived in peace and freedom. Sometimes their plight can be a little sad, because even when they are accepted into society, they still feel a little out step and different from the rest of us. I know of this because I married one, and after more than 30 years of marriage I can tell you that they are not that bad of a people. I am talking about, of course, the left-handed people.

There is another misunderstood group of people out there and they are the Judeans (the Jews). And this religious holiday of Hanukkah takes us back to a very dark time in their history. Their days were filled with terror and persecution. They had just returned to their homeland after being exiled, only to find everything in ruin. There were no prophets, no visions, and no angelic visits to guide them. They couldn't help but wonder, did the prophetic silence indicate that GOD had forgotten them? The neighboring nations were not sympathetic to their plight either and were tormenting and attacking them. Still, they had their faith, and with a sword in one hand and a broom in the other, the Judeans began to clean up their beloved city, Jerusalem.

“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

Chanukkiyah (English, Chanukah or Hanukkah), is the Hebrew word meaning dedication, and is celebrated for eight days in the ninth Biblical month beginning on the twenty-fifth day (Dec.12, beginning on the 11^th). It is not a Biblically mandated Holy Day, but it carries a timeless message of dedication, re-dedication, and commitment to the ways of YHWH, because HE keeps HIS Covenant promises with us! Scriptures state Yahshua showed His respects at the Temple when Hanukkah began, it doesn’t say anything about Him lighting candles for eight days. In my humble opinion, it would seem reasonable to think the faithful of Christ could at least say a prayer of thanks to YHWH at the start of Hanukkah for the blessing of the Messianic Covenant which is about to be fulfilled, and was fulfilled in the life of Yahshua – lighting 8 candles is optional

~ A Précis History ~

In ancient times, the Jews were hated because they steadfastly believed in the 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 its statue and give a lesser god an upgrade. Later in time, when the Romans came to town, they 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 Hanukkah 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 the 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 Hellenized 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. It is a sad fact that many religious folks have forgotten, the Protestants have Reformation Day on October 31^st to celebrate their religious freedom won by the bloodshed of many – unfortunately trick or treating on the pagan holiday of Halloween has smothered any talk of religious freedom. The Jews have Hanukkah as their religious freedom day won by the bloodshed of many past Jews – unfortunately that idea has been covered up by candle lighting ceremonies and gift giving. Satan has been busy.

Unfortunately, the dark side is always trying to extinguish GOD’S Light, and Hanukkah also commemorates a hard-won victory for religious freedom gained by the faithful against overwhelming odds. No matter who or where you are, you have an individual right to seek GOD's Light and wisdom for your own personal enlightenment.

The dark side evolves with society in its ways of extinguishing GOD’s Light. Today, if they can’t do it by killing the faithful they will do it by something called over-commercialization. In our consumer-driven society, the idea the gift giving has become more important than the meaning of the holiday. For years, many Christians have complained the Christmas hoopla of gift giving has smothered out the meaning of the holiday. It gotten so bad many say it wasn’t the Jews that killed Jesus Christ, it was Santa Claus! 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.

“Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying,
“I am the light of the world.
He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness,
but have the light of life.”
- John 8:12

There is another hidden meaning to this holiday that would be important to Christians – the conception of Yahshua of Nazareth.

The Scriptural hint of this begins with the Gospel of Luke (1:24-27) and the birth of John by Elizabeth. Yahshua was conceived six months into Elizabeth’s pregnancy. Verse 27 notes that Elizabeth was barren and mention is made of YHWH taking away her reproach from men. In the Bible times, people would laugh at, or put women down who were without child. Thus she says, “YHWH has taken my reproach away,” since now she will get an heir. The month of pregnancy mentioned is the third Biblical month, around May/June.

The Apostle Luke continues in 1:34-41, “Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” Luke 1:36, “Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren.” Luke 1:56-57, “And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her house. Now Elizabeth’s full time came for her to be delivered, and she brought forth a son.”

Yahshua was born six months after the first month when John was born at Passover. The popular scholarly opinion is that He was born in the seventh month during the Feast of Tabernacles. If we count back nine months from Tabernacles we discover that he was conceived about the time of Chanukkah, as YHWH’s Light of the world!

Some folks have been asking why I do not list the year ending holidays of Hanukkah and 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 the Biblically - YHWH - ordained Holy Days or Holy Convocations of Lev.ch.23. In part two of this newsletter I'll talk about Christmas.

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

Wishing you a season of believing... 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 2009-15a, posted 12/11/09.

Copyright © 2009 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 (334) 678-0913. 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 I

~ A Précis History ~