A Messianic

Perspective Of:

Chanukah

BEHOLD ... I AM the Light of the world!

For those who know that the Wild Olive is grafted into the
Natural Olive ... those who recognize their Hebraic Roots.
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Amanda Buys’ Spiritual Covering
This is a product of Kanaan Ministries, a non-profit ministry under the covering of Roly,
Amanda’s husband for more than 40 years.

There is no copyright on this material. However, no

part may be reproduced and/or presented for
personal gain. All rights to this material are reserved
to further the Kingdom of our Messiah Y’shua
HaMashiach / Jesus Christ ONLY.

For further information or to place an order, please contact

us at:

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Kanaan International Website

Website: [Link]

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Table of Contents
Preface 4
Introduction 9
Chanukah (Festival of Lights) 11
Chanukah 13
God’s Purpose with Creation 16
The Remnant 24
War against the Greeks 25
The Oil 26
The Miracle 26
The Purpose of Light 29
Proclamation of a Miracle 31
Yeshua the Messiah at Chanukah 37
The Blessing of Confidence in Who I am in Yeshua 51
Some of the Elements of the Celebration 57
Conclusion 60
Scripture readings for Chanukah 61
A shortened Version of the Candle Lighting 63
Priestly Blessing 64

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Preface
This is another book in a series (A Messianic Perspective of …) put together to try and
assist Christians in their understanding of our Hebraic Roots. In so doing, we hope to
bridge the gap between the physical experience of the Old Testament and the spiritual
significance of the New Testament. In this book, the focus will be on Messianic leadership.

The journey toward my understanding of our Hebraic Roots began a few years ago when I
(Roland) attended a Bar-mitzvah in a local synagogue. After the service they told this
story:

Every young man at the age of thirteen years goes through a process ending in
the declaration of his entering manhood.
He is given a new name.
His name is engraved on a wooden carving of a tree – the Tree of Life.
The rabbi sends a note to Jerusalem where his name is entered into the Book of
Life.
He doesn’t need a visa if he should go to Israel and, because his name is
recorded and he can stay there forever.

As they told this story, I saw in it the New Testament Truth of accepting Y’shua [Jesus] as
your personal Saviour, and of being accepted into the Kingdom of God. What was being
done in the natural at a Bar-mitzvah had a spiritual parallel in the Kingdom of God. I
realized that if we observe the Hebraic festivals and celebrations in the natural, we would
uncover spiritual Patterns and Truths.

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!
My thanks to a spiritual friend, Arthur Aaron, who started me down this path, and to all the
secretaries for the hours of typing.

These notes are the firstfruits of our study, and we realize that there will be to add.

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Our suggestions for using this book are as follows:

1. As you study, try to understand the heart with which it was written.
2. Keep in mind the fact that we are looking for spiritual truths that are manifested in the
natural and are not suggesting legalism.
3. Consider the strands and concepts that link the:
- Old and New Testament
- Jew and Christian
4. And consider what position you should take in relation to:
- The Jewish people
- Jerusalem, and the Land of Israel
- The keeping of the God’s Commandments in loving obedience
5. Remember, you need to count the cost.

“If I should forget you

O Jerusalem
Let my right hand lose its skill
If I do not remember you
Let my tongue cling to the roof
Of my mouth
If I do not exalt Jerusalem above My chief joy.”
Psalm 137:5

We welcome feedback from those who use this book.

Suggestions for improvements would be particularly appreciated, as would any testimonies

as a result of you having used this book and applied it to your life.

Yours In Y’shua,

Roland & Amanda Buys

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Rejoice!
Y’shua [Jesus] is the Light of the world ... is this not great news? A reason to celebrate?

John tells us of the Creative Gift from YHWH, the God of Israel, where His Son proclaims
HIs Fulfillment of this Jewish Feast ... that He is the Light to this world.

John 5:1 “LATER ON there was a Jewish festival (feast) for which Jesus went up to
Jerusalem.”

John 8:5 “Once more Jesus addressed the crowd. He said, I am the Light of the world. He
who follows Me will not be walking in the dark, but will have the Light which is Life.”

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The Apostle John confirms this Word in the witness of a man called John the Baptist ...

John 1:6-7, 15 “There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man
came to witness, that he might testify of the Light, that all men might believe in it [adhere to
it, trust it, and rely upon it] through him.
15John testified about Him and cried out, This was He of Whom I said, He Who comes

after me has priority over me, for He was before me. [He takes rank above me, for He
existed before I did. He has advanced before me, because He is my Chief.]”

And again in the witness of Simeon, a just and devout man ...

Luke 2:25-32 “Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this
man was righteous and devout [cautiously and carefully observing the divine Law], and
looking for the Consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been
divinely revealed (communicated) to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death
before he had seen the Lord’s Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One). And prompted by
the [Holy] Spirit, he came into the temple [enclosure]; and when the parents brought in the
little child Jesus to do for Him what was customary according to the Law, [Simeon] took
Him up in his arms and praised and thanked God and said, And now, Lord, You are
releasing Your servant to depart (leave this world) in peace, according to Your word. For
with my [own] eyes I have seen Your Salvation, which You have ordained and prepared
before (in the presence of) all peoples, A Light for revelation to the Gentiles [to disclose
what was before unknown] and [to bring] praise and honor and glory to Your people
Israel.”

And so we pray you are blessed and celebrate in YHWH’s Light ... His Perfect Son! May
you come to a greater understanding of this Truth ...

Let us rejoice!

Chag Chanukah sameach!

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Introduction
As we approach this study of the messianic
perspective of Chanukah (Festival of Lights) we need
to keep in mind a key principle that God sets out in:

Psalm133: Behold, how good and how pleasant it is

for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the
precious ointment poured on the head, that ran down
on the beard, even the beard of Aaron, that came
down upon the collar and skirts of his garments
[consecrating the whole body]. It is like the dew of
[lofty] Mount Hermon and the dew that comes on
the hills of Zion; for there the Lord has commanded
the blessing, even life forevermore [upon the high and the lowly].

For the past 2000 years, the Church has, for the most part worked to separate itself from
its Hebraic roots. This is a violation of Paul’s clear message that we are wild branches
grafted into the olive tree (Romans 11.13-24). The olive tree represents God’s Covenants
and promises made to Israel, which we become part of when we received our salvation
(Ephesians 2.12-13). Paul warned us against separating and becoming arrogant
(Romans 11.20), knowing that the root holds up the branches, not the other way around.
Sadly, the Church’s rejection of its Hebraic roots has led to:

• heresies in the Church,

• the integration of pagan practices,
• and the persecution of the Jewish people by the Church throughout the centuries
(Wagner, 1998:11).

As we can see there are at least two themes in the Bible which emphasize the coming
together of the Israelites and the Gentiles.

Firstly, the wild olive

In Jeremiah 11.10-16 the Lord speaks through His prophet Jeremiah and talks of both
houses of Israel and Judah as a “green” olive tree. Also in Romans 11.17-24 Paul clearly
says that the Israelites’ rejection is not final and that the Gentiles (wild olives) would be
grafted into1 the natural (green) olive (Israelites) (Romans 11.24).

Secondly, One New Man

God has a purpose to create ONE NEW MAN (generic) out of both Israelite and Gentile,
by bringing them both to the Cross – see Ephesians 2.14-16. The conflict between both
groups is reconciled as we come into “one Spirit in the Father” (Ephesians 2:18).

1 This grafting is contrary to current agricultural practice where the cultivated fruit tree branch
is grafted into the wild tree.
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Paul goes on to say that “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow
citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household … with Christ Jesus Himself
as the Chief Cornerstone. In Him the whole building is joined together and rises to become
a Holy temple in the Lord (Ephesians 2.19-21).

[This division of Jew and Gentile] is beginning to change …the

Church and Israel are [both] rediscovering each other. As God is
restoring His land and people, Israel, in fulfillment of Bible
prophecy and in preparation of the soon coming Messiah,
Christians are rediscovering their Hebraic roots, while Jews are
meeting Christians who truly love and pray for them and the
nation of Israel. In the past, Christians persecuted Jews in the
Name of Jesus. Today, because of Yeshua, the dividing wall of
hostilityǁ is coming down, just as He had planned from the
beginning (Ephesians 2.14-18) (Wagner, 1998:11).

Believers in Yeshua must rejoice

We have such a lot to be thankful for. The Maccabees’ courage and dedication to a God-
centred life created the platform for a temple to be available for Yeshua to be consecrated
in as a baby. Paul tells us grafted-in people that Israel is now our fore-fathers.

1 Corinthians 10:1 ”FOR I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, that our forefathers
were all under and protected by the cloud [in which God’s Presence went before them],
and every one of them passed safely through the [Red] Sea,“

There he tells us to rejoice …

Romans 15.10 “Again it is said, Rejoice (exult), O Gentiles, along with His [own]
people;”

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Chanukah (Festival of Lights)
“Whenever the people of God are under siege, no matter how dark the time, this festival
proclaims that the answer to prayer is close by.”

Shema – Hear O Israel

Deuteronomy 6.4-9 “Hear O Israel the Lord Our God The Lord is One And you shall love
the Lord your God With all your heart And all your soul And with all your might And these
words which I command you Shall be upon your heart.”

Daniel prohesies that whatever attack is launched by the kingdom of darkness will be
overcome by a remnant of believers that stand up. In the end-times, we are also called to
“take action”.

Daniel 11.32-33 “And such as violate the covenant he shall pervert and seduce with
flatteries, but the people who know their God shall prove themselves strong and shall
stand firm and do exploits [for God]. 33 And they who are wise and understanding
among the people shall instruct many and make them understand, though some [of them
and their followers] shall fall by the sword and flame, by captivity and plunder, for many
days.”

Men of valour do introspection of their hearts so that they are ready to meet God’s call.

Proverbs 20.27 “The spirit of man [that factor in human personality which proceeds
immediately from God] is the lamp of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts.”

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Believers in Yeshau must call their spirit man to attention2 and declare to the spirit man
that this is a time to celebrate the miracles that God does for each one of us.

Our spirit man must go ahead of our soul man and like David, declare: “Bless the Lord, Oh
my Soul!”

Psalm 103 “BLESS (AFFECTIONATELY, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul; and all
that is [deepest] within me, bless His holy name! Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise)
the Lord, O my soul, and forget not [one of] all His benefits - Who forgives [every one of]
all your iniquities, Who heals [each one of] all your diseases, who redeems your life from
the pit and corruption, Who beautifies, dignifies, and crowns you with loving-kindness and
tender mercy; who satisfies your mouth [your necessity and desire at your personal age
and situation] with good so that your youth, renewed, is like the eagle’s [strong,
overcoming, soaring]! The Lord executes righteousness and justice [not for me only, but]
for all who are oppressed. He made known His ways [of righteousness and justice] to
Moses, His acts to the children of Israel. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger
and plenteous in mercy and loving-kindness. He will not always chide or be contending,
neither will He keep His anger forever or hold a grudge. He has not dealt with us after our
sins nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the
earth, so great are His mercy and loving-kindness toward those who reverently and
worshipfully fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our
transgressions from us. As a father loves and pities his children, so the Lord loves and
pities those who fear Him [with reverence, worship, and awe]. For He knows our frame, He
[earnestly] remembers and imprints [on His heart] that we are dust. As for man, his days
are as grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes. For the wind passes over it and it is
gone, and its place shall know it no more. But the mercy and loving-kindness of the Lord
are from everlasting to everlasting upon those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him,
and His righteousness is to children’s children - to such as keep His covenant [hearing,
receiving, loving, and obeying it] and to those who [earnestly] remember His
commandments to do them [imprinting them on their hearts]. The Lord has established His
throne in the heavens, and His kingdom rules over all. Bless (affectionately, gratefully
praise) the Lord, you His angels, you mighty ones who do His commandments, hearkening
to the voice of His word. Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, all you His hosts,
you His ministers who do His pleasure. Bless the Lord, all His works in all places of His
dominion; bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul!”

2For more info on blessing your spirit man, see book available from Kanaan Ministries: Man’s Purpose and
Gifts of the Spirit.
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Chanukah
Chanukah, also known as the Festival of Lights is celebrated in the month of Kislev
(approximately December).

Chanukah means “dedication”.

Moses spends time with God on the mountain. There he gets taken up into Kairos time. He
was able to see the story of Creation from its very beginning, and he is able to see
the promise of a Covenantal land Israel.

At the same time God showed him how to build a tabernacle on earth, a physical
manifestation of the spiritual tabernacle in God’s realm / heaven.

Exodus 25.8-9 “Let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. And you
shall make it according to all that I show you, the pattern of the tabernacle or dwelling
and the pattern of all the furniture of it.”

Exodus 25.22 There I will meet with you and, from above the mercy seat, from between
the two cherubim that are upon the ark of the Testimony, I will speak intimately with you of
all which I will give you in commandment to the Israelites”.

A study of the tabernacle, its layout and utensils and the

correlation with the Body of Yeshua’s role as set out in the
New Testament is the subject of another study.

One of the most important “pieces” of the tabernacle was

the Menorah / the Lampstand.

We find the making, design and beauty of the golden lamp

stand set out in great detail.

Exodus 37.17-18 “And he made the lampstand of pure

gold; its base and shaft were made of hammered work; its
cups, its knobs, and its flowers were of one piece with it.
There were six branches going out of the sides of the
lampstand, three branches out of one side of it and three
branches out of the other side of it,”

Moses also gives a Commandment from God to the priests – the lamp must burn
continuously – using only pure olive oil.

Exodus 27:20-21 “You shall command the Israelites to provide you with pure oil of
crushed olives for the light, to cause it to burn continually [every night]. In the Tent of
Meeting [of God with His people], outside the veil which sets apart the Testimony, Aaron
and his sons shall keep it burning from evening to morning before the Lord. It shall be a
statute to be observed on behalf of the Israelites throughout their generations.”

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Leviticus 24.1-4 “AND THE Lord said to Moses, Command the Israelites that they bring to
you pure oil from beaten olives for the light [of the golden lampstand] to cause a lamp to
burn continually. Outside the veil of the Testimony [between the Holy and the Most Holy
Places] in the Tent of Meeting, Aaron shall keep it in order from evening to morning before
the Lord continually; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations. He shall
keep the lamps in order upon the lampstand of pure gold before the Lord continually.”

The Menorah is made, beaten out of a single solid piece of gold; it shines and reflects the
light of the candle. We will see later that:

• the oil represents the Holy Spirit;

• the light represents the Flame of God;
• the Menorah represents our bodies as a Living Stone in His Tabernacle / Body of
Yeshua.

Once the Tabernacle and all of the utensils were made and erected in accordance with
God’s specifications, we see that God required of Moses to consecrate / dedicate the
Tabernacle to Him.

Exodus 30:22-31 “Moreover, the Lord said to Moses, Take the best spices: of liquid myrrh
500 shekels, of sweet-scented cinnamon half as much, 250 shekels, of fragrant calamus
250 shekels, And of cassia 500 shekels, in terms of the sanctuary shekel, and of olive oil a
hin. And you shall make of these a holy anointing oil, a perfume compounded after the art
of the perfumer; it shall be a sacred anointing oil. And you shall anoint the Tent of
Meeting with it, and the ark of the Testimony, And the [showbread] table and all its utensils,
and the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense, And the altar of burnt offering
with all its utensils, and the laver [for cleansing] and its base. You shall sanctify
(separate) them, that they may be most holy; whoever and whatever touches them
must be holy (set apart to God). And you shall anoint Aaron and his sons and sanctify
(separate) them, that they may minister to Me as priests. And say to the Israelites, This is
a holy anointing oil [symbol of the Holy Spirit], sacred to Me alone throughout your
generations.”

Moses honours God’s Commandment. He does three things to fulfill this requirement of
God:

• he takes the oil,

• he anoints every piece,
• he consecrates every piece.

Exodus 40.9 “You shall take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it,
and shall consecrate it and all its furniture, and it shall be holy.”

He places the consecrated utensil inside of the tabernacle.

Exodus 40.25 “Moses set up and lighted the lamps before the Lord, as the Lord
commanded him.”

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Then the cloud of God’s Glory filled the tabernacle.

Exodus 40.34 “Then the cloud [the Shekinah, God’s visible presence] covered the Tent of
Meeting, and the Glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle!”

We learn two things from this passage.

(a) You anoint with oil and consecrate your life before the Glory comes into your life.
(b) The utensils are described earlier in the order from the outer court to the Holy of
Holies. When Moses builds the Tabernacle, he reverses that order. He places the ark
in the Holy of Holies before he places the other items, but Moses places the
“testimony”, i.e. the Torah inside of the ark, first.
Without the Torah the Ark has no value, without the Torah the Tabernacle would be
an empty idol.
We learn from this that my life (tabernacle) must reflect that the Torah / Holy Spirit
that is “inside” me by the works of obedience as I love my neighbour.
However, Chanukah shows us that the temple was rededicated.

So what went wrong?

1. History

History is a recording, in terms of stories, physical evidence through artifacts and the
written word which remain long after empires have fallen.

The Torah is also a recording of such

stories, of people, events, and meeting
with God. Scrolls (e.g. the Dead Sea
scrolls), coins and other artifacts bear
witness of the events recorded in the Torah
– not only by Jewish people and prophets
but also by the other nations such as the
Romans. The fact that the people are
reflected with both good and bad
attributes, reflects the Will of God that
those who are alive today realize that
basic truths are reflected in the pages of
the Torah, i.e. we see that these people
were not super humans but everyday
individuals.

History pages reveal to us which ideas, ideals and values were God-centered and which
came from man and lead to his downfall.

Each generation of father is called out to teach the God-given values to our next
generation.

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Deuteronomy 32.7 “Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations.
Ask your father and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you.”

God’s Purpose with Creation

God creates the world for man. He places man in this creation after having “breathed” His
life into him with a purpose:

• to connect with God.

• to elevate ourselves and the world to the highest possible union with God.

Adam and Eve cause a total breakdown in this relationship when they disobey God and
eat from the Tree of Knowledge. Man continues in a downward spiral until a man named
Abraham comes along.

Abraham was a righteous man for two reasons:

1. He chooses to follow an invisible God and to seek the fullness of Truth in his journey of
intimacy with God.
2. He chose to make his choice visible for all to see – he followed God to the Promised
Land and “crossed over” / Hebrew to the other side.

Because of Abraham’s search for God, his obedience to the Commandments and the
Covenant that God cuts with him, he is blessed with a promise.

Genesis 12.1-3 “NOW [in Haran] the Lord said to Abram, Go for yourself [for your own
advantage] away from your country, from your relatives and your father’s house, to the
land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you [with
abundant increase of favors] and make your name famous and distinguished, and you will
be a blessing [dispensing good to others]. And I will bless those who bless you [who confer
prosperity or happiness upon you] and curse him who curses or uses insolent language
toward you; in you will all the families and kindred of the earth be blessed [and by you they
will bless themselves].”

The Israelites goes through stages of worshipping God and then reverting to:

• idol worship,
• sexual immorality,
• baseless hatred,
but God chooses to maintain the Covenantal relationship with His people.

Psalm 148.14 “He has lifted up a horn for His people [giving them power, prosperity,
dignity, and preeminence], a song of praise for all His godly ones, for the people of Israel,
who are near to Him. Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)”

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Deuteronomy 7.6-8 “For you are a holy and set-apart people to the Lord your God; the
Lord your God has chosen you to be a special people to Himself out of all the peoples on
the face of the earth. The Lord did not set His love upon you and choose you because you
were more in number than any other people, for you were the fewest of all people. But
because the Lord loves you and because He would keep the oath which He had sworn
to your fathers, the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you out
of the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.”

However the result / consequence of the rebellion cause heartache and destruction. We
will discuss this in more detail later in this book.

Psalm 95.7-11 “For He is our God and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of
His hand. Today, if you will hear His voice, Harden not your hearts as at Meribah and as
at Massah in the day of temptation in the wilderness, When your fathers tried My
patience and tested Me, proved Me, and saw My work [of judgment]. Forty years long
was I grieved and disgusted with that generation, and I said, It is a people that do err in
their hearts, and they do not approve, acknowledge, or regard My ways. Wherefore I
swore in My wrath that they would not enter My rest [the land of promise].”

Hebrews 3:19 “So we see that they were not able to enter [into His rest], because of
their unwillingness to adhere to and trust in and rely on God [unbelief had shut them out].”

And God’s promise stands … if you return / repent, I will return to you.

Psalm 91.13-16 “You shall tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and the serpent
shall you trample underfoot. Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver
him; I will set him on high, because he knows and understands My name [has a personal
knowledge of My mercy, love, and kindness—trusts and relies on Me, knowing I will never
forsake him, no, never]. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him
in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him
My salvation.”

Hoshea 6:1 ”COME AND let us return to the Lord, for He has torn so that He may heal
us; He has stricken so that He may bind us up.”

Hoshea 14.1-2 “O ISRAEL, return to the Lord your God, for you have stumbled and fallen,
[visited by calamity] due to your iniquity. Take with you words and return to the Lord. Say
to Him, Take away all our iniquity; accept what is good and receive us graciously; so will
we render [our thanks] as bullocks [to be sacrificed] and pay the confession of our lips.”

God stands ready to forgive us at all times, no matter what we do, but we need to
REPENT and change course.

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2. The Impact of the Greco-Roman Thinking on the Jews and on the
broader Body of Yeshua

The people of Israel are in the land of the Covenant – they are however subject to a
different form of oppression. The Greeks waged a war against the spirit of man, i.e. they
attacked his faith in God and the uniqueness of worshipping an invisible God.

We need to define the crux of the contention between Israel and Greece.

What is the essence of Israel?

• each and every man holds the Word of God, the Torah, on the pages of his heart and
• is connected to God in a special relationship,
• based on an everlasting Covenant, a unique bond.
Everyone in this Kingdom enters freely into a unique Covenant with God with one purpose
in life – to impact the community by revealing the Divine Glory / Presence.

What is the essence of Greece?

The Greeks have a culture and value system focused on man:

• on his ability and strength to achieve,

• on the external or the material world / nature,
• on the ability of man to “create” by his own thought patterns.
In this kingdom, the people seek to impose their system, their thinking, their form of
world order on mankind.

Much of the Greek system is dominated by the rise of the concept “analytical thinking”.
The Greeks produced a “thinking” called science. This is the process where facts are
separated and differentiated according to different fields – art, religion, etc.

Every fact is placed in a unique domain and from this grouping of facts they were able to
define:

• problems,
• solutions,
• humanistic models.
Greek culture separates God from each one of the domains of facts. This organizational
approach to distance God from material things and concepts creates the understanding
that man is in control over all of these aspects of life. We can therefore “box” God into
some form of space and time.

Hebraic thinking on the other hand works in the totally opposite manner:

God is One: He is part of everything, without His Being, everything will revert to chaos.
The prophetic Word is an unexplainable mechanism that defies logic / analytical
thinking as man is able to hear and speak God’s Word without any form or structure.
18
 Vision is an ability placed in man by God to see that his impact will grow exponentially
by God’s Grace as opposed to the logical and linear / quantitive approach of the Greek
thinking.

Let us look at the practical explanation of this war that is played out in the minds and
spirits of believers when they are under attack from Greece – the goat3.

1. Sabbath day is banned: if the Greeks allow the Sabbath day to be kept, then it is an
acknowledgment that:
- the seal of God is kept in place;
- God is the Creator of the world;
- the world does not function on its own;
- that everything that happens is planned.
2. Circumcision is banned: if the Greeks allow this to continue the men cannot be
gloried … they have blemished their bodies and it would be an acknowledgement that:
- God’s Covenant with man is standing.
3. Family purity is banned: if the Greeks allow this to continue, then they would have to
acknowledge that sexual intimacy is a combination of physical pleasure and spiritual
connectedness within the marriage covenant.
4. Study of the Torah is banned: if the Greeks allow this to continue, they have to
acknowledge that every creature / material thing incorporates and has an effect on
the spiritual.
The miracle of the oil that burns for eight days is a testimony to the fact that Spirit rules
over the world of facts and matter.

3Daniel tells us that the kingdom of Greece will come against God’s people, he describes them as a goat –
Daniel 8:21
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3. Prophetic Word and its impact on the Israelites

We have followed the pattern of worshipping God, rebelling against God, repenting and
returning to the ways of God.

During one of these periods of rebellion, together with the consequence, i.e. the exile of
Israelites to Babylon, we see that God starts to talk to His prophet, Daniel.

Prophetic word usually leaves the people of God with a choice to repent. Judgment /
fulfillment of a prophetic word often comes in phases, i.e. we find a partial fulfillment with a
clear understanding that these events will be repeated in some distant future.

Daniel sees a number of visions which portray the judgment / exiles that will come upon
his people because of their rebellion. Each battle and victory by a pagan king in the
physical mirrors the battle which every believer faces as the servants of the kingdom of
darkness attack us.

John 10.10 “The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they
may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).”

2 Corinthians 6.16-17 ”What agreement [can there be between] a temple of God and
idols? For we are the temple of the living God; even as God said, I will dwell in and with
and among them and will walk in and with and among them, and I will be their God, and
they shall be My people. So, come out from among [unbelievers], and separate (sever)
yourselves from them, says the Lord, and touch not [any] unclean thing; then I will receive
you kindly and treat you with favor,”

Daniel himself experience the first of these times of exile, i.e. the kingdom of Babylon.

The second is recorded for us in the Book of Esther.

It is however the third “exile” that is the focus of this study … we are going to look at the
Kingdom of the male goat / Greece.

This exile is not recorded as history in the Torah. It happens in the time between Malachi
and Matthew.

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The story is recorded in a collection of books called the Maccabees as well as by the
renowned historian, Flavius Josephus (Antiquities of the Jews Book 12).

We will take the prophetic word of Daniel and match this with the account in the history
books.

The tribe of Judah, Simon and a part of Benjamin made up the kingdom of Judah had also
been taken into exile, but now return from Babylon. They rebuild the temple and restore
the worship to God.

They remain subjected to the king of Persia … the Ram.

Daniel 8.3-4 “And I lifted up my eyes and saw, and behold, there stood before the river a
[single] ram which had two horns [representing two kings of Medo-Persia: Darius the
Mede, then Cyrus]; and the two horns were high, but one [Persia] was higher than the
other, and the higher one came up last. I looked and saw the ram [Medo-Persia] pushing
and charging westward and northward and southward; no beast could stand before him,
neither could anyone rescue from his power, but he did according to his [own] will and
pleasure and magnified himself.”

Noah’s son, Yefet, has seven sons, the one is Yavan / Greece. We hear little of this nation
until Alexander the Great defeats the king of Persia and begins to build the Greek empire
and became one of the greatest empire builders.

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Daniel 8.6-8a “And he came to the ram that had the two horns which I had seen standing
on the bank of the river and ran at him in the heat of his power. [In my vision] I saw him
come close to the ram [Medo-Persia], and he was moved with anger against him and he
[Alexander the Great] struck the ram and broke his two horns; and there was no power in
the ram to stand before him, but the goat threw him to the ground and trampled on him.
And there was no one who could rescue the ram from his power. And the he-goat
[Alexander the Great] magnified himself exceedingly, and when he was [young and]
strong, the great horn [he] was [suddenly] broken; and instead of [him] there came up four
notable horns [to whom the kingdom was divided, one] toward [each of] the four winds of
the heavens.”

Daniel 8.20-21 “The ram you saw having two horns, they are the kings of Media and
Persia. 21 And the shaggy and rough he-goat is the king of Greece, and the great horn
between his eyes is the first king [who consolidated the whole realm, Alexander the
Great].”

Daniel 11.3-4 “Then a mighty [warlike, threatening] king shall arise who shall rule with
great dominion and do according to his [own] will. And as soon as he has fully arisen, his
[Alexander the Great’s] kingdom shall be broken [by his death] and divided toward the
four winds [the east, west, north, and south] of the heavens, but not to his posterity, nor
according to the [Grecian] dominion which he ruled, for his kingdom shall be torn out and
uprooted and go to others [to his four generals] to the exclusion of these.”

Alexander the Great is a fair ruler. He extends a hand of “peace” to the tribe of Judah who
are able to maintain their culture, lifestyle and religion.

When Alexander dies suddenly, the kingdom is divided into four parts, one of whom took
control of Israel.

Daniel 8.8b-9 “And the he-goat [Alexander the Great] magnified himself exceedingly, and
when he was [young and] strong, the great horn [he] was [suddenly] broken; and instead
of [him] there came up four notable horns [to whom the kingdom was divided, one]
toward [each of] the four winds of the heavens. Out of littleness and small beginnings one
of them came forth [Antiochus Epiphanes], a horn whose [impious presumption and
pride] grew exceedingly great toward the south and toward the east and toward the
ornament [the precious, blessed land of Israel].”

This king, a Syrian Antiochus IV worshipped the Greek gods. Initially he allowed the Jews
to continue with their worship and celebrations. He goes to war against the kingdom of
Egypt (South) but is defeated.

Daniel 11.21-25 “And in his place or office [in Syria] shall arise a contemptuous and
contemptible person, to whom royal majesty and honor of the kingdom have not been
given. But he shall come in without warning in time of security and shall obtain the
kingdom by flatteries, intrigues, and cunning hypocritical conduct. Before him the
overwhelming forces of invading armies shall be broken and utterly swept away; yes, and
a prince of the covenant [with those who were at peace with him] also [shall be broken and
swept away].
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And from the time that an alliance is made with him he shall work deceitfully, and he shall
come up unexpectedly and shall become strong with a small people. Without warning and
stealthily he shall come into the most productive places of a province or among the richest
men of a province [of Egypt], and he shall do that which his fathers have not done nor his
fathers’ fathers; he shall distribute among them plunder, spoil, and goods. He shall devise
plans against strongholds—but only for a time [the period decreed by God]. And he shall
stir up his power and his courage against the king of the South [Egypt] with a great
army; and the king of the South shall wage war with an exceedingly great and mighty
army, but he shall not stand …"

Antiochus returns to Judah in a rage where he exalts himself to be a god.

Daniel 11.29-30 “At the time appointed [God’s own time] he shall return and come into
the South, but it shall not be successful as were the former invasions [of Egypt]. 30 For
the ships of Kittim [or Cyprus, in Roman hands] shall come against him; therefore he shall
be grieved and discouraged and turn back [to Palestine] and carry out his rage and
indignation against the Holy Covenant and God’s people, and he shall do his own
pleasure; he shall even turn back and make common cause with those [Jews] who
abandon the holy covenant [with God].”

Daniel 8.11 “Yes, [this horn] magnified itself, even [matching itself] against the Prince of
the host [of heaven]; and from Him the continual [burnt offering] was taken away and
the place of [God’s] sanctuary was cast down and profaned.”

Daniel 8.27 “And I, Daniel, fainted and was sick [for several] days. Afterward I rose up and
did the king’s business; and I wondered at the vision, but there was no one who
understood it or could make it understood.”

Once in Jerusalem he issues decrees:

• no Shabbat,
• no Circumcision,
• no Kosher food,
• no Torah study.

Daniel 8.12 “And the host [the chosen people] was given [to the wicked horn] together with
the continual burnt offering because of the transgression [of God’s people—their
abounding irreverence, ungodliness, and lack of piety]. And righteousness and truth
were cast down to the ground, and it [the wicked horn] accomplished this [by divine
permission] and prospered.”

Daniel 11.23 “And from the time that an alliance is made with him he shall work
deceitfully, and he shall come up unexpectedly and shall become strong with a small
people.”

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He goes further in an attempt to institute his religion onto the Israelites:

He builds an idol altar on top of God’s altar.

He builds and dedicates the temple to Zeus.

Daniel 8.25 “And through his policy he shall cause trickery to prosper in his hand; he shall
magnify himself in his heart and mind, and in their security he will corrupt and destroy
many. He shall also stand up against the Prince of princes, but he shall be broken and that
by no [human] hand.”

He offers a pig (swine) on the altar to desecrate it.

He causes idols and temples to the Greek gods to be
build in every town.
He sought to destroy every copy of the Torah.
He proclaimed himself god … taking the name
“Epihanes” ➛ “god manifest / visible”.

Daniel 11.36-38 “And the king shall do according to his will; he shall exalt himself and
magnify himself above every god and shall speak astonishing things against the God of
gods and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished, for that which is determined
[by God] shall be done. He shall not regard the gods of his fathers or Him [to Whom]
women desire [to give birth—the Messiah] or any other god, for he shall magnify himself
above all. But in their place he shall honor the god of fortresses; a god whom his
fathers knew not shall he honor with gold and silver, with precious stones, and with
pleasant and expensive things.”

The Israelite tribe of Judah are persecuted, killed and tormented for the least infringement.

Daniel 11.32a-33 “And such as violate the covenant he shall pervert and seduce with
flatteries, but the people who know their God shall prove themselves strong and shall
stand firm and do exploits [for God]. 33 And they who are wise and understanding among
the people shall instruct many and make them understand, though some [of them and
their followers] shall fall by the sword and flame, by captivity and plunder, for many
days.”

Many of the Jews had drifted into the Greek ways, had given up on their traditions and
values. Now with the pressure of persecution, many gave up their faith.

The Remnant
However, God always has a remnant that believes and will stand – people who know their
God and are faithful.

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Daniel 11.32b-35 “And such as violate the covenant he shall pervert and seduce with
flatteries, but the people who know their God shall prove themselves strong and shall
stand firm and do exploits [for God]. And they who are wise and understanding among the
people shall instruct many and make them understand, though some [of them and their
followers] shall fall by the sword and flame, by captivity and plunder, for many days. Now
when they fall, they shall receive a little help. Many shall join themselves to them with
flatteries and hypocrisies. And some of those who are wise, prudent, and understanding
shall be weakened and fall, [thus, then, the insincere among the people will lose courage
and become deserters. It will be a test] to refine, to purify, and to make those among
[God’s people] white, even to the time of the end, because it is yet for the time [God]
appointed.”

War against the Greeks

The tribe of Hasmoneans, part of the priestly order under the leadership of Julius
Maccabee goes to war against the Syrians / Greeks. The catalyst to start the war is a
woman … the daughter of the High Priest, Yehudes. Legend has it that she goes into
the general’s tent, feeds him, gets him drunk and cuts off his head with his own sword. The
men are challenged to react. The father and his four sons form the leadership under which
the people gather (commoners, farmers, slaves) to execute guerilla warfare. Eventually
this group number ±6000 men who, with God’s help, defeat the mighty Greek army of ±
47,000 men.

The Maccabees takes control of Jerusalem. They find the temple which had been
desecrated by idol worship and impure sacrifices.

They start the work of breaking down the defiled altar and start to rebuild in the fashion of
Moses.

Exodus 40.19-33 “[Moses] spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the
tent over it, as the Lord had commanded him. He took the Testimony [the Ten
Commandments] and put it into the ark, and set the poles [in the rings] on the ark, and put
the mercy seat on top of the ark. [Moses] brought the ark into the tabernacle and set up
the veil of the screen and Moses put the table [of showbread] in the Tent of Meeting on the
north side of the tabernacle outside the veil; He set the bread [of the Presence] in order on
it before the Lord, as the Lord had commanded him. And he put the lampstand in the Tent
of Meeting opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle. Moses set up and lighted
the lamps before the Lord, as the Lord commanded him. He put the golden altar [of
incense] in the Tent of Meeting before the veil; He burned sweet incense [symbol of
prayer] upon it, as the Lord commanded him. And he set up the hanging or screen at the
door of the tabernacle. [Moses] put the altar of burnt offering at the door of the tabernacle
of the Tent of Meeting and offered on it the burnt offering and the cereal offering, as the
Lord commanded him. And Moses set the laver between the Tent of Meeting and the altar
and put water in it for washing. And Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands
and their feet there. When they went into the Tent of Meeting or came near the altar, they
washed, as the Lord commanded Moses. And he erected the court round about the
tabernacle and the altar and set up the hanging or screen at the court gate. So Moses
finished the work.”

In this manner, the temple was rededicated, on the 25th of Kishev.

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The Oil
However there was one problem – they found only one small cruze of oil … enough for
one day, of the sort required by God for the Menorah.

Exodus 30.23-26 “Take the best spices: of liquid myrrh 500 shekels, of sweet-scented
cinnamon half as much, 250 shekels, of fragrant calamus 250 shekels, And of cassia 500
shekels, in terms of the sanctuary shekel, and of olive oil a hin. And you shall make of
these a holy anointing oil, a perfume compounded after the art of the perfumer; it shall
be a sacred anointing oil. And you shall anoint the Tent of Meeting with it, and the ark of
the Testimony,”

The Miracle
They started with the process to make the oil – it would take
8 days. In faith they lit the candles using the one small flask.

The Maccabees did not compromise – they chose to use

that which they had … to give it all and let God take care
of the problem.

When we have given it our best shot, God’s Divine power

comes into force and the result:

The Menorah burns miraculously for the eight days!!!

The people decide to celebrate God’s faithfulness every year as a memorial.

Daniel’s Prophetic Word Extended

In John 10 Yeshua comes to the end of His direct ministry to the Israeli people. He will
now attend to the “other sheep” (the gentiles) who are not part of the flock.

John 10.15-16 “Even as [truly as] the Father knows Me and I also know the Father—and I
am giving My [very own] life and laying it down on behalf of the sheep. And I have other
sheep [beside these] that are not of this fold. I must bring and impel those also; and they
will listen to My voice and heed My call, and so there will be [they will become] one
flock under one Shepherd.”

We find Him lamenting over Jerusalem.

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While many look for the signs of the end times in every major disaster that occurs, few
stop to look for this sign. Yeshua says:

• for the Jewish people of Jerusalem,

• to the Bride of Mount Sinai that has not recognized the Messiah,
that the world and Jerusalem will not see Him again UNTIL the Jewish people say;
“Baruch Haba Hashem Adonai” … “Blessed is He who comes in the Name of he Lord.”

Matthew 23.37-39 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, murdering the prophets and stoning those
who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a
mother fowl gathers her brood under her wings, and you refused! Behold, your house is
forsaken and desolate (abandoned and left destitute of God’s help). For I declare to you,
you will not see Me again until you say, Blessed (magnified in worship, adored, and
exalted) is He Who comes in the name of the Lord!”

He goes on to predict the destruction of the temple and the end times and links this to
Daniel’s prophecy.

We realize that we will experience the birth pangs of the attack by the Dragon … in the
form of the war by Rome;

• against Israel,
• against the physical body,
• the soul
• and the spirit.

We are told by Daniel that Rome comes against the people of Israel …

Daniel 8.24 “And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; and he shall
corrupt and destroy astonishingly and shall prosper and do his own pleasure, and he shall
corrupt and destroy the mighty men and the holy people (the people of the saints).”

…but there comes one after him (Rome) that shall even rise up against God, one who will
be defeated without human hands.

Daniel 8.25 “And through his policy he shall cause trickery to prosper in his hand; he shall
magnify himself in his heart and mind, and in their security he will corrupt and destroy
many. He shall also stand up against the Prince of princes, but he shall be broken and
that by no [human] hand.”

John in the Book of Revelation reveals this attack as “the Dragon”…

Revelation 12.1 ”AND A great sign (wonder) - [warning of future events of ominous
significance] appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her
feet, and with a crownlike garland (tiara) of twelve stars on her head.

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Revelation 12.4 “His tail swept [across the sky] and dragged down a third of the stars and
flung them to the earth. And the dragon stationed himself in front of the woman who was
about to be delivered, so that he might devour her child as soon as she brought it forth.”

… whose fall is at the Hands of God’s angels.

Revelation 18.21 “Then a single powerful angel took up a boulder like a great millstone
and flung it into the sea, crying, With such violence shall Babylon the great city be hurled
down to destruction and shall never again be found.”

Matthew 24.15-24 “So when you see the appalling sacrilege [the abomination that
astonishes and makes desolate], spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the Holy
Place - let the reader take notice and ponder and consider and heed [this]. Then let
those who are in Judea flee to the mountains; Let him who is on the housetop not come
down and go into the house to take anything; And let him who is in the field not turn back
to get his overcoat. And alas for the women who are pregnant and for those who have
nursing babies in those days! Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath.
For then there will be great tribulation (affliction, distress, and oppression) such as has
not been from the beginning of the world until now—no, and never will be [again]. And if
those days had not been shortened, no human being would endure and survive, but for the
sake of the elect (God’s chosen ones) those days will be shortened. If anyone says to you
then, Behold, here is the Christ (the Messiah)! or, There He is!—do not believe it. For false
Christs and false prophets will arise, and they will show great signs and wonders so as to
deceive and lead astray, if possible, even the elect (God’s chosen ones).”

4. The Eternal Struggle: that the Kingdom of Light will overcome the
kingdom of darkness

How does Chanukah or the lighting of

candles reflect a creation message?

I have alluded to the difference between the:

• Sons of Greece
- who worship self,
- performance,
- multiple gods,
- intellectual powers,

• and the Sons of Israel:

- who worship One God,
- who have a purpose to reveal God’s Image to the
rest of the world.

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This differentiation started at the very beginning of creation. The Torah’s description of
the world before creation was:

• void,
• without form,
• great darkness.

Genesis 1.2 “The earth was without form and an empty waste, and darkness was upon
the face of the very great deep. The Spirit of God was moving (hovering, brooding) over
the face of the waters.”
God comes and with a Command declares “let there be light”.

The Words “Yehi Ohr” (let there be light) immediately dispels the darkness.

Genesis 1.3 “And God said, Let there be light; and there was light.”

Why do we say that the Greek thinking reflects darkness?

Surely the creativity, the intellect, the marvels reflect the goodness of man! The problem is
that God’s Spirit has been separated from the creation and now man believes in his
own ability.

When man sees the God that is concealed in the laws of nature / science by a free will
choice, God’s Presence will be manifested on earth.

The Purpose of Light

I can give this very simple declaration of what light is:

Light is the very opposite of darkness and light, and darkness can never be mixed
together.

We see that light:

• divides day and night,

• is a sign,
• distinguishes seasons,
• is a measure of a day,
• defines the year,
• gives direction / vision,
• allows us to rule / take dominion.

The physical light is a manifestation of the spiritual image that God has place inside of you
and me.

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I am light …

John 8.12 “Once more Jesus addressed the crowd. He said, I am the Light of the world.
He who follows Me will not be walking in the dark, but will have the Light which is Life.

John 9.15 “So now again the Pharisees asked him how he received his sight. And he said
to them, He smeared mud on my eyes, and I washed, and now I see.”

Your light …

Matthew 5.14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.”

You shine …

Matthew 5.16 “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your moral
excellence and your praiseworthy, noble, and good deeds and recognize and honor and
praise and glorify your Father Who is in heaven.”

During the days in the desert, God provided a physical sign so that the Israelites and all
other nations could see that God was real.

As New Testament believers you and I are “living stones” in a tabernacle now called the
Body of Yeshua. The light of our deeds of obedience using the oil crushed from the
Fruit of the Spirit should be a visible sign to the world that God is real.

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Those whose good works cause the Glory to return – fulfill the Torah:

1 Peter 2.12 “Conduct yourselves properly (honorably, righteously) among the Gentiles,
so that, although they may slander you as evildoers, [yet] they may by witnessing your
good deeds [come to] glorify God in the day of inspection [when God shall look upon you
wanderers as a pastor or shepherd looks over his flock].”

Proclamation of a Miracle
Any feast or celebration usually brings on a burst of activity, an excitement for the time of
fellowship and the joy and sense of good feeling that one gets when we enjoy the food and
company. All too often we can get taken up by the things that we do on the day.

While the party presents are nice to have, we should always remember that purpose of the
feast and the Main Role-player, God, must be honoured.

The Torah records many miracles, Divine:

• provision,
• healing,
• protection.

But what is the purpose of the miracle?

It is a spectacular event / occasion that will cause the people to know that God is who He
says He is.

Exodus 4.5 “(This you shall do, said the Lord) that the elders may believe that the Lord,
the God of their fathers, of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has indeed appeared to you.”

When Yeshua, The Greatest Miracle of all, makes a way for you and me to have a unique,
intimate relationship with the Father, and walks on earth, He asks the disciples if they
know who He is.

Matthew 16.13-20 “Now when Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked
His disciples, Who do people say that the Son of Man is? And they answered, Some
say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets. He
said to them, But who do you [yourselves] say that I am? Simon Peter replied, You are
the Christ, the Son of the living God. Then Jesus answered him, Blessed (happy,
fortunate, and to be envied) are you, Simon Bar-Jonah. For flesh and blood [men] have not
revealed this to you, but My Father Who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter [Greek,
Petros—a large piece of rock], and on this rock [Greek, petra—a huge rock like Gibraltar] I
will build My church, and the gates of Hades (the powers of the infernal region) shall not
overpower it [or be strong to its detriment or hold out against it]. I will give you the keys
of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind (declare to be improper and unlawful)
on earth must be what is already bound in heaven; and whatever you loose (declare
lawful) on earth must be what is already loosed in heaven. Then He sternly and strictly
charged and warned the disciples to tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.”

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God uses miracles so that man can know with absolute surety that God desires to care for
him. God uses willing believers to make an impact on the community. When Peter and
John go up to the temple, they meet a lame man and proclaim God’s Divine miracle of
healing. They take great care to make the people understand that God deserves the
glory.

Acts 3.12 “And Peter, seeing it, answered the people, You men of Israel, why are you so
surprised and wondering at this? Why do you keep staring at us, as though by our [own
individual] power or [active] piety we had made this man [able] to walk?”

Miracles occur when opportunity and obedience are joined together by faith.

God opens the door to every opportunity we have to move in obedience to the Holy Spirit
at the right moment to reap the blessing.

Three Miracles

Let us study three miracles to see God’s plan and pattern. We will then be able to declare
from the bottom of our hearts that the miracle is entirely God’s work.

As we declare / remember the miracle, we tell the world that every living thing in the whole
of creation is subject to God’s Will. Laws of Nature are not etched in marble, but can and
will be overthrown by the move of God’s Hand.

1. God Delays the setting of the Sun

God gives Joshua the calling to take the people of Israel into the land of Covenant. In the
process he had to capture the city of Jerusalem. Here five kings had gathered in unity to
stand against God.

Opportunity

God comes with military help – He caused great hailstones to be cast down on these
king’s armies.
Joshua 10.11 “As they fled before Israel, while they were descending [the pass] to Beth-
horon, the Lord cast great stones from the heavens on them as far as Azekah, killing
them. More died because of the hailstones than the Israelites slew with the sword.”

But He had told Joshua to be strong and very courageous and to keep the Torah in one
hand and the Sword in the other in order to be victorious.

Isaiah 1.7-8 “[Because of your detestable disobedience] your country lies desolate, your
cities are burned with fire; your land—strangers devour it in your very presence, and it is
desolate, as overthrown by aliens. And the Daughter of Zion [Jerusalem] is left like a
[deserted] booth in a vineyard, like a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, like a besieged city
[spared, but in the midst of desolation].”

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Obedience

Joshua is busy, but it seemed that time was running out – He would not be able to
complete the job, so he asks for the sun to stand still.

His request is granted.

Joshua 10:12-13 “Then Joshua spoke to the Lord on the day when the Lord gave the
Amorites over to the Israelites, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, be silent and stand
still at Gibeon, and you, moon, in the Valley of Ajalon! And the sun stood still, and the
moon stayed, until the nation took vengeance upon their enemies. Is not this written in the
Book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of the heavens and did not hasten to go
down for about a whole day.”

2. God multiplies Oil and Flour

Elijah is a prophet of God … he comes to the gates of a small city, Zarepath, and finds a
widow and her son. Things have not been going well and the provisions of this family are
at rock bottom.

Opportunity

The prophet asks for water, as she goes to get this, he asks her for bread as well. She
answers “There is not much left, then we die!”

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1 Kings 17.12 “And she said, As the Lord your God lives, I have not a loaf baked but only
a handful of meal in the jar and a little oil in the bottle. See, I am gathering two sticks,
that I may go in and bake it for me and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”

Obedience

The prophet, Elijah, tells her to make the cake and when she does, the oil and the flower
continued to be supplied until the end of the famine.

1 Kings 17.14 “For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: The jar of meal shall not waste
away or the bottle of oil fail until the day that the Lord sends rain on the earth.”

1 Kings 17.16 “The jar of meal was not spent nor did the bottle of oil fail, according to the
word which the Lord spoke through Elijah.”

3. God multiples the Holy Oil

The Maccabees find that the temple has been desecrated in the most evil of all manners.

Opportunity

The family of priests take over and initiate a process where the temple is cleaned out,
where stones that are not “cut” by hand are found to rebuild the altar, and to anoint and
consecrate the temple for God’s Presence to return.

Obedience

The priest only has one small jar of oil and chooses to light it in faith and believe that God
will provide – He does so for eight days!

4. The Greatest Miracle of All: a Father’s love for His Son and for His descendants /
People

There is something about the story of Abraham, who together with his son, Isaac, goes to
make the sacrifice on the mountain, which is connected to Chanukah.

If the similarity of the Creation Story where God comes to earth with His Son – an act of
absolute sacrifice to ensure that a way is always opened for a remnant to return.

The opportunity is Passover.

The obedience is absolute.
The result is a permanent atonement!

There are two words in Hebrew for miracles:

i) NES meaning “banner”;

ii) OS meaning “sign”.

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Miracles are banners / signs in the heavenlies so that God’s Name is glorified.

For additional New Testament miracles, consider the healing of the blind man or the
feeding of the many with five loaves and two fishes.

5. Cycles of Time

The concept of time, in the Hebraic mindset is very clear, as opposed to the Greek
understanding that time:
• is futile (like running on a treadmill)
• is infinite (I am unable to make a difference).
God sees time as:

• cycles of events that record history and events to remember the past.
• cycles of time to have an expectation that the future has many opportunities.
Memorials are time “go-slows” where we can study the history, learn from the mistakes
and successes, hear from God and move forward with a clear understanding that we are
radically changing the generational curse backlog into a generational blessing.

Deuteronomy 32.7 “Remember the days of old; consider the years of many
generations. Ask your father and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you.”

The feast of Chanukah is celebrated as a memorial of the time when God’s people
exercise their free will to choose between Worship of God and the idea of man – self-
worship.

A. A MEMORIAL

The Jews get together to remember the two miracles that occurred
1. The victory which God gave them in the war against the Greeks – where God
delivered.

- The mighty in the hand of the weak.

- The many in the hand of the few.
- The righteous over the wicked.
- The pure over the impure.

2. The fact that “one day’s oil” burned for 8 days until they had made more pure oil.

The New Testament church can easily celebrate this feast. There are many attacks on
the Body of Christ. Each one of these can only be overcome by:

- Spiritual warfare as set out in Ephesians

And then …

The miracle of revival will follow as the oil of anointing, the purity, knowledge and wisdom
of our hearts move with the Holy Spirit to do God’s will.
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The “church” will face the same type of end-time battle, a war to end all wars, when satan
will rise to oppose God and His People.

2 Thessalonians 2.4 “Who opposes and exalts himself so proudly and insolently
against and over all that is called God or that is worshiped, [even to his actually] taking
his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming that he himself is God.”

2 Thessalonians 2.9-12 “The coming [of the lawless one, the antichrist] is through the
activity and working of Satan and will be attended by great power and with all sorts of
[pretended] miracles and signs and delusive marvels—[all of them] lying wonders - And by
unlimited seduction to evil and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing (going
to perdition) because they did not welcome the Truth but refused to love it that they might
be saved. Therefore God sends upon them a misleading influence, a working of error and
a strong delusion to make them believe what is false, In order that all may be judged and
condemned who did not believe in [who refused to adhere to, trust in, and rely on] the
Truth, but [instead] took pleasure in unrighteousness.”

Mark 13.14 “But when you see the abomination of desolation mentioned by Daniel the
prophet standing where it ought not to be—[and] let the one who reads take notice and
consider and understand and heed [this]— then let those who are in Judea flee to the
mountains.”

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Mark 13.19-20 “For at that time there will be such affliction (oppression and tribulation)
as has not been from the beginning of the creation which God created until this particular
time—and positively never will be [again]. And unless the Lord had shortened the days, no
human being would be saved (rescued); but for the sake of the elect, His chosen ones
(those whom He picked out for Himself), He has shortened the days.”

Will you have the faith of one jar of oil to keep the lamp burning
in a time such as this?

B. A KAIROS MOMENT

At every one of these terms of God’s visitation we experience an open door for a particular
revelation. While we are focused on our prayer life, attitude and obedience, God reveals
new.

• levels of the potential to change myself;

• spiritual gifts;
• levels of courage or circumstances and trials.

Yeshua the Messiah at Chanukah

The inhabitants of Jerusalem are busy with the normal life of a city – the “things” of daily
life – business, sport, pleasure, debate, politics and religion.

In comparison with other times of the year, when the Israelites as a nation are required to
be in Jerusalem, i.e. for the feasts of:

Pesach / Passover;
Shavuot / Pentecost;
Yom Kippur / Succot / Tabernacles;

in terms of the Commandment given by God to Moses and recorded for us in Leviticus
23, we find that it is only the inhabitants of the city and its nearby towns such as
Bethlehem, Hebron that are in the streets at this time.

Let’s be clear, the Israelites are not required to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem at this time
of the year.

Yeshua is in the temple at the Feast of Dedication, i.e. Chanukah.

John 10.22-23 “After this the Feast of Dedication [of the reconsecration of the temple]
was taking place at Jerusalem. It was winter, And Jesus was walking in Solomon’s
Porch in the temple area.”

Why did Yeshua go to the temple at this time?

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He was going to make a statement to change the way people were thinking, i.e. He was
going to challenge the religious spirit and tell them that God was looking for relationship,
intimacy and commitment.

The religious leaders challenged Him …

John 10.24b “So the Jews surrounded Him and began asking Him, How long are You
going to keep us in doubt and suspense? If You are really the Christ (the Messiah), tell
us so plainly and openly.”

He tells them that this is the time to celebrate God’s miracles – the oil burned for eight day
and yet they do not believe in miracles, they don’t have the faith to believe that God will
do things for them.

John 10.37-38 “If I am not doing the works [performing the deeds] of My Father, then
do not believe Me [do not adhere to Me and trust Me and rely on Me]. 38 But if I do them,
even though you do not believe Me or have faith in Me, [at least] believe the works and
have faith in what I do, in order that you may know and understand [clearly] that the Father
is in Me, and I am in the Father [One with Him].”

He tells them that God only works with those who have a relationship with Him, i.e.
intimacy and who do His Commandments. Then He declares that they are not of His
sheep. He gives them a direct call to repent and to turn to God.

John 10.26-27 “But you do not believe and trust and rely on Me because you do not
belong to My fold [you are no sheep of Mine]. The sheep that are My own hear and are
listening to My voice; and I know them, and they follow Me.”

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He tells them that He is the Light … He is the reality of the Golden Lampstand or Menorah,
but they don’t want to walk in the Light but in darkness.

John 12.35-36 “So Jesus said to them, You will have the Light only a little while longer.
Walk while you have the Light [keep on living by it], so that darkness may not overtake and
overcome you. He who walks about in the dark does not know where he goes [he is
drifting]. While you have the Light, believe in the Light [have faith in it, hold to it, rely on
it], that you may become sons of the Light and be filled with Light. Jesus said these things,
and then He went away and hid Himself from them [was lost to their view].”

He tells them that God the Father and Yeshua the Messiah will always keep the Covenant
that they will care for them, but they took up stones to kill Him.

John 10.4 “When he has brought his own sheep outside, he walks on before them, and
the sheep follow him because they know his voice.”

John 10.27 “The sheep that are My own hear and are listening to My voice; and I know
them, and they follow Me.”

He tells them that He is The Miracle – His coming from the Father to be Flesh on earth is
the miracle of love as God gives those who want it, eternal life and yet they do not
recognize it.

John 10.30 “I and the Father are One.”

John 10.28 “And I give them eternal life, and they shall never lose it or perish throughout
the ages. [To all eternity they shall never by any means be destroyed.] And no one is able
to snatch them out of My hand.”

John 1:4 “In Him was Life, and the Life was the Light of men. 9 There it was—the true
Light [was then] coming into the world [the genuine, perfect, steadfast Light] that illumines
every person.”

John 1.14 “And the Word (Christ) became flesh (human, incarnate) and tabernacled (fixed
His tent of flesh, lived awhile) among us; and we [actually] saw His Glory (His Honor, His
Majesty), such glory as an only begotten son receives from his father, full of grace (favor,
loving-kindness) and truth.”

He declares that the greatest miracle of all will take place when the temple, which took
forty-six years to build, will be destroyed and yet will be raised in three days; and the
atoning Blood of Yeshua will cover the sins of man forever.

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John 2.19-21 ”Jesus answered them, Destroy (undo) this temple, and in three days I
will raise it up again. Then the Jews replied, It took forty-six years to build this temple
(sanctuary), and will You raise it up in three days? But He had spoken of the temple
which was His body.”

John 1.4-5 “In Him was Life, and the Life was the Light of men. 5 And the Light shines on
in the darkness, for the darkness has never overpowered it [put it out or absorbed it or
appropriated it, and is unreceptive to it].”

John 10.29 “My Father, Who has given them to Me, is greater and mightier than all [else];
and no one is able to snatch [them] out of the Father’s hand.”

Surely, if you have experienced the miracle of being a lost son reconciled to God the
Father by the Blood of Yeshua, you will want to celebrate this feast!

6. Spiritual Warfare In The New Testament: The Syrian / Greek attack

Every so often during the life of the Jews they decide to reject God and serve foreign gods.
The result is that they end up under the authority of some or other nation in exile.

The Babylonian, Media-Persia and Romans all exiled the Jews physically to “lands not
their own”, but God always protected them.

Leviticus 26:44 “And yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not
spurn and cast them away, neither will I despise and abhor them to destroy them utterly
and to break My covenant with them, for I am the Lord their God.”

The Greeks “inhabited” Israel and started a process of changing their minds / values, etc.
from God-focused to world-focused, e.g. from “There is only One God” to “There are many
gods”. As this happened the Jews “lost” their possession of Israel.

"
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They had to drive the Greeks out before they could reclaim the land. This principle of
spiritual warfare – to deal with the attacks of Satan – is set out in detail in Ephesians 6,
i.e. we need to “renew” our minds, put on the armour of God and stand on God’s
promise.

The enemy will set up an initiative to attack the children of God. He will attack the mind to:

Reform the Torah / Word.

Change our minds to other thinking patterns.
Change our hearts to “other” gods.

Deuteronomy 4.9-10 “Only take heed, and guard your life diligently, lest you forget the
things which your eyes have seen and lest they depart from your mind and heart all the
days of your life. Teach them to your children and your children’s children – especially how
on the day that you stood before the Lord your God in Horeb, the Lord said to me, Gather
the people together to Me and I will make them hear My words, that they may learn
reverently to fear Me all the days they live upon the earth and that they may teach their
children.”

We need to take the initiative to gain our self-determination/freedom.

We need to drive out the “enemy” from our land.
Mattityahu was the man to lead the Jews. His name means “gift from God”.

This attack against the Jews was not physical but spiritual. The Greeks did not plan to
exterminate the Jews but to change their minds.

There is an image from the Hebrew scholars to show this!

Two images are used to describe the Torah (Word) student:

i) Donkey: a Torah student who accumulates knowledge … he carries a heavy load of

knowledge and can apply the Word.
ii) Ox: the Torah student who “uproots” mountains … he delves down to refine his
understanding; he turns over the soil to make it fertile; he looks for a harvest.

The image used by the Greeks to break down the Jews is “dog”.

The dog has the power to ridicule … the dog barks as if he is scoffing at someone …

I.e. why not enjoy life?

I.e. why not have physical pleasure?

Only when the spirituality of the Jews was renewed and their resistance restored
through warfare was the sound of dogs’ barking silenced.

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7. Anointing and Covering: The Concept of Priest and King

Priests

The family of priests, Chashmoneans, are encouraged by their mother, Yehudes, to act
against the moral and spiritual decay of their nation.

Kings

After the war we find a strange event take place: The Sanhedrin appoint the sons as
kings. One by one each son/brother reigns for a while, is called to war and killed in battle
until the last son was killed by king Herod who was still reigning when Yeshua walked on
this earth.

The Role of King

Jacob pronounces a blessing over each son. He declares, “The scepter shall not depart
from Judah”. The role of the king is spelt out for us in …

Deuteronomy 17.14-20 “When you come to the land which the Lord your God gives you
and you possess it and live there, and then say, We will set a king over us like all the
nations that are about us. You shall surely set as king over you him whom the Lord your
God will choose. One from among your brethren you shall set as king over you; you may
not set a foreigner, who is not your brother, over you. But he shall not multiply horses to
himself or cause the people to return to Egypt in order to multiply horses, since the Lord
said to you, You shall never return that way. And he shall not multiply wives to himself, that
his mind and heart turn not away; neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and
gold. And when he sits on his royal throne, he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a
book, out of what is before the Levitical priests. And he shall keep it with him, and he shall
read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn reverently to fear the Lord his God, by
keeping all the words of this law and these statutes and doing them. That his mind and
heart may not be lifted up above his brethren and that he may not turn aside from the
commandment to the right hand or to the left; so that he may continue long, he and his
sons, in his kingdom in Israel.”

Immediately following we find the role of the priest defined in Deuteronomy18.

Specifically we find the words, “they shall have no part of this”, referring to the Kingship.”

God clearly says that people could set up a king of choice (Deuteronomy 7.14 and 28.36),
but that the authority and leadership would always belong to Judah.

When man attempts to challenge this order the consequences are dramatic. God says in
Hosea 8:14 that man “sets up kings but not for Me”.

Further evidence of God’s judgment when the authority of Judah and the House of David
are challenged is found in 2 Samuel 20. We find a man “Sheba” who:

• undermines the king’s authority

• claimed the calling of David
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 … where the judgment is that his head is thrown from the city walls by the inhabitants.

The priests had:

Moved out of their anointing. They are called to guard the

priesthood.
Neglected to do what they were called to do.

The New Testament clearly teaches that the Holy Spirit comes
to give each one of us a gift and a calling. These are diverse
and specific for each one’s purpose.

1 Corinthians 12.4 “Now there are distinctive varieties and distributions of endowments
and they vary, but the Holy Spirit remains the same.”

1 Corinthians 14.1 “Eagerly pursue and seek to acquire this love; and earnestly desire
and cultivate the spiritual endowments, especially that you may prophesy.”

The gifts are given so that we can live out our goals within our functions of the five-fold
ministry.

The Jews eventually achieved self-determination and enjoyed ± 200 years of freedom -
but at what price? The priests lost their lives in the process of ruling after victory instead of
ministering to God in the temple.

We can get results operating outside of God’s calling, but we need to count the cost. We
can do far more worth functioning inside of our part of the Body.

8. The Significance of The Temple in the New Testament

We can see that the temple is a focal point of Yeshua’s ministry:

At 12 years old He is “about My Father’s” business. It’s also the age of accountability;
at 13 He was a man.
He preaches a message of a change from the natural (a physical temple) to the
spiritual (a congregation of living stones).
His message of “destroy the temple and raise it up in three days” was a declaration of
the change in dimension mentioned above.

But …

Jesus could not do this until He had transformed man though all facets of:
- body,
- soul, and
- spirit.

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Natural temple

Outer Court Inner Court Holy of Holies

A B C
Whip Words Cross
Body Soul Spirit

A: John 2.13-19

During Passover, in the outer court, He finds the priests wheeling and dealing with sheep
and oxen. So Yeshua makes a whip and drives them out i.e. this represents the body …
the process is the cleansing of the flesh.

B: Matthew 21.12-16

It’s Passover and again Yeshua finds “business” in the temple outer court, but this time He
drives them out with words and says, “My house shall be called a house of prayer but
you have made it a den of thieves” i.e. this represents the mind. The process is to renew
the mind, to think like God thinks.

C: Yeshua on the cross

He paid the full price to change the natural temple into a congregation of Living Stones i.e.
to change the spirit man into the Image of God.

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What does this mean?

How does this relate to our time?

We are faced with corrupting influences from the world/pagan/Babylonian system working
to influence us. If we accept these and use impure oil (i.e. without the Torah and the Holy
Spirit as basis) we will shine with humanistic endeavours, i.e. my will will be paramount.

On the other hand, if we use the Torah and Holy Spirit to raise our spirituality we can go on
increasing our light, thereby banishing darkness and go on to become a light to the
nations.

God requires of us and has placed the potential inside each of us to find the hidden “one
crux of oil” inside ourselves and start to burn our light by faith. This is when God moves
and miracles occur.

Just as we add another candle light every night so too we should always be increasing the
intensity of our light … we should grow from strength to strength in a:

Commitment to value.
Compassion for the lost.
Growth in our spiritual walk.

The lights of the candle should be in the window of our house to be visible to all. The
lighting of the candles should be a catalyst for renewal and revival of the Word in this
world.

We need to look at the attribute of a flame. It can either:

• burn, or
• bring light.
This is the essence of the End Time Church, we should be:

Burning up / combating evil so that it will be destroyed as far as we go.

Creating the greatest possible light so that we dissipate the darkness of the wrong
concepts, doctrine and policy that man has made.

9. The Significance ff Chanukah for my Personal Life

Matthew 9.17 “But they put new wine in new wineskins.”

The image that is created is that we are some kind of bucket or container that has the
potential to be filled with the Word of God (Torah) and the Holy Spirit.

Clearly Matthew 9.17 shows that some vessels are better than others, new vs. old wine
skin.
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God has called us all to a purpose and a destiny. It stands to reason therefore that we
need to have our container shaped to the right form to achieve God’s goals. I am a
unique visual. I will have a different form to all other but the Image of God will still be the
same.

The question is …

what shape should I be and what do I look like now?

In a sense I became a “Hebrew” when I crossed over from the present to the potential.

We start off made by God, but soon our parents and family make a dramatic impact on the
shape, quickly followed by some of life experiences. All of these impact my own self-image
… who I am … not what I am in Christ. The failings of the past tend to define our future.

We easily say “someone else is called to do that, it’s not me”. Chanukah challenges us
to rise above that thinking.

One of the most powerful processes of the New Testament is the commandment to “renew
your mind”. This is the time to throw down the chains of disappointment, to root out the
stronghold of lies and failure, and it is the time to build a fortress of Truth.

Chanukah is the time of the year when you consider the “who I am” vs. “who I am through
Christ” and find out how I need to change to reshape myself to fit closer to what God
wants me to be.

The candle makes a small flame - but the light grows bigger as we add candles. One step
at a time, we are asked to change. Stop and take time out to meditate on God’s plans.

Consider the following questions:

What does God really want from me?

What lifts up my spirit the most?
What would I focus on as the best way to express God’s Love for me to the world?

Chanukah is a story of a time in history, when a miracle turned that which should not have
happened in the natural, around. Each time you renew your mind to bring it more into line
with God’s Word (Torah) for your life you live out a small miracle.

When this happens the light of your spirit is increased until we start to understand some of
the Glory of God.

In the New Testament, the miracle is not the oil, but God’s Faithfulness … He will return!!!

10. God has Placed us on Earth in this Time Period for “a Time Such as This”

We so often come to a feast / celebration and consider the fun things – the food, the
laughter, the lights. Each person who lights the candles should be acknowledging that God
is the True Source of Salvation.
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If we come to Chanukah without any commitment to think about the obligation that this
feast brings, then we negate much of the spiritual blessing that God releases at this time.

One of the most important lessons of Chanukah is this: we must have the courage to give
our lives if needed, to do battle under the Banner of the God of Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob and the Torah. We must be prepared to sacrifice all for the sake of God and the
Truth of His Word.

We will face the spiritual warfare described in Daniel – we will be attacked by the kingdom
of darkness. Our reactions are of utmost importance.

One of the most important lessons is that between us and the attack we will find a
roadblock – a number of feelings of emotion that we need to “manage” / overcome so that
we can go forward to do battle. Within this context, I will only deal with three such
roadblocks to our success:

i) A feeling of hopelessness

One of the most important feelings to overcome is the feeling of hopelessness. We face
circumstances where we feel and are very alone. Those who have offered advice and
prayers in the past have other views.

The issues confronting us seems to be terrifying, are insurmountable and often are
impacting those close to us, our direct family. The continual pressure of daily interactions,
hours of counseling and prayer seem to have little effect.

Our bodies start to feel the effect of hours of lost sleep, continual mental and spiritual
stress. This may not be physical “Red Sea”, but it is clearly an emotional / spiritual battle.

ii) A feeling of fear

The feeling of fear can come from two sources.

(a) Firstly, the fear of personal inadequacy. I have confidence in the things that I can do
well. However, as soon as I am challenged to stand (Ephesians 6:11) in an area in
which I am unfamiliar, I become uncertain and often lack the courage to take a chance
to act on the little that I know or hear.
(b) Secondly, the fear of the obstacle itself that has risen before me – that which seems
overpowering / consuming can cause me to feel that all efforts are hopeless and
therefore I should surrender to the circumstance.

iii) A fear of man

We develop our sense of who God is by our walk with God. The intensity of these
encounters, our diligence in the study of the Torah / Word and our prayer life set the
temperature of my faith.

It is reasonably easy to understand that non-believers do not want to see our point of view.

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What is sometimes more difficult to deal with is the division that occur in the Body
of Yeshua. There are those who carry the label of “traditional or orthodox”, i.e. those who
feel that God’s standard should not be compromised.

Then we have the group of believers who are “progressive”, those who have a “different”
explanation for the old things and who believe that we should change with the times.

In these circumstances the ridicule and rejection of being old-fashioned and out of date
places a burden of the fear of man on us. In a sense we almost become involved in a civil
war as opposed to dealing only with the kingdom of darkness.

11. At Chanukah, God renews my Courage

The lesson from Chanukah is that we are never tested beyond our means. We have
been given more than enough courage, will power and strength to cope with every
circumstance. More than that God places us in every situation. When we come to
understand and accept this, then it becomes easier to find the inner strength to carry on.

The Blessing of Hope

The Israelites sin by building the Golden Calf while Moses is up the mountain getting the
tablets of the Law. God tells Moses that His anger burns and that Moses must leave Him
alone. It is clear that God did not expect Moses to remain passive. The statement to
“go away” does not mean “do nothing” as we see when Moses pleads for the people’s
sake.

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Hopelessness does not have a place in our lives. Even if things look impossible, there is
always the possibility that the circumstance can be turned around.

Indeed, we are given the promise that faith triumphs in times of trouble:

Romans 1.5 “It is through Him that we have received grace (God’s unmerited favor) and
[our] apostleship to promote obedience to the faith and make disciples for His name’s
sake among all the nations,”

We have hope in the Word and Promise of God …

Psalm 119.81 “My soul languishes and grows faint for Your salvation, but I hope in Your
Word.”

We know that God’s mercy for us is never-ending …

Psalm 33.18 “Behold, the Lord’s eye is upon those who fear Him [who revere and worship
Him with awe], who wait for Him and hope in His Mercy and loving-kindness,”

The Blessing of the Fear of the Lord

We overcome the fears of each situation with the certainty that we have an advocate in
Heaven, Yeshua, who acts on our behalf. The most important thing that we must
remember is that our purpose to bring God’s Light to the Sanctuary, so that His Glory can
return is worth more than pain / ridicule of the kingdom of this world.

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Going to war could still possibly result in pain and death. Some of the supporters of the
Maccabees surely died, but they still stood firm for the beliefs they had brought about; a
time when the tabernacle was once more in the hands of the Israelites. It was this act of
sacrifice that paved the way for Yeshua to be born into this world.

Those who seek knowledge (study the Torah / Word of God and internalize the
principles) will fear God and therefore find their destiny. The converse is shown for us in:

Proverbs 1.29 “Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the reverent and
worshipful fear of the Lord,”

We are also told to flee evil – we can do this in two ways:

(a) Run from the temptation as in the case of Joseph and the Egyptian’s wife.
(b) Attack / stand up against the evil dictates and laws put into place by godless men.
We have been set free from Egypt / the kingdom of darkness by the Blood of Yeshua.
Any attempt to bring us into bondage or any form of slavery requires us to stand up
against this evil and fight.

Ephesians 6.11 “Put on God’s whole armor [the armor of a heavy-armed soldier which
God supplies], that you may be able successfully to stand up against [all] the strategies
and the deceits of the devil.”

Proverbs 3.7 “Be not wise in your own eyes; reverently fear and worship the Lord and
turn [entirely] away from evil.”

Proverbs 8.13 “The reverent fear and worshipful awe of the Lord [includes] the hatred of
evil; pride, arrogance, the evil way, and perverted and twisted speech I hate.”

Proverbs 16.6 “By mercy and love, truth and fidelity [to God and man—not by sacrificial
offerings], iniquity is purged out of the heart, and by the reverent, worshipful fear of the
Lord men depart from and avoid evil.”

An intimate knowledge of a righteous God who only wants the best for me will cause me to
have ever increasing confidence in His goodness and faithfulness.

Small miracles should be recorded in the memory bank and retold on every possible
occasion.

The process of remembrance reinforces my faith.

We will face the kingdom of darkness in the many forms described by Daniel. We need to
be prepared for these dark days when we are pressured on all sides.

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• physical attacks: my body is sick,
• mental attacks: my prophetic voice is quiet,
• spiritual attacks: my mind is tormented by continuous attacks of unbelief.

I stand on the confidence that God cares for me.

Proverbs 14.26-27 “In the reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord there is strong
confidence, and His children shall always have a place of refuge. Reverent and worshipful
fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, that one may avoid the snares of death.”

Most importantly God gave me a promise of power (spiritual), love (physical) and a
sound mind (mental).

2 Timothy 1:6-7 ”That is why I would remind you to stir up (rekindle the embers of, fan the
flame of, and keep burning) the [gracious] gift of God, [the inner fire] that is in you by
means of the laying on of my hands [with those of the elders at your ordination]. For God
did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear),
but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and
discipline and self-control.”

The Blessing of Confidence in Who I am in Yeshua

It seems that man has been influenced by what his fellow men says about him for a long
time. The Old Testament is full of stories to show us that we can be swayed in the wrong
direction because it is not that easy to discern what man’s real motives are.

Isaiah 51.3 “For the Lord will comfort Zion; He will comfort all her waste places. And He
will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord. Joy and
gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of song or instrument of praise.”

But God knows how we get pressured to accept the opinion of the masses. After all,
democracy sounds good, how can so many people be wrong? History has shown that this
is often the case – Hitler’s Germany and Saddam Hussein’s Iraq are but a few examples.

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We have a promise in …

Isaiah 51.7-8 “Listen to Me, you who know rightness and justice and right standing with
God, the people in whose heart is My law and My instruction: fear not the reproach of
men, neither be afraid nor dismayed at their revilings. For [in comparison with the Lord
they are so weak that things as insignificant as] the moth shall eat them up like a garment,
and the worm shall eat them like wool. But My rightness and justice [and faithfully fulfilled
promise] shall be forever, and My salvation to all generations.”

Isaiah 51.12 “I, even I, am He Who comforts you. Who are you, that you should be
afraid of man, who shall die, and of a son of man, who shall be made [as destructible] as
grass,”

Isaiah 51.15-16 ”For I am the Lord your God, Who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar
and Who by rebuke restrains it - the Lord of hosts is His name. And I have put My words in
your mouth and have covered you with the shadow of My hand, that I may fix the [new]
heavens as a tabernacle and lay the foundations of a [new] earth and say to Zion, You are
My people.”

More importantly, God causes our focus to be strengthened, i.e. His Thoughts about us
cause our minds to be renewed so that we start to believe in the purpose and destiny to
which we are called. The Story of Esther is such an example, the word of Mordecai and
the value system put into her as a child was the foundation which she could build upon
when the “people” had other ideas.

Ezekiel 2.8-12 “As for you, son of man, hear what I say to you; be not rebellious like that
rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you And when I looked, behold, a
hand was stretched out to me and behold, a scroll of a book was in it. And He spread it
before me and it was written within and on the back, and written on it were words of
lamentation and mourning and woe.”

Yeshua also considers it important that He gives His disciples in this regard:

Matthew 10.26-33 “So have no fear of them; for nothing is concealed that will not be
revealed, or kept secret that will not become known. What I say to you in the dark, tell in
the light; and what you hear whispered in the ear, proclaim upon the housetops. And do
not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; but rather be afraid of
Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell (Gehenna). Are not two little sparrows sold
for a penny? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father’s leave
(consent) and notice. But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not,
then; you are of more value than many sparrows. Therefore, everyone who acknowledges
Me before men and confesses Me [out of a state of oneness with Me], I will also
acknowledge him before My Father Who is in heaven and confess [that I am abiding in]
him. But whoever denies and disowns Me before men, I also will deny and disown him
before My Father Who is in heaven.”

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Employing the Spiritual Strategy of “ein b’reirah”

The concept of “ein b’reirah” means to forge ahead … to push onwards … to carry on
even if there are no other alternatives.

By striving against that which is against us / in our way of progress, we are expected to
use a little extra energy and intellect and it may be at the cost of ourselves, but like the
Maccabees we are rewarded.

An abundance of God’s help – miracles!

12. Lighting Candles in New Testament times

The miracle of the crux of oil is a declaration that God exists, because it is clearly beyond
the laws of nature.

As we sacrifice our own plans and come in line with God’s plan for us we can expects
miracles.

Why do the Jews light the candles?

To publicize the miracle! In order to demonstrate (show the miracle) and reveal (it must be
seen) the miracle!

We can light the candles today!!

We recognize God’s Hand of provision in the Jewish nation. We also know that God
provides miracles for us each day.

As I write these final notes, our own family have experienced many miracles, one of whi I
would like to share with you. My son, Corné and two friends Rehuel and Ferdi, went on
holiday to Namibia. The car in which they were traveling left the road and rolled 36m – it
was completely written off. All three young men came out with minor cuts and bruises – a
miracle!

Chanukah is a day of joy and praise and thanksgiving. The very act of lighting the candles
tells others that we have a heart of thanksgiving.

Each day for eight days we light an additional candle. The lights tell everyone who sees it
that we are commemorating an event; that there is a new miracle everyday and that
today’s miracle is greater than yesterday’s.

We who accept Christ as our Saviour believe that each day our light burns brighter –
Jesus in us has enhanced our spirit light with His glory.

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Chanukah is a family affair. Each person lights his own candles.

The victory in the war over the Greeks was a miracle.

The miracle of the jar of oil was an expression of love:
- A kiss from God.
- A manifest sign of extra love – we are His Beloved.
As we light the candles this year we declare to and for a future generation that God had
given us a sign from Heaven to say that He will always safeguard our existence. We
declare:

God’s watchful eye.

God’s everlasting love.
The future Light of the Glory of the Returning Messiah will be restored and will be over
our future generations.
We light the candle today just as the Jews do to serve as a memorial for the restoration
of the second temple. In so doing we, as the New Testament Church, express the hope
and desire to see the temple made from “living stones” restored to the beauty and purpose
required by God. The Old Testament tells of the miracle of the shew bread – the bread
which stayed fresh and warm for an entire week and how this happened under the
watchful eye of the Cherubim who embraced one another. If we live in peace and harmony
the miracle of a restored New Testament Bride will happen.

What praise / blessing / prayer do we give?

We thank God for the victory in the battles over the past year.

BUT

God gives a promise!

Leviticus 26.6 “The sword will not pass through my land”.

We thank God because He fights on our behalf!

THEREFORE

I will sing … I will sing praise to God for this!

Exodus 15.21 “And Miriam responded to them, Sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed
gloriously and is highly exalted; the horse and his rider He has thrown into the sea.”

They rejoiced because they had been an instrument in the process of God’s Name.

Psalm 118.11 “They compassed me about, yes, they surrounded me on every side; but in
the Name of the Lord I will cut them off!”

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These “wars” which represent “affliction” are a vehicle to glorifying God’s Name.

13. A Game Played During Chanukah

“Dreidel, dreidel I made it out of clay…”

One of the best known symbols of Chanukah is

the dreidel. A dreidel is a four-sided top with a
Hebrew letter on each side. The four letters are
Shin, Hey, Gimel and Nun.

These letters mean, “A great Miracle happened

there”. In Israel the dreidel is a bit different in that
their letters mean, “A Miracle Happened HERE!”

Dreidel is also a popular game played during the

holiday. Players use pennies, nuts, raisins, or
chocolate coins (“gelt”) as tokens or chips.

The player spins the dreidel. When the dreidel

stops, the letter that is facing up decides the fate:

Nun: nothing happens … next player spins the dreidel.

Gimel: player takes all tokens in the pot.
Hey: player takes half of the pot.
Shin: player must put one token into the pot.

14. The Festival / Memorial of Chanukah

We have seen the prophetic word of Daniel played out in the History of the Maccabees.
We have seen that Yeshua Himself tells us that this prophetic word will have another
manifestation.

Paul in his letter to the Thessalonians tells of this time.

2 Thessalonians 2.3-12 "Let no one deceive or beguile you in any way, for that day will
not come except the apostasy comes first [unless the predicted great falling away of those
who have professed to be Christians has come], and the man of lawlessness (sin) is
revealed, who is the son of doom (of perdition), Who opposes and exalts himself so
proudly and insolently against and over all that is called God or that is worshiped, [even to
his actually] taking his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming that he himself is God. Do
you not recollect that when I was still with you, I told you these things? And now you know
what is restraining him [from being revealed at this time]; it is so that he may be
manifested (revealed) in his own [appointed] time. For the mystery of lawlessness (that
hidden principle of rebellion against constituted authority) is already at work in the world,
[but it is] restrained only until he who restrains is taken out of the way. And then the
lawless one (the antichrist) will be revealed and the Lord Jesus will slay him with the
breath of His mouth and bring him to an end by His appearing at His coming.

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The coming [of the lawless one, the antichrist] is through the activity and working of Satan
and will be attended by great power and with all sorts of [pretended] miracles and signs
and delusive marvels—[all of them] lying wonders - And by unlimited seduction to evil and
with all wicked deception for those who are perishing (going to perdition) because they did
not welcome the Truth but refused to love it that they might be saved. Therefore God
sends upon them a misleading influence, a working of error and a strong delusion to make
them believe what is false, In order that all may be judged and condemned who did not
believe in [who refused to adhere to, trust in, and rely on] the Truth, but [instead] took
pleasure in unrighteousness.”

Again we are told to stand fast:

2 Thessalonians 2.15 “So then, brethren, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions and
instructions which you were taught by us, whether by our word of mouth or by letter.”
We are asked to be Yeshua on earth and to follow the example that He gave us.

He was prepared to serve … we should also.

He was prepared to give His life … we should also.

Matthew 10.28 “And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; but
rather be afraid of Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell (Gehenna).”

Are we Commanded to keep this feast?

NO

Can we omit this feast?

NO
We are Commanded to praise God for the good things He has done. Each one has at
least one miracle to celebrate.

Take time out to think about this time and plan the feast so that you can enjoy the
intimacy of your relationship with God.

Ask the Holy Spirit what you and your family should do this year. Do not keep a ritual,
make it an act of loving obedience.

The Chanukah lights should reinforce the Covenantal relationship with God. We should
find that our identity as a Messianic believer has been enhanced. We should have a
greater awareness that our unique purpose is to call down the Glory of God into our “living
stones” tabernacle.

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Some of the Elements of the Celebration
1. Prayer

A time of thanks, of the realization that no matter what the circumstances are, we can
know and declare that:

God is there,
God is God.

The Torah / Word will be a guiding principle for me in all the walks of my life.

Proverbs 6.23 “For the commandment is a lamp, and the whole teaching [of the law] is
light, and reproofs of discipline are the way of life,”

Psalm 119.105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

2. Give gifts

Christmas has become a commercial venture with some trapping of the Christian belief.
Unfortunately the reality that Christmas has nothing to do with Yeshua and everything to
do with Constantine’s sun god, makes it even worse.

I am not saying that we should not have a day of worship on the 25th, but let’s please not
continue to tell the next generation of believers the falsehood of the 25th of
December as “baby Jesus’” birthday as part of our faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob.

This feast is an absolute bargain as far as the children are concerned. Who won’t
exchange one day of presents for eight continuous days of party? It is no contest!

Use the giving of gifts as an opportunity to reinforce the family values that we want to build
on in the next year.

3. Feast

There is no better time to renew friendships, sit back and enjoy good company and food.
After all, we are celebrating a God of abundance!

4. Special Mitzvot on Chanukah

There is a special mitzvah to give charity, in particular, to support needy Torah / Bible
students. In this way we recall the miraculous fall of the evil Greeks into the hands of the
righteous adherents to the Torah.

5. Study of Torah / Bible

There is also a mitzvah to devote extra time to Torah study. This demonstrates the defeat
of the Greeks who perverted Torah study by their evil decrees.
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6. The Ceremony

Lighting instructions

Each person can light his own menorah or else you can have just one menorah per family.

6.1 What Menorah to Light

To publicize which night of Chanukah it is, all eight candles on the menorah should be at
the same height – and preferably in a straight line. Otherwise, the candles may not be
easily distinguishable and may appear like a big torch.

In addition to the eight main lights, the menorah has an extra helper candle called the
“Shamash”.

The Shamash does not count as one of the eight regular lights, and should be set apart in
some way – either place higher than the other candles or off to the side.

6.2 What Candles to Light

The most important thing is that your candles must burn for at least thirty minutes
after nightfall. It is even better to use olive oil, since the miracle of the Maccabees
occurred with olive oil. Glass cups containing oil can be place in the candle holders of any
standard menorah.

6.3 Where to Light

To publicize the miracle, the menorah should be lit in a window facing the public
thoroughfare.

It may be lit inside the house on a table as this at least fulfills the mitzvah of “publicizing
the miracle” for the members of the household.

6.4 When to Light

The menorah should preferably be lit immediately after nightfall, when all the members of
the household are present.

The menorah should remain lit for at least thirty minutes.

6.5 How to Light

- On the first night, place one candle at the far right, as you face the menorah.
- Another candle is placed for the Shamash (taller helper candle) which is used to
light the others.
- First light the Shamash, then recite the blessings, and then use the Shamash to light
the Chanukah candle.
- On the second night, place two candles in the two far-right positions and use the
Shamash to light the left one first.
- The third night, place two candles in the two far-right positions and use the
Shamash to light them in order, from left to right.
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Follow this same procedure each night of Chanukah – until all the lights are kindled and
glowing brightly.

The Blessing

Baruch ata Ado-noi Elo-heinu melech ha-olam, Asher kid-shanu bi-mitzvosav,

Vi-tzee-vanu li-had-leek ner shel Chanukah.
Blessed are You, the Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who sanctified us
with His Commandments and commanded us to kindle the light.

This is an interpretation of the commandment given by Moses to the Priest.

Leviticus 24.1-4 “AND THE Lord said to Moses, Command the Israelites that they bring
to you pure oil from beaten olives for the light [of the golden lampstand] to cause a lamp
to burn continually. Outside the veil of the Testimony [between the Holy and the Most
Holy Places] in the Tent of Meeting, Aaron shall keep it in order from evening to morning
before the Lord continually; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations. He
shall keep the lamps in order upon the lampstand of pure gold before the Lord continually.”

Remember: No matter how small the light, it is a symbol of Hashem’s watchful Eye and
everlasting love – it is also a symbol of the future Light of the Messiah where the original
Light of Creation will be restored.

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Conclusion
The Jews sing a song on Chanukah, it’s words describe some of the miracles and their
salvation:

Verse 5
Greeks gathered against me
Then in Hasmonean days.
They breached the walls of my towers
And they defiled all the oils;
And from the one remnant of the flasks
A miracle was wrought for the roses.
Men of insight – eight days
Establish for song and jubilation.

Verse 6
Bare Your Holy arm
And hasten the End of salvation –
Avenge the vengeance of Your servants blood
From the wicked nation.
For the triumph is too long delayed for us,
And there is no end to days of evil,
Repel the Red One in the nethermost shadow
And establish for us the seven shepherds.

Why do we think of roses when we look at the miracle?

The rose has a rare beauty, known by every lover as the perfect gift. The flower is
surrounded by thorns. So too the Bride of Yeshua is a living tabernacle of great beauty but
it too is surrounded by thorns – the agents of the kingdom of darkness – often a precarious
position. The rose gives off a wonderful fragrance, even as it withers.

As we commit to the Commandment to carry on even in the most difficult of times, we will
reveal this lingering fragrance. If we are diligent in our faith and teaching, the remnant of
those who believe (the flask) will cause the miracle of salvation.

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Scripture readings for Chanukah
Night 1
Numbers 7.1-7; Genesis 1.14-18; John 1.1-13

Night 2
Numbers 7.8-23; Matthew 6.22-23

Night 3
Numbers 7.24-29; Mark 8.14-21

Night 4
Numbers 7.30-35; Luke 2.25-35

Night 5
Numbers 7.36-41; Proverbs 20.27; John 9.1-7

Night 6
Numbers 7.42-47; Psalm 119:105

Night 7
Numbers 7.48-53; Psalm 97.11-12; Matthew 4.12-17

Night 8
Numbers 7.54-58; Luke 1.67-69

The Remnant will have faith

It is always difficult to be the forerunner in a totally new field of human endeavour. You go
where no-one else has been just like the first man to land on the moon, they did not know
if it would work, if they would make it back, etc.

It is easier for us, because we have a path, well trodden, clearly marked out for us by
men and women of faith.

People who followed God’s Voice and calling, experienced His miracles, but had yet to see
the promise of the Messiah.

Now if you have this path:

Hebrews 11.30-40 “Because of faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been
encompassed for seven days [by the Israelites]. [Prompted] by faith Rahab the prostitute
was not destroyed along with those who refused to believe and obey, because she had
received the spies in peace [without enmity]. And what shall I say further? …

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Hebrews 11.30-40 … For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah,
of David and Samuel and the prophets, Who by [the help of] faith subdued kingdoms,
administered justice, obtained promised blessings, closed the mouths of lions,
Extinguished the power of raging fire, escaped the devourings of the sword, out of frailty
and weakness won strength and became stalwart, even mighty and resistless in battle,
routing alien hosts. [Some] women received again their dead by a resurrection. Others
were tortured to death with clubs, refusing to accept release [offered on the terms of
denying their faith], so that they might be resurrected to a better life. Others had to suffer
the trial of mocking and scourging and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned
to death; they were lured with tempting offers [to renounce their faith]; they were sawn
asunder; they were slaughtered by the sword; [while they were alive] they had to go about
wrapped in the skins of sheep and goats, utterly destitute, oppressed, cruelly treated—
[Men] of whom the world was not worthy—roaming over the desolate places and the
mountains, and [living] in caves and caverns and holes of the earth. And all of these,
though they won divine approval by [means of] their faith, did not receive the
fulfillment of what was promised, Because God had us in mind and had something
better and greater in view for us, so that they [these heroes and heroines of faith] should
not come to perfection apart from us [before we could join them].”

… and an intimate relationship with Yeshua, then we must celebrate being part of a
Kingdom that cannot be shaken.

Hebrews 12.28-29 “Let us therefore, receiving a kingdom that is firm and stable and
cannot be shaken, offer to God pleasing service and acceptable worship, with modesty
and pious care and godly fear and awe; 29 For our God [is indeed] a consuming fire.”

May God’s consuming fire be reflected in the Menorah of your life, so that others who
come to know you will say:

“Nes gadol hayah sham.” / “A great miracle happened here.”

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A shortened Version of the Candle Lighting
Place the candles in the Menorah from right to left and light them from left to right.

Intro Prayer

The lights of Chanukah are a symbol of our joy. In time of darkness, our ancestors had the
courage to struggle for freedom; freedom to be themselves and freedom to worship the
God of Israel in their own way.

Zion hears and is glad; the cities of Judah rejoice, O Lord, because of Your judgments.

The Blessing

Light the middle (9th/Shamus) candle and pray:

Baruch ate Adonai Eloheinu, melech ha-olam, asher kide-shanu be-mitz-votav,

vetzi-vanu le-hadlik neir shell Chanukah.
Blessed is the Lord our God, Ruler of the Universe, by Whose commendments
we are hallowed, and Who commands us to kindle the Chanukah candles.

Now with the “Shamus” (9th candle / server) light only the first candle and say:

First night:
“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.”
For the next seven nights do the same as above, but every night you light one extra candle
with the Shamus.

Second night:
“Though I fall, I shall rise; though I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light to me.”

Third night:
“For You light my lamp; the Lord God makes bright my darkness.”

Forth night:
“Light dawns in the darkness for the upright; for the one who is gracious, compassionate
and just.”

Fifth night:
“The Lord is my light and my help; whom shall I fear.”

Sixth night:
“Good deeds are the lamp and the Torah is the light.”

Seventh night:
“Arise, shine for your light has come and the splendour of the Lord shall dawn upon you.”

Eighth night:
“No more shall the sun by day or the moon by night be your light. The Lord will be your
everlasting light, and your God your Glory.”
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Priestly Blessing
Numbers 6:24-27

“Y’varekh’kha YHVH v’yishmerekha.

May YHVH bless you and keep you.

Ya’er YHVH panav eleikha vichunekka.

May YHVH make His Face shine on you and show you His favour.

Yissa YHVH panav eleikha v’yasem l’kha shalom.

May YHVH lift up His Face toward you and give you peace.

Numbers 6:27 “In this way they are to put My Name on the people of Isra’el, so that I will
Bless them.”

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