What About Chanukkah?

Chanukkah is an eight day holiday beginning on the 25th of Kislev, the 9th month, which is the 20th of December this year [2003]. Chanukkah is sometimes considered a Jewish Christmas.

Actually Chanukkah is very different from Christmas. It is a celebration of returning to true worship in the temple after a long battle to retake that which was taken away from the Jews (The Temple).

Chanukkah started about 165 BCE (Before Common Era) when the Temple was rededicated. You will find the story of this in 2 Maccabees 10:1-8. 2 Maccabees is an Apocrypha book, or in other words a book between the Old Testament and the New Testament. It is found in Catholic Bibles or other books, such as the King James Version Apocrypha from Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-50674-3.

No name is given to the feast described in 2 Maccabees or in its only mention in the New Testament (John 10:22), where it is called the Feast of Dedication. The word Chanukkah means “dedication,” Strong’s 2597/8.

In John 10:23-42 we find Yahoshua (in the Temple, at this feast) showing His holy presence, fully revealed. Yet, the Jews sought only to stone Him. Because of their rejection of Yahoshua, Elohiym allowed the Temple to be destroyed in the year 70 CE (Common Era).

This now begs the question of whether we should even celebrate Chanukkah today? Most definitely there remains no stone Temple anymore and since Yahoshua is the light of the world, not the Chanukkah candles, what relevance is this feast of old to today’s believers?

The Bible tells us the Temple is now our own bodies. 1 Cor. 6:19, 2 Cor. 6:16, where the Holy Spirit dwells. And Yahoshua took the opportunity during this feast to declare Himself with respect to who He was and the result was, “And many believed on Him there.” John 10:42, KJV.

So, during this time of Chanukkah, instead of ignoring the holiday now because we are Messianic Believers, might we also “Declare Him?” and reflect on our salvation with a “rededication” of our body (the Temple of the Holy Spirit) and our life to His service?

In Romans 14:6, we see “He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto [Adonai]: and he that regardeth not the day, to [Adonai] he doth not regard it.” KJV. And in Col. 3:23, “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily as to [Adonai], and not unto men:” KJV.

We are set free from the yoke of bondage; therefore, it is our choice as to whether to celebrate these days (Chanukkah) or not. But it is very important that either way we choose, that we do so as to YaHVaH. Shalom.

First published 12-2003, © 2003, 2017

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