Why Should I Celebrate Hanukkah? The importance of Hanukkah for Believers in Christ

For believers in Christ, Hanukkah is extremely important, yet this importance is lost on most of Christianity.

In this study, we are going to go over why every follower of Christ should celebrate Hanukkah.

What is Hanukkah?

Put simply, Hanukkah is the celebration of the re-dedication of the Temple during the days of Antiochus Epiphanies.

Antiochus Epiphanies rose to power in 175BC.

He grew the power of the Seleucid Empire, which eventually conquered the land of Israel.

Let’s read in 1 Maccabees about what happened next.

1 Maccabees 1:33–35 (LES2)

And they built in the city of David a great wall and fortified towers, and it became for them as a fortress. And they established there a sinful people, wicked men, and they became strong in it. And they stored weapons and provisions and, gathering the spoils of Jerusalem, they put it away there. And he became a great threat.

1 Maccabees 1:41–45 (LES2)

And the king wrote to his whole kingdom that all should be as one people, and each should abandon his customs. And all the peoples complied according to the word of the king. And many from Israel consented to his service, and they sacrificed to idols and defiled the Sabbath. And the king sent documents in the hands of messengers to Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, going after the customs of foreigners of the land, and to withhold burnt offerings and sacrifice and drink offering from the sanctuary and to profane Sabbaths and festivals,

1 Maccabees 1:46–50 (LES2)

and to defile the sanctuary and holy things, to build altars and shrines and idols and sacrifice pigs and common animals, and to leave their sons uncircumcised, to make repulsive their souls with all impurity and profanation so as to forget the law and to change all their duties. And whoever should not act according to the word of the king would die.

Antiochus also deposed the High Priest, and installed his brother, who was a Hellenist.

The word “Hanukkah” means “to dedicate” or “dedication.”

This teaching will not necessarily focus on the history of Hanukkah.

For those who are interested in the actual history, I have another teaching that goes over it in depth.

Or you can read the books of 1st and 2nd Maccabees.

Instead, this teaching will focus on the importance of Hanukkah, the scriptures that speak of it, and the prophetic nature of what we see with Hanukkah.

Abomination of Desolation

In the year 167 BC, Antiochus Epiphanes, the ruler of the Seleucid Empire, set up an abomination in the Temple.

Not only did he sacrifice pigs on the alter, defiling it, he also set up a statue of Zeus in the Holy of Holies.

He believed himself to be the physical manifestation of Zeus on earth.

Often times throughout scripture, God will give us partial fulfillments with events that occur, or a shadow of those future fulfillments.

I would argue that Hanukkah is just that: a shadow of a greater fulfillment.

We see this primarily in the book of Daniel, in chapters 9, 11 and 12.

Daniel 9:24–27 ESV

“Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place. Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time. And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed. And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.”

Ultimately, this passage deals with two prophecies, one is the resurrection of Christ, as it says “to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness.”

We know that this was done at Christ’s death and resurrection.

The other prophecy has to do with the end times, more on that later.

The next thing says “and to anoint the most holy place.”

This is more than likely a reference to the Temple, but could also be seen as a reference to the body of Christ himself.

Now, let’s get into the timeline of these events.

In this passage, “weeks” is not actually in the text, it simply says “seven 70s.” Some commentators argue that this is actually in reference to years, which would total 490 years. Which makes sense with the following:

The 490 is divided up into 7 “sevens” (49 years) and 62 “sevens” (434 years,) and 1 “seven.”

The first period of 49 years most likely refers to the rebuilding of Jerusalem permitted by Artexerxes, between 444BC-395BC.

The 62 “sevens” (434 years) is very obviously leading up to the advent of the Messiah, when He rides into Jerusalem.

Zechariah 9:9 (ESV)

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!

Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!

Behold, your king is coming to you;

righteous and having salvation is he,

humble and mounted on a donkey,

on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Stick with me on this.

According to the beginning of 9:26, the Messiah (anointed one) is not cut off until after the 7 and 62 “sevens” had run their course. This means that there is an interval between the 69th and 70th “seven.”

So, Christ’s resurrection is in this interval, which is after the 7 and 62 “sevens.”

This interval saw the establishment of what I would call “True Israel.”

Those who, according to Revelation 12:17 had the commandments of God and the testimony of Yeshua the Messiah.

Revelation 12:17 (ESV)

Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.

Amillennials (who believe that Christ is currently ruling and reigning in the Millennial Kingdom) teach that the 70th “seven” was Christ’s advent ministry, and that there is no interval between the 69th and the 70th “seven.” And that all the things in Daniel 9:24 were fulfilled today with the Church.

According to J. Dwight Pentecost:

This view, however, (a) ignores the fact that verse 26 says “after the 62 sevens, ‘ “not” in the 70th seven, ‘” (b) overlooks the fact that Christ’s ministry on earth was three and one-half years in length, not seven, and (c) ignores the fact that God’s six actions pertain to Daniel’s “people” (Israel) and His “Holy City” (Jerusalem), not the church.

Now, it speaks of the Messiah being “cut off” and have “nothing.”

This makes complete sense with what we see in the gospels.

The Messiah was cut off from the world of the living, as well as despised and rejected by Israel in His day.

Continuing on in 26, it says that the “people of the prince who is to come” destroy the city and the Sanctuary. This was fulfilled in 70AD with the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple.

Now, verse 27 starts speaking of the actual Antichrist figure.

He is going to make a covenant with the nations, and according to Daniel 11:45

Daniel 11:45 (ESV)

And he shall pitch his palatial tents between the sea and the glorious holy mountain. Yet he shall come to his end, with none to help him.

This indicates that he will establish some sort of government in the land of Israel.

This “prince” is spoken about a lot throughout scripture. He is the Antichrist.

It says for half of a seven (3.5 years) he will put a stop to the sacrifices, meaning that he will abolish the Priesthood, to a certain extent.

This tells us that a Temple and a priesthood will be existing in those days.

Then the text tells us that the abomination of desolation will take place.

Daniel 11:31 (ESV)

Forces from him shall appear and profane the temple and fortress, and shall take away the regular burnt offering. And they shall set up the abomination that makes desolate.

Daniel 12:11 (ESV)

And from the time that the regular burnt offering is taken away and the abomination that makes desolate is set up, there shall be 1,290 days.

1290 days is the 3.5 years we spoke about previously.

Christ also tells us of this incident in Matthew 24:15

Matthew 24:15 (ESV)

“So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),

Yeshua is telling us that these events in Daniel are future events, they had not occured yet.

John also tells us of this event in Revelation 13:11-18

Revelation 13:11–18 (ESV)

Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence, and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed. It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people, and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived. And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain. Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666.

But then the end is decreed for the Antichrist and his prophet, according to the end of Daniel 9:26.

Revelation 19:20 (ESV)

And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.

Daniel 7:11 (ESV)

“I looked then because of the sound of the great words that the horn was speaking. And as I looked, the beast was killed, and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire.

Daniel 7:26 (ESV)

But the court shall sit in judgment, and his dominion shall be taken away, to be consumed and destroyed to the end.

2 Thessalonians 2:1–6 ESV

Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time.

2 Thessalonians 2:7–12 ESV

For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

So this antichrist will proclaim himself as God, and will believe that he is over all other so-called “gods.”

He will take his place in the Temple and will set up the abomination of desolation.

Let’s read again the end of Daniel 9:27

Daniel 9:27 (ESV)

And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.”

These events have not happened yet.

All of the things we mentioned before about the actions of the antichrist have never been done in all of human history.

We still await all of these events taking place, I fear in our near future.

As I mentioned before, Antiochus Epiphanies and the events of Hanukkah are absolutely a type of what we see in the scriptures.

Again, he was a type, but he did not fulfill the things spoken of by Daniel.

In addition to that, Yeshua says that these are future events.

What about 70AD?

With the prophecies in Daniel 9, 11 and 12, some try to argue that all of these events were fulfilled in 70AD.

Such as the tribulation, abomination of desolation, destruction of Jerusalem, the antichrist etc.

Although 70AD was a type of what we will see, it was not the ultimate fulfillment of those things.

There is no point in time that anyone sets up an abomination in the Temple.

The siege of Jerusalem also lasted about 4 months, which Daniel tells us the antichrist will put a stop to sacrifices and offering for 3.5 years.

Sacrifices did stop for a time, but not because an antichrist caused it, it was simply caused by a famine of animals due to the scarcity of food during the siege.

No antichrist figure set up his government in the Holy Land.

What about Nero?

Some argue that Nero was this antichrist.

Nero reigned as Emperor of the Roman Empire from 54AD until his death in 68AD.

Nero began the harsh persecution of Christians, executing people such as Peter and Paul.

The Great Fire of Rome

On the 18th of July in 64AD, a fire broke out in Rome among the merchant shops. It quickly spread, and much of Rome was burned to the ground.

Some thought it to be an accident, because of the flammable things often sold in the merchant area, but others blamed Nero for multiple reasons.

According to the historian Tacitus, Nero blamed the Christians for the fire.

Because of this, mass executions of Christians began to happen throughout the Roman Empire. Christians were thrown to beasts, crucified, and burned alive.

Nero was definitely an antichrist, but the questions is, was he THE Antichrist?

If we examine the historical record and everything we know about Nero and his dealings, he would not be the Antichrist because:

Nero never once stepped foot in Jerusalem, let alone Israel. He had never been there.

Nero died in 68AD, he did not live to see any of the events of 70AD, he had been dead for 2 years.

In addition to that, Paul says that when Christ returns, He will slay this antichrist. None of those things have happened yet.

Nero In Gematria

Proponents of Nero being the antichrist will use Gematria as proof of their claim.

Gematria is the use of numbers in relation to letters of the alphabet.

In Hebrew, the practice goes back to around 80BC.

In Aramaic, Nero Caesar (In Aramic it is Neron Kaiser) is 666 in Gematria.

So how can we explain this correlation?

Let’s read again the passage that speaks of 666.

Revelation 13:18 ESV

This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666.

One thing to take into account is that historians and scholars almost unanimously agree that Revelation was written between 95 and 96AD.

For one thing, John writes in Revelation 2 that the churches were being persecuted.

However, Nero persecuted Christians in Rome itself.

It was during the reign of Domitian that Christians were being persecuted throughout the entirety of the Roman Empire.

Also, Iraneuas writes in around 180AD,

We will not, however, incur the risk of pronouncing positively as to the name of Antichrist; for if it were necessary that his name should be distinctly revealed in this present time, it would have been announced by him who beheld the apocalyptic vision. For that was seen not very long time since, but almost in our day, towards the end of Domitian's reign.

Against Heresies 5.30.3; ANF, 1:559-60

I believe the reason for the number of the beast being equivalent to Nero is because of the Nero Redivivus Legend.

Nero Redivivus Legend

Following the death of Nero, primarily during the latter potion of the 1st century (80 to 99AD) many believed that Nero would return in some way.

Redivivus is Latin and it means to be reborn.

It was a common legend that Nero would be reborn and come to persecute the Church once more.

One of the first mentions of this is the Sibylline Oracles, a legendary account that incorporates portions of Jewish, Greek, Roman, and Christian mythologies.

It says that Nero did not actually die, and that he retreated to Parthia, from which he would return with an army to destroy Rome.

Augustine of Hippo wrote that some believed "he (Nero) now lives in concealment in the vigor of that same age which he had reached when he was believed to have perished, and will live until he is revealed in his own time and restored to his kingdom."

The Nero Redivivus Legend makes complete sense with what we see in Revelation 13:18.

John tells us that Nero will return as the Antichrist.

Similar to how John came in the Spirit of Elijah:

Malachi 4:5–6 ESV

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”

Luke 1:15–17 ESV

for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

Just as John came in the spirit and power of Elijah, this future antichrist will come in the spirit and power of Nero.

In essence, he will be Nero reborn. This tells us a lot about the character of the Antichrist.

To sum up:

Antiochus Epiphanes, Nero, the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD, these are types of what will come. But they were not the fulfillment.

We still await those things.

A Future Temple?

This also shows the necessity of a future physical Temple, without one, these prophecies cannot be fulfilled.

In addition to that, for it to be an abomination of desolation, the Temple has to be Holy and sanctified by God.

Otherwise, how can something that is already unholy have an abomination committed against it?

It doesn’t follow logically.

The Temple would have to be holy first. It cannot be defiled if it is not Holy.

This goes right along with the future Temple we see spoken of in Ezekiel, that we have discussed extensively before.

Final Remarks

Hanukkah was a miraculous event when followers of Yahweh overthrew the evil forces of HaSatan, who attempted to destroy the Jewish people and their identity.

It’s worthy to remember for that fact alone.

But scripturally, it points to so much more.

It gives us a glimpse into what our future holds.

If we do not learn about the events of Hanukkah, then I fear we may be caught off guard when the events of the End Times unfold.

This is why my family and I celebrate Hanukkah.

We celebrate it to praise God for delivering His people from evil.

But we also celebrate it in anticipation of our future.

To close, let’s read two key passages again:

Matthew 24:15–16 ESV

“So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

Matthew 24:21–22 ESV

For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.

2 Thessalonians 2:1–6 ESV

Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time.

2 Thessalonians 2:7–12 ESV

For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.