Messianic Hanukkah

“Hanukkah” is a Hebrew word meaning dedication. The term is found in , , , & 88, , , , , and (translated into Greek egkainia, thence into English Feast of Dedication).

Numbers tells us about how the Tabernacle or tent of meeting was dedicated. Specifically it references the offerings of dishes brought by each of Tribes elders. To be used in the temple.

is Biblically titled: A Psalm for Hanukkah / Dedication of the Temple. Interestingly the Psalm is about the deliverance and healing we have recieved from YHWH. It is about his mercy and grace.

In 2 chronicles 7:9 we read: 9 And on the eighth day they held an assembly, for they performed the dedication of the altar seven days, and the festival seven days.

This is the dedication of the 1st Temple that Solomon built. Even then we read a Dedication festival was kept. The beginning of the chapters starts with YHWH appearing in the form of fire and he filled the temple. He was the central focus of this festival. The parallels between this dedication and the Hanukkah festival are very clear.

So the dedication of the temple was a regular event that YHWH participated in. It may have been done in an as needed fashion rather than a regular festival as the other feast days are. The actual establishment of the a celebration of this dedication is found in . Then Judas and his brothers and all the assembly of Israel determined that every year at that season the days of dedication of the altar should be observed with joy and gladness for eight days, beginning with the twenty-fifth day of the month of Chislev.

Judas Maccabee (Maccabee is Hebrew for Hammer. It was a title rather than a surname.) Used this as a celebration of many things. It was remembrance of the trails and struggles they overcame through the adherence to YHWHs commands, it was a remembrance of the miracles YHWH had performed, it was remembrance that they where YHWHs people, and it is a time of dedication to YHWH.

This celebration has continued since then. Yeshua used Hanukkah, the time of Dedication as one of the occasions to explain how he was dedicated and sent into the world.

22 At that time the Ḥanukkah came to be in Yerushalayim, and it was winter.

23 And יהושׁע was walking in the Set-apart Place, in the porch of Shelomoh.

23 And יהושׁע was walking in the Set-apart Place, in the porch of Shelomoh.

24 So the Yehuḏim surrounded Him and said to Him, “How long do You keep us in suspense? If You are the Messiah, say to us plainly.”

24 So the Yehuḏim surrounded Him and said to Him, “How long do You keep us in suspense? If You are the Messiah, say to us plainly.”

25 Then יהושׁע answered them, “I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s Name, they bear witness concerning Me.

25 יהושׁע answered them, “I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s Name, they bear witness concerning Me.

26 “But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you.

26 “But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you.

27 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.

27 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.

28 “And I give them everlasting life, and they shall by no means ever perish, and no one shall snatch them out of My hand.

28 “And I give them everlasting life, and they shall by no means ever perish, and no one shall snatch them out of My hand.

29 “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all. And no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.

29 “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all. And no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.

30 “I and My Father are one.”

30 “I and My Father are one.”

Some say the significance of the Dedication was less once Yeshua came, ( shows that Yeshua is greater than the Set-apart place) however it may have become even more significant. Let us look at a couple of more ways Yeshua is connected to Hanukkah and the Temple. We will then look what the dedication of the temple means today.

When Zechariah was ministering in the Temple, he received an announcement from God of a coming son. The second course of Abia, when Zechariah was ministering, was a week in the middle of the month Sivan. If Zechariah’s promised son – John the baptizer – were conceived soon thereafter, then Yeshua’s conception, which was six months later, would be late Kislev to early Tevet, at Hanukkah (the Feast of Dedication); His birth nine months later would thence be at mid Tishri, at the Feast of Sukkot (Tabernacles).

Yeshua may have been conceived by the Ru-ah Kodesh during Hanukkah.

As we look to the future we also see a connection between Yeshua and the Temple. we see a depiction of a renewed Heaven and a renewed Earth. Then at the end of the chapter starting at verse 22 we read:

22 And I saw no Dwelling Place in it, for יהוה Ěl Shaddai is its Dwelling Place, and the Lamb.

23 And the city had no need of the sun, nor of the moon, to shine in it, for the esteem of Elohim lightened it, and the Lamb is its lamp.

24 And the gentiles, of those who are saved, shall walk in its light, and the sovereigns of the earth bring their esteem into it.

25 And its gates shall not be shut at all by day, for night shall not be there.

26 And they shall bring the esteem and the appreciation of the gentiles into it.

27 And there shall by no means enter into it whatever is unclean, neither anyone doing abomination and falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

It is clear that the temple the dwelling place of YHWH, Yeshua and the Ru-ah Kodesh is in fact YHWH, Yeshua and the Ru-ah Kodesh. As such a celebration of the dedication of the temple is a celebration of them. We also see in Revelation how we and the rest of the world Jew and Gentile alike connect to the temple. We will all bring our Esteem to it.

If we think about this deeply we might even come to the conclusion that really where ever YHWH, Yeshua, and the Ru-ah Kodesh are that place is the temple and should be dedicated. That even includes with in us. reads 16 Do you not know that you are a Dwelling Place of Elohim and that the Spirit of Elohim dwells in you?

17 If anyone destroys the Dwelling Place of Elohim, Elohim shall destroy him. For the Dwelling Place of Elohim is set-apart, which you are.

Then further in the writer is speaking to guard against sin and unclean things at the end of the chapter verse 19 & 20 he gives his reason:

19 Or do you not know that your body is the Dwelling Place of the Set-apart Spirit who is in you, which you have from Elohim, and you are not your own?

20 For you were bought with a price, therefore esteem Elohim in your body and in your spirit, which are of Elohim.

Again it is stated we are the dwelling place of YHWH, Yeshua, and the Ru-ah Kodesh. We should esteem him .

So what does all of this mean? Well it means the same thing through out time. Just as in the ancient days when Israel was under attack physically, mentally, emotionless, spiritually and socially from the rest of the world so too are we.

In Maccabees 2 we have recorded what Matthiathias was offered 15 The king’s officers who were enforcing the apostasy came to the town of Modein to make them offer sacrifice. 16 Many from Israel came to them; and Mattathias and his sons were assembled. 17 Then the king’s officers spoke to Mattathias as follows: “You are a leader, honored and great in this town, and supported by sons and brothers. 18 Now be the first to come and do what the king commands, as all the Gentiles and the people of Judah and those that are left in Jerusalem have done. Then you and your sons will be numbered among the Friends of the king, and you and your sons will be honored with silver and gold and many gifts.”

How is this any different today? Does the world not give us the same lie? If we join with the world and do as it has directed us to do, then we will have friends, fame, and fortunes. Let their be no doubt it is a lie. Mattathias gave his answer when this offer was made.

19 But Mattathias answered and said in a loud voice: “Even if all the nations that live under the rule of the king obey him, and have chosen to obey his commandments, everyone of them abandoning the religion of their ancestors, 20 I and my sons and my brothers will continue to live by the covenant of our ancestors. 21 Far be it from us to desert the law and the ordinances. 22 We will not obey the king’s words by turning aside from our religion to the right hand or to the left.”

23 When he had finished speaking these words, a Jew came forward in the sight of all to offer sacrifice on the altar in Modein, according to the king’s command. 24 When Mattathias saw it, he burned with zeal and his heart was stirred. He gave vent to righteous anger; he ran and killed him on the altar. 25 At the same time he killed the king’s officer who was forcing them to sacrifice, and he tore down the altar. 26 Thus he burned with zeal for the law, just as Phinehas did against Zimri son of Salu.

Mattathias refused to give in to the temptation the world had to offer. He refused to disobey YHWH and he refused to live lawlessly.