C h anukka h

Introduction
Chanukkah, the Festival of dedication, also known as the festival of lights, is
an eight day festival beginning on the 25th day of the month of Kislev (Nov
Dec). The Hebrew word "chanukkah" (say "chah-noo-kah) literally means
"dedication" and it is translated as The Festival of Dedication, also known as
the Festival of Lights. The only religious observance related to the holiday is
the lighting of Menorah and the rededication of the Temple. The ceremony
took 8 days to rededicate the Temple. Tradition teaches of the miracle of oil
that took place to light the Menorah. Where did this Feast come from and why
do we celebrate it?

Appointed Times and the Work of the Messiah

This festival one of the minor festivals that are not one of the seven
main Festivals found in Leviticus chapter 23. Chanukah in its
original concept is free from pagan trappings and makes it safe to
celebrate. The Feasts of YHVH, note, not Jewish Feasts, are called
mo-ed or Appointed times where YHVH has an appointment with
man to do His work, the Work of the Messiah. Chanukkah or Feast
of Dedication has a prophetic significance when the third Temple in
the Last Days will be build and this is why it is significant for us to
celebrate as Believers as part of our preparation for Yshuas
Second Coming. (4th Temple will be during 1000 year period). This
Feast is not found in the Torah (first 5 Books of the Scripture) but it
is prophesied in the Book of Daniel in chapter 11 and also referred
to in the Book of John in the Brit Chadasha (New Testament). During this
Festival, Yshua stood on the stones in the entrance of the Temple and
declared Himself as the Messiah, fulfilling a pre-requisite in the Talmud taught
by the Pharisees.
1

They said that the Messiah had to stand on the stones in the entrance of the
Temple and declare that He is the Messiah, and that was what He did and still
they did not recognise Him as the Messiah.
Joh 10:22-30 At that time the Feast of Dedication (Chanukkah)
came to be in Jerusalem, and it was winter. (23) And Yshua was
walking in the Set-apart Place, in the porch of Solomons Temple. (24)
So the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, How long do You keep
us in suspense? If You are the Messiah, say to us plainly. (25) Yshua
answered them, I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that
I do in My Fathers Name, they bear witness concerning Me. (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.
(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 Fathers hand. (30) I and My Father are
one(31) Again the Jews picked up stones to stone Him.
Yshua said that He has told them already and they have not believed Him as
well as saying that He and His Father is One (echad) and this implies that He
is the Messiah and that is why they wanted to stone Him.
The Stones Yshua Stood on: The stones of the Altar were the original
stones which the twelve tribes carried into the Promised Land under
leadership of Joshua. These stones had the names of the twelve tribes
engraved in it and it was used to build the first Altar. This was the Altar
the Romans defiled by sacrificing pig on it when they defiled the Temple
in the time of the Maccabees. After the rebellion and victory over the
enemy the Priests did not want to throw these stones away because of
its historical significance and used it as paving stones at the entrance of
Solomons Temple when they rededicated the Temple.

The Link Between C hanukah , Matthew and the End

Times
In the next section we will see that the prophecy in Daniel 8 and 12 were fulfilled
by the event that happened in the time of the Maccabees involving the defilement
and rededication of the Temple. Yshua referenced this same prophecy but this
time refer to a future event that will involve His second Coming thus making
Daniels Prophecy being fulfilled twice. What this also means is that this
prophetic pattern that was fulfilled in the time of the Maccabees gives us insight
into the detail that we can expect because of their prophetic significance it holds
for the future event that we are still expecting. Studying the Book of the
Maccabees, (removed form the Bible) and the Feast of Chanukah will prepare us
for the future event regarding the prophetic words spoken by Yshua when they
asked Him when the time of the end will be.
Mat 24:3-14 And as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to
Him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall
be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the world?
2

(4) And Yshua answered and said to them, Take heed that no man
deceive you. (5) For many will come in My name, saying, I am the
Messiah, and will deceive many. (6) And you will hear of wars and
rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled, for all these things must
occur; but the end is not yet. (7) For nation will rise against nation, and
kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines and pestilences and
earthquakes in different places. (8) All these are the beginning of
sorrows. (9) Then they will deliver you up to be afflicted and will kill
you. And you will be hated of all nations for My name's sake. (10) And
then many will be offended, and will betray one another, and will hate
one another. (11) And many false prophets will rise and deceive many.
(12) And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many will become
cold. (13) But he who endures to the end, the same shall be kept safe.
(14) And this gospel of the kingdom shall be proclaimed in all the world
as a witness to all nations. And then the end shall come.
All of these things mentioned here are the beginning of the end but not yet
the End it self. All these things will take place to establish the foundation of
the Anti-Messiah so that he can set up his kingdom where he will rule and
deceive the world. I call this the Pre-Tribulation Time or the time prior to the
Tribulation. When will the Tribulation begin? We read on in Matthew:
Mat 24:15-26 Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF
DESOLATION, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the
holy place (whoever reads, let him understand). (16) Then let
those in Judea flee into the mountains. (17) Let him on the housetop not
come down to take anything out of his house; (18) nor let him in the field
turn back to take his clothes. (19) And woe to those who are with child,
and to those who give suck in those days! (20) But pray that your flight
is not in the winter, nor on the Sabbath day; (21) for then shall be
GREAT TRIBULATION, such as has not been since the
beginning of the world to this time; no, nor ever shall be. (22)
And unless those days should be shortened, no flesh would be saved. But
for the elect's sake, those days shall be shortened. (23) Then if any man
shall say to you, Lo, here is Messiah! Or, There! Do not believe it. (24)
For false Messiahs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and
wonders; so much so that, if it were possible, they would deceive even the
elect. (25) Behold, I have told you beforehand. (26) Therefore if they
shall say to you, Behold, He is in the desert! Do not go out. Behold, He is
in the secret rooms! Do not believe it.
Sign of the Great Tribulation Sign of the Anti-Messiah: The time of the
Great Tribulation will be signaled by the setting up of the Abomination of
Desolation as prophesied in the Book of Daniel. This will be a time prior to the
coming of the Messiah and a lot of people will be deceived by false prophets
and miracles, that will lead them away towards the Anti-Messiah. There will be
a sign showing the coming of the Anti-Messiah and there will be a sign for
signaling the coming of the real Messiah.
Mat 24:27-31 For as the lightning comes out of the east and shines even
to the west, so also will be the coming of the Son of Man. (28) For
wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered.
3

(29) And IMMEDIATELY AFTERR THE RIBULATION of those

days, the sun shall be darkened and the moon shall not give her light, and
the stars shall fall from the heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall
be shaken. (30) And then the sign of the Son of Man shall appear in the
heavens. And then all the tribes of the earth shall mourn, and they shall
see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of the heaven with power and
great glory. (31) And He shall send His angels with a GREAT SOUND
OF A TRUMPET, and they shall gather His elect from the four winds,
from one end of the heavens to the other.
Sign of the Real Messiahs Coming: Things that will happen prior to His
Coming; there will be destruction and the eagles will feed on the dead. This
will happen after the Tribulation when the sun will not give its light. There will
be earthquakes and stars will fall from heaven. Then the sign of the Son of
Man will appear like lightning that comes from the east to the west and there
will be the sounding of a great trumpet (shophar).
Do not be Deceived: We saw two signs; the last is the sign of the Messiah
signaling the end of the Tribulation and the first sign pertaining to the
Antichrist, signaling the start of the Great Tribulation. Scary thought is that the
Church is expecting the Messiah at the beginning of the Tribulation but that is
when the Anti-Messiah will appear to deceive many.
Q - Were else in Scripture do we see these signs?
Dan 12:11-12 And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be
taken away, and the DESOLATING ABOMMINATION set up, a
thousand two hundred and ninety days (1290) shall occur. (12) Blessed
is he who waits and comes to the thousand three hundred and thirty-five
days (1335).
Dan 8:13-14 Then I heard a certain holy one speaking, and another
holy one said to that one who spoke, Until when shall the vision last,
concerning the daily sacrifice and the transgression that astounds,
to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled? (14) And he said
to me, For two thousand, three hundred evenings and mornings (2300).
Then the sanctuary shall be vindicated (blameless).
We see the same terminology used by Daniel as well as Yshua
in Matthew; the Abomination of Desolation set up, but not only
that, we also see that there will be sacrifices again and these
sacrifices will be stopped. This gives us Two Witnesses
confirming the (truth) starting of the Tribulation. In order to
sacrifice, there must be an Altar and the plans for rebuilding of
the Temple. All of this is happening in our day; the Temple
Institute in Jerusalem has made all the art effects; the corner
stone and they have started to construct the Altar. This shows
us that the fulfillment of this prophecy is closer to than you think. Daniel gave
us three time periods; 1290 days, 1335 days and 2300 mornings and
evenings.

Q - What do these time periods mean in relation to the timing and fulfilling of
end time events as taught by Yshua in Matthew 24?
To unravel this mystery, we need to go back prior to the coming of Yshua to
see what happened in the time when the Temple was destroyed and profaned
in the time of the Maccabees. Why? The reason for this is that most of the
things prophesied by Daniel has already been fulfilled and will be fulfilled
again at the end of time as Yshua suggested. This is called a Prophetic
Pattern that can be fulfilled more than once.
The fulfillment in the time of the Maccabees set the blueprint for end time
events and will clear up any misconception and we will fit the detail of these
events into the outline of Daniel and Johns (Revelation) prophesies to get a
clear picture without any confusion and misunderstanding regarding the end
time events. This makes the celebration of Chanukah of great significance for
believers in Jesus / Yshua today in order not to be deceived.

History of Chanukkah and Fulfilment of Daniels

Prophecy
It all started with Nebuchadnezzars dream where he saw a great statue with
a head of gold, a upper body of silver, a lower body of bronze, legs of iron and
feet of iron and clay with ten toes. Then a big rock came and hit the statue at
its feet and destroys it. Daniel interpreted this dream as
follows:

The statue represents the following kingdoms:

Head of Gold Babylon
Breast of Silver Medo-Persia kingdom
Belly and thighs of Brass Greece
Legs of Iron Rome
o Feet with ten toes of Iron and Clay Rome
divided under ten Rulers (kingdoms).
o
o
o
o

From the Roman Empire came Ten Kings representing the

ten toes:
1. Augustus
2. Tiberius
3. Gaius Caligula
4. Claudius
5. Nero

6. Galba
7. Otho
8. Vitellius
9. Vespasian
10. Titus

We see the prophesy of Daniel being fulfilled and proven by these kingdoms
established in history. What is interesting is that the Head, or
Nebuchadnezzar, destroyed Jerusalem in 586BC, and Titus, the tenth toe,
destroyed Jerusalem about 700 years later on Tisha BAv ( 9th of Av) in 70AD.

In the dream the Rock came and destroyed the statue,

hitting it at its feet. The Rock grew and filled the whole
earth. This is the Kingdom of YHVH that came into
being and spread across the World after the First
Coming of Messiah and the destruction of the Temple
in 70 AD. Surely this is not all that can be seen form
the interpretation of Daniel. There is also a future
application to this vision and it will play out as part of the end time events
leading up to the last days as Yshua suggested.
We have seen the meaning of the belly and thighs of
Bronze representing Greece, there is yet another vision
Daniel saw that represented Greece; the one horn Goat
from Daniel 8
Dan 8:5-7 And as I was watching, behold, a hegoat came from the west, over the face of the
all earth, and did not touch the ground. And
the he goat had an outstanding horn between his eyes. (6) And
he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before
the river, and ran to him in the fury of his power. (7) And I saw him
come close beside the ram, and he was moved with anger
against him, and struck the ram and shattered his two horns.
And there was no power in the ram to stand before him. But he threw him
down to the ground and stamped on him. And none could deliver the ram
out of his hand.
Prior to this Goat, he saw a Ram with two horns, one slightly longer than the
other. This Ram represented the Medo-Persian Kingdom as we have seen in
Nebuchadnezzars statue, depicted by the Silver Breast. The Goat with a
single horn came from the west (Greece), and killed the Ram. This Goats
horn was none other than Alexander the Great.
Dan 8:8 Then the he-goat became very great. And when he was
strong, the great horn was broken. And in its place came up
four outstanding ones (horns) towards the four winds of the
heavens.
This Rams horn was broken off and
we see in history that Alexander died
at a young age after conquering the
known world. After his death the
kingdom was divided among his four
Generals, Antigonus, Lysimachus,
Seleuces and Ptolemy. These four
Generals were the four horns
described in this passage. Later on
Ptolemy and the Seleucids fell into
war with each other and Israel was
right in the middle, which made
Israel a very strategic location.

Centuries later a Seleucid king, Antiochus Epiphanies arises and we see him
as being referred to as the little horn that came into power in 168 BC. He
came form Syria and his mission was to replace all the cultures with Greek
culture (Hellinising). Hellinising is the process of absorbing everyone into the
Greek culture.
Dan 8:9-14 And out of one of them came forth a LITTLE HORN,
which became very great, toward the south and toward the east and
toward the bountiful land. (10) And it became great, even to the host of
heaven. And it made fall some of the host and of the stars to the ground,
and trampled them. (11) Yea, he magnified himself, even to the ruler of
the host, and the daily sacrifice was taken away by him, and the
place of his sanctuary was cast down. (12) And an army was given to
him against the daily sacrifice because of transgression, and it cast the
truth to the ground. And it worked and succeeded. (13) Then I heard a
certain holy one speaking, and another holy one said to that one who spoke,
Until when shall the vision last, concerning the daily sacrifice and the
transgression that astounds, to give both the sanctuary and the host
to be trampled? (14) And he said to me, For two thousand, three hundred
evenings and mornings. Then the sanctuary shall be vindicated.

This Little Horn stopped the daily sacrifices and threw

the truth to the ground; he was no other than
Antiochus Epiphanies who fits the description exactly.
He forbids Sabbaths, sacrifices to the God of
Abraham, circumcision of children and the learning or
teaching of Torah. He ordered that all Torah Scrolls
should be burnt as well. If anyone was caught doing
any of these things mentioned, they were put to
death.
1Ma 1:20-23 And after that Antiochus had smitten Egypt, he returned
again in the hundred forty and third year, and went up against Israel
and Jerusalem with a great multitude, (21) And entered proudly
into the sanctuary, and took away the golden altar, and the
candlestick of light, and all the vessels thereof, (22) And the table
of the shewbread, and the pouring vessels, and the vials. and the censers
of gold, and the veil, and the crown, and the golden ornaments that were
before the temple, all which he pulled off. (23) He took also the silver and
the gold, and the precious vessels: also he took the hidden treasures which
he found.
We see from the prophecy in Daniel 8 that he refers to 2300 mornings and
evenings where the sacrifices will be stopped and the Sanctuary and the
Truth will be trampled upon and thrown down to the ground. After this time the
Sanctuary will be cleansed and restored. Some believe it to be 2300 years
and led up to the 1844 date but this is not the right way of interpreting the
2300 mornings and evenings. There were two sacrifices each day, one in the
morning and one in the evening, this gives a total of 2300 sacrifices or 1150 days
of which the sacrifices had been stopped. This shows that it cannot be used as
2300 days or years and we will soon see the correct interpretation of this number
as it unfolds in history and story of the Maccabees as it was fulfilled.

Q - Does these events fit the criteria of Antiochus stopping the sacrifices?
Yes it does. We have the exact date where he set up his Image in the
Temple; this was 15th day of Kislev in the year 167 BCE where he defiled the
Temple by sacrificing pig on the altar. All we need is the end date to confirm
the 2300 mornings and evenings prophecy.
The Maccabees fought and conquered the Greeks
in various battles and YHVH gave them the victory
every time. These battles lasted for three years
where after they cleansed and re-dedicated the
Temple on the 25th day of Kislev in 164 BCE. This
happened 1105 days after the Abomination of
Desolation was first erected in the Temple.
There is a 45-day discrepancy with the prophetic
number in Daniel. When was the sacrifices
stopped? Prior to this Antiochus Epiphanies stopped the daily sacrifices and
there is nothing that suggests that it did not happen 1150 days before the
rededication of the Temple, 45 days earlier.
Q - Where do we see another 45 days in Scripture?
It is found in Daniel 12:11-12 and is the difference between 1335 days and
1290 days where he talks about the sacrifices that have being stopped and
the image set up. Amazing!
This proves that the 2300 are the number of daily sacrifices that had been
omitted during the period of the Temple's destruction that lasted 1150 days or
3 years confirmed by history. Daniel further describes this Little Horn as the
stern faced king, one who exalted himself above YHVH and any other gods.
This is the spirit of the Anti-Messiah and of Satan and this spirit will arise
again in the end of the age.
Dan 11:31-35 And forces will stand from him, and they will profane the
sanctuary, the fortress, and shall remove the daily sacrifice, and
they shall place the DESOLATING ABOMINATION. (32) And he
will ruin by flattery those who do evil against the covenant. But the
people who know their Elohim will be strong and will work. (33) And
those who understand among the people shall teach many; yet they shall
fall by the sword, and by flame, by exile, and spoil, for days. (34) And
when they stumble, they shall be helped with a little help, but many will
join them, with hypocrisy (Hellenized). (35) And many of those
who understand shall stumble, to refine and purge them, and to make
white, to the time of the end. Because it is still for the appointed time (moed).
The mo-ed or appointed time is the festival or rededication that will be
celebrated as described by these events by the Prophet Daniel and this fits
the history of the Maccabees very accurately. Matt 24:15 speak of these same
events and point out to us that it will have a future application as well and that
is why it is important to keep the Festival of Chanukkah and teach people
about the detail of the Abomination of Desolation and the spirit or character of
the Anti-Messiah so that they know and be ready.

The little horn in the Last Days

When you read Daniel chapter 7 you read about a new little
horn that arises. The previous little horn as seen in Dan 8 and
Dan 11, came form the four horns of Alexanders Empire, who
was Antiochus in the time of the Maccabees. In Daniel 7 we read
of another little horn that arises out from the ten horns that
comes from the terrifying beast of described in Revelation. This second little
horn follows in the pattern of Antiochus and the spirit of the Anti-Messiah and
is also the eleventh horn spoken of that came from the fourth beast.
Dan 7:7-8 After this I looked in the night visions, and behold, a fourth
beast, frightening and terrifying, and very strong. And it had
great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces, and stamped the rest
with its feet. And it was different from all the beasts before it;
and it had ten horns. (8) I was thinking about the horns, and
behold, there came up among them ANOTHER LITTLE HORN,
before whom three of the first horns were uprooted. And behold,
in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great
things.
We read about this beast with ten horns in Revelation as well.
Rev 13:1-5 And I stood on the sand of the sea, and I saw a beast
coming up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns.
And on its horns were ten crowns, and on its heads was the
name of blasphemy. (2) And the beast which I saw was like a
leopard, and its feet like those of a bear, and its mouth like the mouth of a
lion. And the dragon gave him its power and its seat and great
authority. (3) And I saw one of its heads as having been slain to death,
and its deadly wound was healed. And all the earth marveled after the
beast. (4) And they worshiped the dragon who gave authority
to the beast. And they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like
the beast? Who is able to make war with it? (5) And a mouth
speaking great things was given to it, and blasphemies. And
authority was given to it to continue forty-two months (3,5
years).
The Beast described in Revelation is the system that will be given
authority by the dragon (Satan) and he will speak great blasphemies
and will have authority for the last 42 months (3,5) years as we have
seen earlier. The little horn (Spirit of Anti-Messiah) will get its final
power when three horns are uprooted and that period will be for 42
months or 3,5 years where he will oppress and persecute the
Believers in Messiah and Torah as we have seen in the time of the
Maccabees. The righteous will be handed over to him to be
persecuted for the last times, time and half a time or 3,5 years.
It is the same time period as we have seen in the history of the Maccabees as
well as in Dan 11, given as 1290 days, as confirmed in history. We also see
this fulfilled in history confirming the Papacy as the system that oppressed
the people of YHVH.
9

The beast received a deadly wound (Rev 13:1) and was inflicted on the
papacy February 1798 when Napoleons general, Berthier entered Rome and
took Pope Pius VI captive. 42 prophetic months equals 1,260 years that is the
period from A.D. 538 - 1798. This shows rise of the papacy to the Popes
capture and death in 1798.
The Pope died in France and half Europe thought the Papacy was dead. The
wound was healed and since its healing the strength of the Papacy has grown
and increased until today it is one of the most powerful religio-political
organizations and influence all centres in the world. The little horn came from
this system.
Dan 7:25 And he shall speak words against the Most High, and
shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and plot to change
times and laws. And they shall be given into his hand until a
time and times and one-half time (3,5 years).
The new little horn (Dan 7:8) from this beast (Papacy), sets himself up to
change the appointed times or set times and laws. From a Biblical
perspective, when you speak of set times or appointed times, it means ONLY
the moedim or Festivals of YHVH, His Calendar, His Shabbat and His Holy
Festivals. And form a Biblical perspective, when you speak of laws, it ONLY
means the Torah, the Commandments of YHVH. The Papacy took away the
Sabbath, the Festivals or moedim and the Torah. Therefore let the reader
understand

The Meaning of Chanukkah

The story of Chanukkah is the story of light glowing in the
darkness. Wherever there is light, darkness will battle
against it to consume it and take it out. The story of
Chanukkah is about Hellenism and that of Torah.
Hellenism is the language of Humanism, Philosophy and
Theology. Torah is the language of Mitsvot
(Commandments), deeds and revelation. So there is this
battle constantly going on and as the Body of Messiah goes into this battle,
we tend to take sides. We do this because of our background and because
we were Hellenised, Greek thought, Greek Philosophy, Greek mythology,
Greek Paganism and Greek theology. Our upbringing and culture are
saturated with Hellenistic ways, deeds and methods. It also came from the
Church Fathers, from our seminaries and our pulpits. We have been
thoroughly Hellenised right from the time of Antiochus until now. The battle
goes on... This spirit, the spirit of the Anti-Messiah was at work even in Pauls
time among the believers.
2Th 2:3 Let not anyone deceive you by any means. For that
Day shall not come unless there first comes a falling away
(apostasy), and the man of lawlessness shall be revealed, the
son of perdition,
What is the apostasy? It is the man who would bring lawlessness or
Torahlessness, the son of destruction. When we talk about the Messiah we
10

talk about the Son of YHVH but when we talk about the Anti-Messiah, we talk
about the son of destruction. He is the sprit or man with no Torah. If this spirit
was actively working among the people in Pauls time, how much more now
as we draw near to the end of the age? Guard your hearts and do not let the
spirit of Anti-Torah come into your Temple and trample upon YHVHs holy
Feasts, His Holy Commandments and His Holy things, Hellinising you away
from YHVH and His Culture.
May you have a blessed Chanukkah and may you use this Festival as an
opportunity to learn and to prepare yourself for the things that are coming and
may you be found worthy in the eyes of Yshua Ha Messiach, our Master and
King. Everything revolves around Him.

11