“Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the Temple, in Solomon’s porch. Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, “How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.” John 10: 22-25 NKJV
Soon we will celebrate Hanukkah, meaning dedication, to commemorate the restoration of Jerusalem’s Temple by Judah Maccabee. In 167 BC, the Seleucid King Antiochus IV attempted to destroy the Jewish people through assimilation. He forbade circumcision, observing the Sabbath, defiled the Holy Temple, and demanded idol worship. Mattathias Maccabee and his sons revolted against these decrees, miraculously defeated the Greek army, and rededicated the House of God, relighting the Holy Menorah in 164 BC.
However, was the date of future Hanukkah miracles predicted by Haggai, one of the last prophets in the Old Testament, and did he connect that date to the revealing of Messiah and restoration of the Temple?
Before we look into that mystery, however, we must note that the New Testament is one of the earliest references to the observance of Hanukkah outside the intertestamental books of Maccabees and Josephus. In John 10:22-25, Jesus revealed His Messianic mission at the Temple during Hanukkah! Therefore, though Christians are not required to keep Hanukkah, they may do so in solidarity with the Jewish people and as a celebration of Illumination and Dedication to the Father of Lights, and Jesus, His Son.
I. The Feast of Illumination
Hanukkah is commonly called the “Feast of Lights”. After Antiochus’ defeat, the victorious Judah Maccabee restored and purified the Temple. Although tradition says there was only enough consecrated oil to light the seven-branched menorah for one day, miraculously, the oil lasted eight days and nights.
The Hanukkah Menorah
The eight-branched Hanukkah lamp commemorates that miracle and is an adaptation of the seven-branched menorah. A ninth branch often raised above the others, is called the Shamash or servant candle. It descends from on high bringing life and light to the others, and afterward returns to its place above. The Shamash‘s flame is not diminished through sharing its light. One cannot help but see a powerful picture of the Suffering Servant whom Isaiah said would be Salvation and Light for all people. After bringing His Light from above, He has returned to His exalted place with the Father.
“It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob, And to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.'” Isaiah 49:6 NKJV
As we light these lamps, our Shamash is the Christ Candle symbolizing the “True Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.” John 1:9 NKJV
But there is an even more ancient name than the Feast of Lights for Hanukkah, one which Jesus and the disciples would have known – the Feast of Dedication. What are the prophetic connections between the Feast of Dedication and Jesus’ Messianic mission?
II. The Feast of Dedication
“Consider now from this day forward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, from the day that the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid—consider it:“ Haggai 2:18 NKJV
Initially, a date associated with the laying of the Second Temple’s foundations by the returning exiles from Babylon in the late sixth Century BC, Haggai, through the Holy Spirit, saw future fulfillments. Four times, in Haggai 2:10, 15, 18, and 20, he called the reader to mark the 24th day of the ninth month from that time forward. What other powerful events happened on this day?
The Shaking of the Nations
Several hundred years after Haggai’s prophecy, the Maccabees liberated Jerusalem and the Jewish people from Antiochus’ control. Amazingly, Judah Maccabee entered Jerusalem on the 24th day of the ninth month (Kislev) and rededicated the Temple on the 25th day – the very date Haggai predicted for future shakings and restoration. However, even greater miracles than this would come on this date.
The Desire of All Nations
“For thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Once more (it is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land; and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘And in this place I will give peace,’ says the Lord of hosts.” Haggai 2:6-9 NKJV
The “Desire of All Nations” is the Messiah and the Lord. On the same date Haggai predicted, John’s Gospel tells us that Jesus was at the Temple at the Feast of Dedication.
“Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the Temple, in Solomon’s porch. Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, “How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.” John 10: 22-25 NKJV
The “Feast of Dedication” derives its name from the Hebrew word Hanukkah. Almost two hundred years after the events of the Maccabees, and some five hundred years since Haggai’s prophecy, Jesus revealed His messianic mission to the people. The crowd asked Him, “Tell us plainly, are you the Messiah? Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me.” John 10:25 NKJV
With His visit, the stage was set for these words to be fulfilled, ‘The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former.”
Shaking in the Heavens
Is there a connection between Hanukkah and the star of Bethlehem?
Dr. D James Kennedy and E.W. Bullinger note that a star in the constellation Virgo (the virgin) was associated by the ancients with Bethlehem, and called the “Desired One,” a reference to Haggai’s coming One named the “Desire of All Nations”.[1]
“The first of the three minor constellations in the house of Virgo is called Coma. Coma means “the desired” or “the longed for one.” It is a picture of a woman with a child in her lap. The book of Haggai tells us, “The desire of all nations shall come” (Haggai 2:7). Jesus Christ is the Desire of all nations who was to come. We are told in ancient tradition that the star of Bethlehem was in the constellation Coma.”[2] The Gospel in the Stars, D James Kennedy
Could this have been part of the sign in the Heavens that initially drew the wise men? Interestingly, Haggai gives us a date for the appearance of the Desire of All Nations and the coming glory upon God’s Temple as the 24th day of the ninth month.
Hanukkah’s Shakings Continue
” And I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,’ says the Lord of hosts.” Haggai 2:6-9 NKJV
As Hanukkah of 1917 approached, Jewish families in Jerusalem prepared their Menorahs for the impending collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the liberation of Jerusalem. Might this year see open celebrations of Hanukkah within the city? On December 9th, the 24th day of the ninth month (Kislev), Jerusalem was surrendered to the British forces. Two days later, the 11th of December, General Allenby led a delegation through Jerusalem’s Jaffa Gate to great fanfare – the second day of Hanukkah.[3] Before entering those ancient gates, however, he descended his horse to walk on foot. He would not enter on a magnificent horse the city which his Lord entered on a donkey! That shaking set the stage for the British Mandate period and eventual restoration of the State of Israel.
But even this does not fulfill the depth of Haggai’s prophecy. Might there yet be a future shaking of restoration for this strategic date?
Conclusion
“…But from this day I will bless you.'” Haggai 2:19
We are again engaged in a cultural war of assimilation. The spirit that compelled Antiochus to call himself a god and demand the Jewish people bow to his cultural idols is at work today. We must not allow our light to be extinguished. For some, we may need to purify our Temple again and rekindle the flame. Tonight, as we light the Hanukkah lamp, I invite you to rededicate yourself to follow Christ, whose true Light dispels all darkness.
[1] E. W. Bullinger, The Witness of the Stars (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1972).
[2] D James Kennedy, “The Gospel in the Stars,” djameskennedy.com, accessed December 17, 2022, https://www.djameskennedy.com/SitePlanner/Timeless%20PDFs/GOSPEL%20IN%20THE%20STARS-THE_DJK18549A%20(1).pdf.
[3] “The First Hanukkah in British Jerusalem, 1917 ” Mosaic,” Mosaic, December 14, 2022, https://mosaicmagazine.com/picks/history-ideas/2022/12/the-first-hanukkah-in-british-jerusalem-1917/.