Should We Keep Hanukkah?

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Written Dec.2015, Edited Nov.19-20, 2016

Please note that we do not follow the dates of the Jewish calendar or other groups. We always calculate the actual date in accordance to the created calendar, instead of following people. Click here to learn how to tell time by the created calendar of the sun, moon and stars, which is the original calendar.

The first thing we should always do concerning any doctrine is to examine the scriptures. What does the bible say about Hanukkah?

John 10:22-23 (KJV)

22 And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. 23 And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch.

Did you read the above scriptures in your personal paperback/hardback bible today or just only on this website?
If only online, I encourage you to please open your bible and read these verses both on our website and in your bible. There is power in reading the real bible. Also, did you pray before beginning to read about this specific subject today? If not, I encourage you to take the time now to pray for understanding of truth.

Most people claim that this does not mean that Jesus observed this holiday. But the truth is that Jesus knew the scriptures including the books of Maccabees which was considered scripture at that time. The books of Maccabees were in the Greek Septuagint which is the bible translation in use during the time of Jesus. Jesus & the apostles quoted from the Greek Septuagint. These books were also in the 1611 KJV bible and removed in 1666. They remain today in some editions of KJV & some other translations. I have personally read the books of 1-2-3-4 Maccabees and found them to be holy & edifying, as well as extremely important to end time Christians. In the books of 1 & 2 Maccabees, we read the following scriptures concerning the Fiesta of Dedication, which is now called "Hanukkah":

1 Maccabees 4

:52 Now on the five and twentieth day of the ninth month, which is called the month Casleu in the hundred forty and eighth year, they rose up betimes in the morning, (25th day of 9th month is not talking about our modern Roman calendar. This date would occur in our "December". Please see "The Creator's Created Calendar") 53 And offered sacrifice according to the law upon the new altar of burnt offerings, which they had made. 54 Look, at what time and what day the heathen had profaned it (the temple), even in that was it dedicated with songs, and citherns, and harps, and cymbals. 55 Then all the people fell upon their faces, worshipping and praising the Theos/God of heaven, who had given them good success. 56 And so they kept the dedication of the altar eight days, and offered burnt offerings with gladness, and sacrificed the sacrifice of deliverance and praise. 57 They decorated also the forefront of the temple with crowns of gold, and with shields; and the gates and the chambers they renewed, and hanged doors upon them. 58 Thus was there very great gladness among the people, for that the reproach of the heathen was put away. 59 Moreover Judas (Maccabees) and his brethren with the whole congregation of Israel ordained, that the days of the dedication of the altar should be kept in their season from year to year by the space of eight days, from the five and twentieth day of the month Casleu, with mirth and gladness. 60 At that time also they built up the mount Zion with high walls and strong towers round about, lest the Gentiles should come and tread it down, as they had done before. 61 And they set there a garrison to keep it, and fortified Bethsura to preserve it; that the people might have a defense against Idumea.

2 Maccabees 10:1-9

:1 Now Maccabeus and his company, the Lord guiding them, recovered the temple and the city: 2 But the altars which the heathen had built in the open street, and also the chapels, they pulled down. 3 And having cleansed the temple they made another altar, and striking stones they took fire out of them, and offered a sacrifice after two years, and set forth incense, and lights, and shewbread. 4 When that was done, they fell flat down, and besought the Lord (Jesus) that they might come no more into such troubles; but if they sinned any more against him, that he himself would chasten them with mercy, and that they might not be delivered unto the blasphemous and barbarous nations. 5 Now upon the same day that the strangers profaned the temple, on the very same day it was cleansed again, even the five and twentieth day of the same month, which is Casleu. 6 And they kept the eight days with gladness, as in the Feast of the Tabernacles, remembering that not long before they had held the Feast of the Tabernacles, when as they wandered in the mountains and dens like beasts. 7 Therefore they bare branches, and fair boughs, and palms also, and sang psalms unto him that had given them good success in cleansing his place. 8 They ordained also by a common statute and decree, That every year those days should be kept of the whole nation of the Jews. (We are adopted into the Jewish family, Romans 2:28-29)
9 And this was the end of Antiochus, called Epiphanes.

2 Maccabees 2:1-19

:1 It is also found in the records, that Jeremias the prophet commanded them that were carried away to take of the fire, as it hath been signified 2 And how that the prophet, having given them the law, charged them not to forget the commandments of The Lord (Jesus) , and that they should not err in their minds, when they see images of silver and gold, with their ornaments. 3 And with other such speeches exhorted he them, that the law should not depart from their hearts. 4 It was also contained in the same writing, that the prophet, being warned of Theos/God (The Alpha & Omega) , commanded the tabernacle and the ark to go with him, as he went forth into the mountain, where Moses climbed up, and saw the heritage of Theos/God (Theos, The Alpha & Omega) . 5 And when Jeremy came thither, he found an hollow cave, wherein he laid the tabernacle, and the ark, and the altar of incense, and so stopped the door. 6 And some of those that followed him came to mark the way, but they could not find it. 7 Which when Jeremy perceived, he blamed them, saying, As for that place, it shall be unknown until the time that Theos (The Alpha & Omega) gather his people again together, and receive them unto mercy. 8 Then shall the Lord show them these things, and the glory of The Lord (Jesus) shall appear, and the cloud also, as it was shewed under Moses, and as when Solomon desired that the place might be honorably sanctified. 9 It was also declared, that he (Solomon) being wise offered the sacrifice of dedication, and of the finishing of the temple. 10 And as when Moses prayed unto The Lord (Jesus) , the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the sacrifices: even so prayed Solomon also, and the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offerings. 11 And Moses said, Because the sin offering was not to be eaten, it was consumed. 12 So Solomon kept those eight days. 13 The same things also were reported in the writings and commentaries of Neemias; and how he founding a library gathered together the acts of the kings, and the prophets, and of David, and the epistles of the kings concerning the holy gifts. 14 In like manner also Judas gathered together all those things that were lost by reason of the war we had, and they remain with us, 15 Wherefore if ye have need thereof, send some to fetch them unto you. 16 Whereas we then are about to celebrate the purification, we have written unto you, and ye shall do well, if ye keep the same days. 17 We hope also, that the God, that delivered all his people, and gave them all an heritage, and the kingdom, and the priesthood, and the sanctuary, 18 As he promised in the law, will shortly have mercy upon us, and gather us together out of every land under heaven into the holy place: for he hath delivered us out of great troubles, and hath purified the place. 19 Now as concerning Judas Maccabeus, and his brethren, and the purification of the great temple, and the dedication of the altar,

The origin of the Fiesta of Dedication is very clear. It was the historical victory that our Creator gave to the Israelite people over Antiochus Epiphanes, the king of Syria. It is not of pagan origins. Although the Jews have clearly added some pagan customs onto it. I will discuss that more later in this article. But Jesus knew these scriptures & the history. It was not coincidence that Jesus is mentioned walking at the temple at this special time of year! He was definitely there in remembrance/observance of this holiday. If it was pagan or if He did not observe it, I believe that John would have been certain to tell us, so that we would not assume that Jesus was observing a pagan holiday. But John felt no need to clarify.

Haggai

Haggai 1:1 and 2:10-22 declares that the foundation of the 2nd Temple (Which Antiochus defiled) was laid on the 24th day of the 9th month! The day before Hanukkah! It could have been any day of the year. But God chose this specific date! We won't let just one little day get in our way of believing! If the foundation was laid on the day before Hanukkah, then we can also believe that either it was dedicated on Hanukkah or else more structure was added on Hanukkah, etc. Our first worship services held in this building here was on the day before Hanukkah, but it was Hanukkah already in another time zone. We also recognize in scripture the importance of the day before holy days. We start fasting the evening before the Day of Atonement. We start fasting from unleavened bread the day before the Fiesta of Unleavened Bread. We prepare for every holy day on the day before. We set up our tents on the day before the Fiesta of Tabernacles, and on the day before Passover. So the foundation of the 2nd temple was laid on the day before Hanukkah. I can absolutely believe they dedicated it on Hanukkah. Then again when it was finished and dedicated it again on Hanukkah. Then defiled on Hanukkah. Then cleansed on Hanukkah. Wow!

Other Hints in the Old Testament

The 7th Day Sabbath was already listed in Lev.23:3. Then each annual Holy Day was listed in order. It doesn't make sense that Lev.24:1-9 would be talking about only the 7th Day, immediately after talking about the Fiesta of Tabernacles. The context seems to show that the instruction was: - Light the menorah every Holy Day including the 7th Day, And - There was another Holy Day celebration later in the year after the Fiesta of Tabernacles & Last Great Day.

This would be "The Fiesta of Dedication" also known as "Hanukkah" or "Festival of Lights". It is detailed in 1 Maccabees 4; 2 Mac.2:1-19 & 2 Mac.10:1-9. It is observed for 8 days beginning on the 25th day of the 9th month in JE's created calendar which is in December in the Roman calendar. Christmas is a pagan copy of the Fiesta of Dedication, occurring on the 25th day of December rather than the true 25th day of the 9th month which occurs in December. The observance of 8 days of Dedication was observed by Solomon & Nehemiah (& possibly Moses) before it was observed by the Maccabees. It may be that Lev.24:1-9 is not specific about the Fiesta of Dedication but is a hint & foreshadowing of "Hanukkah".

In 2 Chron.29:17, King Hezekiah restored & dedicated the first temple which had been built by Solomon. It took 8 days. Although it was a different time of year, it was still 8 days of dedication of the temple. The people had forsaken the Holy Days and King Hezekiah, under the guidance of Jesus, gave the people a 2nd chance Passover in 2 Chron.30 and Numbers 9. Taking this into consideration, according to 2 Maccabees 10:1-9, the Fiesta of Dedication is also a 2nd chance Fiesta of Tabernacles. We see that Jesus is the God of 2nd chances. And we also see that 8 days of dedication of the temple was celebrated by Solomon, King Hezekiah, Nehemiah & the Maccabees in 4 different time eras. Since we are now the Temple of God, represented by the 7 candle menorah in Rev.1-3, and also considering that the bible says that there is still a literal Temple of God in Heaven, which will be defiled by Antiochus/Assad, it is evident that the Fiesta of Dedication should still be important to end time Christians.

Hanukkah might not be directly commanded by The Almighty. However, it is very clearly not pagan. While The Almighty commands us to abstain from all evil, and commands us to keep His original true Festivals/Holy days, He never tells us that we cannot or should not set any dates for commemoration of historical events and victories that He gives us as time passes. For example, the book of Esther tell us that Mordecai & Queen Esther started the annual holiday celebration of Purim. It was not commanded by The Almighty Himself. But neither does He ever forbid it. The scriptures never speak of Purim in a negative way. It is not commanded by The Almighty. And it is not forbidden by the Almighty. In fact, I believe He approves of it! I firmly believe with the power of The Holy Spirit, that if Purim or Hanukkah were pagan, it would say so in the scriptures just like it does Christmas and Easter, which were ancient Assyrian pagan holidays that began before Moses was even born, and the scriptures do declare those days as pagan in Jer.10:1-4 and Ezek.8:16-18.

Some people try to use Deut.12:30-32 to try to say that we should not add more holidays onto our worship in addition to what is commanded in scripture by The Creator directly. However, we must look at the context of these verses. The context is that our Creator does not want us adopting the pagan holiday of the heathen nations such as Christmas and Easter. This has nothing to do with Purim & Hanukkah which are not foreign, pagan holidays. The books of Esther & Maccabees speak of Purim & The Fiesta of Dedication as being a celebration unto our Creator. They were praising Him, thanking Him & celebrating & commemorating the victory He gave. There is nothing wrong with that. That is not adopting pagan worship.

Older than Maccabees

Before Solomon fell to pagan worship, and while he was still obeying The Creator via the building of the temple, he observed these same 8 days! Yet that was a long time before the wars with Antiochus Epiphanes. It seems to me that perhaps these scriptures also hint that even Moses observed these 8 days! Also on the date of Hanukkah, exactly 1,100 years before the Maccabees, Moses and the Israelites completed construction of the curtains, doors, furniture, etc of the Tabernacle, the portable sanctuary that accompanied them during 40 years of wandering in the desert. It was the first "temple" of JE before an actual stone temple. Although, these completed parts of the Tabernacle was not assembled & used until 3 months later. Nevertheless, the fact that all of the parts were finished being made on this exact date is another powerful confirmation! I believe that the Fiesta of Dedication was observed by Moses, David, Solomon, Nehemias and many other followers of The Creator in many different eras even before the time of the Maccabees. (Update Oct. 9, 2022: Jesus has now showed me powerful connections and relationships between the 2 holy day festivals of Tabernacles and Hanukkah! I will update more later.)

Hanukkah is a very important historical commemoration of the victory over Antiochus Epiphanes, the Syrian king. I believe that since Bashar Assad is the same fallen angel as Antiochus, (Click here for proof) that it is very edifying and extremely important to remember this victory via celebration of the Fiesta of Dedication. Notice the scriptures call it "the feast of dedication", not "Hanukkah". Hanukkah/Chanukkah/Chanukka/Hanukah is an Assyrian Aramaic word, so I believe that it is not good to use an Assyrian word for a day that celebrates the victory against the Syrian king. (Click here to see proof that most so called "Hebrew" words are actually Assyrian)

Jesus Conceived

We know for a fact that Jesus was born around the time of the Fiesta of Trumpets or Tabernacles time frame. We know that because the bible tells us that John the baptizer was born 6 months before Jesus, and we know from documented history when John was born. Therefore, using the same calculation, we can also determine that Jesus was conceived during or around the time of the Fiesta of Dedication/Hanukkah. The festival is also called "The Festival of Lights". Jesus said "I am the Light of the world", John 8:12. John the apostle testified that Jesus is the Light in John 1. The Light was lit for mankind when Jesus was conceived.

Yesterday, I was hesitant to recommend lighting of the menorah or the use of lights for Hanukkah because I had read some websites which claimed that the lights associated with Hanukkah/Chanukah are pagan. However, there was much in the articles/websites that was very clearly incorrect and the authors showed lack of discernment & lack of The Holy Ghost of Jesus. It is very clear that those websites are written by people who do not know Jesus. Nevertheless, I was confronted with these websites & had to do some research & seek Jesus on these issues. And now Jesus has confirmed again & again, the original wording of my article, that yes it is also called "The Festival of Lights" & that is not pagan. Just because the pagans have made multiple copies of this holy fiesta, doesn't mean that the true celebration should not be observed with the lighting of lights and the menorah. The devil always copies what Jesus does. We know that Christmas & all the other winter solstice & fire worship connected with Dec.25 is a copy of what Jesus originally & always ordained for true light & truth. Easter is a copy of Passover. And all the pagan rites of December is a copy of The Fiesta of Dedication. What came first? Solomon & Nehemiah also observed 8 days of Dedication, many years before the Maccabees. It is hinted in the scriptures that even Moses observed these days. I do believe that the Fiesta of Dedication came first. Then the devil copied it.

Hanukkah is the 7th Fiesta of the Year

Following the list of Holy Days in order in Lev.23-24:

  1. The weekly 7th Day. Yes, according to this very detailed list, the weekly Sabbath is a holy day or fiesta. It is the foundational holy day of all fiestas/holy days. If you embrace the weekly Sabbath, you must also embrace all of the Sabbaths. The 7th day was the first holy day created in Genesis 1-2. This first holy day is an on-going weekly fiesta.

  2. Passover & The Day of Unleavened Bread. The 1st day of Unleavened Bread will be the date of the beginning of the Great Tribulation. Although western Christians have traditionally seen these as two separate fiestas (Holy Days), Passover itself is not a commanded rest day. And it's not listed as a "Holy Convocation". The only thing we are commanded to do is to take Communion. We usually do not even has a worship service apart from a short communion service with foot washing after sunset. Also at sunset, we start fasting for 7 days from leavening. Therefore, Passover is the first day of 8 days of the Fiesta of Unleavened Bread. The Jews have traditionally called both Passover & the 7 Days of Unleavened Bread by only one title "Unleavened Bread".

  3. Pentecost: The date that the 6th Seal will be opened.

  4. Fiesta of Trumpets: The date that the 7th Seal will be opened.

  5. Day of Atonement: The date that the saints will be caught up into Heaven for the Marriage Supper at the 7th Trumpet. (Click here for proof of prophetic dates.)

  6. Feast of Tabernacles including the 8th Day, the Great Last Day of the Feast. John 7:37 refers to the 8th day as "the last day, the great day of the feast". Therefore it is not really a separate Fiesta from Tabernacles, but rather an extended observance thereof.

  7. Hanukkah for 8 nights.

The list of Holy Days does not stop with the last verse of Lev.23. Originally, there were no chapter & verse numbers or divisions. Mankind has added all of the chapter & verse numbers & divisions thereof. Therefore we keep reading into Lev.24:1-9 (KJV)

1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 2 Command the children of Israel, that they bring unto thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamps to burn continually. 3 Without the vail of the testimony, in the tabernacle of the congregation, shall Aaron order it from the evening unto the morning before the Lord continually: it shall be a statute for ever in your generations. 4 He shall order the lamps upon the pure candlestick (Strong's Concordance says the word was actually "Menorah") before the Lord continually. 5 And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes thereof: two tenth deals shall be in one cake. 6 And thou shalt set them in two rows, six on a row, upon the pure table before the Lord. 7 And thou shalt put pure frankincense upon each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire unto the Lord. 8 Every sabbath he shall set it in order before the Lord continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant. 9 And it shall be Aaron's and his sons'; and they shall eat it in the holy place: for it is most holy unto him of the offerings of the Lord made by fire by a perpetual statute.

Is Lev.24:1-9 speaking only about the weekly 7th day? I do not believe so.

Lev.23 listed the 7th day first. Then it lists each Fiesta in order. To understand any scripture/doctrine, we must read & consider the entire context. If we keep Lev.24:1-9 in context, it is reasonable to believe that it's talking about the next Fiesta of the year after the Last Great Day of Tabernacles. Notice in Lev.24:4, a commandment to light a menorah. The translators have on purpose hidden the word "menorah"! We do not see a specific commandment to light a menorah on any of the other Fiestas, only that a lamp was to be burning every evening of every day of the year whenever the Tabernacle was stationary, which would have included the Fiestas. But only Hanukkah is directly related to the lighting of a menorah. In Exo.27:20-21 we see a command to keep a lamp burning from evening to morning every night of the year in the traveling tent tabernacle, whenever it was assembled & stationary. But that's a separate issue from Sabbaths/Fiestas. Notice in verse 5, there was to be 12 loaves of bread or cakes. It is said in some bible commentaries that 12 loaves were replaced every week. Therefore it may be that Lev.24:1-9 may be talking about every 7 day cycle. But many things in the bible are dual. I believe that this passage of scripture is dual in referring to every 7 day weekly cycle or weekly Sabbath, as well as referring, as least in symbolic foreshadowing language, to Hanukkah. I must also point out that I believe that Hanukkah was originally 12 days and was later shortened to 8 days. Notice in Numbers 7, that the Dedication of The Tabernacle (first temple/tent) lasted for 12 days. The Jews claim, and I believe, that the tent & furniture was completed actually on the 25th day of the 9th month, Hanukkah, but was not assembled completely for the first time until around 3 months later. Since the first dedication was 12 days, this may be why Satan has copied Hanukkah with the "12 days of Christmas". I do not know why it has been shortened to 8 days. But it is clear in scripture that it has been. Perhaps because the first Tabernacle was celebrated longer due to it being the first.

It doesn't make sense for Lev.24 to be speaking only about the weekly Sabbath, since the weekly Sabbath was already discussed at the beginning of chapter 23. And there is not any other verse in the entire bible commanding 12 loaves every week or every Sabbath. (We no longer need to bake 12 loaves, as that was an old covenant ritual ceremonial law which has been replaced with The Bread of Life which is Jesus.) However, it would be good to continue lighting the Menorah (or just 7 candles) every Hanukkah in representation of the 7 Eras of the New Covenant Church (Rev.2-3) and us being caught up to Jesus at the blowing of the 7th Trumpet (7th candle) & our promised victory over the king of Syria after our modern day Abomination of Desolation.

Hanukkah is the 7th Holy Day of the year. Purim is the 8th, which occurs in the 12th month. Passover plus the 7 Day of Unleavened Bread is a total of 8 days. The Fiesta of Tabernacles plus the Last Great Day is 8 days. 7 is the number of completeness/fulfillment. But 8 represents eternity & overflowing. The Paradise of the New Heavens & New Earth is represented by the 8th Day extensions & 8th Fiesta. The Lake of Fire destroying our enemies (including Satan & all fallen angels) is presented by Purim. In the Apocrypha & Alpha & Omega Bible versions of the book of Esther 8:13, it says

Do ye therefore also, among your notable feasts, keep a distinct day with all festivity, that both now and hereafter it may be a day of deliverance to us and who are well disposed toward the Persians, but to those that plotted against us a memorial of destruction. And every city and province collectively, which shall not do accordingly, shall be consumed with vengeance by spear and fire: it shall be made not only inaccessible to men, but most hateful to wild beasts and birds for ever.

How to Observe

It is a time of celebration. Celebration of any major event usually includes special meals. You can have a feast on either of the 8 days. You can invite friends, sing songs, play games. Psalm 30 is sung at Hanukkah. Perhaps refers to 1 Chron.21:1-22:6 and/or 2 Sam.6:17 and/or 2 Sam.5:11-12.

If you light a menorah, make sure it does not contain any Assyrian writing (so called Hebrew) and also no star of David, which is really a pagan Assyrian star. (Click here for proof). Also do not use a 9 candle menorah. The 9 candle menorah is not found in any Holy Scripture. Only the 7 candle menorah is in scripture. So the 9 candle menorah is of pagan origin and is part of witchcraft. There is nothing about "nine" in the scriptures related to the Fiesta of Dedication. The story of the oil in the temple lasting 8 days also cannot be found in the scriptures. It is in the Jewish witchcraft Babylonian Talmud (Shabbat 21b). The story of oil lasting 8 days/nights might be true, but I am not sure of it, and the origin would be in the Talmud which cannot be trusted. Just because the Jews have added some pagan customs, such as the 9 candle menorah, to the holiday does not prove the celebration itself as evil, as long as we do not partake in the pagan customs themselves.

It is acceptable to light a 7 candle menorah as part of your worship toward Jesus. The 7 candle menorah is not pagan & is written about in scripture as part of the worship equipment in the temple, but is symbolic of the new covenant church, Rev.1-3! You can light all 7 candles for all 8 nights, keeping 7 candles burning on both the 7th & 8th night.

You do not need to follow Jewish tradition of 8-9 candles, which is a pagan custom!

You do not need to light only 1 candle on the first night, then 2 on the second night and so on. That's only a tradition of man. In the bible, they always lit all 7 lights every 7th Day, every holy day, every fiesta and all 8 nights of Hanukkah.

You also should avoid playing the "dreidel" which is a Jewish custom game which includes the use of Assyrian letters.

You do not need to add Jewish customs onto your celebration of the Fiesta of Dedication. It is not our goal to be like Jews & Hebrews, but rather it is our goal to worship Jesus and learn from the holy day.

Giving of gifts within the household & among true believers is not pagan. The scriptures tell us that the giving of gifts was part of the observance of Purim, another historical & important victory that Jesus gave us against our enemies. It is best to not give any gifts to people who partake in Christmas. It could be confused with being a X-mas gift. If you give a gift, it would make it even more difficult for people to not give you a Christmas gift. If you have a friend who does not keep Christmas, and who understands that the Festival of Dedication is not pagan, then I think it is fully acceptable to give them gifts. It is fully acceptable to give your husband, wife, children, parents gifts for the Festival of Dedication, if they understand that this is not a Christmas gift and that it is part of the Festival of Dedication.

Reading the account of the origin of the Festival should be part of commemoration. Children need to be taught what it means, and how it relates to our current fight against the king of Syria. Other than special meals, and gifts within the household & among true brethren, it's a great time to sing songs & read the bible and think about Jesus giving us the victory over our enemies, especially against Assad. It would be acceptable for a congregation to have a special service. Special decorations would be acceptable, 1 Macc.4:27.

We observe the Festival of Dedication because Jesus is going to give us the Victory against the evil Assyrian king, not because it's a Hebrew/Jewish tradition. To say that it's a "Jewish thing" is no different than foolishly & ignorantly saying that the keeping of the 7th Day is a "Jewish thing". This celebration should not become part of a Hebrew roots mindset. The Festival of Dedication really has nothing to do with "Hebrew/Jewish" and has everything to do with Jesus giving us the ultimate victory against Assad at the end of the great tribulation. Therefore, it's extremely important to the end time followers of Jesus the Christ!

Recommended Candles

It's important to use candles and/or menorahs that don't contain Assyrian Aramaic writing, especially not any of the blasphemous Y names. And it's important that they don't have the Assyrian star, falsely called "The Star of David". Also there should not be any graven images of people or animals. And they must be only 7 candles, not 8 and not 9.
You will also need to find candles for your menorah. Menorahs come in many different sizes of candle holes. The candle holes are smaller in some menorahs than others. So you will need to find the right size diameter (how big around/wide) of candles for your specific menorah. If your candle is too wide, just take a knife and carefully trim the edges of the bottom of your candles until they are small enough to fit in the holes. You can find large bulk boxes online. Menorah candles burn very fast. They usually burn for only 3-6 hours. You can find them online with a listing of how many hours and you can purchase the candles that burn the longest.

Or instead of buying a menorah, you can purchase 7 "tea candles" which can also be purchased at the "Dollar Tree" store in the USA for only $1.00 for a bag or a box of several.
But the cheapest, most affordable and longest lasting candles are the tall glass bottle candles like these at Dollar Tree, which you can get at other places too. These tall glass bottle candles is really my most recommended choice for long lasting candles for an affordable price. Be sure to use only the white ones. The menorahs are also very nice. But not affordable to burn every 7th day since they burn so fast. However, if you keep your candles in the freezer, they will burn slower.
For children's fun, (and adults too) you can use a search engine to look up "paper plate menorah" and "Popsicle sticks menorah" to make pretend menorahs that do not use real fire.

Purim and The Festival/Fiesta of Dedication praises Jesus for Ultimate Future Victory over our enemies!

Isaiah 10:24

Therefore thus says the Lord GOD of hosts, "O My people who dwell in Zion, do not fear the Assyrian who strikes you with the rod and lifts up his staff against you, the way Egypt did.

Let's commemorate the victory that Jesus gave us in the time of the Maccabees, in foreshadowing of our very soon victory against the fallen angel of Assad/Antiochus! Hanukkah represents the ultimate victory that Jesus will give to us against our enemies including the president of North Korea and Putin of Russia and the president of China and against Islam and communism. We celebrate the two holidays of Hanukkah and Purim that represent Victory against our enemies because Jesus will double repay their sins and double repay us as well for our good works. Double celebration of victory! All of the Holy Days in the bible remind us of past historical events and also of the future prophetic events & the plan of salvation. The Fiesta of Dedication reminds us of past military victories and of future victories & that Jesus Himself will return to destroy Assad/Antiochus once & for all. That's worthy of celebration!

Below are some quotations from the Wikipedia article on Hanukkah

...also known as the Festival of Lights and Feast of Dedication, is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the re-dedication of the Holy Temple (the Second Temple) in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire of the 2nd century BC. Hanukkah is observed for eight nights and days, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar, which may occur at any time from late November to late December in the Gregorian calendar.

The story of Hanukkah is preserved in the books of the First and Second Maccabees

The Jewish historian Titus Flavius Josephus narrates in his book, Jewish Antiquities XII, how the victorious Judas Maccabeus ordered lavish yearly eight-day festivities after rededicating the Temple in Jerusalem that had been profaned by Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Josephus does not say the festival was called Hanukkah but rather the "Festival of Lights"

Now Judas celebrated the festival of the restoration of the sacrifices of the temple for eight days, and omitted no sort of pleasures thereon; but he feasted them upon very rich and splendid sacrifices; and he honored God, and delighted them by hymns and psalms. Nay, they were so very glad at the revival of their customs, when, after a long time of intermission, they unexpectedly had regained the freedom of their worship, that they made it a law for their posterity, that they should keep a festival, on account of the restoration of their temple worship, for eight days. And from that time to this we celebrate this festival, and call it Lights. I suppose the reason was, because this liberty beyond our hopes appeared to us; and that thence was the name given to that festival.

The eight-day re-dedication of the temple is described in 1 Maccabees 4:36

A story similar in character, and obviously older in date, is the one alluded to in 2 Maccabees 1:18 et seq according to which the relighting of the altar fire by Nehemiah was due to a miracle which occurred on the 25th of Kislev, and which appears to be given as the reason for the selection of the same date for the re-dedication of the altar by Judah Maccabee. In the Christian Greek scriptures, it is stated that Jesus was at the Jerusalem Temple during "the Feast of Dedication and it was winter", in John 10:22–23

Divine Confirmations:

And now I am coming to the realization that we will be holding our first services in our new ministry building on the day just before the first day of the Festival of Dedication. That is extremely significant! The Maccabee family re-dedicated the Temple. We are dedicating a new ministry building! Wow! Praise Jesus!

A year later, on the day that I updated & edited this article, I preached a sermon, which Jesus had given me the night before, which was entitled "Hear What the Spirit is Saying" & included John 10:1-6 (NASB)

1 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber. 2 But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. 3 To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6 This figure of speech Jesus spoke to them, but they did not understand what those things were which He had been saying to them.

Then later that night, Jesus showed me more of the same chapter:

22 At that time the Feast of the Dedication took place at Jerusalem; 23 it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple in the portico of Solomon. 24 The Jews then gathered around Him, and were saying to Him, “How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me. 26 But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep. 27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me".

Therefore, what I had preached earlier that day was in context of Hanukkah, but I did not even know it! This is an extremely powerful, divine confirmation which cannot be denied by anyone with even an ounce of faith!

By the way, it is my practice to use the word "fiesta" instead of "festival" or "feast", because the original Greek/Hebrew word in scripture does not really mean a feast of food, although a special meal is certainly part of celebration. The Latin translation/word "fiesta" gives spice to the word & is more accurate to the meaning of "celebration, party, laugh, sing & dance".

Yes, I will be observing and celebrating these holidays of victory in joy in Jesus Name, and I really encourage all end time followers of Jesus Christ to do the same!

See why sunrise to sunrise.

The Fiesta of Dedication celebrates the victory against the Abomination of Desolation which occurred on Earth in the past and will occur again in the very near future in Heaven.

Proof Assad is Antiochus Epiphanes, the fallen angel who did not really die, and has returned to wage war against the end time Saints of Jesus.

Chanukkah Dates 2020 - 2024

2020: Dec. 10 - 17
2021: Dec. 29 - Jan. 5, 2022
2022: Dec. 19 - 26
2023: Dec. 8 - 15
2024: Dec. 26, 2024 - Jan. 2, 2025.

Disagree? Please take all of this in prayer & if needed, also in fasting.

Please note that we do not follow the dates of the Jewish calendar or other groups. We always calculate the actual date in accordance to Jesus' created calendar, instead of following people. Therefore, we are not observing Hanukkah on the same days as most other people. The world is off by a month because they started the Jewish new year before the Spring Equinox which is impossible. Click here to learn how to tell time by the created calendar of the sun, moon and stars, which is the original calendar.

Click here to learn about The Alpha & Omega Bible which includes the books of Maccabees restored.

Hanukkah Videos Below:
The first one is an old movie based on Hanukkah. It's 1 and a half hours long. To watch it, please click here.
The second video is a cartoon 30 minutes long. To watch it, click on the video below. (It might play a couple of very short advertisements first. After it starts playing, you can click in the bottom right corner of the video to make it full screen.)

We always have special Hanukkah worship services, and broadcast the services & sermon live on the internet and telephone. For more information, please visit our worship services page.

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