HOW TO BE A LIGHT BEARER FOR CHRIST

• Disclaimer
• What You Should Know About Hanukkah
• Many Christians Are Making The Switch
• The Original Roots Of Our Faith
• What Is Hanukkah
• The Story Behind Hanukkah
• Mattiyahu and the Hanukkah Story
• The Connection Between Jesus And The Menorah

​DISCLAIMER​

As the holiday season sparks debates among Christians about whether believers should or should not celebrate Christmas, I want readers to know that this is not my motivation for sharing the content in this blog about Christmas or Hanukkah. As I stated in a previous Facebook post, my goal is not to convert or offend anyone regarding my stance. The position I have taken against national holidays is both personal and religious.
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So, because of the type of person I am, I enjoy sharing with others. It is only natural for me to share the things I have learned. That is my only goal: to share with my readers the insights I have gained and the experiences I have had on this new journey I am undertaking to draw closer to God.

For me, I am striving to become as pure as possible in living a holy lifestyle and to be acceptable and pleasing to God in every way. Often, this involves making many sacrifices, giving up things I once enjoyed, finding joy in serving God, and dying to myself and my desires. My life is no longer about me, but about Him.

This means leaving behind the ways of the secular world—their practices, traditions, customs, and celebrations—and familiarizing myself with the traditions, practices, customs, and celebrations that God approves of in the Scriptures. I believe that as I strive to be more like God, it is safer to walk away from and abandon any holiday not mentioned or practiced by Jesus or His apostles in the Scriptures than to later learn that God disapproves of the man-made celebrations so many of us partake in.

With that being said, I hope every reader gains something positive from today’s blog post.

Things you should know about hanukkah

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• Many believers are making the switch: they are leaving the Christmas holiday and adopting the celebration of Hanukkah.
• Jesus was conceived during the Festival of Lights. (I have not yet confirmed this through my research and studies, but based on what I have read so far, it seems plausible.)
• Hanukkah has a powerful and prophetic history that all believers in Christ should take time to learn about.
• This holiday prophesies the time when the antichrist will desecrate the temple right before the Great Tribulation begins.

My goal is to unpack some of these points in this blog.
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why are so many believers are switching to hanukkah

Many believers are making the switch because they have grown tired of the secularization and materialism of Christmas. Additionally, they have discovered that they were misled about the origins of Christmas and the actual date of Jesus' birth.
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Today, many believers are developing a desire to reconnect with the authentic roots of their faith. They are making an effort to learn about the Feasts of the Lord to gain knowledge and understanding of what the early believers practiced and believed.

As we delve into this discussion, one thing I want you to consider is this: If the world embraces and celebrates customs like Christmas, shouldn’t that give believers a reason to pause and reconsider whether this is something we should partake in? Think about it. You will never see an unbeliever observing or participating in any of the Holy Days or other acceptable customs prescribed in the Bible. They simply won’t do it.

Therefore, when we see unbelievers enjoying, promoting, or celebrating certain customs, traditions, or holidays, we should ask ourselves: Should we, as followers of Christ, align ourselves with the practices of the world?

Get back to the original roots of our faith

It would be wise for every family head, ministry leader, and church leader to lay everything on the table concerning national holidays like Christmas—their customs, practices, and celebratory activities—and closely examine and compare them with the customs, practices, and celebrations mentioned in the Holy Scriptures. It is crucial to investigate the customs Jesus and apostles celebrated and compare them with what churches celebrated during their era.
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We must remember that many members of God’s congregation in ancient Israel came out of the world, bringing with them their practices, customs, and celebrations. So, would it be wise to base our decision about whether to participate in a national holiday solely on their habits while ignoring whether Jesus and the apostles partook in such customs? Certainly not. Our focus should be on the events and practices that Jesus and His apostles approved of and participated in. This is what we should use as our standard for determining whether a custom, practice, or holiday is acceptable for believers.
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This standard—not the opinions of church leaders, such as pastors or their supporting staff (e.g., deacons)—should serve as our check and balance. Unfortunately, many of us have been influenced by the systems of this world and practices individuals have brought into the church. Just as the first-century Christians brought their worldly customs, practices, traditions, and celebrations into God’s house, we too may be carrying over customs that God does not necessarily approve of into the House of God.

what is hanukkah

Hanukkah means dedication. This celebration is also known as the Feast of Dedication and the Feast of Lights. Why? Because Hanukkah revolves around the dedication of the Second Temple and the lighting of the menorah. These two concepts—dedication and light—are directly linked to our Christian faith.
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How so? Just as the Second Temple was reclaimed from its oppressors, and Yeshua (Jesus) is the light of the world, we too were redeemed through Christ’s willingness to die on the cross on our behalf. He then placed His light within each of us, illuminating us from the inside out.

the story behind hanukkah

The celebration of Hanukkah, which both Jesus and His disciples partook in, can be found in John 10:22-23. It reads:
“At that time, the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple area, in Solomon’s portico.”
It is important to examine the full history of this holiday. One resource that provides a historical account is the book of Maccabees. This book details how God’s people were persecuted by the Syrian-Greek king Antiochus IV. His goal was to make the entire nation abandon their faith, so he attempted to force God’s people to worship Greek gods. When the Jews refused, in 169 BC, Antiochus sent his soldiers into Jerusalem, massacred thousands of Jews, captured the temple, erected an idol of Zeus in the temple, and sacrificed a pig on the altar to honor Zeus.
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In the aftermath, many Jews compromised their faith and began to adopt Greek customs, cultural practices, and the worship of Greek gods. In response, God raised up a man among His people who remained steadfast in his faith. This man was equipped by God to lead His people back into right standing with Him.

Throughout the Bible, we see a consistent pattern in how God rescues His people from the hands of their oppressors and their own compromised faith. God chooses individuals who are outnumbered and smaller in stature compared to their enemies. He uses these unlikely heroes to demonstrate that even when a situation appears hopeless, nothing is impossible with God.

We saw this with David, who stood up to a giant. We saw it when God used Esther to save His people from annihilation. We saw it when God empowered Samson to defeat the mighty Philistines singlehandedly. We saw it when God raised up Moses to demand that Pharaoh let His people go. Now, we see God achieving the same victory through a small group of priests against the powerful Syrian army.

Mattiyahu and the Hanukkah Story

Mattiyahu was a priest from the tribe of Levi. Along with his five sons, he stood up to the Syrian army, but not without facing significant challenges.
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One of the first challenges Mattiyahu faced was the division among the Jews. Many had compromised their faith by integrating into Greek culture and participating in its practices, traditions, customs, and celebrations. However, a small group of Jews remained faithful to God’s standards and refused to compromise by adopting Greek customs and traditions.

The Greeks, determined to force compliance, applied significant pressure on the remaining faithful Jews. Antiochus sent one of his chief army officers to Mattiyahu with a bribe, saying:

“Come now, you be the first to obey the king’s command. All the Gentiles, the people of Judea, and all the people left in Jerusalem have already done so. If you do, you and your sons will be honored with the title of Friends of the King, and you will be rewarded with silver, gold, and many gifts” (1 Maccabees 2:18).

This offer was tempting—it promised wealth and status that could secure Maccabee and his descendants for generations. But the offer was a test of Mattiyahu’s faith, loyalty, and identity. Would he choose the ways of the world or remain faithful to God? Consider the words of Jesus in Mark 8:36-37:

“For what does it benefit a man to gain the whole world [with all its pleasures], and forfeit his soul? For what will a man give in exchange for his soul and eternal life [in God’s kingdom]?”

Mattiyahu’s response to the chief officer was resolute. He remained faithful to God and refused the officer’s offer, boldly declaring:

“I don’t care if every Gentile in this empire has obeyed the king and yielded to the command to abandon the religion of his ancestors. My sons, my relatives, and I will continue to keep the covenant that God made with our ancestors! With God’s help, we will never abandon His Law or disobey His commands!” (1 Maccabees 2:19-20).

The Syrian chief officer then made the same offer to another Jewish leader, who accepted. When Mattiyahu learned of this, he killed the leader to prevent apostasy from spreading further among the Jews. Soon after, Mattiyahu and his sons fled the country, calling out to others: “Whoever wants to remain faithful to God’s covenant, flee with us!”

At some point, Mattiyahu died, and his son Judah, nicknamed "The Hammer," rose to leadership. Despite being outnumbered six to one by the Syrians, Judah trusted in God to deliver victory (1 Maccabees 4:30-33). Under his leadership, Judah and his men defeated the Syrian army and reclaimed Jerusalem.

The city and the temple were left in ruins. Judah and his followers worked together to repair and cleanse the temple. They restored the menorah and lit it with the small amount of oil they could find—enough for just one day. However, God miraculously sustained the oil, and it burned for eight days, long enough for them to prepare a new supply of oil for the menorah.

In celebration of this miraculous event, the temple was rededicated, and Hanukkah was established as a commemoration of their liberation from their enemies.

What is the significance of the menorah in connection with jesus

The temple menorah had six candles and a central candle known as the Shamash, or servant candle. In biblical symbolism, the number six represents man, while the seventh candle in the center represents the Sabbath. It also symbolizes Yeshua (Jesus), the greatest servant who ever lived.
It is good to remember what 1 Corinthians 3:16 teaches us: "We are the temple of the Holy Spirit." Just as the Second Temple was continuously under attack by dark forces, our own "temples"—our bodies and lives—are under constant attack from evil forces that seek to desecrate us and make us unusable before a holy God.

But God intervened on our behalf by sending His Son, Yeshua, to rescue us. His sacrifice and shed blood have freed us from destructive lifestyles and sin. Through this act, Jesus becomes the true menorah in our lives. As our menorah, He illuminates the way for us, and we have the opportunity to prove our love for Him by keeping His commandments. The more we love Him, the brighter our light will shine.
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Therefore, we must not compromise our faith to align with culture. Celebrations like Hanukkah serve as a reminder to rebuild and strengthen our faith when we feel weary or defeated. Observing such a holiday can renew our commitment to God's ways and bring us back into alignment with serving Him, rather than following the practices, customs, traditions, and celebrations of the world.