Hanukkah
and the Birth of Jesus Christ, What Do They Have in Common?
Part I: Some Essential Background
Information
Background history
for the Festival of Lights, taken out of Josephus' "Antiquities
of the Jews", (translated by William Whisten, Kregel Publications,
pp. 256-257, 258-262.)
2.
Now Antiochus [Epiphanes IV], upon the agreeable situation of the
affairs of his kingdom, resolved to make an expedition against
Egypt, both because he had a desire to gain it, and because he
contemned the son of Ptolemy, as now weak, and not yet of abilities
to manage affairs of such consequence; so he came with great forces
to Pelusium, and circumvented Ptolemy Philometer by treachery,
and seized Egypt. He then
came to the places about
Now
here is where we can get a real historic picture of just how evil
this Antiochus was. The
Bible often uses a prior historic type to represent a future coming
event, and Antiochus is just such a fore-type. The
famous secular historian Santayana is often quoted as saying "He
who forgets the lessons of history is doomed to relive them." We'd
be wise to take note of this guy, as we live in such perilous times
with the world filled with weapons of mass destruction and mad
dictators with itchy trigger fingers. And
when we see a temple being built in
"3. King Antiochus [Epiphanes] returning
out of Egypt [Hereabout Josephus begins to follow the first book
of the Maccabees], for fear of the Romans, made an expedition against
the city of Jerusalem; and when he was there, in the hundred and
forty-third year of the kingdom of the Seleucidae, he took the
city without fighting, those of his own party opening the gates
to him. And when he had
gotten possession of
4.
Now it came to pass,
after two years, in the hundred and forty-fifth year, on the twenty-fifth
day of that month which is by us called Chasleu…that the king came up to Jerusalem, and, pretending peace, he got possession
of the city by treachery: at
which time he spared not so much as those that admitted him into it,
on account of the riches that lay in the temple; but, led by his covetous
inclination, (for he saw there was in it a great deal of gold, and
many ornaments that had been dedicated to it of very great value,)
and in order to plunder its wealth, he ventured to break the league
he had made. So he left the
temple bare, and took away the golden candlesticks, and the golden
altar [of incense], and table [of shewbread,] and the altar [of burnt-offering;]
and did not abstain from even the veils, which were made of fine linen
and scarlet. He also emptied
it of its secret treasures, and left nothing at all remaining; and
by this means cast the Jews into great lamentation, for he forbade them to offer to God, according to the law. And when he
had pillaged the whole city, some of the inhabitants he slew, and some
he carried captive, together with their wives and children, so that
the multitude of those captives that were taken alive amounted to about
ten thousand. He also burnt
down the finest buildings; and when he had overthrown the city walls,
he built a citadel in the lower part of the city [this citadel seems
to have been a castle built on a hill, lower than mount Zion, though
upon its skirts, and higher than mount Moriah, but between them both…],
for the place was high, and overlooked the temple on which account
he fortified it with high walls and towers, and put into it a garrison
of Macedonians. However, in
that citadel dwelt the impious and wicked part of the [Jewish] multitude,
from whom it proved that the citizens suffered many and sore calamities. And
when the king had built an altar upon God's altar, he slew swine upon
it, and so offered a sacrifice neither according to the law, nor the
Jewish religious worship in that country. He
also compelled them to forsake the worship which they paid their God,
and to adore those whom he took to be gods; and made them build temples,
and raise idol altars, in every city and village, and offer swine upon
them every day. He also commanded them not to circumcise their
sons, and threatened to punish any that should be found to have transgressed
his injunction. He also
appointed overseers, who should compel them to do what he commanded. And indeed many Jews there were who complied
with the kings commands, either voluntarily, or out of fear of the
penalty that was denounced: but the best men, and those of the noblest
souls, did not regard him, but did pay a greater respect to the customs
of their country than concern as to the punishment which he threatened
to the disobedient; on which account they every day underwent great
miseries and bitter torments; for they were whipped with rods, and
their bodies were torn to pieces, and crucified while they were still
alive and breathed: they also strangled those women and their sons
whom they had circumcised, as the king had appointed, hanging their
sons about their necks as they were upon the crosses. And if there were any sacred book of the law
found, it was destroyed; and those with whom they were found, miserably
perished also.
5.
When the Samaritans
saw the Jews under these sufferings, they no longer confessed they
were of their kindred…" Is
that any wonder? Also if you
look at history in II Kings
17:5-6, 24, Assyria in 721BC took all of Samaria captive and replaced
the population with other races, deporting the ten tribes of Israel
to the Caspian Sea region, never to return. So these Samaritans were a pretender race that
wasn't really related to any of the 12 sons of Joseph, the 12 tribes
of
Now
let’s go back to Antiochus Epiphanes IV, where we see here, the
temple has been polluted with swine's blood. How
is the Messiah going to come to the temple, and go through all
the ceremonies prescribed by the law of Moses for a Jewish newborn
male child? Think, if Jesus, Yeshua, didn't go through
this, he would have been disqualified as the Messiah and his death
couldn't have paid for the sins of the world. Yeshua,
Jesus, was totally sinless throughout his life, from the very beginning
to the very end. Here we
see Antiochus being used by Satan to try to thwart God's plan of
salvation for the world. What
follows is truly miraculous, for Antiochus's army was huge and
powerful when compared to the forces Judas Maccabeus commanded.
Chapter
VI
1.
Now at this time there
was one whose name was Mattathias, who dwelt at Modin, the son of John,
the son of Simeon, the son of Asamoneus, a priest of the order of Joarib,
and a citizen of
This Mattathias and
his sons were really something, one courageous bunch of guys, as
you'll read here. Like father,
like son, they were.
2.
"But when those
that were appointed by the king were come to Modin, that they might
compel the Jews to do what they were commanded, and to enjoin those
that were there to offer sacrifice, as the king had commanded, they
desired that Mattathias, a person of the greatest character among them,
both on other accounts, and particularly on account of such numerous
and so deserving a family of children, would begin the sacrifice, because
his fellow-citizens would follow his example, and because such a procedure
would make him honoured by the king. But Mattathias said that he would not do it;
and that if all the other nations would obey the commands of Antiochus,
either out of fear, or to please him, yet would not he nor his sons
leave the religious worship of their country; but as soon as he had
ended his speech, there came one of the Jews into the midst of them,
and sacrificed as Antiochus commanded [probably swine]. At
which Mattathias had great indignation, and ran upon him violently
with his sons, who had swords with them, and slew both the man himself
that sacrificed, and Appelles the king's general, who compelled them
to sacrifice, with a few of his soldiers. He
also overthrew the idol altar, and cried out, "If," said
he, "any one be zealous for the laws of his country, and for the
worship of God, let him follow me;" and when he had said this, he made haste into
the desert with his sons, and left all his substance in the village. Many others did the same also, and fled with
their children and wives into the desert and dwelt in caves; but when
the king's generals heard this, they took all the forces they then
had in the citadel of Jerusalem, and pursued the Jews into the desert;
and when they had overtaken them, they in the first place endeavoured
to persuade them to repent, and to chose what was most for their advantage,
and not put them to the necessity of using them according to the law
of war; but when they would not comply with their persuasions, but
continued to be of a different mind, they fought against them on the
Sabbath-day, and they burnt them as they were in the caves, without
resistance, and without so much as stopping up the entrances of the
caves. And they avoided to defend
themselves on that day, because they were not willing to break in upon
the honour they owed the Sabbath, even in such distresses; for our
law requires that we rest upon that day. There
were about a thousand, with their wives and children, who were smothered
and died in these caves: but many of those that escaped joined themselves
to Mattathias, and appointed him to be their ruler, who
taught them to fight even on the Sabbath-day; and told them that unless
they would do so, they would become their own enemies, by observing
the law [so rigorously,] while their adversaries would still assault
them on this day, and they would not then defend themselves; and that
nothing could then hinder but they must all perish without fighting. This
speech persuaded them; and this rule continues among us to this day,
that if there be a necessity, we may fight on Sabbath-days. [And Orthodox Israeli soldiers could be seen
fighting alongside their non-Orthodox brothers-in-arms during the Israeli
war of independence in 1948, observing this same rule laid down by
Mattathias.] So Mattathias got
a great army about him, and overthrew their idol altars, and slew those
that broke the laws, even all that he could get under his power; for
many of them were dispersed among the nations round about them for
fear of him. He also commanded that those boys who were
not yet circumcised should be circumcised now; and he drove those away
that were appointed to hinder such their circumcision.
3.
But when he had ruled
one year, and was fallen into a distemper, he called for his sons,
and set them round about him, and said, "O my sons, I am going
the way of all the earth; and I recommend to you my resolution, and
beseech you not to be negligent in keeping it, but to be mindful of
the desires of him who begat you, and brought you up, and to preserve
the customs of your country, and to recover your ancient form of government,
which is in danger of being overturned, and not to be carried away
with those that, either by their own inclination, or out of necessity,
betray it, but to become such sons as are worthy of me; to be above
all force and necessity, and so to dispose your souls, as to be ready,
when it shall be necessary, to die for your laws; as sensible of this,
by just reasoning, that if God see that your are so disposed he will not overlook you, but will have a great value
for your virtue, and will restore to you again what you have lost,
and will return to you that freedom in which you shall live quietly,
and enjoy your own customs. Your
bodies are mortal, and subject to fate; but they receive a sort of
immortality, by the remembrance of what actions they have done; and
I would have you so in love with this immortality, that you may pursue
after glory, and that, when you have undergone the greatest difficulties,
you may not scruple, for such things, to lose your lives. I
exhort you especially to agree one with another; and in what excellency
any one of your exceeds another, to yield to him so far, and by that
means to reap the advantage of every one's own virtues. Do
you then esteem Simon as your father, because he is a man of extraordinary
prudence, and be governed by him in what counsels he gives you. Take Maccabeus for the general of your army,
because of his courage and strength, for he will avenge your nation,
and will bring vengeance on your enemies. Admit
among you the righteous and religious, and augment their power."
4.
When Mattathias had
thus discoursed to his sons, and had prayed to God to be their assistant,
and to recover to the people their former constitution, he died a little
afterward, and was buried at Modin; all the people making great lamentation
for him. Whereupon
his son Judas took upon him the administration of public affairs, in
the hundred and forty-sixth year; and thus, buy the ready assistance
of his brethren and of others, Judas cast their enemies out of the
country, and put those of their own country to death who had transgressed
its laws, and purified the land of all the pollution’s that were in
it.
CHAPTER
VII
HOW JUDAS OVERTHREW THE FORCES OF APOLLONIUS
AND SERON, AND KILLED THE GENERALS OF THEIR ARMIES THEMSELVES;
AND HOW WHEN, A LITTLE WHILE AFTERWARD, LYSIAS AND GORGIAS WERE
BEATEN, HE WENT UP TO
1.
When Apollonius, the
general of the Samaritan forces, heard this, he took his army, and
made haste to go against Judas, who met him, and joined battle with
him, and beat him, and slew many of his men, and among them Apollonius
himself, their general, whose sword, being that which he happened then
to wear, he seized upon and kept for himself; but he wounded more than
he slew, and took a great deal of prey from the enemy's camp, and went
his way; but when Seron, who was general of the army of Caelesyria,
heard that many had joined themselves to Judas, and that he had about
him an army sufficient for fighting and for making war, he determined
to make an expedition against him, as thinking it became him to endeavor
to punish those that transgressed the king's [Antiochus's] injunctions. He then got together an army, as large as he
was able, and joined to it the runagate and wicked Jews, and came against
Judas. He then came as far as
Bethoron, a village of Judea, and there pitched his camp; upon which
Judas met him, and when he intended to give him battle, he saw that
his [own] soldiers were backward to fight, because their number was
small, and because they wanted food, for they were fasting, he encouraged
them, and said to them, that victory and conquest of enemies are not
derived from the multitude in armies, but in the exercise of piety
towards God; and that they had the plainest instances in their forefathers,
who, by their righteousness, and exerting themselves on behalf of their
own laws, and their own children, had frequently conquered many ten
thousands,--for innocence is the strongest army. By this speech he induced his men to contemn
the multitude of the enemy, and to fall upon Seron; and upon joining
the battle with him, he beat the Syrians; and when their general fell
among the rest, they all ran away with speed, as thinking that to be
their best way of escaping. So
he pursued them unto the plain, and slew about eight hundred of the
enemy; but the rest escaped to the region which lay near to the sea.
2.
When king Antiochus
heard of these things, he was very angry at what had happened; so he
got together all his own army, with many mercenaries, whom he had hired
from the islands, and took them with him, and prepared to break into
Judea about the beginning of the spring; but when, upon his mustering
his soldiers, he perceived that his treasures were deficient, and there
was want of money in them, for all the taxes were not paid, by reason
of the sedition’s there had been among the nations, he having been
so magnanimous and so liberal that what he had was not sufficient for
him, he therefore resolved first to go into Persia, and collect the
taxes of that country. Hereupon
he left one whose name was Lysias, who was in great repute with him,
governor of the kingdom, as far as the bounds of Egypt, and of the
Lower Asia, and reaching from the river Euphrates, and committed to
him a certain part of his forces, and of his elephants, and charged
him to bring up his son Antiochus with all possible care, until he
came back; and that he should conquer Judea, and take its inhabitants
for slaves, and utterly destroy Jerusalem, and abolish the whole nation;
and when king Antiochus had given these things in charge of Lysias,
he went into Persia; and in the hundred and forty-seventh year, he
passed over Euphrates, and went to the superior provinces.
3.
Upon this Lysias chose
Ptolemy, the son of Dorimenes, and Nicanor, and Gorgas, very potent
men among the king's friends, and delivered to them forty thousand
foots-soldiers and seven thousand horsemen, and sent them against Judea,
who came as far as the city of
4.
And this was the speech
which Judas made to encourage them. But
when the enemy sent Gorgias, with five thousand foot and one thousand
horse, that he might fall upon Judas by night, and had for that purpose
certain of the runagate Jews as guides, the son of Mattathias perceived
it, and resolved to fall upon those enemies that were in their camp,
now their forces were divided. When
they had therefore supped in good time, and had left many fires in
their camp, he marched all night to those enemies that were at Emmaus;
so that when Gorgias found no enemy in their camp, but suspected that
they were retired and hidden themselves among the mountains, he resolved
to go and seek them wheresoever they were. But,
about break of day, Judas appeared to those enemies that were at Emmaus,
with only three thousand men, and those ill-armed, by reason of their
poverty; and when he saw the enemy very well and skillfully fortified
in their camp, he encouraged the Jews, and told them, that they ought
to fight, though it were with their naked bodies, for that God had
sometimes of old given such men strength, and that against such as
were more in number, and were armed also, out of regard to their great
courage. So he commanded the
trumpeters to sound for the battle: and by thus falling upon the enemy
when they did not expect it, and thereby astonishing and disturbing
their minds, he slew many of those that resisted him, and went on pursuing
the rest as far as Gadara, and the plains of Idumea, and Ashdod, and
Jamnia; and of these there fell about three thousand. Yet
did Judas exhort his soldiers not to be too desirous of the spoils,
for that still they must have a contest and battle with Gorgias, and
the forces that were with him: but that, when they had once overcome
them, then they might securely plunder the camp because they were the
only enemies remaining, and they expected no others. And just as he was speaking to his soldiers,
Gorgias's men looked down into that army which they left in their camp,
and saw that it was overthrown, and the camp burnt; for the smoke that
arose from it shewed them, even when they were a great way off, what
had happened. When, therefore, those that were with Gorgias
understood that things were in this posture, and perceived that those
that were with Judas were ready to fight them, they also were affrighted,
and put to flight; but then Judas, as though he had already beaten
Gorgias's soldiers without fighting, returned and seized on the spoils. He took a great quantity of gold and silver,
and purple, and blue, and then returned home with joy, and singing
hymns to God for their good success: for this victory greatly contributed
to the recovery of their liberty.
5.
Hereupon Lysias was
confounded at the defeat of the army which he had sent, and the next
year he got together sixty-thousand chosen men. He
also took five thousand horsemen, and fell upon Judea; and he went
up to the hill country of Bethsur, a village of Judea, and pitched
his camp there, where Judas met him with ten thousand men; and when
he saw the great number of his enemies, he prayed to God that he would
assist him, and joined battle with the first of the enemy that appeared,
and beat them, and slew about five thousand of them, and thereby the
battle became terrible to the rest of them. Nay,
indeed, Lysias observing the great spirit of the Jews, how they were
prepared to die rather than lose their liberty, and being afraid of
their desperate way of fighting, as if it were real strength, he took
the rest of the army back with him, and returned to Antioch, where
he enlisted foreigners into the service, and prepared to fall upon
Judea with a greater army [boy these stupid pagans just don't learn,
do they?]."
THE
FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS--WHERE IT CAME FROM
6.
"When, therefore,
the generals of Antiochus's armies had been beaten so often, Judas
assembled the people together, and told them, that after these many
victories which God had given them, they ought to go up to Jerusalem,
and purify the temple, and offer the appointed sacrifices. But
as soon as he, with the whole multitude, was come to Jerusalem, and
found the temple deserted, and its gates burnt down, and plants growing
in the temple of their own accord, on account of its desertion, he
and those that were with him began to lament, and were quite confounded
at the sight of the temple; so he chose out some of his soldiers, and
gave them order to fight against those guards that were in the citadel,
until he should have purified the temple. When,
therefore, he had carefully purged it, and had brought in new vessels, the candlestick [menorah], the table [of shewbread,] and the altar
[of incense,] which were made of gold, he hung up the veils at the
gates, and added doors to them. He
also took down the altar [of burnt offering,] and built a new one of
stones that he gathered together, and not of such as were hewn with
iron tools. So on
the five and twentieth day of the month of Casleu, which the Macedonians
call Appelleus, they lighted the lamps that were on the candlestick,
and offered incense upon the altar [of incense,] and laid the loaves
upon the table [of shewbread,] and offered burnt offerings upon the
new altar [of burnt offering.] Now
it so fell out, that these things were done on the very same day on
which their divine worship had fallen off, and was reduced to profane
and common use, after three years' time; for so it was, that the temple
was made desolate by Antiochus, and so continued for three years. This
desolation happened to the temple in the hundred forty and fifth year,
on the twenty-fifth day of the month Appelleus, and on the hundred
and fifty-third olympiad; but it was dedicated anew, on the same day,
the twenty-fifth of the month Appelleus, in hundred and forty-eighth
year, on the hundred and fifty-fourth olympiad. And this desolation came to
pass according to the prophecy of Daniel, which was given four hundred
and eight years before; for he declared that the Macedonians would
dissolve that worship [for some] time. [There
was no doubt as to when Daniel 11 was written in Josephus’s mind! I
wonder what Amillennialists find so hard about believing a respected
historian from the first century (far closer to the event than we are)?]
7.
Now Judas celebrated the festival of the restoration of
the sacrifices of the temple for eight days; and omitted no sort of
pleasures thereupon; but he feasted them upon very rich and splendid
sacrifices; and he honoured 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 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. Judas also
rebuilt the walls round about the city, and reared towers of great
height against the incursions of enemies, and set guards therein. He
also fortified the city Bethsura, that it might serve as a citadel
against any distresses that might come from our enemies."
That's the background
history of the Festival of Lights, which the Jews call Hanukkah,
as accurately told by the Jewish historian Josephus. As brought out before, the Messiah, Yeshua,
Jesus, could not have gone through the special dedication ceremonies
specified for a Jewish male newborn. Without
following the Mosaic Law of God to the letter, he could not have
been sinless, and his sacrifice for the sins of the world would
have been in vain. Luke 2:21-24-32, "And when eight days were
accomplished for the circumcision of the child, his name was called
JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived
in the womb. And
when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses
were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him
to the Lord; (As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male
that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;) and to
offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of
the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons. And, behold, there was a man in
In spite of the archaic language of Josephus, I think the power of God's divine providence and protection shine through, a power bestowed on Judas Maccabeus so he could fulfill a special mission from God, in preparation for the coming Messiah as Jesus, Yeshua of Nazareth. No, there could have been no Christmas without Hanukkah. If you've read about any of the battles of Jonathan or David against their enemies in the Old Testament, you will recognize God's divine hand in the life of Judas Maccabee, and his father Mattathias.
As we have seen,
Antiochus Epiphanes IV tried to end the religion of the Jews--pure
biblical Judaism--before it was corrupted by the Jewish leaders
under the yoke of the Roman government of Yeshua’s time. Satan through Antiochus IV tried to destroy
the line Yeshua was to be born into and through. Next we’ll look at some information that has
fueled an ongoing controversy, the time of Jesus’ birth. Also we’ll look at the Festival of Lights and
how it ties into the timing of Yeshua’s
miraculous conception. The
following article is written from a non-confrontational point of
view, merely meant to convey the facts as only Jews knowledgeable
in temple detail and timing of priestly duty cycles can best understand,
a paradigm of understanding often overlooked by other Christian
historians.
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