Hanukkah and the Great Tribulation

 In the Gospel of John, we discover the following detail during Jesus’ ministry: “Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon’s porch” (John 10:22-23).

In Hebrew, “dedication” is hanukkah (Strong’s # H2598), which appears several times in the Old Testament. For instance, when Moses dedicated the altar in the tabernacle, the word used for that dedication was hanukkah (Num. 7:10, 11, 84, 88). Again, Solomon’s dedication of the altar in the temple was a hanukkah (2 Chron. 7:9). Both dedications lasted seven days as God commanded (Ex. 29:37).

The New Testament, of course, was preserved in Greek rather than Hebrew. But among the Jews of Jesus’ day, this would have been called the Feast of Hanukkah, it was at the temple, and it was in winter. To this day, the Jewish celebration of Hanukkah is in winter.

So what is Hanukkah? Where did it come from? It isn’t among God’s commanded Holy Days, but is it okay for us to celebrate anyway? Let’s take a look. The story is a fascinating one, with implications for the last days before Christ’s return!

A Little Background

The Old Testament ended sometime in the 5th century BC, and the last events recorded were those in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. The New Testament began around 6 or 7 BC, when the angel Gabriel appeared to Zacharias and foretold the birth of John the Baptist, and then later to Mary and foretold the birth of Jesus Christ.

So between the Old and New Testaments, there’s a gap of more than 400 years. Empires rose and fell, wars were fought, and the Promised Land passed from one kingdom to another and another. But all these events were prophesied in the Old Testament, especially in the Book of Daniel.

In chapters 2, 7, and 8, the Book of Daniel prophesied the fall of Babylon and the rise of the Medo-Persian Empire, events which the prophet himself later witnessed. Afterward, it was prophesied that Persia would attempt to conquer Greece and fail (Dan. 11:2). Then, in time, a mighty king would arise in Greece and conquer the Medo-Persian Empire. The Jewish historian Josephus wrote that when Alexander the Great arrived at Jerusalem during his conquest of the Medo-Persian Empire, the high priest showed him Daniel’s prophecies: “And when the Book of Daniel was showed him wherein Daniel declared that one of the Greeks should destroy the empire of the Persians, he supposed that himself was the person intended” (Antiquities of the Jews 11:8:5).

But Alexander died soon after completing his conquest, as also foretold in Daniel 8 and 11. His generals fought over his dominions, with two becoming strong: Ptolemy in Egypt and Seleucus in Syria and Babylon. They and their heirs would fight over the Promised Land for many decades, as Daniel 11 prophesied in detail. In Daniel, the Ptolemies are described as kings of the south, and the Seleucids as kings of the north.

Finally, in 175 BC, a king came to power in the Seleucid Empire, “a vile person, to whom they will not give the honor of royalty; but he shall come in peaceably, and seize the kingdom by intrigue” (Dan. 11:21). History reveals this man to have been Antiochus IV, also called Epiphanes, or “God Manifest.” And here’s where our story truly begins.

A Vile Person

The big events of Antiochus’s reign were prophesied in the Book of Daniel. To see the fulfillment of those prophecies, one must turn to history, especially 1 Maccabees and the writings of Josephus.

It’s important to remember that although 1 Maccabees has appeared in many Bibles, it isn’t Holy Scripture, nor did its anonymous author(s) claim it to be. On the contrary, 1 Mac. 9:27 notes that prophets had long since ceased to appear among the people. The book is simply a historical record. Daniel foretold the events; 1 Maccabees describes how they happened.

Daniel 11 prophesied that the king whom we know as Antiochus would make a league with those who forsook Almighty God and reward them with gifts. “And after the league is made with him he shall act deceitfully, for he shall come up and become strong with a small number of people. He shall enter peaceably, even into the richest places of the province; and he shall do what his fathers have not done, nor his forefathers: he shall disperse among them the plunder, spoil, and riches” (Dan. 11:23-24). Again, “Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery” (Dan. 11:32).

1 Maccabees records, “In those days lawless men came forth from Israel, and misled many, saying, ‘Let us go and make a covenant with the Gentiles round about us, for since we separated from them many evils have come upon us’” (1 Mac. 1:11; RSV). In other words, “Let us be like all the nations around us.” How often the ancient Israelites had done this very thing!

The account continues, “Some of the people eagerly went to the king. He authorized them to observe the ordinances of the Gentiles. So they built a gymnasium in Jerusalem, according to Gentile custom, and removed the marks of circumcision, and abandoned the holy covenant. They joined with the Gentiles and sold themselves to do evil” (1 Mac. 1:13-15).

After this, Daniel foretold that Antiochus would invade the Ptolemaic kingdom of Egypt and defeat the Egyptian armies, which indeed happened from 170-169 BC. After reaching a peace agreement, Antiochus returned home, passing through the land of Judah. “While returning to his land with great riches, his heart shall be moved against the holy covenant; so he shall do damage and return to his own land” (Dan. 11:28).

Josephus and 1 Maccabees describe the same events, though they differ somewhat in details. 1 Maccabees says that Antiochus and his army entered the temple in Jerusalem and plundered it of all the treasures they could find, including the golden lampstand and the golden altar (1 Mac. 1:21-22). Josephus says that Antiochus plundered Jerusalem and massacred some of the people, but records the plundering of the temple happening on a later expedition (Antiquities of the Jews 12:5:3).

The following year, in 168 BC, Antiochus renewed his war with the Ptolemies in Egypt, as the Book of Daniel had prophesied nearly 400 years earlier. “At the appointed time he shall return and go toward the south; but it shall not be like the former or the latter. For ships from Cyprus shall come against him; therefore he shall be grieved, and return in rage against the holy covenant, and do damage. So he shall return and show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant” (Dan. 11:29-30).

The “ships from Cyprus” represented the intervention of Rome, for Rome was allied with Egypt. Upon entering Egypt, Antiochus and his army encountered one, lone Roman ambassador, an old man. The ambassador warned Antiochus that, should he proceed, he would find himself at war with Rome as well as Egypt. The king replied that he would have to discuss the matter with his war council. But the ambassador, perhaps aware of Antiochus’s reputation for cunning and deceit, drew a circle in the sand around the king and advised him to decide for peace or war before stepping out of it. Knowing he couldn’t fight both Rome and Egypt, the king agreed to withdraw.

Enraged and humiliated, Antiochus returned home through the land of Judea again and vented his anger on the inhabitants. This time, Josephus records that Antiochus entered Jerusalem by pretending to be at peace, and then pillaged both the temple and the whole city. He burned many of the buildings, massacred some of the inhabitants, and carried away ten thousand more as captives (Antiq. 12:5:4).

War Against the Covenant

In addition to all this, the Book of Daniel prophesied that Antiochus would wage war on God’s people:

31 “And forces shall be mustered by him, and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress; then they shall take away the daily sacrifices, and place there the abomination of desolation.

32 “Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.

33 “And those of the people who understand shall instruct many; yet for many days they shall fall by sword and flame, by captivity and plundering.” (Dan. 11:31-33.)

And so it was. Both Josephus and 1 Maccabees record that Antiochus halted the daily sacrifices at God’s temple. He also set up an idol of Zeus in the temple and defiled the altar by offering swine on it. Josephus records that all this happened on the 25th day of Kislev, the ninth month of the Hebrew calendar (Antiq. 12:5:4). The year was 167 BC.

Not content with this either, the king ordered the Jews to forsake Almighty God and to worship the Greek gods, decreeing death for all who refused. He further prohibited circumcision and banned the books of the Bible. To enforce his edicts, Antiochus placed a garrison in Jerusalem and sent officers throughout the land of Judea. We’re told, “They also built altars in the surrounding cities of Judah, and burned incense at the doors of the houses and in the streets. The books of the law which they found they tore to pieces and burned with fire. Where the book of the covenant was found in the possession of any one, or if any one adhered to the law, the decree of the king condemned him to death” (1 Mac. 1:54-57).

Josephus wrote,

And indeed many Jews there were who complied with the king's 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 were 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. (Antiq. 12:5:4.)

When faced with death, God’s true servants held fast to Him. As God’s people have done throughout history, “they did not love their lives to the death” (Rev. 12:11), but said, “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).

But this wouldn’t be the end of the story. Though many perished, God would also deliver His people. And when deliverance came, God brought it through the Levitical priesthood.

Strength and Action

Daniel 11 prophesied, “The people who know their God will display strength and take action. Those who have insight among the people will give understanding to the many” (Dan. 11:32-33; NASB). Here’s how it happened.

The second chapter of 1 Maccabees begins, “In those days Mattathi′as the son of John, son of Sim′eon, a priest of the sons of Jo′arib, moved from Jerusalem and settled in Mo′de-in. He had five sons, John surnamed Gaddi, Simon called Thassi, Judas called Maccabe′us, Elea′zar called Av′aran, and Jonathan called Apphus” (1 Mac. 2:1-5).

When the king’s soldiers came to Modin to impose pagan worship, they tried to persuade Mattathias to be the first to offer sacrifice. But he replied, “Even if all the nations that live under the rule of the king obey him, and have chosen to do his commandments, departing each one from the religion of his fathers, yet I and my sons and my brothers will live by the covenant of our fathers. Far be it from us to desert the law and the ordinances. We will not obey the king’s words by turning aside from our religion to the right hand or to the left” (1 Mac. 2:19-22).

As soon as Mattathias had finished speaking, another “Jew came forward in the sight of all to offer sacrifice upon the altar in Mo′de-in, according to the king’s command” (1 Mac. 2:23). Do you remember the Baal Peor episode in Numbers 25, when an Israelite idolator flaunted a pagan woman “in the sight of Moses and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel” (Num. 25:6)? On that occasion, Phinehas the priest killed the idolater and his lover with a spear.

Mattathias’s reaction to this idolater echoed Phinehas’s. “When Mattathi′as saw it, he burned with zeal and his heart was stirred. He gave vent to righteous anger; he ran and killed him upon the altar. At the same time he killed the king’s officer who was forcing them to sacrifice, and he tore down the altar. Thus he burned with zeal for the law, as Phin′ehas did against Zimri the son of Salu” (1 Mac. 2:24-26).

After this, we’re told, “Then Mattathi′as cried out in the city with a loud voice, saying: ‘Let every one who is zealous for the law and supports the covenant come out with me!’ And he and his sons fled to the hills and left all that they had in the city” (1 Mac. 2:27-28).

Soon, many of the faithful flocked to Mattathias and his sons. “Then there united with them a company of Haside′ans, mighty warriors of Israel, every one who offered himself willingly for the law” (1 Mac. 2:42). Mattathias and his men then began to hunt down and kill the idolaters and to tear apart the idols and pagan altars.

Josephus records that after a year, Mattathias died (Antiq. 12:6:3). On his deathbed, he urged his sons to carry on the work he’d begun, and to his son Judas Maccabeus, he gave command of the army.

By this time, Antiochus’s officers had become aware of the activities of Mattathias and his sons, so they set out to crush the rebellion. The army of Judas seldom amounted to more than a few hundred or, at most, a few thousand men, many of them poorly equipped. But the Seleucids had many thousands of well-trained, professional soldiers at their disposal.

Again and again, though greatly outnumbered, Judas Maccabeus ambushed and routed the Seleucid forces. It should’ve been clear to all that God was with him, and that this was God’s doing. But the pagans wouldn’t back down so easily.

By this time, word had reached Antiochus himself. Enraged, he dispatched his general Lysias with an army of 47,000 men to crush the rebellion. Judas met them with an army of just 3,000 men. “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” (Josephus, Antiq. 12:7:4). Judas’s army surprised the Seleucids, drove them from the field, and burned their camp.

The following year, during 164 BC, Lysias once more took the field, this time with an army of 65,000 men. Judas mustered 10,000 men and set out to meet him. After praying to the God of their fathers for victory, Judas and his men joined battle with the Seleucids and routed them once more. Lysias withdrew from Judea to regroup.

With the Seleucids gone, even if only for the moment, an opportunity presented itself to Judas and his men. Josephus writes, “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” (Antiq. 12:7:6).

Rededication

Upon reaching the temple, Judas and his people discovered it to be woefully neglected. “And they saw the sanctuary desolate, the altar profaned, and the gates burned. In the courts they saw bushes sprung up as in a thicket, or as on one of the mountains. They saw also the chambers of the priests in ruins” (1 Mac. 4:38).

So Judas and his men cleansed the temple of debris and repaired the damage. They restored the order of the priesthood and made new furnishings for the temple. They brought a new lampstand, altar of incense, and table of showbread into the temple, and they also rebuilt and rededicated the altar of burnt offering.

Then, we’re told, “Early in the morning on the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month, which is the month of Chislev, in the one hundred and forty-eighth year [164 BC], they rose and offered sacrifice, as the law directs, on the new altar of burnt offering which they had built. At the very season and on the very day that the Gentiles had profaned it, it was dedicated with songs and harps and lutes and cymbals” (1 Mac. 4:52-54).

Three years after Antiochus defiled the temple and stopped the daily offerings, on that very same day, the daily offerings were restored. All this happened as the Book of Daniel had prophesied. As Josephus noted, “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]” (Antiq. 12:7:6).

Now, God had commanded Moses to dedicate the altar in the tabernacle for seven days: “Seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and sanctify it. And the altar shall be most holy. Whatever touches the altar must be holy” (Ex. 29:37). In obedience to God’s command, King Solomon likewise dedicated the altar in the temple for seven days, and afterward he and the people celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles and the Eighth Day for eight days (2 Chron. 7:8-9).

On a separate occasion, King Hezekiah had sanctified and repaired the temple in eight days. “So they sanctified the house of the LORD in eight days, and on the sixteenth day of the first month they finished” (2 Chron. 29:17).

So when Judas and his men rededicated the altar in the temple after Antiochus had profaned it, the law dictated that it must be dedicated for seven days. They decided to celebrate the dedication for eight days, one more than that required for dedication: “So they celebrated the dedication of the altar for eight days, and offered burnt offerings with gladness; they offered a sacrifice of deliverance and praise” (1 Mac. 4:56).

The book of 2 Maccabees, a historical work wholly independent of 1 Maccabees and authored by a different writer, suggests the following reason for celebrating eight days: “And they celebrated it for eight days with rejoicing, in the manner of the feast of booths, remembering how not long before, during the feast of booths, they had been wandering in the mountains and caves like wild animals. Therefore bearing ivy-wreathed wands and beautiful branches and also fronds of palm, they offered hymns of thanksgiving to him who had given success to the purifying of his own holy place” (2 Mac. 10:6-7).

It’s important to note that this wasn’t actually the Feast of Tabernacles; God never permitted any of His Holy Days to be observed two months or more late. Nor does it suggest that Judas and his followers had failed to observe the Feast, or that they substituted this feast instead. Rather, it may explain why they chose to celebrate eight days instead of seven. Still, this explanation and the accompanying details do not appear in either 1 Maccabees or in Josephus.

The Jews further established this as an annual feast to remember God’s deliverance. “Then Judas and his brothers and all the assembly of Israel determined that every year at that season the days of the dedication of the altar should be observed with gladness and joy for eight days, beginning with the twenty-fifth day of the month of Chislev” (1 Mac. 4:59).

Remember that, in Hebrew, “dedication” is hanukkah. And so this eight-day Feast of Dedication is called the Feast of Hanukkah. From that day until now, it has been celebrated for eight days, beginning on the 25th day of Kislev, the ninth month. This is a winter month, as Jer. 36:22 says. So when Jesus Christ went up to the temple during the Feast of Dedication in the winter, as John 10:22-23 records, it was this same Feast of Hanukkah. More on this in a moment.

For Judas Maccabeus and his men, often called Maccabees, more battles would remain. But around this time, during either 164 or 163 BC, Antiochus Epiphanes suddenly died, and his successors abandoned his religious persecutions. The daily offerings in the temple would continue for over 200 more years, until they ceased permanently when the Romans destroyed the temple in AD 70. This last event, of course, was foretold by Jesus Christ Himself in Matthew 24.

So what about the Feast of Hanukkah today?

Should We Celebrate?

Given that Jesus went up to the temple at the Feast of Dedication, along with many other Jews, should we celebrate it? Obviously, this isn’t one of God’s Holy Days or commanded feasts, so there’s no command for us to do so. But is it okay to do so? And if so, how should we do it?

To answer this, we’ll need to look at the holiday’s development over the centuries, and what it looks like today. In Jesus’ day, Hanukkah remained what it had always been: an eight-day celebration of God’s deliverance and the rededication of the temple and the altar. As such, festivities revolved around the temple itself.

With the destruction of the temple in AD 70, the focus of festivities ceased to exist. Accordingly, the Jewish rabbis began to add other traditions and customs to the celebration.

Chief among these is the “miracle of the oil.” According to legend, when the Maccabees arrived at the temple, they found only enough oil for the lampstand to remain lit for one day. But by a divine miracle, this oil lasted for all eight days. So the focus of Hanukkah shifted a bit, from the rededication of the temple and the restoration of the daily sacrifices, to a festival of oil and light. For this reason, many Jews today eat foods fried in oil, especially latkes (potato pancakes), during Hanukkah.

But this tale is not to be found in any contemporary sources. The books of Maccabees, written only a few decades after the Maccabean revolt, mention no such tale. Josephus, writing over 200 years later, likewise mentioned no such event. He observed that Hanukkah was often called “Lights,” but speculated that it was “because this liberty beyond our hopes appeared to us” (Antiq. 12:7:7). The earliest record of the supposed “miracle of the oil” is in the Talmud (Shabbat 21b), written over 300 years after the Maccabean revolt and the rededication of the temple.

So there is little, if any, evidence that the “miracle of the oil” ever happened. The original purpose of Hanukkah was instead to celebrate the rededication of the temple and its altar and the restoration of the daily sacrifices. These things were more in line with Scripture.

Today, religious Jews celebrate Hanukkah by lighting a special menorah with nine lights, reading traditional prayers, singing hymns, and reading psalms. Among Judaism at large, it’s also become traditional to eat foods made with oil and to give gifts.

Traditionally, Hanukkah was a minor holiday, seldom mentioned in the Talmud or by the Jewish sages. In a December 2017 article entitled “Hanukkah: The History and Traditions of the Festival of Lights,” National Geographic observed,

Although it is traditionally a fairly minor religious holiday, Hanukkah grew popular in the 20th century due to its proximity to Christmas. Hanukkah, writes Tatjana Lichtenstein, director of the Schusterman Center for Jewish Studies at The University of Texas at Austin, “offered an opportunity for Jews to participate in the holiday celebrations complete with gift-giving and merry-making without giving up their distinct religious and cultural identities.”

In fact, the modern Hanukkah celebrations seem to have borrowed as much from Christmas and other pagan holidays as possible. There are Christmas lights redubbed as Hanukkah lights, Hanukkah bushes instead of Christmas trees, Hanukkah songs, and Hanukkah gifts. The fixation on lights is also a pagan custom, as it has little or nothing to do with the original celebration and instead calls to mind the winter solstice celebrations of the pagans.

Most Jews do not celebrate God’s Holy Days or keep them holy, yet eagerly celebrate Hanukkah, precisely because of its close proximity to Christmas. For many, it has become “Jewish Christmas.” Even some “Christians” are happy to add Hanukkah to their holiday celebrations, while shunning God’s Holy Days.

God’s Word is clear about copying pagan customs:

29 “When the LORD your God cuts off from before you the nations which you go to dispossess, and you displace them and dwell in their land,

30 “take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.’

31 “You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way; for every abomination to the LORD which He hates they have done to their gods; for they burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.

32 “Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it.”

The abominations of Christmas are still abominations if borrowed for Hanukkah or any other holiday! Let no follower of Christ indulge in Hanukkah lights, Hanukkah bushes, or any other pagan traditions.

Beyond this, I would argue that the “miracle of the oil” is fiction and none of the traditions based on it ought to be observed. All these things are, quite frankly, baloney and “Jewish fables” (Tit. 1:14), and they distract from the original purpose. This is, of course, my opinion and not a proclamation of “thus saith the Lord.”

If one wishes merely to commemorate God’s deliverance, as Hanukkah was originally intended, then there would seem to be no harm in doing so. Personally, I like to take note of Hanukkah as it comes around each year and take that opportunity to remember God’s deliverance, but do not celebrate the holiday beyond this. To each his own.

Nevertheless, we must be careful to avoid pagan customs. The clash between God’s truth and paganism is, after all, what the holiday was originally all about! Let us never think to commemorate the sacrifice of those brave souls by embracing the paganism they so detested!

Concluding Thoughts

In closing, the original story of Hanukkah is a wonderful story of God’s deliverance and mercy, foretold in the Book of Daniel over 400 years before it happened. It is a story of zeal and devotion to God, a story of faith and perseverance in the face of persecution. These events also played a role in preparing the way for Jesus Christ, as many of the key events of His life and ministry happened in and around the temple.

And in the person of Antiochus Epiphanes and his war on God’s people, we can also see a preview of the end-time Antichrist and his persecutions, a preview of the Great Tribulation. As so many have before us, we may also one day face torture and death if we hold fast to God. But hold fast we must! In the end, there will once again be a deliverance, but a far greater one than ever before: the return of Jesus Christ!

But whether these things happen in our lifetimes or not, each of us often faces the choice of whether to follow God or this world. Whether to hold fast to His truth, or to compromise. Let us always choose Him, whatever the consequences may be.