Lessons from the Feast of Dedication

Biblical Life eJournal – News You Can Use
12/03/2007

1. Lessons from the Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah)

The average Christian will look at the Feast of Dedication and wonder if there is any spiritual significance to it and whether it applies to them. I would like to try to answer those questions in this short article by examining this overlooked Feast.

Antiochus IV Epiphanes was one of the four generals under Alexander the Great. When Alexander died in Babylon from being poisoned, the four generals divided up his kingdom. As Antiochus moved toward Egypt, he conquered the small Southern Kingdom of Israel known as Judah. All of this happened between the Book of Malachi and the Book of Matthew (i.e. the the Intertestamental Period.)

On December 25, 168 B.C., Antiochus entered the Temple in Jerusalem, sacrificed a pig on the altar and erected a statue of Zeus on the high altar, which had his own face engraved upon it. (Poor self-image was not a problem that Antiochus suffered from!). This act stopped all service to God in the Temple. [It should also be noted that the birthday of Zeus was the Winter Solstice – December 25, as is the birthday of all sun gods within paganism. The Winter Solstice always fell on December 25 under the old Julian calendar. It was not until 1582, when the Catholic Church established the Gregorian calendar, that it began falling around the 21st.]

During his reign, Antiochus was known for killing children that had been circumcised and executing families that did not eat swine’s flesh. This reign of terror continued for three years. [With the atrocities that happened during this reign of terror, one can understand the great debate among Jewish believers in accepting Gentiles into the Church without being circumcised. ]

I believe that God anointed and rose up Judah Maccabee and his family as a literal hammer in the hand of God (Maccabee means hammer) to drive Antiochus and his army from Judah. The victory was complete and the cleansing of the Temple began December 25, 165 B.C. – exactly three years later. (I believe there is even spiritual significance in the time period of “three” years – Jesus was in the grave three days!)

The miracle of the Feast of Dedication was that when they started to dedicate the Temple and began service unto the Almighty, the Menorah was once again lit. There was only enough oil for one day, and it took about eight days to properly manufacture the oil. God supernaturally sustained the oil in the Menorah for eight days. This again has great spiritual and biblical significance since eight is the number for new beginnings and the new birth.

Here are some things about the Feast of Dedication that relate to Jesus:

1. If the Maccabees had not exiled Antiochus from Judah and rededicated the Temple, Jesus would not have been able to minister in the Temple, nor would He have been able to be our Passover Lamb.

2. If you consider the following events in the Word of God, Jesus’ birth is calculated to be during the Feast of Dedication:

a. Zacharias (of the division of Aviyah) was serving in the Temple in the 4th month.

b. Gabriel appears to Zacharias and tells him that Elizabeth will bear him a son (John).

c. At the end of the 4th month, Zacharias returns home, and Elizabeth immediately conceives.

d. John is born 9 months later during the month of Nisan (March/April).

e. During the 6th month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, Mary is told she is going to bear a son and conceives Jesus by the Holy Spirit.

f. John was born 3 months later (Nisan – March/April) when Mary was in her 3d month.

g. Jesus is then born 6 months after the birth of John in September or October. This would be biblically and spiritually appropriate. Jesus was conceived during the Feast of Dedication (or Feast of Lights) – the Light of the World came into the World. Then Jesus was born during the Feast of Tabernacles – God has come to tabernacle with us.

3. Jesus celebrated the Feast of Dedication and also used the Feast to announce that He was the Light of the World.

What I feel that God is speaking during this Feast of Dedication:

Antiochus is a type and shadow of the world system. This system has defiled much within the Body of Christ and has erected things within all of our lives that are not of God and are hindering us from offering true spiritual service to Almighty God. The eight days of the Feast of Dedication need to be a time that we, like the Maccabees of old, become a hammer in the hand of a holy God to eradicate those things that do not belong in our lives and are hindering our service to Him.

In our own congregation, I have anointed and commissioned every male to rise up in the power and anointing of the Holy Spirit to pray over and dedicate his household to the service of Messiah. Yes, it is a time of celebration, but it is also a time of renewal, spiritual warfare, and bringing divine order to our homes for the year to come.

The Feast of Dedication begins at sundown on Tuesday, December 4. Invest in yourself and in your family by spending special times in prayer for yourself, your family, your ministry and your community. Anoint each member of your family; pray that divine order would be established and that their divine destinies would be released. Do this every day for eight days and let God establish a new beginning for you, your family and your ministry. Keep a journal of the things that the Holy Spirit shows you during this time and make sure that you follow up on each of them! It takes dedication and determination to come into divine order and to maintain it in your life. The world does not want you to move to this new level, and it will do all it can to stop or distract you! The blessings and victories of this new level are worth every minute of warfare required to establish them!

The staff and faculty of Biblical Life pray that you and your family will have a joyous Feast of Dedication.

2. Feast of Dedication Sermon Available for Download

You can download the message I ministered on the Feast of Dedication at our Church website in MP3 format:

http://www.biblicallifeassembly.org/library3.htm

3. The November Tuition Special Extended to December 19!

We know that as many begin to establish divine order in their lives that continuing their education with Biblical Life will be a vital part of it. We are therefore extending the matching funds offer and the discount under Plan C through December 19; so you still have time to take advantage of this great offer!

http://www.biblical-life.com/tuition_special.htm

4. Winter Break is Quickly Approaching

Our offices will be closed from December 20 through January 1. This is the time that we take to rest and seek the Lord for the upcoming year. This next year will be a year of establishing divine order, walking in the Kingdom of God at a new level and seeing a new beginning in many areas. We want to make sure you are right on target with the Lord and have taken the time to clearly hear His voice for the upcoming year!

Our offices will reopen at 9:00am on January 2, 2008.

======================================================================
The Biblical Life eJournals include news, special offers, teaching articles, access to free books in PDF format and free teachings in MP3 format. It is provided free to our students, graduates and friends. If you know someone that would like to receive our eJournal, have them e-mail us at blnews@fidmail.com and type “subscribe” in the subject line. We would be more than happy to include them in our mailings.

If for some reason you will like to be dropped from the list, simply e-mail us at blnews@fidmail.com and type “unsubscribe” in the subject line.

Remember, to successfully subscribe or unsubscribe, you need to send it directly for the e-mail address you want to use.

=================================================
Biblical Life College & Seminary (www.biblical-life.com)
Biblical Life Assembly (www.biblicallifeassembly.org)
P.O. Box 588, Marshfield, MO 65706
Dr. Michael K. Lake, Chancellor – drlake@centurytel.net
=================================================