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Scripture Studies

13 Ways Hanukkah Is Different from Christmas

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Hanukkah (a Hebrew word meaning “the Feast of Dedication” and also known as the Festival of Lights) is a minor holiday in Judaism and is only mentioned once in the Scriptures (John 10:22). It is the memorial of the cleansing of the temple in Jerusalem after the pagan Greeks had defiled it with idols. There is no scriptural command to celebrate it. There is no indication that Yeshua or the early disciples celebrated it, although John in his Gospel mentions that Yeshua happened be at the temple during this holiday. Nevertheless, Hanukkah as great positive spiritual ramifications.

Although Hanukkah and Christmas occur in the same month, they are totally different from each other. Hanukkah is not a replacement for Christmas for those who have discovered the pagan origins and unbiblical nature of Christmas. Here are several ways how these two holidays differ.

  • Hanukkah is about staying pure from and resisting unbiblical pagan practices and defilement. The Catholic Church invented Christmas as a blend of biblical and pagan themes as an evangelistic tool to woo the pagans into Christianity. This is not how the Bible teaches that evangelism should be done! The gospel is to be preached and the pagans are to repent of their sin. The saints aren’t to become like the pagan sinners to win them to Messiah. Hanukkah, on the other hand, was intended to keep YHVH’s people separated from paganism, so they could remain true to biblical truth.
  • Hanukkah celebrated the cleansing of the temple from the defilement of pagan practices. Christmas involves bringing pagan defilement into the church. It is the corrupting of the church. Hanukkah was about purifying the temple of Elohim. The Bible teaches that the saint are now YHVH’s spiritual temple and we are to keep our temple pure and undefiled from the corruption of the world (1 Cor 2:16–17).
  • Hanukkah is mentioned in the Bible (John 10:22); Christmas is not. It is true that the birth of Yeshua is well documented in the Gospels, but there is no command to celebrate his birthday. Instead, YHVH gave his saints the weekly Sabbath and seven biblical festivals to celebrate (see Lev 23). Christmas is not one of these commanded biblical holidays. To observe Christmas and to not observe the Sabbath and biblical feasts, which YHVH commands is people to do is, by biblical definition, sin, for sin is the violation of the laws or commandments of Elohim (1 John 3:4). 
  • Hanukkah was birthed out of spiritual revival (rejection of unbiblical pagan practices). Christmas was born out of spiritual apostasy (becoming like the pagans to “win them to Christ”).
  • Originally Hanukkah didn’t involve giving gifts. This is a recent tradition to compete with the popularity of Christmas.
  • Originally Hanukkah didn’t involve putting up Christmas-like lights. This too is a recent tradition to compete the popularity of Christmas and has nothing to do with theme of Hanukkah. At Hanukkah, one lights the hanukkiah or eight-branched candelabra only in honor of the temple’s menorah. The Christmas tradition of putting up lights goes back to the ancient Roman festival of Saturnalia where the pagans lit candles in honor of their demonic sun god. This has nothing to do with Yeshua, and everything to do with paganism.
  • Hanukkah doesn’t have the blatant ancient pagan sex worship symbols that Christmas has (the Christmas tree, the red ball-shaped Christmas tree ornaments, wreath, mistletoe, holly, Christmas lights, giving gifts et al), which come from the pagan demon-worship rituals of the Druids, the Scandinavians, and Germans, the Romans, the Greeks, the Babylonians, the Canaanites and the Egyptians.
  • Hanukkah never involved putting up a tree or a bush and decorating it with lights as Christmas does. The Christmas tree tradition is purely pagan in origination and has nothing to do with the Bible, except for the fact that the Bible identifies this practice as rooted in ancient pagan customs that YHVH’s people are NOT to do (Jer 10:1–5).
  • Hanukkah is about the survival of a small remnant of Jewish people desiring to remain true to their biblical faith against overwhelming odds. Christmas came about through compromising biblical truth in an attempt to come up with a way to placate the heathen masses who couldn’t let go of their idolatrous and unbiblical traditions. Hanukkah commemorates how the Jews were trying to keep the flame of truth alive against all odds, while Christmas is about diluting and profaning the truth of Yeshua’s birth with pagan customs, and then moving the time of his birth from the fall to the time of the winter solstice when the heathens were honoring their demonic sun deity.
  • At Hanukkah, children and adults play the dreidel game, which was how the Jews surreptitiously studied the Torah (the Law of Moses) when the heathens ruling over their land forbad it. The Torah teaches us about the YHVH’s seven biblical feasts. Christmas (and the other non-biblical Christian holidays) is religion’s attempt to draw people away from the Word of Elohim and replace it with man-made, pagan-based traditions that make the Word of Elohim of none-effect. This is something that Yeshua condemned (Mark 7:8–9; Matt 15:6).
  • Hanukkah is a minor Jewish holiday, while Christmas is the major Christian holiday of the year. The holidays that the Bible considers to be major, which YHVH commands his people to celebrate are the weekly Sabbath, Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, the Day of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, the Feast of Tabernacles and the Eighth Day.
  • Christians have two major (non-biblical) holidays they celebrate each year: Christmas and Easter. Those who follow the Bible celebrate seven major holidays or festivals as listed in Leviticus 23, and Hanukkah isn’t one of them. Clearly the Bible has more to offer in terms of exciting holidays and spiritually significant and meaningful celebrations than does mainstream Christianity with its non-biblical, man-made and pagan-based holiday traditions. Besides, the seven biblical holidays depict the seven steps one must take to obtain the free gift of immortality. Wow! No pagan-based Christian holidays can beat this!
  • In a certain sense, Hanukkah trumps Christmas, since without Hanukkah there would be no Christmas. How is this? Hanukkah celebrates the victory and preservation of the Jewish people in the land of Israel over their pagan Greek rulers who were trying to exterminate not only them, but their biblical based religion along with YHVH’s Torah. If it had not been for this remnant band of Jewish diehards (some of whom died for their faith in the struggle), not only would the Jewish faith in the land of Israel have been stamped out, but likely the Jewish people would have ceased to exist either through genocide or forced assimilation with the pagans around them. Had this happened, how would the Messiah have been born in the land of Israel about 140 years later, which Christmas celebrates? There would have been no Jewish culture for the Messiah to be born into, and it’s possible that his ancestors would have been killed in a Jewish holocaust as well.
 

The Hidden Truth Behind Hanukkah and Yeshua’s Incarnation

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To the casual observer, Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday that occurs around Christmas-time and has something to do with lighting a menorah-like candelabra, and somehow relates to some important event that occurred a long time ago in Jewish history. Some Bible teachers even claim that Hanukkah is pagan-based holiday that in some way honors the demonic sun god of antiquity. But as we shall see below, there is a hidden truth behind the Hanukkah holiday that the devil doesn’t want people to know about. In fact, by the end of this study, you will hopefully see that Hanukkah celebrates the truth of the Messiah’s incarnation better than Christmas ever did and minus all the pagan trappings. You’ve probably never heard this before and wonder how this could be, so read on.

Anyone who has barely scratched the surface of the historical origins of Christmas’ realizes that they are profane and unbiblical. Christmas is the Christianization of some vile pagan traditions based on celebrating the winter solstice in honor of the demonic sun god through lewd and drunken, orgiastic and satanic rituals. Though the tradition of the Christmas tree came later, it is rooted in pre-Christian sex worship rituals that come straight out of demonic sun god worship, and is something that the Bible in many places condemns and forbids the saints from practicing. 

Hanukkah, on the other hand, doesn’t share Christmas’ pagan origins. Rather, this holiday links back directly to one of YHVH’s seven commanded biblical festivals. Though Hanukkah isn’t a commanded biblical holiday, and is of man’s creation, it still has prophetic implications that are worth noting. What’s more, it doesn’t carry the pagan baggage the Christian holidays like Christmas, Easter, Lent, All Saints Day (i.e. Halloween) and the others all do.

In our study of the origins of Hanukkah, let’s first demonstrate that a correlative link exists between the biblical fall festival of Sukkot or the Feast of Tabernacles (Lev 23:33–43) and Hanukkah. How is this? Interestingly, both Hanukkah and Sukkot along with the Eighth Day last for eight days. According to the intertestamental book of Maccabees, Hanukkah was a second, belated Feast of Tabernacles (Heb. Sukkot and the Eighth Day (Heb. Shemini Atzeret; see 1 Macc 4:44–59; 2 Macc 1:7–9; 10:1–8). After the Jews defeated the Greeks’ attempt to destroy Judaism and the Jewish people, the Jews had to cleanse and reconsecrate their temple from pagan defilement before again worshipping YHVH there. The temple wasn’t ready to be rededicated at the biblically prescribed time of Sukkot in the seventh month of the biblical calendar (in September/October), which is when Solomon dedicated the first temple (2 Chr 5:3; 7:8–9). Instead, the Jews rededicated the cleansed temple roughly two months later in the ninth month (in December), and they celebrated a belated or second Sukkot roughly two months later after the temple was finally cleansed. 

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What happens to you when you die?

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Mark 12:27, The Elohim of the living. Some people have used this passage in an attempt to prove the immortality of the soul—that when a person dies, their soul immediately leaves their body and goes to heaven. After all, if Elohim is the God of the living, not of the dead then this must mean that the patriarchs are still be alive—in heaven. What is the real truth behind this verse from a whole Bible perspective?

This verse can actually be explained in several ways without subscribing to the non-biblical, non-Hebraic, pagan concept of the immortality of the soul. 

In truth, the Bible clearly teaches that the soul that sins dies (Ezek 18:4); it doesn’t go to heaven. When we understand what the soul really is from a biblical perspective, we will see that it is a man’s soul (his mind, will and emotions) that sins, for out of the heart proceeds all sorts of evil things (Matt 15:19), and the heart of man is desperately wicked (Jer 17:9). Because a man sins through his soul, this is why Yeshua’s sinless soul had to become an offering for man’s sin (Isa 53:10). 

Moreover, when Yeshua died, his body and soul went into the grave, and his spirit went to heaven (Luke 23:46). The same thing happens to a man when he dies, except that those who have died in Messiah are awaiting the resurrection of their bodies at the second coming of Yeshua (1 Thess 4:16) where their spirits will be rejoined with their resurrected souls and bodies. Therefore, when Yeshua states that YHVH isn’t the Elohim of the dead, but the living, he could have meant that in the mind of Elohim, a righteous person isn’t technically dead, since his name is written in the Book of Life and legally he has inherited eternal life, and the body and soul are merely sleeping in the grave awaiting the resurrection. 

What happens to our spirit when we die? After all, the Bible teaches that human’s are composed of spirit, soul and body (1 Thess 5:23)?

When a person dies, their spirit goes to heaven, even as Yeshua’s spirit did (Eccl 12:7; Acts 7:59; Luke 23:46). Now whether or not one’s spirit is conscious when it is in heaven, the Scriptures don’t say. So we won’s speculate about this.

So what is Elohim’s perspective on the death of a saint? Simply this. Even though a person may be physically dead or “sleeping” in the grave (in numerous places, the Scriptures call death “sleep”) for years, in the mind of Elohim, which isn’t bound by the limitations of time, and where a thousands years is like a day and vice versa, when a righteous person dies, to Elohim that person is still alive, for his name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, and he will be resurrected the next day, so to speak. Moreover, a person’s spirit waits in heaven to be reunited with their physical body at the resurrection of the saints at Yeshua’s second coming.

By viewing Yeshua’s statement in Mark 12:27 from this more expanded, whole Bible, Hebraic perspective, we are able to reconcile the Bible’s various statements about what happens to a person after they die without having to interject into Scripture the unbiblical and pagan concept of the immortality of the soul. 

 

What can we learn from Yeshua’s involvement with money?

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Mark 12:15, Bring me a denarius.Yeshua was totally disinterested with, unaffected by and uninvolved with money.  Money didn’t have a control over him in the least.

In fact, when people donated money to his ministry, there is no record that it even touched his hands. Someone else carried his money for him or handled his financial affairs (John 12:6; 13:9). 

Moreover, when Yeshua needed some money, even for illustration purposes, he wasn’t able just to whip a coin out of his pocket. Rather, he had to find a coin elsewhere. In this case, he asked someone in the crowd for a coin. When he needed to pay the temple tax, he found a coin in a fish’s mouth (Matt 17:24–27). 

What can we learn from our Savior’s attitude toward money?

Yeshua’s approach to money is rare among Bible-preaching ministers today. The lesson here is that those in the ministry should care nothing about money, nor should they be involved in ministry money matters. Others should handle the financial affairs of the ministry. A man (or woman) of Elohim should only be concerned about preaching the gospel.

 

Joseph—A Profile in Courage and Faith

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Do you think that things are going badly for you in your life? Take heart. The Bible is full of encouraging stories of faith of people going through circumstances often much worse than what we have encountered, but who overcame their circumstances and prevailed because of their faith in Elohim. Yes, it is true that some people died for their faith, but because of their faith in YHVH-Yeshua and the promises of Elohim, they have waiting for them resurrection into eternal life and the glorious heavenly rewards that will accompany that life.

Genesis 41:9–10, The chief butler spoke. Here the chief butler is recounting the events to Pharaoh of how he ended up in prison as if Pharaoh weren’t aware of these facts. It is quite possible that this was a new Pharaoh, and the Pharaoh who had put the butler in prison was now dead. If so, then this new Pharaoh was very young, since in Genesis 45:8 Joseph, who by now would have been at least in his late 30s, refers to himself as “a father to Pharaoh.”

YHVH’s timing is perfect. Do you have the trust in YHVH to believe that for your life? Had the chief butler remembered Joseph prior to this how would things have been different for Joseph? Would he have had the chance to interpret Pharaoh’s dream? Would he have returned to Canaan? How would the history of the nation of Israel been different? Would YHVH’s purposes have been fulfilled?

Genesis 41:16, Elohim. By this time, Joseph had endured multiple false accusations, murder attempts, enslavement and imprisonment on false charges. A man of lesser spiritual stature than Joseph might have lost his faith in Elohim along the way. What can we learn from Joseph?

In this verse, what is the evidence that he hadn’t given up hope in his Heavenly Father, and that he had not lost sight of the dreams and promises that YHVH had made to him many years earlier? Simply this. Even though Joseph was standing before a king who had the power of life and death over him, he still had faith that Elohim would give him the interpretation to the king’s dream. Not only did Joseph believe this, but openly declared his faith to Pharaoh. 

As a form of witnessing to those around you, do you give honor to YHVH whenever you can—even to strangers and potential enemies as Joseph did? 

The fact that Joseph was able to proclaim his faith in Elohim in front of one of the most powerful monarchs of his day is evidence of his strong and abiding faith in and fear of YHVH even in spite of years of mistreatment and false accusations. Joseph is a powerful and encouraging example to the down-trodden saints of the world, who have been persecuted for the their faith. Joseph is proof that it is possible to maintain faith in YHVH even in spite of dire, even life threatening circumstances.

 

Blog Scripture Readings for 12-22 Through 12-28-19

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Parashat Miketz — Genesis 41:1 – 44:17
Haftarah — 1 Kings 3:15 – 4:1 | Zech 2:14 – 4:7; Numbers 28:9-15**
Prophets — 1 Samuel 18:1 – 24:22
Writings — Psalms 70:1 – 76:12
Testimony — Mark 11:19 – 14:52

Our new annual Scripture Reading Schedule for 2019-2020 with daily readings is available to download and print. If you are still working through 2018-2019’s Scripture Reading Schedule, the link will still be available on the right sidebar under “Helpful Links”. If you are using a mobile device or tablet, the link may be below, meaning you’ll need to scroll down instead.

Most of this week’s blog discussion points will be on these passages. If you have general comments or questions on the weekly Scripture readings not addressed in a blog post, here’s a place for you to post those. Just use the “leave a reply” link or the “share your thoughts” box below.

The full “Read Through The Scriptures In A Year” schedule, broken down by each day, can be found on the right sidebar under “Helpful Links.” There are 4 sections of scripture to read each day: one each from the Torah, the Prophets, the Writings, and from the Testimony of Yeshua. Each week, the Torah and haftarah readings will follow the traditional one-year reading cycle.

** A different Haftarah is read when it is a special sabbath in Jewish tradition. This week it is Shabbat Rosh Chodesh Chanukah on the traditional calendar with Zech 2:14 – 4:7 and special reading Numbers 28:9-15. Otherwise, 1 Kings 3:15 – 4:1 would be read.

Weekly Blog Scripture Readings for 12/22/19 through 12/28/19.

 

25 Reasons I Don’t Celebrate Christmas

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1—Christmas is not the day on which Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) was born. He was likely born in the autumn during the biblical Feast of Tabernacles. In ancient times, December 25 was considered the birthday of the demon-sun god by many heathen religions. This was definitely not the birthday of Yeshua!

2—There’s no biblical command to celebrate Christmas.

3—Christmas has become a pagan substitution for YHVH’s true biblical holidays or festivals, which are listed in Leviticus 23. These are the same biblical festivals that Yeshua and his apostles celebrated. They never celebrated the Messiah’s birth.

4—Christmas is the Christianization of various ancient pagan sun god, sex-worship rituals having to do with the winter solstice. “Cleaning up” a pagan custom is contrary to the biblical truth of turning away from the practices of the heathen and having nothing to do with them after one chooses to follow Elohim and his Word as found in the Bible.

5—Christmas is laced with heathen and Satanic rituals and traditions. These are things the saints should have nothing to do with!

6—The Bible forbids placing any trees or tree-like objects near an altar (or in a church building), since this is a heathen practice (Deut 16:21).  Most Christians violate this command when they place Christmas trees in their church sanctuaries near their altars every year at Christmas.

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