Chanukah

Chanukah - Messiah In.pdf

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Chanukah - 2 Maccabees.pdf

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CHANUKAH 221123.pdf

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Chanukah

The story of Joseph and Chanukah have always been viewed as speaking of the Messiah and His era. Much debate has taken place recently concerning the idea of a suffering messiah and whether it is a Jewish concept or not. There is clear indication that these beliefs were present in the time of Yeshua in the New Covenant book of Luke 24:25-26. Yeshua is speaking to His disciples on the road to Emmaus and he tells them: "O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Messiah to suffer these things and to enter into his glory?" Yeshua is speaking as if they should have known that the Messiah should suffer, and indeed they did. Recent finds of ancient writings bear witness to this. Our sages believed that the messiah would suffer and they looked for a person who would embody the sufferings portrayed in Isaiah 53. Joseph, the son of Yaacov was the one whose life foreshadowed the life of the suffering of messiah. It is from this story that our sages first began to call the Messiah who was to come, Ephraim our righteousness." Ephraim was the son of Joseph and thus the term "Messiah ben Yosef."

This is the genesis of the concept of a messiah not to be esteemed by his people—but rather despised. I Maccabee says Chanukah was a celebration of Sukkot, which could not be celebrated since Jerusalem and the Temple were held by the enemy. The Tractate Sukkot tells us this is a festival of light, a time when Menorahs would be lit all over Jerusalem and the glow could be seen all around. It represented the Shechina Glory of God as well as the presence of the Holy One in the midst of Israel. The Messianic era is described as a Feast of Chanukah. It is spoken as a time when the children of Israel would bask in the light of Messiah and re-dedicate themselves to the Lord. It was during the Feast of Sukkot, that Yeshua declared, "I am the light of the world: He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." (John 8:12)

Was this a new thought or was Yeshua telling them that he was the one they had waited for? The Prophet Isaiah (60:1-2) said, "Arise, shine, for the light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the peoples; but upon thee the Lord will arise, and His glory shall be seen." Commenting on this, our sages said: These words are to be considered in the light of what David, King of Israel was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write: For with thee is the fountain of life: in Thy light do we see light [Ps 36:10] What is meant by In Thy light do we see light? What is the light that Israel looks for as from a watchtower? It is the Light of Messiah, of which it is said, And God saw the light and it was good And then under His Throne of Glory, He put away His Messiah until the time of the generation in which He will be revealed. Satan upon seeing this light asks God for whom it is intended God replies, "It is for Ephraim, SON OF JOSEPH, My true Messiah." Satan asks to see Him. Upon being shown the Messiah, he falls to his knees and says, "I admit this is the Messiah, the light that all men seek after, who in the latter days will cast me and my cohorts into Gehennom."