The annual Jewish holy days of Hanukkah, an eight day Jewish festival, is being observed this year at the same time as Christians will celebrate Christmas, the day that marks the birth of Jesus Christ over 2000 years ago. Jewish families will join together to light a candle for each of the eight days of Hanukkah that reminds them of the miracle of Hanukkah, the fact that the seven branched candelabra, the Menorah, stayed lighted for eight days with only enough olive oil for the Menorah to burn for one day.
Meanwhile, Christians will celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ on December 25, Christmas Day, as many naysayers disagree with that date but the record of the birth of Jesus Christ in the Bible does agree with that time on the calendar for the birth of the Son of God.
Jimmy's Prophetic Prospective on the News
Jews celebrating Hanukkah as Christians mark the birth of Christ on December 25 has an interesting historic significance as well as a prophetic factor that will be better understood in the future according to Bible prophecy.
The Jewish holy days of Hanukkah date back to December 25 168BC when Antiochus Epiphanes, the Grecian leader at that time, brought his military forces into Jerusalem desecrated the Jewish temple and brought an end to temple worship and practices for a three year period. On December 25 165BC, the Maccabees, a militant priestly family living near Jerusalem, rose up against Antiochus Epiphanes and his Grecian army and ran them off of the Temple Mount and out of Jerusalem. After cleaning up the temple they used a flask of virgin olive oil to light the Menorah, it was enough fuel for one day but the Menorah kept burning for eight days thus the Jewish holy day of Hanukkah. Church leaders by the way in the fourth century proclaimed the 25th of December as the day to observe Christmas Day, the day of the birth of Jesus Christ. In fact, Luke 1:5-38 does indeed set the month of the birth of Christ as December. The 25th day of December is tradition. Hanukkah is actually a reminder that there will be another abomination of desolation. This next abomination happens when the Antichrist walks into the future temple in Jerusalem and claims to be God (II Thessalonians 2:4).
Hanukkah and Christmas remind us that Bible prophecy has been fulfilled and will indeed be fulfilled in the future.
