The Reality Related to Hanukkah Which Jews Avoid and Christians Don’t Bring Up

Hanukkah is a Jewish festival which commemorates the victory of the Jews in their revolt against the Seleucid Empire and King Antiochus Epiphanes IV in the second century BC. The Seleucids had oppressed the Jews and caused the Temple service to cease. The Jews, led by the Maccabees, successfully drove the Seleucids out of Judea, cleansed the Second Jewish Temple, and restored the worship there.

Though a major focus of Hanukkah now is the story of one day’s worth of oil burning in the Temple for eight days when it was rededicated, this alleged event is not recorded in the original Books of the Maccabees. It appeared instead centuries later in the Jewish Talmud. Though neither the Book of the Maccabees nor the Talmud are recognized in the Jewish canon (aka: the Old Testament/Tanakh), there is good reason to believe that the Books of the Maccabees are indeed from the second century BC. The later account in the Talmud of the day’s worth of oil burning for eight days back in the Maccabees’ time is at best questionable.

And by the way: People point out Jesus being present at the Feast of Dedication (which is another name for Hanukkah) in John chapter 10 to try to justify Christmas celebration. Though neither one of these is prescribed in the Biblical canon, the Feast of Dedication did not have its origins in Paganism like Christmas does. The evil associations of Christmas put it in a different category.

No one really knows for sure about the alleged miracle of one day of oil burning for eight days on the menorah (which was the lampstand or candlestick in the holy place of the Jewish Temple). Yet the people who celebrate Hanukkah generally view the re-dedication of the Temple in the second century BC and the alleged miracle of the oil burning to preserve the light in it as evidence of divine support and special care towards the Jewish people.

Yet while Hanukkah is viewed as a great victory and vindication of the Jewish people, the pathetic reality related to it which Jews avoid and Christians don’t bring up is that the light surely did go out on the Second Temple when it was destroyed by the Romans a little more than 200 years later in 70 AD- and the light has never been restored since then because the Temple has never been rebuilt.

Moreover, consider what happened in Judea between the second century BC and 70 AD? What dramatic and horrible thing could the Jews have done in that time to cause the true God who had set them apart as a people and placed His worship among them to turn against them? It’s not like their Messiah came during that time period and they had Him crucified. Actually, that is exactly what happened.

The Old Testament/Tanakh even greatly whittles down the number of candidates to be the Messiah. Micah 5:2 shows that the Messiah must be born in Bethlehem (and also shows how the Messiah would be God incarnate). Haggai 2:6-9 shows that the Messiah must come to the Temple (which is obviously referring to the Second Temple since that is what was being built in Haggai’s time). The Second Temple only stood from 516 BC to 70 AD (and of course the Maccabee defeat of the Seleucids happened during that time). These things mean that the Old Testament teaches the Messiah had to be born in Bethlehem and come to the Second Temple while it stood (which turned out to be for less than 600 years).

Jesus came to the Jewish Temple and participated in the Jewish nation’s worship. He also made it clear that His coming was the nation’s last chance to repent and bring forth righteous fruit before He would forsake the nation and it would no longer be God’s special vineyard like it was before (see Matthew 21:33-46 and Matthew 23:37-39).

The significance which is ascribed by the Jews to their holiday of Hanukkah actually demonstrates that as a people they did reject their Messiah and the Lord has rejected them. This means unspeakable trouble instead of triumph for Jews who reject Jesus as the Messiah along with Christians and all who praise them as if they are in the Lord’s favor.